Blame it on the penguins!

I have not been very good at blogging lately, but I have a good excuse. I cannot blog if my computer is being used by my children all day long as they cavort as penguins on Club Penguin! It will be nice when Daddy brings his laptop computer back from work, so I can get mine back! Anyway, griping aside, this is actually an amazing thing going on here. A has grown by leaps and bounds in her typing and writing and reading skills, just by playing all day. Imagine that! Not to mention the mathematical and critical thinking skills gained by the games they are playing. It is wonderful to watch. Even E, who has not shown any real readiness to learn to read yet, has role played the chatting, pretending to type in something while speaking it outloud. That may not sound like much, but it is a big step in the right direction. She is showing interest in doing these things, where before she was completely oblivious. A is thriving and it seems to be rubbing off on her little sister. I have to remind myself that she is two years younger and a totally different person whenever I find myself impatient with her literacy level.

Anyway, the girls were told by someone recently that they have to practice reading and math every day to get good at it. I take issue with the validity of that statement, however, it seems that they are doing that exact thing by playing on Club Penguin all day. Not to mention the computer skills that are being gained, the friendships, some long distance, that are being strengthened, and the negotiation skills that are being honed as we share the limited resources in the house. It is all good!

Another passion for the girls that ties into this is Skype. We have used this free computer to computer calling service before, but lost it when we upgraded/switched computers. I finally uploaded it to the new computers, so the girls could call their friends and family again. We can do video calls as well as IM type chatting and conference calls. Now the focus will be on getting all our friends to get Skype so we can interact with them as well! You hear that, dear friends? Get Skype!! Look the girls up under their names (first name.last name). They each have their own account.

As I type (I declared my computer mine for as long as it takes me to blog) E is on their computer, logged into club penguin, on the phone with her friend M in Kansas, and skyping with her friend S here in town. She has both the video calling up and the chat. A is hovering around her watching the action and helping to type, moving the webcam around, talking into the microphone, waiting for me to be done so that she can get on my computer and do the same as her sister.

Last night A asked me if she was better at the computer than I was! I told her she was better at the computer now than I was when I was her age! Of course, I told her that there were no computers when I was her age, not really anyway and certainly none with the power of today's home PC. At this rate, however, I suspect it won't take long before both of them are way more computer savvy than I will ever be.