The Mario Metaphor

My girls received Mario Kart for our Wii this year for Christmas from some family members.  My oldest is an extreme perfectionist and doesn’t like to try much of anything until she is sure of the rules and know she can make a good effort toward perfection.  My middle one is ridiculously competetive for a 4 year old and doesn’tlike to play games she can’t win.  (Both are faults we are working on. :))   As a result, they were not interested in playing the game, but instead asked if their father and I would race.  So we did.

We raced intermittently for them over the last several weeks which they took a lot of joy in watching.  They liked the banter back and forth and enjoyed cheering for their chosen “team” (which was almost always daddy since he usually won…fair weather fans, those children! lol)

After observing thoughtfully for several weeks as we played this game in front of them occasionally, my oldest (who is 7) decided last weekend she would like to try.  Of course, we obliged.  Now, I am not a fan of video games.  I consider them to be a waste of time, energy and (minimal) brain power.  So, I wouldn’t usually announce what I am going to announce with pride, but here I go.  My daughter placed 1st in her first 3 races! 

I looked at my husband and I said, “It’s just like Charlotte Mason says…”  He winked at me.  Let me explain.

After observing for several weeks, she came to know the ins and outs of the game.  She knew which question marks were real and which ones were fake and she could point them out more accurately and more quickly than I could.  She knew the difference between the red and green shells.  And the list goes on.  I did not sit her down and painstakingly drill her on real vs. fake question marks and red vs green shells, etc. 

It’s just like Charlotte Mason says about language arts.  We expose them to good words, good grammar, good books and noble ideas.  They will know how to “play the game” before they sit down to play.  They will know the rules before we teach them to them. 

I have always been hesitant of the CM language arts approach and it is hard for me to let go of my traditional heritage in this area.  But (if you can believe it), God spoke to me through a video game and I thought I’d share the metaphor in case anyone else was hesitant.  Have a great day! 🙂