Little Edison enjoys solving mazes because they are fun. He likes challenging mazes that looks like a big piece of art with many intricate lines to go through. I used to download a lot of printable mazes for him, until one day when I finally declared “I’m running out of mazes! Please give me a break!”
Then, I’m lucky to have found some Kumon maze books in Popular book store. I quickly bought all of them. Edison loves these Kumon mazes. He can complete the whole book within a day, but I give him a limit to a maximum of 4 pages a day. Else, we will risk running out of mazes again.
Mazes are a very good exercise for him, as they require a lot of patience, analytical skills and sharp thinking to solve. Every time he solved it, I can feel a certain sense of accomplishment in him.
But when he hits a dead end and couldn’t find his way out, he gets frustrated. He scratches his head and he calls for help. “I can’t do it! I can’t do it!” And he will keep erasing until the whole table is covered with debris!
Sometimes, when I’m really tired and still recovering from a “mental breakdown” mode after a long day at work, I’ll go: “It’s a good try, boy. Why not you make a detour and see what other paths that you can take?” – hoping that he’ll find his way out soon.
But most of the time, I’m a good Mama. *Ahem*
I’ll help him to erase and I’ll give him a hint on other possible paths that he can take. It’s the same thing in life, I told him. We should never give up, but to keep trying and trying until we reach our goal. Our life is like a maze, we need to explore possibilities.
He nods his head as if he truly understands what I meant. And I continue, “The maze also teaches us that there are many different paths to choose; one may lead us to the exit, or even back to the beginning. We need to take a chance and find one that is closer to finish.”
When he finally reaches the end of the maze, he feels accomplished, as if he stomped past a large obstacle.
Yesterday, he called me at my office and said: “Hi Mama! I got a surprise for you. Come home quick, okay?” I looked at the clock, it was 4pm and I said, “I’ll be back at 6pm sharp, okay? Wait for me.”
“Okay, I’ll wait. Bye!” He hung up the phone, leaving me in suspense for the next two hours.
When I reached home, I saw this:
He created a maze for me to solve and he was very excited about it. That must be my reward for being a good Mama. He has graduated from solving mazes to creating mazes now. I stood there in awe, and of course, I solved that maze!
