catapult magazine

Top Ten re: learning tools

by Amy Carpenter Leugs

Top Ten Learning Tools At Our House

1. Saying “yes” to children
2. Laughter?the kind that bubbles out, never the mean, teasing kind
3. Nintendo GameCube with enough comfy chairs nearby for all of us to
   watch or play
4. Crayons, markers, paint, and a cupboard full of different kinds of papers
5. The tram-bam-bam-bampoline and our own amazing bodies
6. The cat, the hamster, and the fish?not all at the same time, though
7. Oatmeal, dry or cooked, with spoons, scoops, pouring cups, food coloring…
8. Gravity
9. The steam-cleaner for the carpet
10. Stories?about when the kids were born, about ladybugs or
    pirates, about the latest episode of Pokemon?from books or TV or
    our memory or our imagination?read, told, viewed, written, drawn,
    e-mailed, play-acted, video-gamed?stories and more stories.