Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Holy Baby, Faithful One! Loving Jesus, Having Fun.

I've been so hesitant to have Liam watch television.  And it's not that I'm being snobbish about the content.  No, no, it's the speed of the television that I dislike most right now.  Commercials' camera pans seem to induce whip lash. 

About a decade ago, I remember all of us commenting that things were picking up speed on the television and in movies.  It was, and still is to me at times, uncomfortable.  I know that my eyes and mind can keep up, but I don't like the pressure or feeling that it gives, and so I often look away or close my eyes.  It's a conscious choice because I'm cognizant about its effects.

Yes, eventually, we grew accustomed to the high-speed change and adapted, but I do believe that such high visual stimulation can remap how the human brain processes things.  In the last decade, I've noticed a difference in myself and in the new waves of students coming into my classroom.  We can take more input, multitask more quickly, and respond to stimuli with impressive speeds -- but, in my humble opinion, we lose accuracy, attention to detail, creativity, and some of the skills needed for problem-solving.

So imagine my joy when a colleague gifted us with slow-moving DVDs that teach gentle truths about our Catholic faith in a way that is appealing to the learning level of babies!  Through pleasant songs and happy images, Liam is learning and growing. 

Missy gave us two of the Holy Baby DVDs, and my sister-in-law Cindy gave us the 5-disc Praise Baby collection.  We are so blessed to have these!  Thank you, Missy and Cindy!


And whenever I stick one of these in the DVD player, little Liam starts squealing for joy!