Pokemon Cards

It was frustrating me that Isaac wanted to play Pokemon on his gameboy for alot longer than he was allowed. It was a constant battle of "Isaac, you need to put away your gameboy for a little while and do something else" or "Isaac, your electric time is up for the day. How about you go an make something with your lego". I really don't like being a nagging mother, but I also didn't want him playing Pokemon all day.

Since Elizabeth has turned 5, she's been allowed to play Pokemon as well. She's picked it up very quickly, and the two of them will happily play a Pokemon card game, which I'm much happier about than them playing on the gameboy.

However, there's been a recent development which makes me even happier. Isaac has started making his own Pokemon cards. I love the thought and creativity he uses to come up with his new cards. Jan A once said to me that you need to use kids' favorite things, and incorporate them into learning. Pokemon is still an obsession, despite my trying to branch out this past Christmas - but now I'm happy to say he is learning new skills through it. He spells out his own words, draws his own pictures, and creates cards that are "realistic" in regards to strategy (although Ben did have to sit down at the beginning and explain that a card with 700 health points was not fair to other players)

Comparisons

We recorded Lizzy's Christmas pageant and were watching it the other night. Lizzy was one of the last children to come on stage to say her line. As soon as she came out, Isaac exclaimed "Lizzy, this video makes you look so much taller than you really are!"

He has always has compared his sister to himself and his friends and has rarely seen her against children of her own age. As a result, he's never really thought of her as being tall. So it was quite a shock to him to see how much taller she was than all her classmates.