It seems like such a simple concept. As babies, our children learned everything by touch. They picked things up, put it in their mouths, and rubbed it against their skins. Even board books came with plush and other materials to encourage children to feel and learn. As our children grew older, they learned by their other senses: sight, hearing, smell, sound.  Somewhere along the way, learning has dropped the hands on approach and moved on to intellectual concepts that bypass the whole touch to learn concept.

As I teach my learning challenged 10 year old, I am reminded of how much she used to love getting into things. She would hunt for anything that was new. And if I took it away for safety reasons or whatever, she would look for it and pounce on it if she found it. She loved new sensations and would giggle uncontrollably every time. She loved manipulating toys and would get down on her knees to figure out how things worked, where things went and even how to change the outcome.

I thought she loved to learn.

Until I tried to teach her!

She hates it. She would rather be anywhere than behind a book learning to think, study, and process information. She is a DO-ER. She is the type that will grow up and throw the instructions out the window and just put a desk together. Disaster waiting to happen or not, that’s her style.

However, her methods have posed more than a few road blocks on our road to learning. Reading and math are just the beginning. All subjects have posed a problem for her except for one–SCIENCE. Now I couldn’t figure out why she loved science so much and dreaded ALL other subjects. And then it hit me. It’s because we DO things. We don’t just read the book, we do experiments, we try things out, we look beyond the book and she can see not only the fun of it, but an actual every day USE for what we are learning. This was an awakening moment for me. And I began to wonder if I could take this knowledge and spread it to the other subjects.

I struggled to find ways to bring this “just do it’ concept to Math. The answer is simple– manipulatives. But how do you do it? How do you build an entire curriculum based on just manipulatives? It took me a long time to find some resources. The first thing I did was buy some good heavy duty manipulatives. I found great deals on eBay. I was so excited when I got them I spread them out on the table and just let the kids play with them. They had hours of fun. And they still get them out just for the fun of it.

The next thing I did was to really start looking at the mini-books that came with them. They made no sense. At least they didn’t to me. So I knew they wouldn’t make any sense for my girl. And so the hunt began. I searched for e-books for teaching with manipulatives. I couldn’t find any. I was just to the point of figuring things out the hard way – you know doing it myself—when I came across a book at my local teacher supply store called Hands On Standards, published by Learning Resources, Inc. This series offered enough hands on lessons for me to build on. And it wasn’t just for Kindergarten (Which I certainly didn’t need). So using this, I was able to develop the 70 lesson into a full curriculum. I have since found many free resources to help spread out the wonderful information that I uncovered in the book. A simple google search for “hands on math” will bring up a gold mine.

Reading was a harder and more daunting task. I had to figure out where her problem lay. First was Dyslexia. Though hers isn’t a heavy case, it does pose a problem when reading and writing. After doing some on-line reading tests (Free test here) I was able to determine that her problem wasn’t really comprehension either—it was the basics: starting with phonics. She couldn’t sound out the words because she didn’t understand the principles of phonics (she was public schooled until 2nd grade and they taught “whole word” instead of phonics).

So I needed to find a hands-on approach to phonics that would help her to also leap the hurdle of Dyslexia.  I spent a fortune trying to find one that was not a start at the beginning, nor a “you’re kinda dumb because you can’t read” sort of program. I didn’t want an adult’s remedial either. It was a tough order to fill, I know.

But I did find exactly what I was hoping for. Right Track Reading offers an inexpensive beginner’s course and a “remedial course” for those that have gotten off the right track and are stumbling around. It assumes the reader has a basic understanding that sounds make words and that the reader knows those basic sounds. But the most important aspect of the entire program are the learning tiles. Made of simple bathroom tiles (you make this yourself according to the instructions in the book), these tiles are used daily to help the reader to manipulate the letters and sounds into words. It’s a tactile, visual manipulative that really helps.

The first day we did this, my daughter was so ecstatic. She just kept saying, “Reading is so fun.” And by having this as a hands-on experience she really began to learn. In the middle of third grade is when we began this program. She went from a “early 2nd grade” level to a “mid-term 6th grade” level in just 5 months. And this was even with her dyslexia as a stumbling block. A major part of working with this program is that they always work with a clean slate. They always start with the left and add one letter (or tile rather) at a time working to the right. This helps them to completely bypass the problems Dyslexia generates. This program also is a great way to turn spelling into a hands-on learning experience.

Hands-on Learning is everywhere. I have found that all subjects can be altered to be concrete in nature.  Simple Google searches such as “hands on math” or “hands on geography” can be the first steps to finding helpful ideas for your struggling learner. By going back to the basics, our children can once again love learning. They can focus on what they are doing, and not just the “thinking about” doing it.

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.