Big news spins big conversations

We've been chugging along this week. Math has Alex excited. After working out grouping numbers into sets he has been talking about it non-stop. In line at the grocery store he as working out things like 10 can be grouped into 6 and 4, 5 and 5, 2 and 8...etc. His addition got a whole lot better almost overnight. We are still reading the first Harry Potter book and Alex is half way through reading his chapter book to me. Writing has been especially challenging this week. We finally wraped up the postcards and mailed them this afternoon. It nearly drove me to an early morning cocktail but it is done. I dread Christmas cards. Izzy has developed an interest in geography. We sit with the globe and talk about continents and countries. We use fun facts to differentiate places, like Australia is where the kangaroos live and China has more people than any other country, etc. I dug out some old colouring books too. Since art class is over until January I thought we try to keep the creative juices flowing.

Of course, the big news was the American election. Alex watched a bit of the news with me Wednesday morning. He was excited the Obama won but confused by all the people crying on tv. We talked about race relations, specifically to Canada and the US. We even talked a little about slavery and the movement of populations around the world. I kept it as light as I could for a 5 1/2 year old. I hope these kids are indicative that the newest generation will be even more enlightened than those before them. It helps that my kids have been born into a multicultural environment. They don't pay attention to skin colour but accents interest them immensely. Alex always wants to ask people what their other language is. He is impressed with those who can speak more than one.

They've been good discussions. Politics and sociology are are both topics dear to me. I hope to instill a comprehensive understanding of both to Alex and Izzy. How governments run are of vital importance to everyone. An understanding and some empathy for the world around us is what makes a good leader and good policy.