Tonight, Jaidyn, Aaron, and I were the only ones home for a little while. Jaidyn's favorite book right now is "Richard Scarry's Cars, and Trucks, and Things that Go". She has suddenly become very interested in reading books in the last few months.
Anyway, this book has a little goldbug on every page that you have to find. He hides really well. She calls him "bee". I'll turn the page, and she says, "Where bee?" And when she finds him it's "There sis!" Translated means, "there he is!" :)
So, we were finding bee, and Aaron wanted me to read what the pages said, instead of just finding the goldbug. So I started reading. And then he tells me, "I know what that says..." What? I asked. "Mustard" he says. Now I'm not sure at this point whether he has memorized this, although I don't remember reading that part because it was part of a big glob of words we don't usually read.... or if he just thought it looked like a mustard truck because it was yellow... but it's not at all shaped like a mustard bottle, so it could have been a yellow tube of toothpaste...
So, I asked him, "How do you know that, Aaron?" He says, "I read it!" I am excited, but still skeptical. So, I pick out some words, and say, "so what does this say?" He tries to guess by what it's a picture of, but I tell him, "No, you have to sound out the letters." So we go through a couple of words. He knows the S, T, E, L, and A sounds really well. I had to help him with some blends like OY, OU, and SH, and some sight words like THE and THEY. But on the whole, he started sounding out words like LAST, FOR, TIGGER, IS, and even TIME! I was blown away. My son has never been to any kind of preschool, traditional school, or even been in a homeschool curriculum!! Yet he is reading!! And I would bet money that within 6 months (or a lot less) I will be blogging that he is reading books on his own! Real life learning really does work!! You DO NOT need textbooks! Just an interest in learning, (Aaron's part) and a willing helper (that would be me most of the time). What a privilege to be a parent, and observe this phenomenom!!
I had to add to this post after I looked through our pictures last night. I'll try to add a pic to this post too. When we took the kids to the Kalahari Resort and Waterpark for Christmas this year, one of the things we did was play a few games of Candy Bingo. The kids had bingo boards that had the name of a candy in each square. They used sweet tarts for markers. Aaron had his own board, and I sat by him thinking I'd help him read. But he didn't need as much help as I thought he would! Whenever the lady doing the game called out the name of the candy, he listened to the first sound of the words, and found the right square! It was so cool!
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
An expert's article on kids learning at play
When is Playing Not Playing?
(No, It’s Not a Trick Question)
By Dana Johnson
“There is a tremendous hunger in our culture for true play,” says Dr. Stuart L. Brown, an M.D. who has spent years studying play in children. He is among a growing number of doctors, psychologists, child development specialists and other professionals who are speaking out on the apparent lack of true play in children today.
Are they right? Are our children starving for play?
What exactly is play?
To be defined as play, most researchers agree that children’s activities must meet five criteria:
Play must be pleasurable and enjoyable.
It must be spontaneous and voluntary.
A play activity contains an aspect of make-believe.
The player must be actively engaged in play.
Play must have no extrinsic goals.
While most children probably engage in play activities that meet some of these criteria, an activity has to meet all five to be considered “true” play. Activities for children today seem to be lacking in two primary areas: “The player must be actively engaged in play,” and “Play must have no extrinsic goals.”
Today’s passive entertainment
Many toys on the market today encourage passive rather than active play. In this age of high-tech toys, children frequently push a button and are entertained by watching play happen. The construction of the toy sets up the play activity and determines how it will be played with. The same can be said for many other typical activities for children today -- television, movies, computer and video games. The problem with these activities is that the child is not creating anything using his own imagination. The child is not an active participant in creation of the play experience.
Our criteria above state that play must happen for the sake of play, with any outside goals. Much of what we “play” with children today has the covert agenda of teaching them a skill. Many of today’s toys are “educational,” and clever marketing has told parents that they need to stimulate their baby’s brain, use flash cards with their toddler, teach reading to their preschooler. Some of today’s most popular toys carry names such as Einstein, Genius, Mozart and Scholar.
While there is nothing wrong with children learning through play, the point is that learning happens naturally in the course of true play. All children are born with a desire to explore, discover and learn. The most effective means of accomplishing this is through their play. When playing with water, children learn about weight. In selling food in a pretend store, they learn about numbers. By using toys symbolically, they are thinking abstractly -- a requirement for reading. All of these activities lay the groundwork for learning naturally.
The pressure is on
It is interesting to note that although children appear to be lacking in true play experiences, most parents agree that play is important to their children’s development. In fact, research has shown that parents even know the types of play that are most beneficial to children!
If parents acknowledge that play is important and know what types of play are beneficial, then why are children not playing in this type unstructured free play? Developmental psychologists Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., say that as parents, “we know what to do, but we just can’t bring ourselves to do it. We are afraid that if we trust our instincts, our children will be missing out on learning some critical skills.” Their book Einstein Never Used Flash Cards proves otherwise.
Taking back the right to play
It is my hope that those of us who consider ourselves to be natural parents will take the lead in bringing back true play to childhood. Just as many of us take back the process of childbirth, just as we trust our instincts regarding attachment, let us also value our children’s need to play creatively and show respect for the importance of play in their lives.
Play fosters the growth of healthy children in every aspect of development – physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally. It really is food for children’s bodies, minds and spirits. Let us nourish them with wonderful “true” play experiences.
References:
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D. and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., with Diane Eyer, Ph.D.: Einstein Never Used Flash Cards (Rodale, 2003)
© Dana Johnson
Dana Johnson is a former children's play therapist and holds a master's degree in social work. She is the owner of Three Sisters Toys, specializing in natural play materials for children.
(No, It’s Not a Trick Question)
By Dana Johnson
“There is a tremendous hunger in our culture for true play,” says Dr. Stuart L. Brown, an M.D. who has spent years studying play in children. He is among a growing number of doctors, psychologists, child development specialists and other professionals who are speaking out on the apparent lack of true play in children today.
Are they right? Are our children starving for play?
What exactly is play?
To be defined as play, most researchers agree that children’s activities must meet five criteria:
Play must be pleasurable and enjoyable.
It must be spontaneous and voluntary.
A play activity contains an aspect of make-believe.
The player must be actively engaged in play.
Play must have no extrinsic goals.
While most children probably engage in play activities that meet some of these criteria, an activity has to meet all five to be considered “true” play. Activities for children today seem to be lacking in two primary areas: “The player must be actively engaged in play,” and “Play must have no extrinsic goals.”
Today’s passive entertainment
Many toys on the market today encourage passive rather than active play. In this age of high-tech toys, children frequently push a button and are entertained by watching play happen. The construction of the toy sets up the play activity and determines how it will be played with. The same can be said for many other typical activities for children today -- television, movies, computer and video games. The problem with these activities is that the child is not creating anything using his own imagination. The child is not an active participant in creation of the play experience.
Our criteria above state that play must happen for the sake of play, with any outside goals. Much of what we “play” with children today has the covert agenda of teaching them a skill. Many of today’s toys are “educational,” and clever marketing has told parents that they need to stimulate their baby’s brain, use flash cards with their toddler, teach reading to their preschooler. Some of today’s most popular toys carry names such as Einstein, Genius, Mozart and Scholar.
While there is nothing wrong with children learning through play, the point is that learning happens naturally in the course of true play. All children are born with a desire to explore, discover and learn. The most effective means of accomplishing this is through their play. When playing with water, children learn about weight. In selling food in a pretend store, they learn about numbers. By using toys symbolically, they are thinking abstractly -- a requirement for reading. All of these activities lay the groundwork for learning naturally.
The pressure is on
It is interesting to note that although children appear to be lacking in true play experiences, most parents agree that play is important to their children’s development. In fact, research has shown that parents even know the types of play that are most beneficial to children!
If parents acknowledge that play is important and know what types of play are beneficial, then why are children not playing in this type unstructured free play? Developmental psychologists Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., say that as parents, “we know what to do, but we just can’t bring ourselves to do it. We are afraid that if we trust our instincts, our children will be missing out on learning some critical skills.” Their book Einstein Never Used Flash Cards proves otherwise.
Taking back the right to play
It is my hope that those of us who consider ourselves to be natural parents will take the lead in bringing back true play to childhood. Just as many of us take back the process of childbirth, just as we trust our instincts regarding attachment, let us also value our children’s need to play creatively and show respect for the importance of play in their lives.
Play fosters the growth of healthy children in every aspect of development – physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally. It really is food for children’s bodies, minds and spirits. Let us nourish them with wonderful “true” play experiences.
References:
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D. and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., with Diane Eyer, Ph.D.: Einstein Never Used Flash Cards (Rodale, 2003)
© Dana Johnson
Dana Johnson is a former children's play therapist and holds a master's degree in social work. She is the owner of Three Sisters Toys, specializing in natural play materials for children.
Smart kids
Today I had a chance to discuss unschooling with someone, and they brought up a point again that I have had other people say to me. Some people tend to think, when they hear all of the 'educational' things my kids do, that they must do these things because they are smart. I've had family and total strangers make this observation.
First off, I would like to say, Yes! I think my kids are smart! :)
BUT. capital B, capital U, capital T.... they do not do all these educational things JUST because they are smart kids! I sincerely believe it is because they have had the freedom to think for themselves. I do not push them to come up with all the things that they do. Their uncle introduced them to the HeroClix game that provides a lot of their superior Math skills. Their drive as young boys provides them with the desire to play this game because it's about playing war with super heroes! I just sit back and watch! This passion has lasted for a good 3 or 4 months now. The boys know that I am happy that it teaches them Math skills, but they are not against it, because it is fun for them, and I don't say, "OK, boys! Time to learn your math! Go get out the HeroClix!" I sincerely believe that if I did that, they would tire quickly of the game, because it wouldn't be their choice when to do it. It would become "schoolwork".
Their passion before HeroClix was the Pokemon card game. It too was a game that provided Math skills, and logic skills, not to mention great reading skills! I sat back and watched them enjoy themselves and learn all at the same time.
Neopets online is the kids latest passion. They all have their own, and the older boys even get online themselves to do it. (after they've ok'd it with me). I get online with Savannah and Aaron to help them with theirs. This is another game that teaches a lot through fun. Reading, economics, math, and so much more. They have to get online every so often to feed their neopets to keep them alive, and then they have opportunity to play games, one of which is figuring out anagrams, to get money to buy things for thier neopets.. Hence the economics (how much do I have, and how much do I want to spend on a given object), and the Math, (now I have to figure out how much I can afford).
Kids learn sooo much through play. See my next post for an article from a "professional with a degree" on this subject! :)
Anyway, back to the original subject. ALL KIDS ARE SMART! Kids just have different interests at different times in their lives. We all know that eveyone is different. So, why do we think that everyone should follow the same curriculum at the same time in their lives? Why can't a child follow the lead of his interests, and be allowed to naturally soak in the "educational" stuff that way? Isn't that how they learned to walk and talk? Did we make them take classes (or go to therapy) if they didn't walk or talk by a certain age?
My kids ARE smart. But a lot of the learning they have done takes place because they are interested in it at the time. It does NOT require a certain type of kid to unschool. It just takes a parent who is willing to have faith in our natural ability as humans to learn, to take the time out of their day to share their experience and knowledge with their kids, and to be humble enough and willing to look things up if they don't know the answer. I like how someone put it... "trying to teach a parent how to teach their kid (homeschool them), is like trying to teach a fish to swim - not much training required."
So please. Don't think that your kid has to be "smart" to homeschool! Although in fact, your kid IS smart! He/she has a God-given natural ability to learn. It's just that after so many years of being forced to learn things that aren't right for them at the time, or even a short period of being forced for some kids, they lose interest in "learning". It has become a drudgery.
Or the fact could be that your child may not be ready for a certain area that you are desiring them to learn in. Maybe just give them the time to mature, like you did when they were a baby, and didn't have as many teeth as some other kids their age. You just waited and trusted that they would eventually get their teeth. The other people's kid wasn't "smarter" because he got his first. Or walked first, or talked first, or recognized people first, or waved Hi first, etc, etc, etc...
You just knew that each kid developes at their own rate, and didn't get worried or upset about it. Reclaim that ability. Don't listen to the "experts" who say that your child is "behind" if they don't know a certain thing at the same time "the majority" does. Just relax. Enjoy life with your kids, and be amazed at how smart they are in what they do now!
First off, I would like to say, Yes! I think my kids are smart! :)
BUT. capital B, capital U, capital T.... they do not do all these educational things JUST because they are smart kids! I sincerely believe it is because they have had the freedom to think for themselves. I do not push them to come up with all the things that they do. Their uncle introduced them to the HeroClix game that provides a lot of their superior Math skills. Their drive as young boys provides them with the desire to play this game because it's about playing war with super heroes! I just sit back and watch! This passion has lasted for a good 3 or 4 months now. The boys know that I am happy that it teaches them Math skills, but they are not against it, because it is fun for them, and I don't say, "OK, boys! Time to learn your math! Go get out the HeroClix!" I sincerely believe that if I did that, they would tire quickly of the game, because it wouldn't be their choice when to do it. It would become "schoolwork".
Their passion before HeroClix was the Pokemon card game. It too was a game that provided Math skills, and logic skills, not to mention great reading skills! I sat back and watched them enjoy themselves and learn all at the same time.
Neopets online is the kids latest passion. They all have their own, and the older boys even get online themselves to do it. (after they've ok'd it with me). I get online with Savannah and Aaron to help them with theirs. This is another game that teaches a lot through fun. Reading, economics, math, and so much more. They have to get online every so often to feed their neopets to keep them alive, and then they have opportunity to play games, one of which is figuring out anagrams, to get money to buy things for thier neopets.. Hence the economics (how much do I have, and how much do I want to spend on a given object), and the Math, (now I have to figure out how much I can afford).
Kids learn sooo much through play. See my next post for an article from a "professional with a degree" on this subject! :)
Anyway, back to the original subject. ALL KIDS ARE SMART! Kids just have different interests at different times in their lives. We all know that eveyone is different. So, why do we think that everyone should follow the same curriculum at the same time in their lives? Why can't a child follow the lead of his interests, and be allowed to naturally soak in the "educational" stuff that way? Isn't that how they learned to walk and talk? Did we make them take classes (or go to therapy) if they didn't walk or talk by a certain age?
My kids ARE smart. But a lot of the learning they have done takes place because they are interested in it at the time. It does NOT require a certain type of kid to unschool. It just takes a parent who is willing to have faith in our natural ability as humans to learn, to take the time out of their day to share their experience and knowledge with their kids, and to be humble enough and willing to look things up if they don't know the answer. I like how someone put it... "trying to teach a parent how to teach their kid (homeschool them), is like trying to teach a fish to swim - not much training required."
So please. Don't think that your kid has to be "smart" to homeschool! Although in fact, your kid IS smart! He/she has a God-given natural ability to learn. It's just that after so many years of being forced to learn things that aren't right for them at the time, or even a short period of being forced for some kids, they lose interest in "learning". It has become a drudgery.
Or the fact could be that your child may not be ready for a certain area that you are desiring them to learn in. Maybe just give them the time to mature, like you did when they were a baby, and didn't have as many teeth as some other kids their age. You just waited and trusted that they would eventually get their teeth. The other people's kid wasn't "smarter" because he got his first. Or walked first, or talked first, or recognized people first, or waved Hi first, etc, etc, etc...
You just knew that each kid developes at their own rate, and didn't get worried or upset about it. Reclaim that ability. Don't listen to the "experts" who say that your child is "behind" if they don't know a certain thing at the same time "the majority" does. Just relax. Enjoy life with your kids, and be amazed at how smart they are in what they do now!
Monday, November 06, 2006
I'm still learning.....
Recently it has been brought to my attention that my posts may come off as demeaning to some people.
I looked through and thought over my posts, and I have to admit that it could appear demeaning to other methods of education and parenting, if you did not know where I am coming from.
Please let me apologize if you have been offended by my blog in any way. I do not mean to offend people. I have a tendency to get over zealous when I discover something that is exciting to me, and tend to "preach" it to others.... sometimes to others who aren't really into it.
So, I just wanted to post again, saying that if you find my blog offensive, please try to look at it as my excitement maybe coming across a little too brashly. I have a tendency as well to worry that I need to convince others that what I am doing is "right" or "ok". I'm working on getting rid of that, and hopefully, with the ridding of it, I will also rid myself of coming across offensively at times.
Thank you for understanding that I am still learning too.
Michelle
I looked through and thought over my posts, and I have to admit that it could appear demeaning to other methods of education and parenting, if you did not know where I am coming from.
Please let me apologize if you have been offended by my blog in any way. I do not mean to offend people. I have a tendency to get over zealous when I discover something that is exciting to me, and tend to "preach" it to others.... sometimes to others who aren't really into it.
So, I just wanted to post again, saying that if you find my blog offensive, please try to look at it as my excitement maybe coming across a little too brashly. I have a tendency as well to worry that I need to convince others that what I am doing is "right" or "ok". I'm working on getting rid of that, and hopefully, with the ridding of it, I will also rid myself of coming across offensively at times.
Thank you for understanding that I am still learning too.
Michelle
Friday, November 03, 2006
More Real Life Math / Parenting
Today was the day that we sweep our carpets... When we use the Rainbow sweeper instead of just the little handheld vacuum, we usually rake them as well. Yes, that's right - rake them. It's actually a professional carpet cleaners rake that they recommend you use before sweeping to bring up dirt from the bottom of the fibers, and prolong the life of your carpet. But that's more along the lines of science, not math, so I'll get off that subject. :)
Travis we have long said is going to be a lawyer. He loves to argue his point when he thinks he is right. So, when we laid out the plans for who was going to sweep and rake what rooms, he had a problem. The 2 rooms that Jesse had to sweep had to be not as much work as he (Travis) had to do, since he had to rake and sweep 4 rooms, plus the hallway upstairs. It just wasn't fair that Jesse age 10, only had those 2 rooms, and Travis, age 8, had 4 rooms and a hallway.
I tried to explain to him that the square footage for Jesse was more, since he had the 2 largest rooms in the house. I used the example of how 20 pennies usually looks like a lot more than just 1 quarter to a kid who doesn't understand the value of money yet. He didn't understand, so, I said, "Ok, Travis, do you want us to prove it out mathematically?" He said yes.
So, out came the pencil and paper, and the measuring tape. He measured the hallway alone, and he and Jesse began measuring my bedroom. He measured it in inches with my sewing measuring tape, so we had to convert to feet, which required some long division that he's never done before. I didn't let Jesse help with that, since he already knows how to do it. Travis and I worked it out, and before we even finished doing all the A = L x W, to find the square footage of all the rooms, Travis started seeing how Jesse really did have more work and didn't want to finish doing all the calculations. Which was fine with me. I am not going to make learning long division all at one shot a "have to" thing. I think he'll get it easier if it's in smaller, digestable bits, rather than forcing something down his throat that's too big to swallow at his age.
I don't know if I blogged this before, but I've read articles,that state that before age 10, if you try to make a kid learn Math that's more complicated than simple calculations that can be done in the head, you'll actually mess him up. We aren't hard wired to learn that stuff properly before age 10. Kind of like we aren't mature enough to handle some information, until we reach a certain age...
You don't go telling a 5 year old that he has to do 10 x 12 in his head, right? The article stated that you store math info differently before age 10 than after. It's like a computer putting it in the wrong file before age 10, and then after age 10, not being able to find it.
Anyway, long story short, we found another way to learn Geometry and long division, and lots of multiplication and adding, in real life within days of the last time.
I do want to note something else as well. Some people think that unschooling parents just leave their children to themselves, and don't bother to "teach" them anything.... Let me ask you, how many parents of kids who have to do schoolwork every day, would still have the energy or desire take the time to go through all that measuring and calculation? How many would just say, "Hey! Listen! I'm telling you, the 2 bigger rooms are more work! Now GO DO IT!!!" In my opinion, I not only taught Travis some Math, but I also taught him that I value him enough to allow him to try to prove his point. It was not an angry exchange of emotions, it was simply a logical exchange of ideas between two people.
I am not in any way generalizing all "school" type parents as bad parents... I am trying to say that Unschooling is NOT Unparenting.
Travis we have long said is going to be a lawyer. He loves to argue his point when he thinks he is right. So, when we laid out the plans for who was going to sweep and rake what rooms, he had a problem. The 2 rooms that Jesse had to sweep had to be not as much work as he (Travis) had to do, since he had to rake and sweep 4 rooms, plus the hallway upstairs. It just wasn't fair that Jesse age 10, only had those 2 rooms, and Travis, age 8, had 4 rooms and a hallway.
I tried to explain to him that the square footage for Jesse was more, since he had the 2 largest rooms in the house. I used the example of how 20 pennies usually looks like a lot more than just 1 quarter to a kid who doesn't understand the value of money yet. He didn't understand, so, I said, "Ok, Travis, do you want us to prove it out mathematically?" He said yes.
So, out came the pencil and paper, and the measuring tape. He measured the hallway alone, and he and Jesse began measuring my bedroom. He measured it in inches with my sewing measuring tape, so we had to convert to feet, which required some long division that he's never done before. I didn't let Jesse help with that, since he already knows how to do it. Travis and I worked it out, and before we even finished doing all the A = L x W, to find the square footage of all the rooms, Travis started seeing how Jesse really did have more work and didn't want to finish doing all the calculations. Which was fine with me. I am not going to make learning long division all at one shot a "have to" thing. I think he'll get it easier if it's in smaller, digestable bits, rather than forcing something down his throat that's too big to swallow at his age.
I don't know if I blogged this before, but I've read articles,that state that before age 10, if you try to make a kid learn Math that's more complicated than simple calculations that can be done in the head, you'll actually mess him up. We aren't hard wired to learn that stuff properly before age 10. Kind of like we aren't mature enough to handle some information, until we reach a certain age...
You don't go telling a 5 year old that he has to do 10 x 12 in his head, right? The article stated that you store math info differently before age 10 than after. It's like a computer putting it in the wrong file before age 10, and then after age 10, not being able to find it.
Anyway, long story short, we found another way to learn Geometry and long division, and lots of multiplication and adding, in real life within days of the last time.
I do want to note something else as well. Some people think that unschooling parents just leave their children to themselves, and don't bother to "teach" them anything.... Let me ask you, how many parents of kids who have to do schoolwork every day, would still have the energy or desire take the time to go through all that measuring and calculation? How many would just say, "Hey! Listen! I'm telling you, the 2 bigger rooms are more work! Now GO DO IT!!!" In my opinion, I not only taught Travis some Math, but I also taught him that I value him enough to allow him to try to prove his point. It was not an angry exchange of emotions, it was simply a logical exchange of ideas between two people.
I am not in any way generalizing all "school" type parents as bad parents... I am trying to say that Unschooling is NOT Unparenting.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Aaron's self taught alphabet - Age 4
About a year ago, I bought a little Learning LeapPad for $3 at a used clothing store. It has alphabet shaped letters that you push that will tell you what the letter is, what sound it can make, and also a how to spell 3 letter word functions.
Aaron began learning to recognize his letters with that over the last year, and since then, he has learned to write his name (which was a shock to me, he just up and wrote it one day!), and write all the names in our family. Basically, he writes the whole alphabet. And he knows a good portion of the sounds of the alphabet. This has NOT, I REPEAT, HAS NOT!! come about through me daily teaching him through a workbook. A few times, he has messed around with a workbook, or we have read maybe 2 times out of a "Reading Handbook", but the bulk of his learning has come just through daily living, and a desire to learn. He began by asking how to spell things... grass, car, house, road, rock, etc... That was at about age 4 and a half, after he'd been playing with the leap pad for a good couple of months. He would even want to take it on car trips for something fun to do! Also, I would point out how to read simple words, like "hex nut" at the hardware store, to keep him from getting bored while we waited for the guy to find the right part for us.
He has since graduated to writing strings of letters on a piece of paper the way I remember the other kids doing. Then he asks me what it says. I try to sound it out, and he asks... does it say anything? I ask him, Does it sound like a word? He admits that it does not, and I tell him he's doing a great job writing his letters, and Here, why doesn't he write this simple 3 letter word? So, he does, and I sound it out for him. Then he goes back to whatever he was doing.
Today, he was sitting at the table with my MIL and I while we were talking, writing his strings of letters... SMUVWSNM..... I looked over and said, Hey, Aaron, will you do me a favor? Will you sing the alphabet song in your head, and write the letters in order, instead of just all different kinds of letters? I want to see if you can write the alphabet.
So, he did! I probably helped him remember how 5 out of the 26 letters were formed. But his penmanship is just beautiful! :) I was so proud. Afterward, he sat and sang the song to himself as he pointed to each of his letters. I had him write his name and age at the bottom, and explained how to write the word AGE and what it meant. I think he was proud of himself too, by the shy smile on his face! :)
It's a bittersweet thing, this watching your child grow up. But a beautiful one to witness! Especially when you see how contrary to most of society's beliefs, learning to read can be self taught! It really isn't so hard after all, and it doesn't need to be a forced thing!
Recently I got a Reader Rabbit "learning how to read" lab kit from the library. I will probably see if he is interested in that. If not, then I'll get the leappad back out, and see if he wants to do the 3 letter words again... I know he'd be much more ready for that now. My point will not be, "here, Aaron, you HAVE to learn to read.. let's do this or that to accomplish that task". And, I will not attempt to get him to "learn" something every day about reading. It will be more of an attitude of, "Hey, I know you are going to learn eventually, and now that you seem interested, here's a multitude of choices to have fun with! And then you'll be able to read just like other bigger people!" (The fact that he will be able to read actually excites him!- his desire to learn has never been squelched by long periods of forced "learning") I will continue to read to him, and help him sound out signs in public that he asks me too, and stuff like that. It will be a life lived journey to reading, and I know we'll enjoy every step of the way!
Aaron began learning to recognize his letters with that over the last year, and since then, he has learned to write his name (which was a shock to me, he just up and wrote it one day!), and write all the names in our family. Basically, he writes the whole alphabet. And he knows a good portion of the sounds of the alphabet. This has NOT, I REPEAT, HAS NOT!! come about through me daily teaching him through a workbook. A few times, he has messed around with a workbook, or we have read maybe 2 times out of a "Reading Handbook", but the bulk of his learning has come just through daily living, and a desire to learn. He began by asking how to spell things... grass, car, house, road, rock, etc... That was at about age 4 and a half, after he'd been playing with the leap pad for a good couple of months. He would even want to take it on car trips for something fun to do! Also, I would point out how to read simple words, like "hex nut" at the hardware store, to keep him from getting bored while we waited for the guy to find the right part for us.
He has since graduated to writing strings of letters on a piece of paper the way I remember the other kids doing. Then he asks me what it says. I try to sound it out, and he asks... does it say anything? I ask him, Does it sound like a word? He admits that it does not, and I tell him he's doing a great job writing his letters, and Here, why doesn't he write this simple 3 letter word? So, he does, and I sound it out for him. Then he goes back to whatever he was doing.
Today, he was sitting at the table with my MIL and I while we were talking, writing his strings of letters... SMUVWSNM..... I looked over and said, Hey, Aaron, will you do me a favor? Will you sing the alphabet song in your head, and write the letters in order, instead of just all different kinds of letters? I want to see if you can write the alphabet.
So, he did! I probably helped him remember how 5 out of the 26 letters were formed. But his penmanship is just beautiful! :) I was so proud. Afterward, he sat and sang the song to himself as he pointed to each of his letters. I had him write his name and age at the bottom, and explained how to write the word AGE and what it meant. I think he was proud of himself too, by the shy smile on his face! :)
It's a bittersweet thing, this watching your child grow up. But a beautiful one to witness! Especially when you see how contrary to most of society's beliefs, learning to read can be self taught! It really isn't so hard after all, and it doesn't need to be a forced thing!
Recently I got a Reader Rabbit "learning how to read" lab kit from the library. I will probably see if he is interested in that. If not, then I'll get the leappad back out, and see if he wants to do the 3 letter words again... I know he'd be much more ready for that now. My point will not be, "here, Aaron, you HAVE to learn to read.. let's do this or that to accomplish that task". And, I will not attempt to get him to "learn" something every day about reading. It will be more of an attitude of, "Hey, I know you are going to learn eventually, and now that you seem interested, here's a multitude of choices to have fun with! And then you'll be able to read just like other bigger people!" (The fact that he will be able to read actually excites him!- his desire to learn has never been squelched by long periods of forced "learning") I will continue to read to him, and help him sound out signs in public that he asks me too, and stuff like that. It will be a life lived journey to reading, and I know we'll enjoy every step of the way!
Real Life Math
I wanted to write about some things that the kids have been up to lately. Just to record for myself and to give more examples of learning through living to people who need them...
Last week, I got real ambitious, and the kids and I cleaned out our ENTIRE basement. And believe me, it was to the point where you could hardly see the floor for all the trash and toys strewn around. Part of the reason we did this was to put foam flooring down. They are in these 2' by 2' squares that have interlocking edges, and are made for kids specifically. Our basement concrete floor was getting very slippery in some places, and was dangerous. So, we needed a safer floor.
Part of the process of getting new flooring was to figure out how to cover it. Did we want carpeting? Yes, that'd be nice... but how much would it cost? How long would it last? What color should it be, and most importantly again, How much would it cost? :)
Part of home or un-schooling your kids, is sharing life with them. Keeping the mindset that each and every experience is and/or can be educational. So instead of doing all the research and math myself, I had the kids gather around the computer, and we looked at styles and colors of carpet that Lowe's had on their website. Then I called Lowe's to find out pricing. The kids sat there (talking amoungst themselves quietly) while I was on the phone, then listened after I hung up to how much per square foot the carpet was, and how long it would last, etc... Then we all went to the basement to measure, and figure pricing. We measured the area with a measuring tape, and then sat down with a paper and pencil and figured up the area, and the cost for the area. I first accidentally showed them the formula for perimeter, P = 2L + 2W and realized my mistake when the number didn't match up with what the Lowe's guy had told me. This "mistake", however, gave me the opportunity to show them two geometry formulas instead of just one. So, we refigured with the area formula, A = L x W.
We had to figure for 3 rectangles, actually, because of the one wall that juts out 2 feet in the middle. So, needless to say, they got a LOT of math in, in their heads, and on paper. No calculator. It was mainly my 8 and 10 year olds that did this.
My sister in law asked me, "How did you remember those formulas?! I would have had to look them up on the internet!"
I did! I replied. Some formulas I remembered and others I didn't... You just have to re-learn with your kids.
After we figured up the carpet pricing, one of my sons came up with the idea of just using the foam squares, since we already had some down as protection underneath our gymnastic ropes. This led to more figuring of how many squares we would need, how many are in a package, and finally how much each package costs, and total price.
It turned out that the foam squares were actually about half the cost of a very cheap, short lived carpet. (And you can use a broom to sweep instead of hauling the sweeper downstairs!)
My sons had no qualms about doing "Math". They no longer associate "Math" with boring figures in a textbook. They associate it with life. Doing something for a purpose.
Another example of that would be just the other day in the truck on the way home from the Jungle Book play. I was sitting outside the OLD NAVY store with Savannah, my 6 year old, Aaron my 4 year old, and Jaidyn, my 2 year old (who was asleep). My 28 week pregnant body hurt too bad to go back into another store, especially with Jaidyn asleep for her nap, so I parked by the doors, and let my 8 and 10 year old boys go in to exchange their new jeans for a size bigger by themselves.
SIDE NOTE: This would be considered real world experience, and socializing with people not their own age. :)
So, anyway, Savannah and I were talking, while we waited, about how many weeks until some event that is coming up.. I can't remember what it was, but we were saying it'd be 6 weeks yet. She wanted to know how many days that was, so I told her that there are 7 days in a week, and there'd be 6 of those. She began counting this up on her fingers, but this became too hard quickly, and I introduced her to the cool concept of multiplication. Instead of doing all that adding, just memorize the fact that 6 weeks times 7 days in a week means 42 days. She wanted to know how many days there were (that was her motivation for learning). It wasn't because her schoolbook said that she must learn that 6 times 7 equals 42. It was not an abstract fact, but a concrete one attached to an idea. Real life.
Just as we were finishing this discussion, the boys hopped back in the truck, and overheard the Math quizzing. This lead to me quizzing them on the higher multiplication tables all the way home. Every once in a while they love for me to quiz them on their "times tables" although they don't associate them with that dreaded school term. Travis got 11 x 12 = 132 even before Jesse did! We had a good time with it. We laughed out loud when I told Jesse, "and it's not 12 de 12"... about the answer to the 11 x 12 problem. (This was right after I'd explained how 11's were pretty easy. 3 x 11 = 33 (3rd de 3), and 4 x 11 = 44 (4 de 4)... Get it?" It was funny to us anyway. :)
Another example of real life Math (not to mention free thought, creativity, and dedication to finishing a self-appointed task), would be the new game my boys came up with the same day we figured up the basement flooring. They were all excited about getting all the foam squares, and ran upstairs while I was talking with my MIL and playing with the younger 3 children.
After a while, they came downstairs telling us about this new game they had come up with. They called it Human Clix. It's their variation of the Hero Clix game that they play with comic book characters on a paper map. Basically, they themselves are the characters in their game, and they play it on the foam squares as a gameboard.. sort of like chess.
They actually sat down for hours (spread out over a couple of days), and came up with multiple character identities and abilities. Each ability having a numerical value assigned to it, so you can figure out who is beating who after one attacks the other. They came up with some of their character's identities based on the super-hero's they had made up for themselves, their siblings, their cousins, and their friends a few months ago, which is another post in itself. Travis, my 8 year old, had this piece of yellow construction paper covered in columns of numbers! They were the numerical ablilities and attacks. I wouldn't dare try to explain it, because I don't understand it completely myself! :) LOL.. but they DO! And they have been playing the game with our 15 year old neighbor, Brandon, who has suddenly been interested in hanging out with the boys again. We took him and his sister Leah to a few things with us recently. Some horseback riding, and a play of the Legends of Sleepy Hollow.
It's like our prodigal surrogate children have come home... :) I enjoy having them as part of our children's lives.
Sorry, I got off the Math subject there... but anyway, there are 3 prime examples of how you CAN learn Math in real life without a textbook.
Oh yeah! I daresay that Jesse probably observed Math in action when he went to work building a 12 x 16 barn foundation with his Uncle Tim last week! Construction is defenitely a real life use of Math...
He worked for about 9 hours in 30 to 40 degree weather, and I'm sure he used Math again when they went directly after work to the comic book shop to spend the $13 Uncle Tim paid him! :)
Last week, I got real ambitious, and the kids and I cleaned out our ENTIRE basement. And believe me, it was to the point where you could hardly see the floor for all the trash and toys strewn around. Part of the reason we did this was to put foam flooring down. They are in these 2' by 2' squares that have interlocking edges, and are made for kids specifically. Our basement concrete floor was getting very slippery in some places, and was dangerous. So, we needed a safer floor.
Part of the process of getting new flooring was to figure out how to cover it. Did we want carpeting? Yes, that'd be nice... but how much would it cost? How long would it last? What color should it be, and most importantly again, How much would it cost? :)
Part of home or un-schooling your kids, is sharing life with them. Keeping the mindset that each and every experience is and/or can be educational. So instead of doing all the research and math myself, I had the kids gather around the computer, and we looked at styles and colors of carpet that Lowe's had on their website. Then I called Lowe's to find out pricing. The kids sat there (talking amoungst themselves quietly) while I was on the phone, then listened after I hung up to how much per square foot the carpet was, and how long it would last, etc... Then we all went to the basement to measure, and figure pricing. We measured the area with a measuring tape, and then sat down with a paper and pencil and figured up the area, and the cost for the area. I first accidentally showed them the formula for perimeter, P = 2L + 2W and realized my mistake when the number didn't match up with what the Lowe's guy had told me. This "mistake", however, gave me the opportunity to show them two geometry formulas instead of just one. So, we refigured with the area formula, A = L x W.
We had to figure for 3 rectangles, actually, because of the one wall that juts out 2 feet in the middle. So, needless to say, they got a LOT of math in, in their heads, and on paper. No calculator. It was mainly my 8 and 10 year olds that did this.
My sister in law asked me, "How did you remember those formulas?! I would have had to look them up on the internet!"
I did! I replied. Some formulas I remembered and others I didn't... You just have to re-learn with your kids.
After we figured up the carpet pricing, one of my sons came up with the idea of just using the foam squares, since we already had some down as protection underneath our gymnastic ropes. This led to more figuring of how many squares we would need, how many are in a package, and finally how much each package costs, and total price.
It turned out that the foam squares were actually about half the cost of a very cheap, short lived carpet. (And you can use a broom to sweep instead of hauling the sweeper downstairs!)
My sons had no qualms about doing "Math". They no longer associate "Math" with boring figures in a textbook. They associate it with life. Doing something for a purpose.
Another example of that would be just the other day in the truck on the way home from the Jungle Book play. I was sitting outside the OLD NAVY store with Savannah, my 6 year old, Aaron my 4 year old, and Jaidyn, my 2 year old (who was asleep). My 28 week pregnant body hurt too bad to go back into another store, especially with Jaidyn asleep for her nap, so I parked by the doors, and let my 8 and 10 year old boys go in to exchange their new jeans for a size bigger by themselves.
SIDE NOTE: This would be considered real world experience, and socializing with people not their own age. :)
So, anyway, Savannah and I were talking, while we waited, about how many weeks until some event that is coming up.. I can't remember what it was, but we were saying it'd be 6 weeks yet. She wanted to know how many days that was, so I told her that there are 7 days in a week, and there'd be 6 of those. She began counting this up on her fingers, but this became too hard quickly, and I introduced her to the cool concept of multiplication. Instead of doing all that adding, just memorize the fact that 6 weeks times 7 days in a week means 42 days. She wanted to know how many days there were (that was her motivation for learning). It wasn't because her schoolbook said that she must learn that 6 times 7 equals 42. It was not an abstract fact, but a concrete one attached to an idea. Real life.
Just as we were finishing this discussion, the boys hopped back in the truck, and overheard the Math quizzing. This lead to me quizzing them on the higher multiplication tables all the way home. Every once in a while they love for me to quiz them on their "times tables" although they don't associate them with that dreaded school term. Travis got 11 x 12 = 132 even before Jesse did! We had a good time with it. We laughed out loud when I told Jesse, "and it's not 12 de 12"... about the answer to the 11 x 12 problem. (This was right after I'd explained how 11's were pretty easy. 3 x 11 = 33 (3rd de 3), and 4 x 11 = 44 (4 de 4)... Get it?" It was funny to us anyway. :)
Another example of real life Math (not to mention free thought, creativity, and dedication to finishing a self-appointed task), would be the new game my boys came up with the same day we figured up the basement flooring. They were all excited about getting all the foam squares, and ran upstairs while I was talking with my MIL and playing with the younger 3 children.
After a while, they came downstairs telling us about this new game they had come up with. They called it Human Clix. It's their variation of the Hero Clix game that they play with comic book characters on a paper map. Basically, they themselves are the characters in their game, and they play it on the foam squares as a gameboard.. sort of like chess.
They actually sat down for hours (spread out over a couple of days), and came up with multiple character identities and abilities. Each ability having a numerical value assigned to it, so you can figure out who is beating who after one attacks the other. They came up with some of their character's identities based on the super-hero's they had made up for themselves, their siblings, their cousins, and their friends a few months ago, which is another post in itself. Travis, my 8 year old, had this piece of yellow construction paper covered in columns of numbers! They were the numerical ablilities and attacks. I wouldn't dare try to explain it, because I don't understand it completely myself! :) LOL.. but they DO! And they have been playing the game with our 15 year old neighbor, Brandon, who has suddenly been interested in hanging out with the boys again. We took him and his sister Leah to a few things with us recently. Some horseback riding, and a play of the Legends of Sleepy Hollow.
It's like our prodigal surrogate children have come home... :) I enjoy having them as part of our children's lives.
Sorry, I got off the Math subject there... but anyway, there are 3 prime examples of how you CAN learn Math in real life without a textbook.
Oh yeah! I daresay that Jesse probably observed Math in action when he went to work building a 12 x 16 barn foundation with his Uncle Tim last week! Construction is defenitely a real life use of Math...
He worked for about 9 hours in 30 to 40 degree weather, and I'm sure he used Math again when they went directly after work to the comic book shop to spend the $13 Uncle Tim paid him! :)
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