Learning, Serving, Observing... Together. :)
~My 7 year old, second grade son has a learning style that doesn't really come with a definition. I mean, who needs labels anyway, right? He learns quickly, IF it is something he is interested in. So that's my focus for him... surrounding him with things that his little mind and imagination enjoys.
I get this. Because, he's like me. Please do not put a bunch of numbers in front of me, it is overwhelming to the point of anxiety and tears. (Like the toothpaste aisle, amen? ;) Rather, work with me one-on-one, one problem at a time... put it in story-form, and show me different ways to come up with the correct answer.
History: Throughout my public school years, we learned bits and pieces of history. Civil War. WW1. This war and that war, never in a sequence of events. My mind could not handle it, and I hated history classes. I need to start from the Genesis of history to be able to understand it all. So someone suggested the Mystery of History, and though it may not contain a whole lot of "meat", I will go through this with my students and get the timeline of important events throughout history, and read biographies, fictional accounts, and watch documentaries with them along the way that we may understand better.
English, Spelling, Writing & Grammar always came easy to me. It has been torture for my boys! Hopefully my daughter will be easier and enjoy it more. I find it difficult to understand something I love so much does not interest my offspring, in fact... my boys HATE writing, they HATE talking & sharing feelings. However, my second grader LOVES making up and sharing stories about things HE enjoys! He likes to pretend, and share the dreams he had (or made up!:) the night before. So, why can't he write them down?
My solution was to write the words on paper as he shares them. After we did this a couple of times, he would go back and read the "story" and came to realize that he CAN use his imagination and tell stories! He just doesn't want to WRITE them. So what's a Mama-teacher to do? He HAS to learn to write. I digress.
Actually, no, I don't digress! That would be giving up! We had another writing assignment yesterday, and I had devine teaching moment and took full advantage of it! He was to write three sentences about birds in the wintertime.
It reads: "The Williams Family put bird seed in the bird feeder. We feed birds in the winter time. We feed them because they got no bugs to eat."
I think it's great! Of course, the stories he shares that I have written sound much better, and of course... are way longer. Originally, he wrote "Birds eat seeds."
Ok. Teaching moment... put down the pencil, Son. And it went something like this...
I picked up my Bible which was laying nearby. I lovingly placed my arms around it, not waving it in the air like the crazies on the Walmart corner... ;) And I told him, "Praise the Lord that He didn't create a Bible that said only a few words like 'you're a sinner and going to Hell'! Instead, He gave us a holy book full of wisdom and words that we may know Him, and everything we need to know about Him, and how He wants us to live our lives and how we may spend eternity with Him." I leafed through the pages showing him millions of words... (After saying "millions", I Googled it and the internet says there are just under 800,000 words in the Bible... but, who's counting, amen?;)
Boy did that hit home with him, he quickly came up with three sentences on his own. Our God is in the smallest of details and can be spoken about even in teaching sentences!
~I am constantly watching and observing my kids, looking for subjects and topics that interest them. With boys, it is adventure, danger, & excitement! My daughter is more sedentary and interested in babies, food & cooking, read aloud stories, quiet time with puzzles. I work hard to provide activities to expose them to and watch their reactions.
If you would like to see pictures of some of our field trips or places we've toured, they are on our home school group's website at http://www.praisehomeschool.com/ Just go to the Calendar tab!
~The last couple of weeks I have taken my kids to serve at a local mission, and my very observant son has taken an interest in the homeless community in our area. I have SO enjoyed watching them cheerfully help out and serve food and drink! But even more enjoyable is watching the wheels turn in my his mind... you can see it in the expression on his face at this new experience and wonder of someone actually not having a home or anyone to care about them.
At times when we're out and see someone walking down the street, he asks if they are homeless. After serving and being exposed to them (under my close supervision), he can see the difference in the man who walks for enjoyment, and he who walks without hope.
Yesterday, we saw some young men walking down the avenue and he thought out loud... "I wonder if they're homeless? No, they're walking too fast." So I took the opportunity to ask him why he thinks homeless people walk slower than most folks. We had a great conversation about hope, losing hope, and hope that comes from the Lord, and how important it is for every human to have encouragement from parents and others. Which opened up a whole other door to discussing the things of God, and why some people prosper, and others are poor... and how the Lord gave His only Son that we may have the hope of eternity.
~What great life lessons and opportunities the Lord God blesses us with! Giving us minds to learn, and the Holy Spirit to teach! We are so thankful that we can stay home with our books, and the ability to go out in our community & world... observing, learning and serving together!
I praise Him too, for our wonderful new home school association and fellowship that allows us to get out and explore the world together as we teach and guide them along the way! For hands-on learning, and appreciation for the Montessori approach, as well as great books and curriculum!
Such FREEDOM, not to be taken for granted, because we may not always have it. Whatever our circumstances... Deuteronomy 6:6-7! :)
I get this. Because, he's like me. Please do not put a bunch of numbers in front of me, it is overwhelming to the point of anxiety and tears. (Like the toothpaste aisle, amen? ;) Rather, work with me one-on-one, one problem at a time... put it in story-form, and show me different ways to come up with the correct answer.
History: Throughout my public school years, we learned bits and pieces of history. Civil War. WW1. This war and that war, never in a sequence of events. My mind could not handle it, and I hated history classes. I need to start from the Genesis of history to be able to understand it all. So someone suggested the Mystery of History, and though it may not contain a whole lot of "meat", I will go through this with my students and get the timeline of important events throughout history, and read biographies, fictional accounts, and watch documentaries with them along the way that we may understand better.
English, Spelling, Writing & Grammar always came easy to me. It has been torture for my boys! Hopefully my daughter will be easier and enjoy it more. I find it difficult to understand something I love so much does not interest my offspring, in fact... my boys HATE writing, they HATE talking & sharing feelings. However, my second grader LOVES making up and sharing stories about things HE enjoys! He likes to pretend, and share the dreams he had (or made up!:) the night before. So, why can't he write them down?
My solution was to write the words on paper as he shares them. After we did this a couple of times, he would go back and read the "story" and came to realize that he CAN use his imagination and tell stories! He just doesn't want to WRITE them. So what's a Mama-teacher to do? He HAS to learn to write. I digress.
Actually, no, I don't digress! That would be giving up! We had another writing assignment yesterday, and I had devine teaching moment and took full advantage of it! He was to write three sentences about birds in the wintertime.
I made him this bookmark from Pinterest and told him when writing a story, to be sure an answer these five questions, and your story will be easy to understand, and interesting to the reader. :)
So with that, here are three sentences he had to write.. and yeah, we will work more on Spelling in third grade ;)
I think it's great! Of course, the stories he shares that I have written sound much better, and of course... are way longer. Originally, he wrote "Birds eat seeds."
Ok. Teaching moment... put down the pencil, Son. And it went something like this...
I picked up my Bible which was laying nearby. I lovingly placed my arms around it, not waving it in the air like the crazies on the Walmart corner... ;) And I told him, "Praise the Lord that He didn't create a Bible that said only a few words like 'you're a sinner and going to Hell'! Instead, He gave us a holy book full of wisdom and words that we may know Him, and everything we need to know about Him, and how He wants us to live our lives and how we may spend eternity with Him." I leafed through the pages showing him millions of words... (After saying "millions", I Googled it and the internet says there are just under 800,000 words in the Bible... but, who's counting, amen?;)
Boy did that hit home with him, he quickly came up with three sentences on his own. Our God is in the smallest of details and can be spoken about even in teaching sentences!
~I am constantly watching and observing my kids, looking for subjects and topics that interest them. With boys, it is adventure, danger, & excitement! My daughter is more sedentary and interested in babies, food & cooking, read aloud stories, quiet time with puzzles. I work hard to provide activities to expose them to and watch their reactions.
If you would like to see pictures of some of our field trips or places we've toured, they are on our home school group's website at http://www.praisehomeschool.com/ Just go to the Calendar tab!
~The last couple of weeks I have taken my kids to serve at a local mission, and my very observant son has taken an interest in the homeless community in our area. I have SO enjoyed watching them cheerfully help out and serve food and drink! But even more enjoyable is watching the wheels turn in my his mind... you can see it in the expression on his face at this new experience and wonder of someone actually not having a home or anyone to care about them.
At times when we're out and see someone walking down the street, he asks if they are homeless. After serving and being exposed to them (under my close supervision), he can see the difference in the man who walks for enjoyment, and he who walks without hope.
Yesterday, we saw some young men walking down the avenue and he thought out loud... "I wonder if they're homeless? No, they're walking too fast." So I took the opportunity to ask him why he thinks homeless people walk slower than most folks. We had a great conversation about hope, losing hope, and hope that comes from the Lord, and how important it is for every human to have encouragement from parents and others. Which opened up a whole other door to discussing the things of God, and why some people prosper, and others are poor... and how the Lord gave His only Son that we may have the hope of eternity.
~What great life lessons and opportunities the Lord God blesses us with! Giving us minds to learn, and the Holy Spirit to teach! We are so thankful that we can stay home with our books, and the ability to go out in our community & world... observing, learning and serving together!
I praise Him too, for our wonderful new home school association and fellowship that allows us to get out and explore the world together as we teach and guide them along the way! For hands-on learning, and appreciation for the Montessori approach, as well as great books and curriculum!
Such FREEDOM, not to be taken for granted, because we may not always have it. Whatever our circumstances... Deuteronomy 6:6-7! :)
What a wonderful teacher and mom you are!
ReplyDelete