Almost every day, the kiddos in my care and I go on a “Pokémon walk” for an hour or two (at least). In case you are concerned about how much Pokémon Go we appear to be playing, let me be clear that the Pokémon is just a tool to get them excited about getting outside and learning. It is great for giving them a physical sense of direction in their local community and requires them to read a basic map. Their neighborhood has become their playground. The neighborhood is their kingdom.

They know where to see the friendly cats and chickens. They know which neighbors would help them if they needed it. They’ve seen (and learned about) a white squirrel, ball pythons, guinea pigs, birds, and hundreds of new insects. We read the street signs and discuss how to get home from where we are. We sound out the gibberish names of the Pokémon and compare their characteristics to real-world animals. The game itself has good concepts.

We compare the Pokémon power-scores and count down their remaining poke-balls. We divide up how many we each are allowed to catch based on how many poke-balls we have left. We debate which are worth catching and why. To get more poke-balls, we need to physically walk somewhere new. We do subtraction to figure out how much phone battery is left and discuss percentages. A common math/life-skill story problem in our world: His dad will be at the house at 3:00, so we need to be back there by then. (If they argue, I calmly explain more logical reasons for why we need to be back by 3:00: I don’t want his dad to worry about us, and 3:00 is also time for me to go home so I can spend time with my family.)

“Look at my watch, what time is it? 2:36? It will take us 15 minutes to walk home from here. To get home by 3:00, we need to leave here at 2:45. How much time should I put on my timer for us to leave?”

If they struggle, I will continue to walk them through the concepts of time, addition, and subtraction.

“Hmm so, it is 2:36 and we need to leave at 2:45.”

 “How many minutes later is 2:45?”

“How much more is 45 than 36?” or “How much less is 36 than 45?”

I may then start counting on my fingers up from 36 or down from 45.

*holding my 9 fingers up* “So how many minutes until we have to leave?”

“So how many minutes should we put on the timer?”

“Okay can you find the timer on my watch and set it for me?”

Those last three questions reinforce their understanding of the answer to their problem. They get three chances there to check themselves - to be sure of their answer. So if they answer incorrectly, such as saying a silly number like a million, I will playfully ask them to set a million minutes on the timer! It is important to encourage a sense of humor. Take respect seriously - but have fun. If they genuinely say the wrong answer or clearly don’t know (that’s often why they joke), I may say, “hmmm let’s check that” and I’ll consider a different way to walk through the solution to the problem. I must constantly stay aware of their limits and give them help when it gets too hard. With practice, they can solve their problems intuitively.

Most math problems can be solved multiple ways (2+2 // 2x2, for example). I try to demonstrate multiple different methods, using physical objects or drawing pictures, when possible. I often carry a notebook so that I may quickly demonstrate an idea to the children. If they ask me to just tell them an answer, I honestly explain that I do know the answer (if I do) or that I don’t know the answer (if I don’t), but that it is important for them to try so that they learn how. I may say, “I’ll try solving it my way and you try solving it your way and let’s see if we get the same answer.”

Or, when asked how to spell a word, I say, “You try sounding it out and writing the word your way and I’ll see if I can read it, and then I’ll tell you the correct way to spell it if you didn’t quite get it. If I can’t read it, you can try writing it a different way.” Pretty quickly, they’ll remember the correct spelling of the words they commonly see and use.  

They attempt to self-navigate to locations they’ve been to before. They know how to get to the post-office and have befriended the local fire-fighters. The garbage-truck drivers always wave or honk at them and the kids express their genuine appreciation and gratitude for the hard job garbage-truck drivers do.  

They have confidence in their own strength to carry their water bottles. The first time one of the kiddos didn’t want to carry his water bottle, I allowed it and he got a tiny bit thirsty - this usually only happens once or twice- I casually hurried home so he could get a drink, but gently said as we walked, “Hmm you didn’t want to bring your water bottle and you got really thirsty. I’m sorry you’re feeling thirsty. If it’s an emergency, you can have some of my water. But if not, we can head home now so you can get a drink. I will try to remember to remind you next time to bring your water bottle so you don’t have to feel thirsty like this again!” He remembered his water bottle the next time and we didn’t fight about it: “Please go get your water bottle before we leave! Remember how thirsty you got when you didn’t bring it last time? Carrying it will make your arms stronger.”

 Anyways, about the pokemon. I’m still not quite sure how I feel about the battles. Having the red, yellow, and blue teams “battling” at gyms in the neighborhood does give the kids a sense of accomplishment and pride, similar to a school mascot. The pokemon are never permanently hurt and can be quickly healed with a potion, and the pokemon seem to be happy to fight for our team. The kids apologized profusely when they beat one of my favorite pokemon (snorlax) at a gym. I reminded them that it was okay because he would go back to his trainer - another real person - and could be healed with a potion right away. I also remind them that it is just a game and nobody gets really hurt. I suppose the gym battles really aren’t much different than digital sports teams - you get stronger by regularly walking around the neighborhood and visiting points of interest.

I am less sure how I feel about Team Rocket. I have been thinking through how I can re-frame them so that the kids can learn a positive lesson. I will ask the kids what they think Team Rocket is doing. I suspect they will say that Team Rocket is trying to steal supplies from our spots. Team Rocket also abandons their pokemon, and those rescued pokemon need to be “purified.” If we are relating pokemon to pets, abandoning animals is something people do. So we could talk about that angle - how some animals from shelters need extra love because they may have been hurt or left behind. I may ask why they think Team Rocket is leaving their pokemon behind. Maybe they don’t have enough berries to feed them or potions to heal them. I may also ask, “Are they stealing from the poke-stops? Or are they just taking things like we do? They do always leave enough for us to get some too. Maybe those supplies are there for anyone to take if they want to catch pokemon. There are lots of other real people taking things too.”

I don’t know the details of the real pokemon story, but that is irrelevant for this lesson. Perhaps we can teach them that there is a way to compromise and communicate with Team Rocket. I don’t want to lie to them - but perhaps I could convince them that it is just a game we are playing with Team Rocket. That maybe Team Rocket is just teasing us because they want to have battles because it is fun to have battles. Like how in some of the story books we have read, a child is mean to another because they want to be friends but don’t know how.

They can still have the struggle of the battle and the challenges of winning and losing - but they don’t need an enemy. They can defend their community by befriending Team Rocket and rescuing the abandoned pokemon. Maybe Team Rocket will grow up to be nicer if they have some friends to play with.

With no struggle in life, there is no story to it.

No purpose.

No direction.

I thought for a long time

that constant happiness

was the goal.

But if I were constantly happy,

what would I strive towards?

Why would I push myself to be better

if nothing needed to change?

So if happiness is not the goal,

what is?

To have a good story perhaps.

To contribute to the good stories of others

may be how one leaves the greatest mark on earth.

To contribute to the process of transformation

for humanity.

To consciously choose our struggles

by deciding what we will fight for.

We are never satisfied.

We are never satisfied

because if we were,

nothing would change

for the better.