Parents' Connections with Children

The author of our first entry on chapter 4 is Morena, and she's pictured here at the age of 10 with a bike about which you'll read. Though she said she wished she could lighten the exposure in the photo so you can see it better, it's nearly impossible to miss the joy on her face. I think you'll also enjoy reading her thoughts here!

The author presents twelve suggestions to help parents promote their children’s ability to make connections . There were three of them in particular that caught my attention, and I was able to relate them to my childhood.

The first suggestion was to provide learning opportunities for children that are challenging and help them see connections that are enjoyable and educational. It made me think of my experience in second grade when I had to learn addition and subtraction. My teacher, Mrs. Gonzales, made the lessons fun by providing us with candy or fruit to count. It became my favorite subject because when we did addition, she would bring the candy so we could use them when adding. I was happy to see the result; we quickly finished the math problems and ate all the candy we counted. For subtraction problems we had groups of people with oranges and others with apples that we shared and ate in the end. It was a playful way of learning the math concepts and the best part was that we got to eat all the things we added and subtracted. I would tell my mother to do the same thing at home with candy and fruit instead of marbles or Popsicle sticks. I tried to apply this technique with my younger sisters, but by using their favorite snack: Hot Cheetos. This way they completed their math homework and when they finished, they were able to enjoy their favorite snack.

The second suggestion was to allow the children “to make mistakes because it is part of learning and it is okay” (p. 188). Many children are afraid to try things when they do not work for them the first time. I was thirteen and decided to make pancakes for the first time and surprise my mother with breakfast. The first time was scary for me because I used the hand mixer to mix the flour with the milk. Sadly, all the ingredients went flying everywhere! I turned on the stove, set the heat on high, and took out the butter; I was ready for my pancakes. The first one burned, so I decided to set the stove on low and it worked better. I was ecstatic to see my mother and know she felt proud of me, although she did advise me to practice and never to try it alone. I realized it was okay for me to have a burned pancake because the second time would be better; practice makes perfect. What motivated me to not give up was that I wanted to surprise my mother. I agree with Galinsky that, “making errors is fundamental to learning” (p. 188) because it teaches us that we are not perfect; we should not stop trying until we get it right, learning from the mistakes we made first. From this activity I was able to learn that if I did not place the hand mixer in the bowl, I would make a mess and high heat would burn the pancakes. Practicing a task is what helps us improve each time. I kept practicing and now I make delicious pancakes that my siblings can enjoy.

Another suggestion that I connected with was number eight: “Give children family work that involves counting” (p. 194). I am the second of six siblings and it was difficult for my parents to buy a bicycle for all of us. I remember my uncle giving me twenty dollars and telling me to save it, and when I had five of them, I would be able to purchase a bicycle. It was hard because when the ice cream man passed in my neighborhood, I wanted to buy ice cream, but I endured and thought about my bicycle. Each week I counted the money in my piggy bank to check for my five twenties. My mother, father, and uncles would give me money every time I earned good grades and did my chores. As a result, within a month, I was able to buy my pink bicycle. The connection to this suggestion was that it taught me to save money for something I actually wanted, to control and balance everything I had in order to get to my goal.

Without a doubt, the twelve suggestions in this chapter resembled tasks that my teachers and parents used in my childhood. I am not a parent yet, but I am planning to use these twelve suggestions in my family one day. They have been helpful to my parents and the examples from the book show clearly how children develop and grow. Even today I still follow these suggestions on my job and with my younger cousins when I help them with their homework. Before reading this chapter, I did not have a clue about the twelve suggestions to promote children’s ability to make connections; they are everyday tasks that I did not realize I used. Indeed, some of them may work, but it is not necessary to use them all. It is a combination that teachers and parents can apply in their classrooms, at home or both. Making connections makes children enjoy and learn material that they can use in different settings in their lives.

This is Morena at the age of 3 with her older and only brother. She said that she remembers not wanting to have her picture taken, but her mom was able to get her to pose by allowing her to hold the banana.

"Guess what happened after," she said. "Well, I ate it!"