An Obsession with Trains, an Obsession with Life
Shimokawa Family
An Obsession with Trains, an Obsession with Life
By Melanie Shimokawa
Everything that comes out of my two-year-old*s mouth is about trains.
Often, when he is just staring out into space, I ask him what*s on his
mind. "Trains!" he answers. Of course. He knows everything there is
to know about Japanese trains. He can recognize any Japanese train just
from a simple picture. When he asks me to draw trains for him, he often
has to correct me. "No, Mama," he says, "the yellow Seibu-Shinjuku line
trains with the GRAY doors have TWO pantographs every OTHER car. The
ones with the yellow doors only have ONE." Oh, right, sorry. (But
that*s pretty advanced math for a two year old. Especially when he
tries to figure out how many pantographs are on a certain train with a
certain number of cars.) He spends a lot of time drawing trains.
They*re not always recognizable, but he works and works at it until he*s
drawn every detail he can think of. The lines aren*t straight, and it*s
definitely not to scale, but he thinks of everything. (That*s art.) He
knows which trains run on which line, and where those trains run on the
map of Japan we have up in his room. (That*s geography.) He is
learning to read the names of the trains in his books we have bought
him, and the ones he checks out of the library. (That*s reading.) The
other day was the last day for the 0 kei shinkansen kodama train, and we
read together in the newspaper about it. Clipped it out, and put it up
on his wall. He learned when it first ran, and that it was the fastest
train in the world at the time. (That*s history.) Whenever we ride the
trains, he tells everybody which train they*re riding and everything he
knows about the train. (Field trips!) He has lengthy conversations
with the train conductor on coffee break or anybody else who*s willing
to listen all about the various trains he*s ridden, and the trains
others have ridden. (That*s socialization. Did I miss anything?)
He*s only two, and I*m not worried about his future right now. Neither
is he. He*s having too much fun in the present.
____________________________________
This, and other essays can be found on my incomplete website:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/3440/
If anyone else is willing to help me by writing essays on various
topics, I would appreciate it.
Love, Melanie in Japan
By Melanie Shimokawa
Everything that comes out of my two-year-old*s mouth is about trains.
Often, when he is just staring out into space, I ask him what*s on his
mind. "Trains!" he answers. Of course. He knows everything there is
to know about Japanese trains. He can recognize any Japanese train just
from a simple picture. When he asks me to draw trains for him, he often
has to correct me. "No, Mama," he says, "the yellow Seibu-Shinjuku line
trains with the GRAY doors have TWO pantographs every OTHER car. The
ones with the yellow doors only have ONE." Oh, right, sorry. (But
that*s pretty advanced math for a two year old. Especially when he
tries to figure out how many pantographs are on a certain train with a
certain number of cars.) He spends a lot of time drawing trains.
They*re not always recognizable, but he works and works at it until he*s
drawn every detail he can think of. The lines aren*t straight, and it*s
definitely not to scale, but he thinks of everything. (That*s art.) He
knows which trains run on which line, and where those trains run on the
map of Japan we have up in his room. (That*s geography.) He is
learning to read the names of the trains in his books we have bought
him, and the ones he checks out of the library. (That*s reading.) The
other day was the last day for the 0 kei shinkansen kodama train, and we
read together in the newspaper about it. Clipped it out, and put it up
on his wall. He learned when it first ran, and that it was the fastest
train in the world at the time. (That*s history.) Whenever we ride the
trains, he tells everybody which train they*re riding and everything he
knows about the train. (Field trips!) He has lengthy conversations
with the train conductor on coffee break or anybody else who*s willing
to listen all about the various trains he*s ridden, and the trains
others have ridden. (That*s socialization. Did I miss anything?)
He*s only two, and I*m not worried about his future right now. Neither
is he. He*s having too much fun in the present.
____________________________________
This, and other essays can be found on my incomplete website:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/3440/
If anyone else is willing to help me by writing essays on various
topics, I would appreciate it.
Love, Melanie in Japan
John O. Andersen
Melanie,
I'm into essay writing as well. You may have already seen my site?
http://members.xoom.com/joandersen
I'm into essay writing as well. You may have already seen my site?
http://members.xoom.com/joandersen
----- Original Message -----
From: Shimokawa Family <sfamily@...>
To: list <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 10, 1999 3:32 AM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] An Obsession with Trains, an Obsession with
Life
> From: Shimokawa Family <sfamily@...>
>
> An Obsession with Trains, an Obsession with Life
>
> By Melanie Shimokawa