Introducing the Corkians
an interview with heroic parent, Liron Kopinsky, one of the funniest and most creative people I know
Welcome to the fifth edition of “On, Off, All the Time”!
Intro (for first-time readers, otherwise feel free to skip)
This newsletter is dedicated to fellow parents, grandparents, teachers and anyone else involved in caring for kids, who wake up stressing out about having to come up with a healthy balance of on and off-screen activities to keep children educated, entertained and safe.
For many of us, this responsibility (especially these days) exists literally all the time, at least until our kids are shipped off to boarding school, college or Hogwarts :)
Today it is my pleasure to feature a super-fun interview with Liron Kopinsky, senior developer, father of three and founding member of the Corkians band (pictured below).
Interview with Liron Kopinsky, lover of puns and Lego
Yaakov: Hey Liron, thanks so much for agreeing to join us today. Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
Liron: Sure, but first wanted to make a correction to the ‘hero’ title you gave me..
1) I don't feel any more heroic than anyone else
2) Besides that, my wife really deserves the vast majority of any credit. She's really bearing the brunt of all the parenting while I'm closing myself up in the office and working.
Yaakov: Hmm, I hear what you are saying. Personally I believe any parent that survived March 2020 deserves a Knighthood, so for future articles I would be more than happy to refer to you and your wife as Sir and Dame Kopinsky.
Liron: Sure, whatever works! 🤷♂️
Anyways to answer your original question - I'm a seasoned product-focused full-stack developer with a passion for using technology to improve people’s lives. I currently work at Strattic, where I love working on making the web a faster and more secure place. In my spare time, I enjoy writing & recording songs, doing projects and building Lego with my kids, and making jokes on social media. (Editors note: I have included some samples in this post, but strongly recommend you follow Liron on Twitter as he is constantly funny!)
Yaakov: You have a well earnt reputation for being super creative. Can you please share a sample of the most fun ideas you have done with your kids during lockdown?
Liron: The best creative ideas are ideas that give room to the kids to be creative and express themselves. These days there are a bazillion craft/project ideas on pinterest. When I have time to be artistic with the kids, I try and search for DIY projects online, and then use those as a springboard for ideas that would give space for them to be creative in their own way.
I had been saving corks for a while, trying to decide what to do with them. Two weeks ago, I brought them out and my son came up with the idea of building them into a cork ship using a glue gun.
Then last week I took some of the remaining corks, showed my kids how to add arms onto them, using screws and electrical wire, and we built a band.
Yaakov: I love the personality of that Corkians drummer!! Besides for DIY activities, does your family make use of any edtech platforms or apps that you would recommend?
Liron: I'm actually not the biggest fan of most edtech platforms that I've seen. I think kids benefit the most from creative and artistic play - especially building with things that let them experiment with different ways to approach a problem. Hello LEGO!
As a kid, I think I got a little out of games like Number Munchers, and my kids play a little Prodigy, Teach Your Monster to Read, and Starfall, but I think they get a lot more out of Lego, Magnatiles and random art projects.
Yaakov: 100% agree re: Lego and Magnatiles! Our family is similarly crazy about Lego - my father won state-wide building contests as a child and I used to run an international Ebay toy store! When the situation improves we should totally get our kids together and build a massive set to celebrate 😃.
In the meantime, do you have any requests for products/startups that would address edtech pain points that you believe haven’t been adequately solved yet?
Liron: Not really. A lot of people these days think that kids should be coding the moment they're born, or maybe even sooner, but as someone who has been working in technology for a long time, I strongly disagree. If you teach your kids to be curious and creative, they'll be able to figure out anything when they're older.
Yaakov: I understand that your family just came out of 14-day quarantine after someone in your child’s kindergarten was diagnosed with Covid-19. What kind of schedule did your kids have during this time?
Liron: Schedule? HAHAHA! 🤣
One of the great things about being home, is that you can really run at your own pace, without needing to be anywhere at any given time.
A regular Corona day for my kids looks something like this:
⏰ Wake up
📚 Read/Creative Play
😋Get Hungry
⚔️ Pick a fight with a sibling and/or Eat Breakfast
🎲Full stomach! Now let's play without fighting!
🙏Pray
⛱️Lounge Around the Living Room and swing in the yoga hammock
🧙Listen to a Harry Potter Audio Book
🥪Eat Lunch, hopefully before anyone gets hungry
⚽ Hopefully get some outdoor time
🎨Art Project of some form or another
💻Some time either playing on the computer/phone or reading
🍽️Dinner
🚯 Make a giant mess of anything that isn't already messy from the rest of the day
🦷 Brush teeth
🛏️ Bedtime with a lot of reading
Yaakov: What is your family’s philosophy around screentime?
Liron: In terms of screentime, we don't have particular guidelines, but try and keep it as minimal as possible. Our kids usually get to watch a movie or a few episodes of something on Friday afternoon before Shabbat, depending on how much time we have available. Otherwise, they get time to play the games mentioned above, but not every day.
Conclusion
Thanks for that Liron, love all the creative ideas…and your humour has helped me smile through so many challenging days, don’t ever stop!!
For more great puns, please follow Liron!
For more fascinating articles, interviews and lots more ideas to keep your kids happy and yourself sane, please subscribe!