Reading the story, and the comments, there seems to be a disconnect between why the kids were delighted - it is not that they are delighted about Linux or XMonad. Or that they are learning valuable life skills.
They are delighted to be spending time with dad. Doing something fun, that dad seems engaged in.
As a dad, too much time seems to go on the mundane or the boring. Raising up the enthusiasm level, is a marvellous thing for dads and kids. It does not matter if that is installing Linux, writing blog posts, foraging for mushrooms, bird-watching or football.
Plus one for spending quality time with the kids. what we actually do it seems is less important than doing it.
This is accurate to some degree. They would have been excited without xmonad, or with gdm instead of startx, because it was something new and involved a mouse. They were super-excited about that part.
Part of my point was that we don't have to spoon-feed things to children for them to be excited about. My boys don't yet have any concept of editor wars, or OS wars, or window manager / desktop wars, and are excited about whatever they have - especially when I juice it up a bit for their interests.
I am very intentional about spending time with them every day. And you are right that they are happy to spend time with me, doing whatever. Maybe playing hide and seek (a recent favorite is hide and seek outdoors with radios), simply swinging on the swing set, playing catch. We recently built a fire ring out of some surplus brick. They helped, and enjoy helping gather kindling and cook there.
But what I'm describing here is an utter delight that is beyond the everyday. The were super excited about this. It would probably take going camping or visiting a train museum to get them more excited ;-)
Incidentally, a used manual typewriter is another excellent and cheap way to give children a fun indoor activity that also engages their exploration. Think of all the moving parts in that!
Don't hold back! They remind me a lot of me and my brother. At the ripe old age of 7 and 5, we started programming with MicroWorlds, and spent hours teaching ourselves from the manual so we could make simple 8-bit DOS games.
Once a month or so, we would also make a trip to the local thrift store and we would each get to pick out 1 electronic gadget (<$5 unless it was particularly compelling) to take apart. I hacked up everything from keyboards to handbag-sized cell phones. Exploring programming and electronics as a kid was a big part of my success as an adult. For a lot of people, technology is scary/magical, but it doesn't have to be that way.
My first 'real' program was drawing a house in LOGO when I just turned four. I still remember my dad explaining me the concept of angles because I really wanted to draw a roof.
When I tried to rewrite that program 25 years later and downloaded a LOGO interpreter for OS-X; when it came to clearing the screen somewhere out of the vague recesses of my muscle memory the 'CLEAR' command just popped out.
I learned that my ten year old was only learning consumption patterns for computers at school.
Web searching and a tiny bit of Office basically.
Something had to change and I've found that several kids are keen enough on LOGO even in our day and age to come to a Saturday morning LOGO lesson in the computer lab.
...even some of the grown ups have started bragging about shapes they built or clever uses of the REPEAT command.
It's just a magically simple analogue for all things code.
I consider myself very lucky to work only ten minutes from our house. Its taken some time to get to that stage, and it has proven the whole work/life balance thing for me - finally. If possible I recommend it.
I had always assumed I would introduce computers when they started reading and writing but you are giving me some food for thought - thank you.
Occasionally I wonder if there should be an alternative syllabus - activities at home to complement the stages of a child's development and if such a thing exists - anyone know?
I was introduced to computers through my Dad. I distinctly remember him teaching me how to upgrade the computer processor (in order to play a new game, Jedi Knight I think) and I was hooked. He and I spent a long time together with various programs and how computers worked. Sometime later, he bought me a small computer second hand or refurbished that was my own. We often tinkered with it until I was ready to build my own computer. He and I did lots of comparison shopping for parts to build "The Ultimate Gaming Rig" for the modest sum of $1000 that I saved.
Some dads build cars with their sons. My Dad and I built computers.
He and I still talk about computers and software, and are still excited by the latest tech. Those are some of my most cherished memories from childhood, and became the foundation of my career over a decade later.
I have fond memories of doing things with my dad -- he once let me dismantle an old lawnmower engine so I could learn how it works -- but although he was very supportive of my computer interests, I had surpassed his skill level early enough that I didn't have a lot of time with him on it.
I hope my boys have memories of me like you have of your dad.
What's excites us is that he is getting the kids excited in something important. He is showing the kids that they can have their OWN computer -- like Dad -- instead of promoting the "exclusive priesthood" concept of computer programming.
What if your dad pretended as if cars were a black box, "don't touch them!" and you are never allowed to look under the hood? You will have a very different outlook on life than if your dad had you help with the tools and showed you what they do and how they fit together, or sat you on his lap in the driver's seat every now and then while the car is parked and let you pull the steering wheel this way and that.
Unfortunately, most people probably promote the "don't touch it!" mentality.
>Unfortunately, most people probably promote the "don't touch it!" mentality.
Because computers are black boxes to most adults. They don't want their child to touch it because they wouldn't know how to resolve the problems that may occur. When the adult nearly breaks something every time he/she touches it, they are definitely going to be worried about letting kindergarten-aged children touch it.
To be fair, my then two y.o. son locked me out of my iPod touch by enabling the internet access restriction. Without the pass code, there was nothing else to do than to re-install the os.
He is still allowed to play with it, but I won't let him touch my phone.
I remember watching my dad fix things when I was young, and I can confirm that this is indeed the case. It didn't matter what he was doing, I wanted to be watching. Carpentry, ditch-digging, vehicle repairs... It just didn't matter what.
I can't remember how many times he said, "Don't play where people are working." Also, (to Mom): "How many times have I told you not to put my tools away before I'm done working?"
I was changing the oil and my 3yr old came over to hug me under the car. She put her arms around my torso and pulled - really hard. She wanted to help me up, probably thought I had fallen. My wife arrives to see her hugging me on the floor yelling "Mommy, I'm helping Daddy!".
My daughter was overjoyed with excitement to help me put a mouse-trap outside by a hole. She didn't even touch anything, but then runs inside to tell mommy "I helped daddy!".
My son enjoys whatever I am doing, be it gardening, fixing something in the house. It amazes me that by just watching me he has become quite a handymanny himself
I (attempted) building a flower box from wood and screws a while back. I spent quite a lot of time watching my dad build things in his workshop while I was little, but never really jumped in and did something myself.
It amazed me how much I knew and was able to do just because of me watching my dad do it.
My uncle was a carpenter and as a kid I used to just watch everything he and his team did. I can pretty much attribute all my engineering skills to that watching activity. I think my son would turn up the same :)
They are delighted to be spending time with dad. Doing something fun, that dad seems engaged in.
As a dad, too much time seems to go on the mundane or the boring. Raising up the enthusiasm level, is a marvellous thing for dads and kids. It does not matter if that is installing Linux, writing blog posts, foraging for mushrooms, bird-watching or football.
Plus one for spending quality time with the kids. what we actually do it seems is less important than doing it.
Enjoy
Edit: clarity