Learning in the Flow of Play

The Problem (that isn’t new)

My almost 5-year-old has a burgeoning interest in LEGO and space, and discovering that my mother-in-law saved my husband’s 1984 Inter-Galactic Command Base (with Benny! a.k.a. Blue Spaceman) was a huge win.

But my little dude - who thinks “moms work and dads go to school” - had a tough time imaging any of the astronauts were women. Cue LEGO’s Women of NASA.

The Solution (to more than one problem)

Today we built one of the models from the Women of NASA set - Mae Jamison and Sally Ride with the Space Shuttle Challenger. Because = rockets.

As things go with a preschooler, we got it done just before dinner and kept it on the table while eating our typical Saturday fare (popcorn, salami, and pears). As we munched away, we started talking about the minifigures.

And then misogyny.

And then racism.

I was raised “colorblind” in a very white college town. Learning how to teach my son to see, acknowledge, and love diversity has required me to confront my own shortcomings. I thought I bought this set to expose him to diverse minifigures...because let’s face it, most LEGO sets still have a ways to go. But we got so much more for the $17.99+ tax. This set was what he needed to start to absorb some hard truths.

Learning in the Flow

Over the last year, there has been a lot from Josh Bersin about “learning in the flow of work,” which recognizes that:

“For learning to really happen, it must fit around and align itself to working days and working lives.”

-Josh Bersin and Marc Zao-Sanders

I follow Berson’s work because of my profession and tonight I saw it play out in the most beautiful way. Work or play, it’s all about immediate relevancy.

For now, my son’s questions are about space stuff. My default is to answer questions with YouTube videos, and we had the best time learning about inspiring people and science. We’ll return to toys and the internet when it’s time to revisit the heavy stuff.

How - and when - do you learn?

YouTube playlist to answer my son’s (and your) space questions

1. Who is Sally Ride? (Spoiler: a badass)
2. Who is Mae Jemison? (Spoiler: a badass)
3. What do astronauts eat? (Spoiler: the “how” is more interesting)
4. How does the space shuttle land? (Spoiler: very much like a jet but it’s still cool)