So...I came up with this really fun idea this Summer. I wanted the kids to be learning, but when school is out, it is tricky to get them to focus on things or be bothered to look stuff up. Who wants to learn when you have a break from learning? Actually, I think we all have an innate desire and curiosity about life and we tend to soak up information as it is presented to us, but in the Summer, it is much easier to play a game on the computer than look up information and facts about well...anything.
So I decided I would make the kids do research reports. But I knew they wouldn't want to, so I had to make it fun. My next thought was that I would do a jeopardy game. I would give them topics and ask them questions about their topics and see if they learned anything. However, I still didn't think they would like that. And then a genius idea popped in my head. I would still do Jeopardy and I would still give the kids topics, but THEY would make the questions and Tyler and I would compete to win the game. Who doesn't want to stump their parents?
Tyler and I sat down and came up with a huge list of potential topics. The list is comprised of anything that came to our brains, so it is a bit random. Then (in keeping with the random spirit) we randomly assigned topics to the kids. They could end up with anything and there was no switching. If the random gods want you to learn about applesauce, then you'd better learn about it.
It just so happens that our first Jeopardy game fell on the same day as Tyler's Summer Work Party. The party had been mightily scaled back due to COVID, so we decided to take our food to a park and compete there.
But I get ahead. First Tyler took the oldest girls golfing. He usually plays with the guys from work, but I think he had a great time teaching the girls to golf. This was their first time playing and they each had some pretty good shots. A fourth guy joined their team. His name was ______ and I don't think he was a golfer either, so they all worked well together. I'm assuming Tyler won since he has actually golfed before.
Then in the evening, we drove by Tyler's work and picked up dinner. They still offered super yummy food. You just had to pick it up drive through style. Then we went to the park, ate what we could stuff in ourselves and then we played (duh duh duh) Jeopardy.
We have different rules than the classic game. Most questions have multiple choice answers, so that if we don't know, we can still try to guess. You can buzz in before the multiple choice and get double the points for an open answer. Or you can wait and hear the multiple choice. Our first couple games, we had a little bell between us. There was some contention about the bell ringing, so we got buzzers later on.
I studied the first time. It seemed like a good idea. We already knew the topics so we might as well brush up. However, Tyler didn't like that. So after a couple games, I was banned from studying. So we just come with our basic knowledge of life and do the best we can. It actually works better that way and the kids don't come up with really hard questions.
That said, it has taken some time to get the kids to ask good questions. It is not an innate skill. But after many games, they are getting better at asking relevant and instructive questions. Questions about what year something happened are rarely instructive. If I didn't know when kayaking was invented, I'm not going to remember it after the game, but I will remember that the original kayaks were made with whale bone and animal hides.
But let's go back to the game that started them all. For each game, we use a white board and the girls cross off squares as we choose those boxes. There is a daily double (chosen randomly) and you can get double the points for answering, but everyone gets to answer and you don't wager money. Also, (and this is very important) you can't LOSE money. Your score can only go up.
The first topics were: Andrew Jackson, Toilets, The Tuba, Morse Code, and Rickshaws.
We had a lot of fun. Of course there was some contention and competitiveness. (I feel like we got better over the Summer, but I'm not sure the kids would agree.) I won, but it was close.
Jeopardy became a fun part of Summer. We would have games most Tuesday nights. Here are the categories if you are interested:
June 23rd - Chuck Berry, Guillotine, Fly Fishing, Winston Churchill, Atoms
June 30th - Tires, Chess, NASA, Phobias, Genghis Khan
July 7th - Sesame Street, Napoleon, Poisons, Architecture, Braille
July 14th - Apollo Missions, HVAC, Cinema, Hair Styles, Insectivores
July 21st - Faberge Eggs, Radar, Flotation and Buoyancy, Blackjack, Joseph Stalin
July 28th - Revolutionary War, Marine Exploration, Sanitation System, Hieroglyphics, Ethics
August 6th - Eric the Red, Manslaughter, Flatulence, Sign Language, Sleep
August 11th - Great Chicago Fire, Alcatraz, The Beatles, Route 66, Kayaking
At the end of July, I mentioned our Jeopardy to Jonny and he thought it sounded fun, so we took our questions over and let his family play. We couldn't play with them since we already knew the answers, but on the final game, we waited and all played together. I wish I had some pictures. We had a great time.
Jeopardy ended up being one of my highlights for the Summer. We learned a lot and argued a lot and learned a bit more. We will definitely be doing this again next Summer. I already have added a lot more topics to our list.
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