Spontaneous Schooling

I love when an opportunity suddenly comes up to teach Beth something new.

The other day, we received a petition from our local MP. It asked residents to sign the petition to tell the Howard Government we don't want a nuclear reactor in our backyard. A nuclear reactor!

All I know about the subject are images and news bites of Chernobyl, Hiroshima/Nagasaki and movies about terrorists hijacking nuclear power plants.

A perfect opportunity to learn something new.

Beth and I got on the Internet to find out more about nuclear power, nuclear plants, the dangers from being exposed to radiation. There was so much info.

One message we got very clearly was: a nuclear reactor is dangerous because of its health risks to the people who live and work in its vicinity. As a hard target, it is also vulnerable to attack by persons with sinister intentions.

After this, it was easy for Beth to relate what we'd learnt to the petition we were being asked to sign. She was eager to tell friends at church and kinder what she'd learnt, and insisted on adding Scottie's paw print to the list of signatures.

Yesterday, the subject of Vikings came up. So we looked it up on the Internet, and printed off a fun page that showed rune symbols and how these translate into English.

I asked her to write "I love you" in rune symbols. Now we've got a perfect gift for Daddy when Father's Day comes round (first Sunday of September).

Today, I was researching the effects of electric transmissions and electromagnetic fields from electric substations. We had found a house we were keen to make an offer on, but in doing my due diligence, I had discovered that there was an electric substation on the property.

On the website of the electricity provider for that property were educational resources for school children. I printed off the 20-page one for primary school children, and Beth started working her way through it.

Since she can read independently, it's a great way to educate her (without nagging) on why we need to turn off electric appliances that are not in use, and why she shouldn't be sitting too close to the TV.

And why we've decided not to buy the house.