For the first time we’ve decided to give each of the kids goals. There are plenty of studies that show that people that have written goals do significantly better than those that don’t. So here they are…
Goals to be achieved by 31st July 2018:
Maryam (12)
- Realistically expect to be getting A*s in Maths and Further Maths A-level (the result will not be out until August)
- Be comfortably conversational in all 6 languages
- Build a business with revenues of over US$100 per month
- Get an average of 4 points against me in a game of badminton
- Learn enough coding to build an app game that her friends enjoy playing
Danyal (10)
- Realistically expect to be getting A*s in Maths and Further Maths A-level
- Be able to converse reasonably in all 6 languages
- Become a state level football (soccer) player
- Become a state level squash player
- Learn enough coding to build an app game that his friends enjoy playing
Sabeen (8)
- Realistically expect to be getting A*s in Maths and Further Maths A-level
- Be able to converse reasonably in all 6 languages
- Get an average of 8 points against Maryam in a game of badminton
- Learn enough coding to build an app game that her friends enjoy playing
If they hit their goals we’ll celebrate by spending an extra 2 weeks with their grandparents in London and Paris – something they really love.
The Wonder Years 
Whooo, Great goals. I wish they achieve all of it isA 🙂
What is the language that they will use to develop the app ? ( If they will develop for Android, I can help them if they need anything .. for free for sure 🙂 )
Send them my greetings and wishes ^_^
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I’ve enjoyed reading your blog. We too, are homeschooling our kids, and I’m in the technology field.
The question I am debating is when to start teaching technology (programming, computer science or related) to my two boys, currently aged 9 and 6 years old.
What do you suggest?
I’ve read most of the posts here, and haven’t seen you mention starting them on programming or anything tech related.
For now, I’ve decided that they too young for tech related subjects. But once they old enough (nor sure when yet) I’ve toyed with the idea of teaching them Alice, scratch or even python.
Perhaps together with basics of computers and networking.
My constant fear is not to overwhelm them too early, and steal their childhood. As it is, we live in a tech dominated society, so they will get to it eventually, hopefully at the right time
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Yusuf, my kids are not learning programming, and they’re 8, 10, 12. It’s not stealing their childhood! I think your kids should go for it. Absolutely essential skill…
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Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu Asim bhai,
I hope you’re well. Been reading your posts on Quora and recently here also, great work with everything so far.
It seems that your beautiful kids get plenty of the STEM side of things, was wondering how do you address the more qualitative subjects such as History, Literature, Philosophy etc to develop their reasoning and critical thinking skills?
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WS Abdullah, the kids read a lot themselves, but we don’t formally teach history, philosophy, etc… If they’re ever interested they can learn it themselves.
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Assalaamalaikum Asim,
I am really impressed about your kids learning many languages.
My son is also homeschooling this year, and a challenge we have is making him learn an additional language. As we live in Canada here, and in the province we are is English speaking.
Can you suggest any potential resources for kids to learn and master in language, and how to make it fun for them. Please advise.
Regards,
Khaleel
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Khaleel, salaams, here’s what I suggest. Suppose you want your kids to learn Chinese.
1. Hire a Chinese university student (in China or elsewhere) to speak to your kids in Chinese via Zoom or Meet. Minimum 2x a week for 30 mins each, ideally 4x. You can pay anywhere from $4-13 per hour.
2. Tell the student to speak mostly in Chinese. Usage of English should be minimal. You’re paying him to speak Chinese, not English. It’s not a lesson, it’s speaking Chinese (the way foreigners learn a local language when they migrate).
3. Tell the university student that if the kids don’t enjoy the lessons, or he/she speaks too much English, he/she will be fired.
I reckon if you do it 4x for 2 years your child will be conversant. Do it 2x per week, it will probably take 6 years.
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