Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Echolocation

Today we worked more on our dolphin lapbook. One thing we discussed was how dolphins "see" by using echolocation. Toad Haven posted a link to some videos entitled "The Boy Who Sees Without Eyes." (Click on title to see all 5 of this hour long, fascinating story.)

(part 1 of 5)
The videos are about a boy who had his cancerous eyes removed when he was only 3. He has since developed a way to "see" by using a series of clicks and listening as the sound bounces off of objects. This boy, who is of course totally blind, can ride his bike down the street, use inline skates, play basketball, play video games (I still don't get this one), all by using "echolocation." It is truly amazing.

The show also talked about how submarines and dolphins use echolocation to move around, so this tied in nicely to our studies.

I also thought the mom was just incredible. She didn't want her son to feel handicapped, so she treats him as if he is totally normal and tells him he can see - just with other senses. I want to be that kind of mom! One who motivates and helps my daughter become all that she can be. What an inspirational show.

4 comments:

Melissa said...

What a beautiful story to go along with your lesson!

Yes, I too want to be that awesome Mom!

Melissa
www.homeschoolblogger.com/melissal89

JavaMama said...

That is amazing! I am going to have to watch that.

What a lovely example of an encouraging mom, I agree!

JOYfully in Him,
Kelli

live4evermom said...

Wow, that is truly amazing. Amazing is all I can say.

Martha

Unknown said...

This is pretty cool stuff, I'm a seeing person and am trying to teach myself how to use echolocation more effectively. Just in case..
I think the fact that we have this ability has profound implications on the evolution of our kind. What else don't we know about?
I've got a blog of my trial and error, and if anyone is looking to help me out or wants to learn from my trials, feel free to check it out: http://learnecholocation.blogspot.com

I think learning this or at least becoming aware of this capability at a young age would have a great impact on a kid and open their eyes to new and creative ways of looking at the world.

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