Ready – Set – Go

March 17, 2010 by LeslieT

Some friends of mine and I were planning a weekend trip, to attend a MomHeart Conference and as we shared our anticipation over the days and weeks leading up to the trip it was clear that this was something that all of us needed and absolutely could not wait to do. I remember sending a Facebook update to one friend letter her know that I was Ready, but not at all set! We made it there, having packed two hours before I walked out the door (I dropped the kids off with my friend/babysitter, then came back home to pack!)

Throughout the conference weekend, and since then, that phrase, Ready-Set-Go, has been in my mind. I’ve thought about how ready I was to get started in our home school journey and how ready I am each week to see my children learn a new concept, or watch them enjoy the beauty of God’s world, and share some great insight with them. But before I can go with the confidence that we’ll achieve my desired outcome, I have to be set.

I’m interested to know what other moms do each day or each week to set-up and prepare for school. Would you share your tips here?

Our home school consists of a second grader, kindergartner, and two younger siblings, soon to be ages four and two. On a weekly basis, my plans have to cover a wide array of skill and conversations levels. I go from Saxon Math to phonics to letter formation, then to matching colors and shapes.

Below you will find some of the items that have helped me in recent months, when I have them set and available for the week. Regardless of how far off schedule I become, because of life’s challenges and surprises, if I have these things set, I can go to them, and not be stuck without a plan.

1. Games and More Games
We love playing games together and I like finding games that will teach or reinforce a skill for each child’s level of knowledge. I don’t have to worry about whether the game is “beyond” one of the older children because my older ones enjoy having the opportunity to teach their younger siblings, and sometimes even let them win. Some of the games we play are Knock Out, Muggins Math, Math Dice, Puzzles for skills such as compound words and rhyming, Memory Game boards by Melissa & Doug (the ones with the flip over wooden blocks so we don’t have to keep up with pieces), and Bingo Games for learning Place Value, Counting Money, etc.

Often, I try to mix up the day and do an hour or so of “writing/reading work” then an hour or so of games, then we move to chores and snack, and back to “writing/reading work”.

2. Self-teaching Materials
An article by Kim Brenneman, from Large Family Logistics, helped me to understand and appreciate having self-teaching materials in our curriculum. Since then I’ve began building into our curriculum, materials such as Saxon Math, historical fiction, and other living books for our children to read throughout the day. The Saxon Math is the only one so far, in which there are specific written assignments given as my 2nd grader reads. The others are for filling her brain with knowledge that she will have stored there for many years to come.

3. Dirty Dishes
Recently, my soon-to-be four year old daughter has been very jealous for my time. She’s gone from nagging her brother and sister and wanting to be involved in everything they do, to following me, asking me what I’m doing, and volunteering to mop and do dishes. I’ve found that instead of busying her with other tasks, away from me, I can involve her in what I’m doing. It has become a very special bonding time. I get to hear even more of her especially cute sentences, answer her questions, and teach her some very important household skills. I had found that there were times I’d have to remind myself to pour some hear time into her but now, there’s no reminder needed. She’s right there with me and I’m so enjoying it. Dirty dishes, here we come! It’s a Mommy and Me party.

4. CC Memory Work Resources
Our children are enrolled in Classical Conversations this year and this has been a tremendous help in our schedule. It fits perfectly with our goals of educating them classically, preparing them with the tools to learn any subject, and equipping them with a Biblical world view. I keep the CC memory work flash cards and maps on hand and use them as a go-to, when I need to fill in time throughout the day, when we haven’t already covered it. The children are motivated to quiz each other on the material because Mom and Dad have a special reward for them if they’ve mastered it all by the end of the year!

5. Books and Comfy Seating
Another must-have component, is a stack of great books and a comfy couch. A set of lounge chairs, recliners, beanbags, blankets or Mommy’s bed will do too. It is here, that I can accomplish lessons on discipline, phonics, language arts and more! It’s also a grea time to practice couch time or blanket time, as suggested by Kendra Fletcher of Preschoolers and Peace. We’ll either have a snack or do with out, but as I read or one of the older kids read, the younger kids are having a wonderful time listening to the story. They are also enjoying this time of cuddling with their family and receiving special attention (especially when they are allowed to choose which book we’ll read…we do that most often). As I was reading a story to them a few weeks ago, the thought occurred to me that we had not yet covered our pages from First Language Lessons. It was neat that I was able to point out the parts of speech and punctuation from the sentences in the story and teach the lesson as I read. Everyone learned about personal pronouns and capitalization that day!

After such an activity, it’s easy to incorporate writing practice by having the older children copy sentences from the story, while the younger children get cleaned up from snack time and get ready for nap.

6. An Abundance of Creative Arts Materials
Arts and Crafts is number 6 on Harvey & Laurie Bluedorn’s list of Ten Things to Do with Your Child Before Age Ten. In our home, Arts and Crafts consists mostly of modeling clay and music. I’ve chosen those because they are areas where our eight and six year old have shown particular interest and skill. We also include paper, crayons, glue, and other materials which they can use to make creations. Among their choices from time to time, I also see chairs, blankets and sheets to make caves, tents and other structures to house them and their pretend friends.

The point is, to have things available to the children throughout the day, so that when they are bored and looking for an activity, the television, computer game, or other electronic media is not screaming for their attention. I’m so pleased when we go days and days without television and the children have come up with the most wonderful creations and songs mastered.

My job is to be set each week, and reset each day, because it’s no doubt the children will be ready to go each day. I’m learning that the more simple I can make the preparations, the more peaceful I am throughout the day. The more I am able to live a life of joy before them, modeling for them the joy of the Lord.

Share Your Advice!
I admit, I could use advice for these from time to time. Surprise! Things do not always run perfectly. Feel free to share additional tips that could help other moms in our shoes. One suggestion I think we could all use is, how do you involve all the kids, or steer the younger ones away, when the games include itsy bitsy pieces or matching cards that when lost in the couch cushions or in the bottom of the closet, can ruin the whole point of the game!

Leslie and her husband Jeoff began educating their children at home almost three years ago. They have a passion for sharing Christ’s love in marriages and helping point husbands and wives (including themselves) back to Christ when resolving conflicts. Leslie is Director of a Classical Conversations Community, in which their two oldest children are enrolled. Their two youngest children, ages 3 and 1, provide a much needed element of joy throughout the family’s school day.

Share and Enjoy:

Wonderfully Made: The Young Home Schooler’s Mind

March 8, 2010 by Guest

1 Comment

There is a beautiful design to the minds of our children. Every square inch of them has been intricately woven by the hands of God. Just like Psalm 127 says,

“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made… my frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth” (NASB).

Does that amaze you? Down to the very depths of their being, our children bear the fingerprints of God in a unique way. There are no cookie-cutter children, just as there are no cookie-cutter adults. While there are general ages and ranges in which children reach developmental milestones, no child is exactly like another. As home-schoolers, we cannot afford to miss this.

Children are “designed” to reach certain developmental milestones at different ages. For example, every parent would tell you that trying to potty-train a nine month would be a lost cause. They do not have the physical or developmental ability to do so. However, wait two or three years and you’re much more likely to succeed. Why? The child has developed the cognitive and physical abilities to succeed at potty-training.

The same applies to a child’s ability to grasp educational concepts. In our country, many would say that children should begin reading by the age of five. Often if it takes a child longer to begin reading then questions about learning problems arise. However, if you looked inside the brain of a child, specifically boys, you would find that they may not be developmentally ready to read until the age of eight or nine.

No matter how much we try to teach, encourage, plead or demand that our child learn a certain concept, if he or she is not developmentally ready then we are fighting a losing battle. We will only end up frustrating our child and seriously damaging their confidence, ultimately hindering later attempts to teach the same concept. If we wait until our child is ready to learn, even putting a concept off for several weeks, then we may be much more likely to help our child succeed. As home schooling parents, we need to be sensitive to this truth which, at times, can take a great deal of patience, I know! Trust me, though, the benefits will be well worth the wait.

The developing brain of a young child is astonishing. So much is accomplished and solidified in their minds during those early years. A hallmark in the cognitive development of a young child is the absence of abstract thinking. This means that while young children can understand the alphabet, numbers in sequence or musical notes, they often have great difficulty understanding ideas such as love, justice or honor. Perhaps, you’re now asking “So, what does this have to do with me, a home schooling parent?”

Well, actually a lot! You see, as home-schoolers we have the blessed opportunity to teach and train our children with their specific learning styles and developmental abilities in mind. For the young child this means presenting concepts in a concrete manner. Eventually your child will be able to think and reason abstractly, but early on they need concrete teaching that gradually moves to the abstract.

For example, in teaching addition begin by using every day tasks such as cleaning up toys, going to the grocery store or sorting laundry. Your conversation could go something like this: “Daniel, I have two white shirts in this basket and I need those other two over there. If you put them in this basket, how many shirts would we have?” Your child then uses his body to respond which gives him a great “hands-on” experience. He is also seeing that math is used in the real world everyday. It gives him a purpose for learning. Continue using math in everyday activities until he seems more confident. Then you can begin a more formal lesson while still using manipulatives such as blocks or counters. As he masters the ability to show you what two plus two or four plus one looks like with blocks, write the mathematical statements out each time he answers correctly. Eventually he will no longer need the manipulatives and he will understand what each part of the mathematical statement represents because of all the concrete learning that preceded it.

As a home schooling mom of four I have seen this work over and over. I even use concrete learning activities with my eleven year old when she seems to be struggling with a particular concept. Using concrete activities in teaching applies to all subjects. This is the beauty in home schooling…we can teach writing by making grocery lists or writing letters, we can teach history by creating native American drums or teach science in the creek that runs through our back yard!

Each of our children are developing uniquely, reaching their developmental milestones at different times. It is the beauty of how God created them. If we can embrace this and teach in a way where they have a purpose for learning we will surely bless and enrich their lives.

JJ lives in Nashville, TN. with her husband, Dan, and their four children. They have been homeschooling for two years and have a passion for encouraging other families.

Share and Enjoy:

Tags: abstract thinking, Child Development, Homeschool Methods, purpose for learning

Blogging with Purpose for Teens

February 26, 2010 by AngelaM

Teaching to Their Differences

February 25, 2010 by LauraD

2 Comments

If you homeschool more than one child, you have undoubtedly noticed that each of your children learns differently.

Now I realize that I am hardly shocking you with my insight here, but I know that I often have to remind myself that not all of my children will follow in the footsteps of my oldest daughter. Last month I wrote here about “T” and her early and loquacious speaking patterns. ”T” was able to communicate her thoughts and needs to me early on in life. In terms of her schooling, with very few exceptions, she has been a model student. She is an avid and appreciative learner who is currently two grade levels ahead of her age.

Were she my only child, I might be tempted to wonder what all the fuss was about when it comes to reluctant students or challenging children.

However, God, in His infinite wisdom, gifted me with “N”, two years “T”’s junior. At six, “N” is three to four years ahead of grade level in math, and two years ahead of grade level in all other subjects. He can read anything you put in front of him — if he feels like it.

Ah! Therein lies the rub! Unlike “T”, “N” has no innate desire to please, and no real love of school. He has no interest in continuing a subject once he feels he has mastered it, regardless of whether or not I have officially assigned work in that area. There are days when I threaten to duct tape him to his chair (fear not! My good sense always prevails!) just to get through a twenty minute math lesson.

Me: “N”, you cannot do a two-digit minus two-digit borrowing problem in your head!
“N”: throws out the correct answer defiantly.
Me: Oh, er, I guess you can…but I still want you to write the problem and the answer!

Okay. Here’s where I need an intervention. Why? Why do I need him to write the problem and the answer? Because ”T” will gladly do her math lesson every day, all 28 problems and answers in her math notebook, and then cheerfully move on to chanting Latin declensions? “N” is not “T”.

While both are gifted, they learn differently.

Perhaps most importantly, “N” is a boy. When many of we women were children, we loved playing school. Think carefully, now…how many boys do you remember who shared that love? Probably not many.

If you have boys, then I’m definitely not telling you anything you don’t know: boys are physical. They have more energy than you ever believed possible. I’m sure there are some who love sitting at a school table for hours a day, but they don’t live in my house. That’s why I constantly have to ask myself what my goals are for my son’s education. What do I want him to learn?

Well, in terms of the math example above, I want him to master the concept of borrowing. The fact that he can do it in his head does not in any way mitigate the fact that he can borrow. If anything, it demonstrates his mastery conclusively. Do I know that he can set up such a math problem correctly on paper and then solve it? Yes, I’ve seen him do it. Hence, I don’t need to see him do it 15 more times in succession. That would satisfy some need that *I* have, not some need that he has, educationally speaking. I have some preconceived ideas about math. One, obviously, is that a six year old can’t borrow in his head. ”N” has been obliterating my preconceived ideas about, well, everything since he was born, so I’m not surprised that this one is going by the wayside as well.

School with “N” will not always look like school with “T”. ”T” will follow her lesson plans, and will then use her free time to pursue her academic interest of the moment (mummification! Shakespeare! the Mayflower!). ”N”, on the other hand, will use his free time like most boys: dirt, legos, and wrestling with his brother.

Thus, I have to toss the lesson plans out the window during school time and let him lead me. If he demonstrates mastery of his math lesson within the first five minutes, we move on to the next math lesson. If he can spell all of the words on this week’s spelling list, we move on to the next. If he all but rolls his eyes when I try to have repeat the definition of an adverb *again*, I let it go. I only have “N”’s brain formally for a few hours a day. I don’t want to waste that time checking off pointless boxes in my lesson plan book. Most days, I let him set the pace. On principle, I’m still not in favor of child-led learning, but when the child leads more quickly and more creatively than my planning can accommodate, I have to give the idea some credence. Of course, the flip side is that on some days, we just don’t get that much done.

Flexibility is key with all children, but especially, I think, with special needs children. It’s a lesson I’m still learning every day.

How about you? Do you school all of your children the same way, or do you allow for different personalities to dictate different schooling styles?

Laura Delgado gave birth to four children in exactly 40 months, but cheated since the last two were twins. She now happily homeschools her 8,6, and two 4 year-olds. She earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from Rice University, but finds that she uses her undergraduate Great Books education far more in her homeschooling pursuits. In addition to writing for various homeschooling publications, she creates educational materials for edHelper. For homeschooling helps and curriculum reviews, please visit her at http://livingasmartha.blogspot.com.

Share and Enjoy:

Tags: learning styles, Reluctant Readers, special needs homeschooling, Teaching Methods, teaching styles

Schooling year-round has its benefits

February 15, 2010 by Chris

5 Comments

When “summer school” is a good thing

The calendar isn’t binding me now. I have relied on it since my daughter started kindergarten. In our state, the school year is 180 days from August through May, give or take. While that is still true for my high schooler who is in public school, we answer to no timetable in our homeschool.

Schooling year-round has incredible benefits. Even though our summer school weeks are only a couple of days each, with respites for camp and vacation, the result shows in both maintenance and advancement. We transition from one grade to the next, with only our state-mandated paperwork as proof that anything has changed. The study of history is a cycle that moves forward without regard to grade. My math loving boy advances as needed. When he finishes pre-algebra, our study of algebra will start. Why wait (or move forward) based on some arbitrary date?

I didn’t always feel this way. Last summer was our first with real school days, but the results are undeniable for us. With most of the week left for the pool, play and (gasp!) video games, our two days a week didn’t seem like a burden to either of us. We could take school with us outdoors or poolside. When the new school year officially started, we just continued. There was no need for review or regrouping and no lost knowledge.

We are still in the depths of winter now and warm, sunny days feel a long way off. But used curriculum sales are coming – and they are as sure a sign of spring as the bluebird. I am shopping early and getting ready. Pool school awaits.

Chris Worthy is mom to Caroline (15) and Nolan (10) and will soon celebrate 20 years of marriage to her favorite person, John. Chris practiced law before becoming a writer and stay-at-home mother more than 10 years ago. She enjoys cooking, crafting, spoiling dogs, green living and rummaging though old books. Follow along at www.chrisworthy.com

Share and Enjoy:

Running a One Room School House

January 26, 2010 by Montserrat

3 Comments

I’ve always harbored a secret wish to travel back in time and visit a one room school house. When I was younger I used to fantasize about what they were like as I’d read about them in books like Little House on the Prairie or Anne of Green Gables.

Now as a homeschooling mother of many children I have my own “one room schoolhouse.” There are a few things I would like to ask those school teachers of long ago! How did the teacher handle all those children in varying grades? Did the children work silently? Or was there a general whispered hum? How did the teacher organize it so that the children were occupied while she worked with another group? And, how did the teacher keep track of what to teach and when?

While I don’t have all those answers I have learned some ‘tricks of the trade’ to help when homeschooling so many on different academic levels as well as keeping the toddlers and baby occupied too.

Read Out Loud

Children of all ages, from preschool to teenagers, enjoy listening to good stories. Adults like it too. Reading can be done to help quiet children down, or when the baby needs to be nursed, or at the beginning of the school day to corral everyone together. Who wouldn’t want to come to school and listen to the next exciting chapter?

Here are a few books suggestions to get you started:

The Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
Just David by Eleanor Porter

While reading a chapter book is a good way to share great literature with your children don’t forget the power of looking at a toddler’s favorite picture book with the whole family, or reading a short story, or even some poems. Take turns reading out loud to help children develop their reading and annunciation skills. Ten minutes a day is all it takes to get the whole family hooked on reading together!

Memorization

Memorizing poems, quotations, and historical speeches was a big part of learning “way back when.” My grandparents have amazing recall of things they memorized when they were in school. What was once an art is fast becoming a lost skill. To overcome that in our homeschool we memorize things together, reciting them over and over. The younger ones can memorize long passages of scripture or poems many times even faster than the older children and mom can! Reciting and memorizing as a family builds fun memories as we work together to help one another learn a new piece of literature.

Recess

We’ve all heard the proverb “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Children are so energetic! They need times set aside where they can run, romp, and move their bodies. In olden day one-room school houses there were three recesses during the day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one to eat lunch. Games such as tag, follow the leader, and jump rope were very popular. During our recess we play games that everyone can participate in. Some of our favorites are Dog Chases Its Tail, Duck, Duck, Goose and on rainy or snowy days we like Hide and Seek or it’s opposite Sardines which we play indoors.

Photo Credit: Melissa, A Familiar Path

One of my favorite techniques to employ in our one-room school house is “divide and conquer.” Divide tasks into smaller portions making it easier to get them done. This is useful is a variety of aspects.

I use it when scheduling subjects (Science, History, Art, etc) spreading them out throughout the week rather than every one every day. We are able to devote more time to each and don’t feel hurried trying to get through each one before the school day is done.

I divide my children into three pairs according to age so I can gear my teaching to their similar academic levels. This makes any unit studies we do easier to plan for while they have a buddy to work on projects with together.

Divide and conquer is a great tactic to use when there are toddlers and babies to keep occupied. For instance, the first hour of our school day my time is dedicated to teaching my 5 year old and 7 year old. For the first half hour my 14 year old will take care of the three month old while my 11 year old will play with the three year old. My other two children, aged 13 and 9, will have individual study time. The second half hour they switch. By the end of a regular school day each child will have had some bonding time with the three year old, while the three oldest will also have had a turn watching the baby.

Because of this help from the children I am able to devote teaching time to each child free from interruptions from the baby or toddler. The older children learn to study independently when not helping with the younger ones. The time the children spend either with the three year old or baby also provides a nice little break from their studies.

Since starting this approach over a couple of years ago I’ve noticed a greater bond develop among the children. Toddlers enjoy learning and doing “school” like their older siblings who are more than happy to play teacher during their time together. (In the interest of full disclosure here this works about sixty percent of the time. The baby seems to change her schedule constantly and the older children are sometimes needed to help rake or swath hay.)

So, there’s a few things I’ve learned to help our family. While I can’t go back in time and ask those one-room school teachers how they did it I can ask their fellow counterparts, YOU!

What have you found works well in your homeschool to include all ages in the learning? What do you do when you have toddlers and/or babies?

Please share your insights. I’m always looking for ways to improve, as I’m sure others are too. Your suggestion might be just the answer someone is looking for.

Montserrat is completely devoted to her wonderful husband, Joseph, and their seven (soon to be eight) children. They live on a 2,500 acre alfalfa farm nestled in a small Northern Nevada valley. They’ve been homeschooling for 10+ years. Montserrat enjoys, photography, cooking, crafting, chocolate, and sloppy goodnight kisses. She strives to live each day as God would have her do following Mary’s biblical supplication, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38) You can find her at her blog Chocolate On My Cranium.

Share and Enjoy:

Tags: Anne of Green Gables, Caddie Woodlawn, Cultivating Young Readers, E.B. White, Eleanor Porter, homeschooling with toddlers, how we homeschool, Just David, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie, Reading Classics, teaching different age levels, Trumpet of the Swan

Growing Smart Kids

January 25, 2010 by LauraD

10 Comments

For parents of special needs children, do you have one moment that stands out in your mind when you realized that your child was different?

In my case, giftedness is my children’s special need, and the aforementioned moment occurred when my oldest daughter, now eight, was just 16 months old. I knew that “T” was different. She was a late walker for one thing. In fact, she didn’t walk until close to 18 months. She was, however, a very early talker. I didn’t give that fact much thought until the day I met another mom on my street for a walk. This mom had a daughter two weeks younger than “T”. Because I was in the throes of dissertation writing, though, we rarely saw each other. Our two girls met up in their strollers, whereupon “T” reached out and touched the other little girl’s dress, proclaiming “I love your cherries!” Her dress was, indeed, printed with cherries.

I remember the other mom’s being flabbergasted and relating that her daughter only spoke in a very rudimentary way – Mama, Dada, bah-bah, etc. I was somehow abashed that my daughter was “showing up” our young neighbor, and hastened to assure the mom that while her child was running, mine couldn’t even walk, as if that difference somehow bridged their verbal gap.

At that point, I first encountered the questions that I still face several times a month: ”How did you make your kids so smart? What can I do to make my kids smart like yours?”

First, it’s important to realize that, as with most aspects of a child’s development, there is likely a genetic component to giftedness. Having said that, though, while I can’t guarantee that following this advice will make your child smart, I do think that it will give him a definite advantage. Whether you homeschool or send your children to school, any early advantage cannot be discounted!

The two things that I have done consistently with all of my children from the time they were born (okay, actually I started before they were born!) are talk to them incessantly and read to them. When I say that I talked to my children incessantly, I truly mean just that. Regardless of what I was doing, from something as mundane as making dinner to something as esoteric as coding data for my dissertation, I narrated my actions to my infants.

The fact that they didn’t understand what I was saying was completely irrelevant. On some level, they were absorbing the words and the language. I don’t think it’s any accident that I had four early talkers. Just as important as the constant flow of language is the use of correct grammar and as sophisticated a vocabulary as you can command. Of course I cooed to my babies, and of course I spoke to them in a baby voice sometimes, but as I talked to (or, maybe more appropriately, at!) them all day, I did not “dumb down” my language because I was talking to a baby. I could have been talking to anyone.

Children mimic what they hear – what parent hasn’t learned that lesson the hard way? Fortunately, this process also works for the powers of good. My children heard me say certain words, so they would repeat them. If I used a word with which I knew they would be unfamiliar, I simply defined it in my next breath: “Your behavior at church today was superb – that means excellent!” Hence, my kids learned a new word. When my son was five, he surprised me by saying in a very adult way, “Mommy, I assume that dinner will be ready too soon for me to have a snack. Is that correct?” Why, yes! On so many levels, that is correct! The key thing to understand is that I never set out with the goal of having smart, sesquipedalian (a favorite word of mine meaning “given to the use of long words”) children. That they are gifted, I credit God. That they are sesquipedalian, I credit the fact that I never altered my natural way of speaking in order to accommodate them. I simply explained a word’s meaning.

Incidentally, it is never too late to begin the practice of speaking to your children as though they were possessed of superior intelligence. I briefly taught 3rd grade, and it never occurred to me to use 3rd grade vocabulary. I’m quite sure I don’t even know what that is. Rather, I treated my 3rd graders the way I treated my own children. If I used a word with which I thought they might have trouble, I simply and quickly defined it and moved on. I had many parents who quickly became impressed with the words that had entered their children’s regular vocabulary!

In addition to a constant narration of everyday actions, reading to your children is key. Most parents know how important it is to read to their children, but this fact cannot be emphasized enough. When your children are babies, rock them and read board books or books designed to be used in a bathtub. That way, when baby drools on the book or tries to rip it, you won’t overreact (or was that just me?).

At this age, your baby should set the pace and the tone for your reading time. If he tries to turn pages before you’re done, allow it. Chances are, he’s not in it for the story at this age anyway. The key thing is for him to learn that reading is as much a standard part of the day as eating and sleeping. Think of it as building a good habit. As your children get older, take them to the library so that they can see the amazing array of books that are out there! Never make reading a chore or a punishment. Try not to do anything that will detract from the inherent joy that is the printed word. Most importantly, let your children see you reading! Let them see how much you enjoy this activity. Try to make it a priority in your busy day. My children are well familiar with my mantra, “I’ll get to that in a second; I just have to finish this chapter.”

Just because your children can read on their own, though, don’t stop reading to them! “T” is, as I mentioned, eight now, but I still read to her all the time, and she relishes it. In fact, there are books that she is not allowed to read to herself because I want the joy of sharing them with her (Little Women and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn top this list!). There are books I read to all four of my children together, and books that I read only to “T” or only to my five year-old twins. We do read for school, and that reading is pleasurable, but we do more reading purely for pleasure.

Finally, I firmly believe that audiobooks make smart children. You can’t read to your children all the time. It’s just not practical. Further, although all children love the sound of mom’s voice reading to them, the prodigious talents of audiobook voice actors can make listening to them the ultimate treat. Further, because children can comprehend books several grade levels above those that they can actually read, you shouldn’t feel that you have to limit your child to easy books. An example: I remember reading Treasure Island in fourth grade.

I remember liking what I read. I also remember having to force myself to pick up the book every time I was going to read it. Fast forward 25 years. “T” loves Treasure Island and eagerly resumes it where she left off. The difference? She is listening to the book as interpreted by a professional voice actor. The excellent narration and changing voices and accents make the book come to life in a way that it failed to do for me a quarter of a century ago.

So when parents ask me how they can make their kids smart, I think the answer revolves around language.

Use your words (as we say to our children in order to encourage them to express themselves!) and make books a central part of your home life. The child who reads and has an early command of language really has no limits.

I welcome your comments and feedback. What do you do to encourage your children’s intellectual growth? What do you see as the key to developing intelligence?

Laura Delgado gave birth to four children in exactly 40 months, but cheated since the last two were twins. She now happily homeschools her 8,6, and two 4 year-olds. She earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from Rice University, but finds that she uses her undergraduate Great Books education far more in her homeschooling pursuits. In addition to writing for various homeschooling publications, she creates educational materials for edHelper. For homeschooling helps and curriculum reviews, please visit her at http://livingasmartha.blogspot.com.

Share and Enjoy:

Tags: audio books, Gifted Children, Homeschooling a Gifted Child, read alouds, reading

Reading Classics

January 7, 2010 by Belinda

3 Comments

I stumbled upon this passage not too long ago while enjoying Charlotte’s Web with the youngest daughter:

(Wilbur asks:) “Why did you do all this for me? I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.”

“You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”

Isn’t that beautiful? Passages like it from books considered classics allow me to focus very intently on what our children read, and why. Have you ever thought about what makes a good book, well, a good book? What makes you want to read a book again, and again, and again?

With all due respect to the Newberry Honors committee, I have determined that a book that receives honors is not, in and of itself, a good selection for me. Nor is a good book defined by the fact that it is listed as a classic. Early in my homeschooling journey, I had a conversation with a more seasoned homeschooling mom about a book that our oldest daughter, then about nine years old, was really struggling to read—from the perspective of interest, not ability. It was killing me to listen, and putting her to sleep to read. But it is a classic, I lamented to this dear soul, whom I now consider a mentor and friend—what should I do? This resulted in a memorable conversation about the fact that it is okay for a book that is considered to be a classic to others to be a sleeper for you. She spoke of books that she read with her son where the climax did not happen until the end of the book. She was very helpful in sharing techniques to keep longer, more difficult books interesting. You would think some of this conversation would be intuitively obvious, but then again, when you take teaching into your own hands, some of the mental flips you agonize over can be mind-boggling if you tried to articulate it to someone. I struggled so much with the “have tos” of school then (and sometimes now)—it is almost embarrassing.

In furthering my own education about reading, and especially selections in reading to older children, I ran across a tidy, eloquent passage that summed up what I want from each book we read: I want books that feed the mind and nourish the soul. I want the kids to be exposed to books that force them to think about who they are and make changes for the better. I want them to chew on the lessons that a book has to offer—not just in the moment, but for years to come. When I think about the best experiences we have had with books, some were rare and precious: we cheered, we laughed until we cried; at least once, I did cry. But those emotions did not always occur. What did happen—and it might not have manifested itself until later—is that the words were shaping the children’s thinking. If God’s Word sets this precedent, should we not fully expect other books that are worth our attention to do the same?

Breaking my goal into its two components, I will ask you the same question that I ask of myself: do your reading selections feed your child’s mind?

In many modern educational systems, instruction is lagging behind development. I pray that this is a claim that none of us boast. However, complaining youngsters and/or teenagers and parents who feel overburdened, along with tests that reward memorization rather than understanding permeate our traditional school systems, and these same ills can become a cancer in our schools, too. We do not help our kids by watering down their education. The ones who are hurt most in this environment are the very ones we seek to help—our children. Susan Wise Bauer’s The Well-Trained Mind outlines the realities of studying classics with older students, but this advice can apply to a child who is struggling with a book of any sort, at any age:

Especially in the early years of high school, you should supervise this process, rather than allowing the student to disappear into the family room alone with her books. Great-books study is demanding. It requires the student to work hard, to abandon simple question-and-answer learning in favor of a struggle with ideas. Often, the material isn’t immediately appealing. The philosophies may be unfamiliar; the opinions are complex; the vocabulary is challenging. Put the student at the kitchen table (or wherever you’re planning to be) so that you can encourage her to keep working. (Bauer, p. 481)

So, how about nourishment of the soul? Simply put, no matter what age, does your reading list challenge your children to do more, to be more?

Even in an age where literacy and moral standards are declining, there is still a body of knowledge that shapes our language and our culture. One of my educational goals is for the children to be aware of what shapes our thinking as a society, past the memorization of dates and names. As we move through these books, I make sure I complete enough homework to have a conversation about what the book means in the larger scheme of life. And to fully do this, we must understand that great authors were great readers, and we must view their books in relation to one another. As painstaking as The Iliad might be, Homeric epic poetry is the model for a number of other classics. C.S. Lewis read J.R.R. Tolkien’s works and was enamored with Greek mythology. Drawing these connections through reading can be immensely powerful in helping us understand the writer’s perspective when we are reading.

How might you test your child’s understanding and interest in a given selection? Consider discussing one or more of the following questions:

Is this a book you might re-read some day?

Are there any books that you think about well after you have completed reading them?

Is there a character from the book that you would most like to meet?

That is the academic, more “heady” side of why we read classics. The more important piece to me is what these books do for the heart and mind aside from giving the kids a fighting chance at appearing intelligent (smile). The characters in these books challenge us to be more, to do more. You cannot read The Epic of Gilgamesh without questioning your own sense of courage and bravery. Romeo and Juliet forces us to ask ourselves how far would we go for love’s sake? Secondly, these books increase our sense of compassion for our fellow man. Our six-year-old understood that while listening to Charlotte express her love for Wilbur. Is that not what God commands of us—to love Him with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and to love our neighbors as ourselves? In fact, He tells us that every law and prophecy hinges upon these two commandments. Consider these thoughts from Carol Jago’s With Rigor For All: Teaching the Classics to Contemporary Students:

When teachers are fully successful, they are successful beyond any of their conscious intentions about particular subjects: they make converts, they make souls that have been turned around to face a given way of being and moving in the world. (Jago, p. 68)

May He bless you as you choose spiritually and mentally healthy reading selections for your children.

Belinda Bullard is a wife and homeschooling mother of three, Belinda is an author and the owner of A Blessed Heritage Educational Resources, a literature-based history curriculum featuring African-American presence in history, as well as the contributions of other races to American history. A chemical engineer by formal education, she also serves as adjunct faculty for college distance learning programs.

Share and Enjoy:

Step by Step, Piece by Piece – Notebooking

December 23, 2009 by Patty

4 Comments

Last month we took some time to learn how to piece together mini-books for Lapbooking. This month we will take a look at how to piece together Notebook pages. But first what is Notebooking??

Notebooking is another form of creative studying. It involves taking a sheet of paper and basically making a scrapbook out of what your child learns. This can be simple with a entries of journaling or it can be extravagant with embellishments, drawings, mini-books, and the list goes on. But for the most part, Notebooking usually falls somewhere in-between.

A simple way to begin is to just hand your child a blank piece of paper and some markers and/or colored pencils. Have them draw what they are learning and then explain what they drew. So if you were learning about the Aqueducts in Ancient Rome they would draw the aqueducts and then write about the reason for them and what they did. It could be an entire page for this one topic, or simply a section, leaving the rest of the page for the next topic.

“Hmm, but that seems to easy, there’s got to be more right?” Well yes and no! No, there doesn’t have to be more. Notebooking is a way to show that your child really does understand the concept. Simply by drawing the Aqueduct and explaining what they drew–you will KNOW that they fully comprehend the discussion and you can simply move on to the next topic. However, some like a bit more pizazz!

For those that want to go more in-depth and add a bit of extravaganza, you can get as creative as your brain will let you. For those of you who enjoy going all out I suggest doing a bit of research. My suggestion? Start on-line. This is a free and easy way to get suggestions for your pages. Simple google searches with the following phrases can save you countless hours.

Scrapbooking
Notebooking
History Notebooking
Math Notebooking
Science Notebooking
Reading Notebooking
Langauge Arts Notebooking
Notebooking Ideas

Notice that I started off with Scrapbooking? Scrapbooking is kind of where Notebooking started. Some ladies, who loved to scrapbook, decided to try to bring their passion into learning. It worked! Their children loved to use their knowledge and get creative with it. And the end results looked like a fabulous scrapbook that showcased not the children-but what they had learned. Really when you do things this way the sky is the limit. You can use all the embellishments that you would scrapbooking. Any layout that you come across for a scrapbook page CAN be used for Notebooking. Just exchange the photographs for graphics, personal drawings, or charts/graphs etc. Some other ideas can be found in scrapbooking magazines. I don’t suggest you go out and purchase these unless you already do this for scrapbooking, but you can find them at your local library more often than not. Keep in mind that scrapbooking is time consuming. So plan for this accordingly.

“Woooah! Wait, who said I had that kind of time or ambition?” Well ok, you may not want to get quite THAT ambitious. Unless it’s your passion and your children are inclined to join in with great enthusiasm you may want to downshift the whole project. And for that you have two options. The first is to purchase or search for free notebooking pages on-line. There are many free sites. Begin with a Google search for the following terms:

Free notebooking pages
Free notebooking templates
Free notebooking printables

You will be bombarded with a ton of hits. Don’t get overwhelmed!!!! You can always shorten the list by throwing in your specific topic, such as Free Aqueduct Notebooking pages. These pages will generally have a few graphics already included and lines for your child to journal on. Ahh simplicity at it’s finest! Sometimes there is nothing better than having it all done for you if you are creatively challenged!

BUT, what if you can’t find exactly what you want? Easy-let’s get creative. For this you will need your trusty old word processing program. I personally use either Microsoft office, or if I’m getting really creative I open up Microsoft Publisher.

Then you need to decide on a general layout. You can use one of their “flyer” options or even a newsletter template. OR you can just decide to create your own. After you have chosen your basic layout, You’ll need to find graphics. Now For the most part, I find that the office clip art really is a bit limited. I go searching online! I love GOOGLE, but I have come to find that for graphics and photos an “add-on’ for Firfox called CoolIris (this can be downloaded at “www.cooliris.com) really does speed up the search process.

Now remember the old saying that “less is more”? Well it really is. You don’t want to overwhelm the page with so many graphics that there won’t be any place to add in some writing. And a very important reminder: Right click on each graphic so that you can adjust the text wrapping. Changing that setting to “In front of text” will enable you to move the graphic and adjust the location of the text much easier than if it was “wrapped.”

For your basic layout, simply adding in lines for your child to write on will remind you to leave space. This is easiest added by using the underscore button “____.” These you can adjust Larger or smaller to fit your child’s writing ability. Below is a very simple design with enough lines that a Jr. High or High school student would work with. ( A younger student would have less lines and more space between each one.)

Now for those that want their children to have neat lines to write on and yet be able to draw there is a very simple fix. Instead of searching for the graphics–simply “insert” a shape into the same place you would add in the graphic. That way your child will know where to put the drawing and what size to make it.

Notebooking can be as simple or as involved as you want it. Really it all depends on how much commitment you want to make to it. For a beginner-start easy. Use free ones and create your own. For those that have already been at it for a while, perhaps branching out and delving deeper may be your next step adding embellishments to your finished project. Either way–Make it your way! There is no right or wrong way to Notebook!

Patty has been married to the love of her life for 14 years and has 4 kiddos she lovingly refers to as her monkeys. She is constantly threatening to run away to the Circus–unfortunately, she keeps being informed she’s already there! She loves throwing together this and that to create a unique learning experience that encourages a love of learning. Come feed their school mascot Shiver and check out her blog at Shiver Academy.