Apr. 22, 2008 - Little Giant Steps

This is a short article written by Jan Bedell of Little Giant Steps.  I have used the neurodevelopmental approach with some of my kid's issues, and have friends who have done the full blown program and we have all ended up with totally different kids when it was all over.  :-)

Where is all that information going that I teach my child each day?

 

     Dominance determines where information is stored in the brain and how it is retrieved.  In order to be neurologically efficient, you must be completely organized on one side of your body - one hemisphere must dominate and coordinate your entire system.  You must be right eared, right eyed, right footed and right handed.  To be right eared does not mean that you have better hearing in your right ear; it means that your right ear directs which hemisphere of the brain the information you receive is stored.  

     The determination for dominance starts with the hand.  Hand dominance is genetically predetermined and should not be encouraged one way or the other.  It should emerge by the time a child is 3 to 8 years of age.

     If your brain is neurologically organized, your dominant ear will file information it receives in your dominant hemisphere, which is where reasoning, analytical and logical thinking take place.  So, when you go to retrieve that information, it is there.  If you are neurologically disorganized (mixed dominant), your sub-dominant ear will file information it receives in your sub-dominant hemisphere, which is where music and emotion take place.  The child with mix dominance issues files the information in the wrong hemisphere and when he tries to retrieve it, this happens: "I know I put that information in a file drawer somewhere but I'm really not sure where and I can't seem to find it right now."  This is extremely frustrating!  When you have a child who is extremely frustrated day after day, you will have a child who has low self-esteem, problems with long and short-term memory, as well as emotional and behavior problems because he is living in the sub-dominant hemisphere of his brain.   

 

     Symptoms of mixed dominance include:  long-term memory problems, inability to stay on task, reading difficulties, emotionality, spelling difficulties, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, doesn't test well, and inability to retain information (knows his addition math facts one day but the next day he acts like he's never seen an addition problem in his life!)  

• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Apr. 19, 2008 - My Very Own School Schedule

I am trying to become more "on purpose" with keeping up with the kid's school assignments.  For myself.  I always make an effort to read the books they are reading, but don't always succeed.  It's important for me to read what they read because we do oral narrations! 

I am also going through Polished Cornerstones and Plants Grown Up with the kids, and there is some good memory work that I feel I should be doing along with them.  Bible verses and catechism stuff.  Am I the only person in the world who used to think that the word "catechism" implied something from the Catholic church?  You'll have to forgive me, I grew up a Southern Baptist. 

Anyway, I sat down and made myself a schedule tonight.  First and Only Husband has taken the oldest three camping this weekend, so I've had a few minutes to THINK.  It's been a nice change of pace from the almost-hectic go, go, go of chores, refereeing & etc.

Here's the schedule I made for myself for this coming week:

Well, never mind.  ;-)  I tried to cut and paste it from Word, but it looks freaky when I do so, so you'll have to take my word for it.  But I'm excited about having my own school schedule.  I think it will go a long way in making me feel more ready to face each school day, rather than hurriedly reading through things as I can through the day so I can stay caught up.  I am also a check-off gal.  Having something like this schedule in front of me is going to be a major motivator.

 

• 2 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Sep. 1, 2007 - Latin

I haven't pushed learning languages on my kids because I just don't have the time to do it.  Back when First Son was in Second Grade, we started learning Greek, but the program we were using was very teacher-intensive and as the other kids started schooling I just couldn't squeeze it in. 

Imagine my stress levels as First Son, now 12, announced that he's ready to study Latin!  My first thought was, "I have no idea when I can do that with him."  But I told him I would investigate, so this afternoon I went to my favorite homeschooler's site.  Trivium Pursuit.  They recommend Artes Latinae.  I was oh-so-glad to read that it is a totally self-paced, self-learning program. There is a book version or a CD-Rom version of this program.  Knowing my son, the CD-Rom version would be the best choice.  The only thing is that it is a hefty 297 bucks on the Bluedorn's site.  Youch!!!!  So I've been searching for some feedback on this program.  I can only consider laying out that kind of cash because the likelihood of our other kids using the program is good. 

So, if you're interested, here are some links I've found that give some feedback on the program.  And if YOU are using this program with your kids, please let me know EXACTLY what you think!  :-)

Latin Programs (reviews of more than just A.L.
Learning Latin at Home with Artes Latinae
From our friends at TOS
Cathy Duffy Reviews
Homeschool Chrisitian
- - there is a broken link to a Demo of A.L. on this page.  This is the correct link.

• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Aug. 26, 2007 - Cuisenaire Rod Fun

Today I'm working on lesson plans.  Can I say that I LUV working on lesson plans?  I don't know what it is about filling in the little rectangles on my kid's daily schedules that thrills me, but it does.  If only we could ALL be so easy to please.  ;-)

I want to re-visit place value with Second Son this week.  I thought it would be fun to pull out the Cuisenaire Rods again and wanted to find some activities with the rods for place value.  On to Google.  Love that, too. 

Here are some fun links I have found.  Not necessarily to do with place value, but learning with the rods in general. 

Cuisenaire Rod Math Games from Paula's Archives
Cuisenaire Rod Patterns - scroll down on this page
This is a great link! Cuisenaire Activity and Exploration Book

• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Aug. 9, 2007 - Timeline Notebook, Part 3!

I'm going to chalk this whole experience up to pregnancy hormones.  After looking at what it would cost to make our own timeline notebooks and comparing it to buying one already made for us, I saw that it would be cheaper to buy the ready-made.  My brain went into overdrive and I immediately placed an order for the notebooks.  Dork that I am, I never even talked with my husband first.  So when he got home and I told him the entire saga, he said, "Can you see if you can cancel your order?  I can get you what you need through our office manager at work at wholesale cost."  Oh!  Well, okay!  ;-)  So he's investigating now.

But even without the wholesale cost for the notebook I was interested in, there are other ways that I could have made the whole project cheaper.  But ya know when you get something in your head and just can't shake it?  That was my issue.  To make it cheaper, I could have bought just regular notebooks that are cheaper and still printed out the horizontal timeline pages....we would have just had to turn our notebooks around to look at the pages horizontally.  A friend of mine is doing this with her notebooks.  I was hung up on a single, beautiful line, going all the way across the page.

Another thing I thought of as I was ruminating over this whole thing was that I don't HAVE to print the lines on the page with our printer.  I could just get a fat magic marker and a ruler and draw those babies right on there.  Not as pretty as printed pages, but good grief, it would surely do the trick! 

So who knows what we'll end up with.  I'm sure whatever it is, it will be PERFECT.  :-)

• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Aug. 6, 2007 - Timeline Notebook, Part 2

Well, I'm disgusted.  I went to our office supply store today to get all the goods I needed to put together our very own timeline notebooks.  I went to two stores.  At the first store I bought a ream of card stock, printer ink and those labeling things that you can affix to the edge of things.....what are they called????  LoL  Anyway, they were 4 bucks.  A small thing.  An unrelated purchase was a white board that was marked down to 8 bucks.  The grand total for this stuff was 55 bucks!  I didn't get notebooks because they didn't have the kind that open horizontally.  I went to another store to look for those, and again, they didn't have them.  I was told to search the web.  I did, and the cheapest I could find was 25 bucks! 

So after thinking about the expense of building my own timeline notebooks (and I considered the cost of a vertical timeline notebook as well), I have had to give in and just buy them because believe it or not, it was cheaper.  I bought the Record of Time Timeline Notebook from Homeschool in the Woods.  It's so darn beautiful, and I really do prefer the horizontal timeline.  I bought three of them, and bought them at The Old Schoolhouse Store because they offer FREE SHIPPING!

• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Aug. 5, 2007 - Timeline Notebook

I took down our KONOS wall timeline because Third Son, the ultimate toddler, kept taking down our timeline figures and chewing on them.  I don't have time to camp out by the timeline in case he decides to take an interest in it, so I decided to call it done and take it down.  Since then, I've been mulling over starting Timeline Notebooks with the oldest three.  Today was the first chance I have had to sit down and investigate my options.  My first thought was to order the Sonlight Book of Time.  First Son and I used that back before our KONOS days (we are no longer active KONOS users.  I use it to supplement what we do now.).  But they are 20 bucks, and 20 bucks X 3 is too much for our school budget, so I kept looking. 

I decided to Google "Timeline Notebook" and came up with a ton of results!  The first link I came to was a great help.  Homeschool in the Woods has a great page on their site that has suggestions for many different kinds of timeline notebook set-ups.  I really like the Chronological Card File in a 2-ring binder idea.  Further on down the page, I found the format for me.  The Horizontal Format.  Homeschool in the Woods sells a beautifully done timeline notebook called the Record of Time Timeline Notebook that is in the horizontal format, but it's 37 bucks.  Thwarted again.  ;-)  So my computer-guy Husband volunteered to format some timeline pages for me.  He's good that way.  :-)  But I thought, SURELY someone out there has done this already and I kept looking.

My search was rewarded and I found some great links to timeline pages that are ready for the printer.  Here are the keepers that I found:

This link is to Timeline Dividers.  I am going to use these and possibly color code each time period.
This is a nice Horizontal Timeline, though not my favorite.
This Timeline is my favorite because it can be personalized - you can put the timeline dates as you wish since they are not pre-printed on the pages.
Another Horizontal Timeline.
Vertical Timeline.
LOVE this page.  Not a timeline page, but a good page for Oral or Written Narrations.  I plan to include this in our notebooks.

• 2 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

May. 29, 2007 - Write it Out

Our school just about came to a standstill this week because of printer ink.  I created new schedules for the kids.  I make a weekly schedule for them so they can plan their school day on their own.  I supervise.  But we were out of ink.  I TRIED to print, but the ol' printer just couldn't get up the umph to get down to the very bottom of our ink cartridge and print a good page for me.  Then the thought occurred to me, "Well, I guess I could WRITE OUT their schedules for them for the next few days."  What a radical thought!  ;-)

But being tied to a neat print out, I just couldn't bring myself to do it, and I didn't know what else to do without messing up my plans for school, so I found time to run to Office Max and buy some black ink.

Isn't that the silliest thing you have ever heard?  I've been thinking about this all day.  When was the last time a pen ran out of ink at our house?  I couldn't tell you.  When I was in college, the whole computer thing was brand new and we thought it was so kewl to print out our research papers on a computer printer, rather than type them the old fashioned way.  Remember those printers that had the paper with the perforated sides?  And what fonts?  There were no fonts.  Just plain ol' computer font.  And now I not only print in my choice of fonts (I love Book Antigua), but my printer is also a copier!  How did we ever teach school without these things?  I would not be complete without them. 

Ahhhh, progress.  :-)

• 2 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Mar. 15, 2007 - Craft Thursdays

We relax from the daily grind on Thursday afternoons by sitting down in the living room for a little craft work.  Today I introduced my six-year-old to Redwork and he is hooked - lovin' every minute of it!  And now my daughter can't wait to get done with her latch hook rug so she can begin her own Redwork project. 

If you've never heard of Redwork, it's an interesting craft.  Seemingly simple, yet there's the potential for learning a lot of different stitches.  Redwork was most popular in the 1800's, but is making a small comeback these days. 

For my son's Redwork design, I simply went online and looked for a printable coloring page of a fish.  I found a dolphin that he's happy with.  I printed it out, taped it on a window with a piece of muslin over it, traced the design with a red, fine-tip marker (I used my Creative Memories pen), put it in an embroidery hoop and after a short tutorial with my son, let him have at it.  He didn't want to put it down.  ;-)

If you're interested in Redwork for yourself, Redwork.info offers some free Redwork patterns as well as patterns for sale that are a bit more challenging than what I gave my son to do.

 

• 2 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Oct. 17, 2006 - Top Ten Goals

With my last order from Sonlight they sent a little package of bookmarks that I appreciate.  There are ten, and on each one is a goal for homeschooling.  Well, I think that these can be applied to more than just homeschooling parents.  Here they are, in true David Letterman fashion, starting with #10:

 

10.  Raise culturally literate students.

       1 Chronicles 12:32 "Understand the times and know what to do about them."

9.  Create a love for quality literature - books that cause students to think deeply,

     feel passionately, and prepare themselves for action.

    Philippians 4:8 "Dwell on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable..."

8.  Inspire students by example, to do thorough, competent research...to fulfill the   

     work of true scholars.

     Colossians 3:17, 23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as

     working for the Lord."

7.  Teach students through experience, that God is faithful; they can listen to other

     perspectives without falling into sin or having their faith destroyed.

     1 John 4:4 "Overcome...because the one who is in you is greater."

6.  Teach students not only biblical content, but how to listen as well - to understand

     first and judge second.

     James 1:19 "Be quick to listen, slow to speak."

5.  Train children to become engaging and effective ambassadors for Christ.

     2 Corinthians 5:20 "As though God were making His appeal through us."

4.  Inspire students to honor Christ boldly - in speech and conduct.

     Luke 12: 8-9 "Whover publich acknowledges me, I will also acknowledge

     before the angels."

3.  Encourage children to honor God's "Great Commission" by acquiring an

     international perspective and a godly heart for the world.

     Matthew 28:18-20 "Make disciples of all nations."

2.  Create a learner's heart, enthusiasm and excitement for learning - a desire to

     discover.

     Proverbs 3:13-15 "Wisdom is more profitable than silver and yields better

     returns than gold."

1.  Teach students to seek God's Kingdom above and beyond everything else.

     Matthew 6:33 "Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness."

 

There is a little more said about these goals on the Sonlight site here. 

 

Another great resource for goal-setting for our kids is Ten Things to Do with Your Child Before Age Ten by Harvie and Laurie Bluedorn.  And even if your kids are past the age of ten, it's never too late to go back and try to correct a few things.  ;-)

• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Powered by WebRing.