All posts by geniusdad
HOPSCOTCH….A great introduction to computer programming
There are many great free sites that teach computer programming (coding). Coding academy, Hour of code, Kahn Academy, Scratch, Kodables app.
Of all of these, the one that I have found most enjoyable for my children has been “HOPSCOTCH”. I am not a programmer so I can’t speak to how well it will prepare my kids to set up a website or make an ios app. However, I have found “HOPSCOTCH” to provide a great balance of teaching complex coding logic and short term satisfaction of being able to see their work come to life on the iPad screen. By watching and frequently pausing the video tutorials, my 7 and 9 year olds have been able to using coding “duplo-like” blocks and ipad emojis to make games similar to my old Atari back in the 1980’s. I also like how the duplo blocks of code are of such a wide variety that once my kids learn the basics of adjusting variables, the games that they make become truly unique to their own imaginations.
Vi Hart makes math fun to watch!
Algebra for 5 year olds
As a nerd dad, I love finding ios apps that help my kids to become nerds like me. Athleticism does not run in my genes, but I think I can assist my kids in getting to the head of the academic class. There is a lot of junk in the app world; brain candy that may give short term burst of dopamine rewards for capturing coins, but in the midst of the haystack of cloned mindlessness, there are some real gems that don’t make me feel guilty for the time my kids are glued to the screen. This will be the first in a line of app endorsements.
Dragonbox algebra for 5 year olds
The game’s goal is to isolate the “dragon box” by canceling out daytime critters that surround it with nighttime mirror images. Each stage conquered allows the monster in the box to evolve. Sneakily the dragon box becomes an “X” and the critters that need to be removed from the dragonbox side of the screen become “A”, “B”, “C”, etc.
By the end of the game, the kids are solving complex algebraic equations. Soooo cleverly done!
The app costs $4.99. I rarely pay for apps, but this one is well worth the money!
Coming out of the 5 year old’s cave…
So I began the idea for this blog while my children were ages 7, 5, and 3. Our oldest was inspiring me with his Lego and Minecraft creations, but butting heads with my wife,… our middle child progressing rapidly in his ability to read, but fighting with us at every meal as we would try to stuff his low percentile frame with calories,…and our youngest was teaching us how a little girl can bring so much more emotional drama to a young family than little boys do.
Working long hours as a family doctor and rushing home to be full time dad has prevented me from expressing my thoughts in words. The priorities were correct; father and provider first….personal interests second.
However, I am now coming upon a milestone that most parents come upon…our youngest is now over five years old! It doesn’t happen with fanfare or announced by herald…but silently and without planning, our youngest is able to read, follow directions, and have a vague sense of responsibility for her own safety. We can actually turn our backs on her for more than 30 seconds and she will still be okay when we turn around again! It is as if coming out of a cave and seeing colors and sunshine again…smelling the fresh breeze that was hindered by the constant fragrance of diapers and burnt fish sticks.
This turning point is one I hope all you fathers will be able to experience one day as you travel the road with me in pursuit of becoming a genius dad!
I love my wife…
The title of this blog implies a focus on being the perfect father; loving, intelligent, creative, wise, courageous, innovative, and present. However, I am going to begin this blog with a major SPOILER alert. As of this date, I am of father of three children. Two boys, ages 8 and 6, and a girl, age 4. I have reached my milestones of 40 years of age and 10 years of marriage both in this year. I admit I am still naive, but I earnestly observe and learn from those around me and I have the distinct privilege of being able to step into the intimate details of multitudes of lives as I work as a family physician. This last aspect of my life, I believe, affords me an ethos that is beyond my years feeble accomplishment.
From careful study of the old and young, the vigorous and infirm, the affluent and the destitute, I have learned that a the secret to being a genius dad must begin with finding the genius wife! This is not to say that I have yet attained the right to call myself a genius dad. Rather I begin this blog to gather those who would strive to the same goal. However, I do believe that I have begun this journey with the key advantage of marrying well and marrying up. It is on account of my wife that I get to be a dad and it is to her that I give my greatest earthly devotion. This is a devotion that must supersede my devotion to my children in order for me to be of any good to my children.
So to genius aspiring dads everywhere, I give this exhortation:
Love your wife. Love and cherish her well. Your children, in seeing this, will exalt you as being genius regardless of how foolish you are in everything else!
geniusdads 