A major theme of the past month was education. We live in a fairly competitive school district, especially among the asian population. We agreed early on NOT to be the kinds of parents who expected their kids to be at the top of the class, because there are too many crazies here who do, and we did not want to pay that kind of price in time and effort.
Probably the most well known expression of this is Kumon, the chain enrichment center which exists to provide many opportunities to get more practice in things like math problems and other academic skills. The problem, as noted by a recent speaker at Pittsburgh Chinese Youth Center, is that practice only helps in skills development and speed. But in real life, there is no benefit of perform academic tasks faster, and academic skills are actually not what is important. What is important are the ability to learn new skills and the ability to solve problems. Neither of which is improved by repetition of learned skills. So what are parents concerned about the academic achievement of their kids to do.
First is the recognition that academics is not the only place this question shows up. Every coach will say that the motivations of children change day-to-day, and that it is the parents that keep the kids in the long haul, where the benefits do not show up until the children get older. But it has to start early. As it is in youth sports, so it is in every other aspect of life. But, also like in sports, the way to get there is not by specializing early, it is by giving the child challenge in the form of variety. And at the higher levels, this means having the child learn to face and work through challenges.
So in what our children do, this is how we want to approach it. For music, it means that the goal is not to repeated play the same piece over and over again until it can be note perfect, it will be to work learn hard pieces until it is understood enough to become expressive, and to move on before it gets too comfortable. In martial arts, the goal is not to learn and do a sequence of movements, it is to improve every single time a movement is done, until every aspect of it is right (and knowing that mere mortals will never reach that state of perfection). For the academics, it is encountering problems that you have not learned to do, and learning how to attack them until the solution comes out.
So, we did not do Kumon (the standard in our area), but a few years back we discovered the Art of Problem Solving and have been going through the Beast Academy curriculum. And we have been looking for the types of activities that will provide what strength and conditioning coaches call stimulus, that provide opportunities for the kids to learn problem solving techniques and we will lean away from the activities that reward recall and repetition. And look for others going along the same path.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Friday, July 12, 2019
Parenting month 100: rockets and wands
The highlight of the month was a vacation to Florida. Our vacation was in 2 Acts: Space Coast and Orlando.
On the Space Coast we were on Cocoa Beach. Known for its surfing beaches and for its proximity to Kennedy Space Center. We spent time on the beach.
We also woke up at 2 AM to watch a launch of a Falcon Heavy. Well, T and I did. and the rest of the family got woken up by the rumble of engines and the bangs of the sonic booms.
The next day we went to Kennedy Space Center
Part 2 of the trip was Orlando, where the highlight was Universal Studios Wizarding World of Harry Potter. T got a wand that he used to cast spells, which is what the majority of the day was spent doing.
T also got to go on his first roller coasters. One at Diagon Alley, one in Hogsmead, and a Transformer's and a Fast and Furious rides.
We think this was a trip worth remembering.
On the Space Coast we were on Cocoa Beach. Known for its surfing beaches and for its proximity to Kennedy Space Center. We spent time on the beach.
and did obligatory side kicks and forms
We also woke up at 2 AM to watch a launch of a Falcon Heavy. Well, T and I did. and the rest of the family got woken up by the rumble of engines and the bangs of the sonic booms.
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| Launch of Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center as seen from Cocoa Beach |
The next day we went to Kennedy Space Center
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| Space Shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center |
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| Going through the tubes of the mock space station |
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| At the controls of a shuttle |
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| Saturn V engine |
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| Entryway to Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Center |
Part 2 of the trip was Orlando, where the highlight was Universal Studios Wizarding World of Harry Potter. T got a wand that he used to cast spells, which is what the majority of the day was spent doing.
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| On the bridge to Hogsmead |
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| Talking to a wizard to pick a wand just for him |
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| Riding Hagrid's Cycle |
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| Casting a spell |
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| The dragon at Gringott's Bank. Underneath was T's first roller Coaster |
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| Diagon Alley |
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| Casting a rain spell at Diagon Alley |
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| Making water in Diagon Alley |
T also got to go on his first roller coasters. One at Diagon Alley, one in Hogsmead, and a Transformer's and a Fast and Furious rides.
We think this was a trip worth remembering.
Friday, May 24, 2019
Parenting Month 99: Competitions
This past two months was marked by competitions in Taekwondo and piano. In taekwondo T moved up a division, while in piano this will be his last year in this age group. So he did well in piano, but middle of the pack in taekwondo, where the differences between the kids who are really serious and everyone else is apparent.
In piano, we know that this is also the point where the easy progress ends and it starts to take serious work to get better.
The other thing that is starting is the concept of working up to something big. In TKD, we spent three weeks of both some individual classes and more intense time with my son in preparing for the tournament. Similarly for piano, the teachers are telling the kids that the competition is coming and they have to be more serious. And the kids pick up on the fact that the adults are being more serious. Also we spend time focusing on smaller things than normal.
Is it worth it? Sometimes, the attention to detail taxes the attention span at this point. For TKD, we can go through the whole thing, but we can only improve a limited number of points of improvement in a session. I suspect that piano is much the same. The benefits is the idea that the details matter, and that you are preparing for more than doing as well as the friends you see in class every day or week, but you are up against a standard that you have not seen. And then having to deal with the stress of the event itself where a very specific performance matters with no redo. And they should be very aware of the true quality of that one performance. The ability to handle yourself under the attention of a crowd is invaluable, regardless of the quality of the performance.
In piano, we know that this is also the point where the easy progress ends and it starts to take serious work to get better.
What is the point of competition? Especially at this age? There is the standard answers of the discipline of following instructions, of being able to see what it looks like to be good. It is an opportunity to socialize with kids who are doing the same things you are and that you will grow up with through the years.
The other thing that is starting is the concept of working up to something big. In TKD, we spent three weeks of both some individual classes and more intense time with my son in preparing for the tournament. Similarly for piano, the teachers are telling the kids that the competition is coming and they have to be more serious. And the kids pick up on the fact that the adults are being more serious. Also we spend time focusing on smaller things than normal.
Is it worth it? Sometimes, the attention to detail taxes the attention span at this point. For TKD, we can go through the whole thing, but we can only improve a limited number of points of improvement in a session. I suspect that piano is much the same. The benefits is the idea that the details matter, and that you are preparing for more than doing as well as the friends you see in class every day or week, but you are up against a standard that you have not seen. And then having to deal with the stress of the event itself where a very specific performance matters with no redo. And they should be very aware of the true quality of that one performance. The ability to handle yourself under the attention of a crowd is invaluable, regardless of the quality of the performance.
Sunday, May 12, 2019
Using an Adafruit Circuit Playground as a Makey Makey fruit piano
One of the inspirations for the Adafruit Circuit Playground (CP) was the Makey Makey (http://www.makeymakey.com/), which provided a way to use touching conductive objects as input to a computer. Because of this, Makey Makey is commonly found in schools and maker faires as a means of connecting the world to electronics.
Because the CP has 8 capacitive pads, it should be possible to do something similar with the CP. Using the serial monitor output, we can see what the CP registers through each pad, and set thresholds for an action, for example, lighting up an LED or playing a tone.
The first version of the Makey_cp used the Capacative touch pads directly to drive the LED and the speaker. By observing the capicative touch pads on the serial monitor we can see that the steady state value of the pads was between 1 and 10. Touching the pad increased the value to around 30, but often an adjacent pad would also increase in value as a finger affects the electric field around the adjacent pad. So we set a threshold on the CP capacitive to 20 for use as a finger piano. In addition, we use the switch to turn on and off the sound.
The sound is tuned using the pitches.h definition file, which has the tones for each potential note. As the CP has 8 touch pads, this is enough for a full octave of a major or minor scale.
To serve as a Makey Makey, the pads need to be connected via alligator clips to something that can conduct electricity, such as fruit or a metal conductor. Because such objects have capacitance, the noise level on the CP touch pads increases. In order to increase the signal from touching the pads, the person touching the pads should be connected to a power source, in this case we use alligator clips to the 3.3V out pad of the CP. This leads to the CP to detect a value of approximately 150.
Next, we attach alligator clips to the eight capacitive pads and to fruit. This creates a fluctuating reading around 20. We find through the serial monitor that touching the fruit while connected to the 3.3V out leads to a capacitance reading of around 225. The threshold is then
Because the CP has 8 capacitive pads, it should be possible to do something similar with the CP. Using the serial monitor output, we can see what the CP registers through each pad, and set thresholds for an action, for example, lighting up an LED or playing a tone.
The first version of the Makey_cp used the Capacative touch pads directly to drive the LED and the speaker. By observing the capicative touch pads on the serial monitor we can see that the steady state value of the pads was between 1 and 10. Touching the pad increased the value to around 30, but often an adjacent pad would also increase in value as a finger affects the electric field around the adjacent pad. So we set a threshold on the CP capacitive to 20 for use as a finger piano. In addition, we use the switch to turn on and off the sound.
The sound is tuned using the pitches.h definition file, which has the tones for each potential note. As the CP has 8 touch pads, this is enough for a full octave of a major or minor scale.
To serve as a Makey Makey, the pads need to be connected via alligator clips to something that can conduct electricity, such as fruit or a metal conductor. Because such objects have capacitance, the noise level on the CP touch pads increases. In order to increase the signal from touching the pads, the person touching the pads should be connected to a power source, in this case we use alligator clips to the 3.3V out pad of the CP. This leads to the CP to detect a value of approximately 150.
Next, we attach alligator clips to the eight capacitive pads and to fruit. This creates a fluctuating reading around 20. We find through the serial monitor that touching the fruit while connected to the 3.3V out leads to a capacitance reading of around 225. The threshold is then
Saturday, February 02, 2019
Parenting month 97: Ai yaaa * 3
This month, DD4 joined her big brother and I in doing American Taekwondo Association (ATA) classes. Of course, she has been watching us do these classes in the basement for a few years now, so she has been looking forward actually being in the class, doing the forms, the exercises, and even the curtesies (bowing in etc) She has been doing as expected as a third member, being fairly fluent in the conditioning exercises like ladder drills and picking up forms (at this age, they follow on forms instead of memorizing) which she has been seeing all her life.
She has enjoyed doing this at home, and we let her program part of the workout. The ladder drills exercises, conditioning exercises, punching bags,weapons, or forms.
T (DS8) has also been continuing. We've been battling various illnesses over the past couple of months. One milestone is that he has been accepted in to the National Talent Search program through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. So we are looking forward to having access to a set of online and summer courses with a very different set of kids, who will become his peers for a lifetime.
She has enjoyed doing this at home, and we let her program part of the workout. The ladder drills exercises, conditioning exercises, punching bags,weapons, or forms.
T (DS8) has also been continuing. We've been battling various illnesses over the past couple of months. One milestone is that he has been accepted in to the National Talent Search program through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. So we are looking forward to having access to a set of online and summer courses with a very different set of kids, who will become his peers for a lifetime.
Monday, December 31, 2018
Parenting month 96: in sickness and in health
The dominant theme of the past two months has been pneumonia. DS8 went down first around Thanksgiving. We basically missed a week of school. Then, as he was getting worse, we spent a week in the hospital. Followed by another missed week of school while he was joined by DD4. My wife and I have the fortune of having some control over our schedules, so we every semester we set up our class schedules so that it is possible for one of us to stay home if the kids were sick, and we did that for 2+ weeks.
DD4 (A) is more and more an outgoing and willful child. Always exploring and talking. Turning into a consumate storyteller.
DD8 (T) has steadily been meeting requirements for the gifted program. He started this year as last year he just moved into his new school. And in the past two months, a few other new kids have joined in. We note that the gifted program is more interesting than just additional academic work, but they do different and interesting things.
For next year, the main concern is T with creativity and initiative. He seems good when it is just kids, but he often freezes or does nothing instead of doing something.
For A, she is moving up to transitional kindergarden (which seems to occur based on the age population of the pre-school. So she gets to be the youngest in the class, which is a good thing for here to experience.
DD8 (T) has steadily been meeting requirements for the gifted program. He started this year as last year he just moved into his new school. And in the past two months, a few other new kids have joined in. We note that the gifted program is more interesting than just additional academic work, but they do different and interesting things.
For next year, the main concern is T with creativity and initiative. He seems good when it is just kids, but he often freezes or does nothing instead of doing something.
For A, she is moving up to transitional kindergarden (which seems to occur based on the age population of the pre-school. So she gets to be the youngest in the class, which is a good thing for here to experience.
Saturday, December 29, 2018
75 WODs of Streetparking
I made it to one of Streetparking milestone, 75 recorded WODs. And this does not include non-Streetparking WODs I have done like hero WOD or non-Streetparking events. I started CrossFit in August using an online program named StreetParking. The way CrossFit works is that the exercise programming that includes constantly varying workouts covers a range of fitness and time domains. So for StreetParking, in a day there are 2 or 3 movements(sometimes 1, but that is going to be a doozy) done in a circuit at high intensity, generally hitting different body stimuli.
The 10 fitness domains are cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy. And the exercises they use to get there are taken from gymnastics, power and olympic lifting, and endurance sports. Time domains can be short to long, where short are usually power movements, middle are less than 2 minutes, and long with more than 2 minutes on reps of a single movement.
So 75 workouts took from August 19 until December 1, 104 days or 15 weeks at about 5 StreetParking workouts per week. In cases where I have TKD, I would normally do the SHIFT version of the workout, which is meant to be a simpler workout (i.e. less complex movements). The normal StreetParking workout is done with dumbbells. I have two sets of handles and about 210 lbs of weight plates. They also have a barbell version that I used to often use as an excuse to use my sandbags (I have a 50 and 65 lb) because they are so much fun. Now that I have a short power cage, I've started to use the barbell more.
Some things I've noticed (i.e. how does CrossFit keep you in)
- Every week or so I add in a new movement. The way CrossFit works is that because they constantly vary the workout, there are a lot of movements drawn from powerlifting, olympic lifting, and gymnastics. So there are two ways of scaling, or adapting a movement to be within capability, one is to lower weight, the other is to substitute a movement that is easier to perform, but still hits the same muscle groups and provides the same stimulus. But the scales are designed to prepare you to some day get closer to the actual goal movement. So, as I do more workouts, and repeatedly scale the same movement over the months, every now and then I get to the point I can actually do the programmed movement. This is what the video game crowd calls "Achievement unlocked", but in this case it represents a physical capability. And that is a really cool feeling.
- As an online source of programming, StreetParking replicates the gym experience through its Instagram and Facebook accounts, with the actual workouts being distributed through a members only website and a private Instagram account. Members also monitor the #streetparking hashtag on Instagram on Facebook. So, one, you get a lot of likes and a few comments when you post the workout. And in the CrossFit ethos, the kudos are for doing the workout at your level of intensity, not the weight or how you look. They also have two-three motivation montages a week made up of StreetParking members. And what they highlight is the diversity in the fitness levels and stages of life of the members, some look like top calibre athletes, and others would never be mistaken as such, some have a full set of equipment in decked out garage gyms, others are improvising every which way. But all are doing the workout with intensity (as it means at their level of fitness) And that is cool.
- I've made it on some of the montage videos. It is so much fun to realize that I'm counting as a source of inspiration to others. Especially since I'm watching the montage videos and commenting to my 4 yr old daughter about how cool they are. (she is only interested in the ones that I am in, with bonus when she is in the video with me doing the workout)
- I really like the fact that so many of the people posting videos are parents in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. Not the usual gym workout population, and beyond the usual selfie types.
- As an online program, the community is based in Instagram and Facebook. I post most of my workouts on Instagram. While there are those that look good, in CrossFit, the real applause comes from struggling. Because, it turns out that even though people have different levels of fitness and skill, and therefore scale the workout in different ways, people doing the workout hit the pain points at around the same time. So an honest effort followed by an honest recap of the workout gets alot of "me too", and reading everyone's recap of the workout shows a lot of similarities, down to the round that you realized that this workout is not as easy as you thought of it and when the struggling began. It makes for a shared experience, even when each of us are doing the workout alone at home.
- The way CrossFit works is that there are benchmarks, and because weight, scaling, and time are recorded, there is a record of progress. I actually have not been doing this long enough to get benchmarks repeated, but I have done enough benchmark WODs that I should be having repeats, in addition to the basic lifts.
- When I was single, I would get in caught in the conversation of what body type I wanted (in a potential date). My reply was always, I did not care so much about what the body looked like, but I cared that that body was active, because I was a runner who liked to hang out around active people. And while that group had a range of body types, they were all quite capable, and anyone I dated had to keep up. This usually earned me looks like I was from another planet and completely missed the point of the conversation. But in StreetParking/CrossFit, this is clearly my kind of crowd.
- My daughter likes to watch CrossFit and do workouts with me. We like it that when I watch these videos we can watch women exercising at both the elite CrossFit Games level as well as the normal people on StreetParking. I like having her grow up thinking that women can exercise and be strong. She also likes doing the workouts with me. We have gotten pretty good at scaling the workouts and figuring out options within her capability.
- Having a home gym means I get my workout in wherever I can squeeze in the time. Sometimes that is 0 dark thirty in the morning. Sometimes I am squeezing in 30-40 min in the middle of the day or early evening, sometimes this is the late at night. Time and schedule does not matter, my home gym is ready for me.
- I made it this far with dumbbells and sandbags. And I made a pylo box, kettlebell, and purchased a short (6') power rack to go with my short (5') barbell. And I no longer look like a gym that is missing equipment. I hope to be doing this for life, and I like having my own home gym to do it in.
- So far 91 Street Parking workouts. Since August 2018, workouts have included two hero workouts (Saman and Chad), two of the girls (Fran and Running Jackie), multiple benchmark and signature workouts, qualifiers for a competition (Wodapalooza qualifiers were in StreetParking), one actual competition, (Vetwod),
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