Something I've had to give up, as a teacher Mama to the intrepid Iggy, is that learning takes place in a linear way. The way I thought it went (and I think this is the way most schooling situations are set up) was....first you learn A and then when you really know A, you learn B and then when you really know B and so on. You did not skip to B or C until A was solidly known. Iggy's brain doesn't seem to absorb information that way. He doesn't want to interact with information in a linear way. We can't do A over and over until he seems to solidly know it and then go on to B and do the same thing. We do A over and over and he doesn't seem to "get" it, until we can go and fool around with B or even C. It seems like his brain can't grok A until he at least knows what B or C is.
I don't know if I'm making any sense, but addition and subtraction didn't seem to gel in his mind until we went far ahead and did multi-step multiplication. I showed him the procedure and he used an awesomely old fashioned tool called The Multiplication Machine for the multiplication facts that he hasn't memorized yet. He seemed to really enjoy something with so many steps. When we went back to simple addition and subtraction, he didn't seem to need his number line as much. Now, we just switch back and forth - from single digit addition with no carrying to multistep double digit multiplication. Sometimes we just hang around with manipulatives and place value. I wish I understood how this all works, but for now I'll take the fact that we're doing it at all as a success.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
The last two weeks really got away from me. Recovering from our wonderful 10 day/1500 miles driven holiday vacation and then another 8 days out of the house, refugees from the gas leak, has taken me longer than I thought it would! I am so behind. We still have our Christmas (fake) tree up!
The week after we got back into the house was spent unpacking and getting back into our routines. Last week was spent fighting off some sort of cold/flu/crud that has been going around. None of us was terribly sick, but we all felt tired and crummy and took naps (when the 7 year old boy takes a nap, you know he's fighting something off!).
We joined the fun youngschoolers for a tour of The Oklahoman, the newspaper that has been printing the news in Oklahoma City for more than one hundred years. We saw the pressroom and the printing room, the giant rolls of paper, the plates used to print the paper (now laser etched). We smelled the oily smell of the ink - giant green metal barrels of ink. The Oklahoman has a very nice online version, but this isn't a city full of Nooks and Kindles and I don't imagine it will be very soon. The Oklahoman might end up being one of the last true, print version newspapers at some point.
After reading the Basher periodic table book, Iggy asked me some questions about why certain elements that our bodies don't naturally need (like helium) don't harm our bodies, while others (like mercury) do. I don't know very much about chemistry and I can say that, even though I took it in High School, I have NEVER really understood it. I went looking for a book like A Brief History of Everything - something entertaining, sciencey enough, but plebe enough for a brain like mine. And I found it. The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean! A wonderful book! Totally engaging and funny. And full of enough science that I now (sorta) understand more chemistry and physics than I knew before, but gossipy enough that I stayed engaged and not frightened of the subject matter.
I can't answer his question - sounds like something he'll need to ask a real chemist, but it pleased me that I can support him in his interests by being interested myself.
The week after we got back into the house was spent unpacking and getting back into our routines. Last week was spent fighting off some sort of cold/flu/crud that has been going around. None of us was terribly sick, but we all felt tired and crummy and took naps (when the 7 year old boy takes a nap, you know he's fighting something off!).
We joined the fun youngschoolers for a tour of The Oklahoman, the newspaper that has been printing the news in Oklahoma City for more than one hundred years. We saw the pressroom and the printing room, the giant rolls of paper, the plates used to print the paper (now laser etched). We smelled the oily smell of the ink - giant green metal barrels of ink. The Oklahoman has a very nice online version, but this isn't a city full of Nooks and Kindles and I don't imagine it will be very soon. The Oklahoman might end up being one of the last true, print version newspapers at some point.
After reading the Basher periodic table book, Iggy asked me some questions about why certain elements that our bodies don't naturally need (like helium) don't harm our bodies, while others (like mercury) do. I don't know very much about chemistry and I can say that, even though I took it in High School, I have NEVER really understood it. I went looking for a book like A Brief History of Everything - something entertaining, sciencey enough, but plebe enough for a brain like mine. And I found it. The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean! A wonderful book! Totally engaging and funny. And full of enough science that I now (sorta) understand more chemistry and physics than I knew before, but gossipy enough that I stayed engaged and not frightened of the subject matter.
I can't answer his question - sounds like something he'll need to ask a real chemist, but it pleased me that I can support him in his interests by being interested myself.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Gas Leak!
Last Tuesday, ONG found a large gas leak next to the house and shut off our gas. They wanted all the lines in the house inspected and the meters moved to the outside of the house. So, the plumber came to do that work and found gas leaking from an old ceramic heater into our bedrooms. It wasn't an easy week - coldest week of the year and no heat or hot water - but we were very grateful that the gas lines were being replaced, that there would be no more natural gas leaking into our bedrooms, and grateful for our wonderful neighbors who took us in on the coldest nights.
Iggy was an excellent houseguest at the Chernausek's. They gave him a bag full of old Garfield comic books and Cathy had wisely saved Muppet videos and a VCR from when her kids were small. We discovered the Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Classics Theater. He was in hog heaven. We talked a lot about A Christmas Carol - I was relieved that, save for a few things like Jacob Marley turning into those two old guys that heckled at The Muppet Show, there was a lot of the original dialogue from the novel. We talked a lot about Scrooge's change of heart, and why Dickens had written the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future in the forms they appear in. Iggy had a lot of interesting things to say about that. He also loved the revised (Miss Piggy greedily made the wish for the golden touch!) King Midas story in Muppet Classic Theater. And he discovered the Far Side in his pile of Garfield comics and laughed a lot at things I assumed he wouldn't get. Who knows?!
We did manage to do some seatwork this week - practicing our writing in grammar workbooks. Iggy's writing is pretty amazing - he likes to do a typeset letter a and g. Don't try to talk him out of it. And he takes quite a bit of time writing, admiring the swirls of some letters and the sharpness of others. I almost wonder if we shouldn't start him off with calligraphy and then go back to printing. Because the printing is pretty slow and pretty painful to watch.
If I expected him to do the writing output of a regular class, he and I would sit in total misery all day, every day. I am glad that I get the time to help him learn in ways that are suited to his learning style while some things (like writing....a neurological and motor skills function that he is "behind" in) get to catch up. If writing fast and well had to be a component of his learning in every subject, I doubt he'd be able to learn anything. I wonder how many other kids are out there like that?
Lucy also began talking a lot this week. Water, carry, banana, not that, cheese, please, thank you, and finally....NO. She is now saying No a lot. Hooray! Not. Haha. Those wonderful twos aren't far away.
Iggy was an excellent houseguest at the Chernausek's. They gave him a bag full of old Garfield comic books and Cathy had wisely saved Muppet videos and a VCR from when her kids were small. We discovered the Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Classics Theater. He was in hog heaven. We talked a lot about A Christmas Carol - I was relieved that, save for a few things like Jacob Marley turning into those two old guys that heckled at The Muppet Show, there was a lot of the original dialogue from the novel. We talked a lot about Scrooge's change of heart, and why Dickens had written the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future in the forms they appear in. Iggy had a lot of interesting things to say about that. He also loved the revised (Miss Piggy greedily made the wish for the golden touch!) King Midas story in Muppet Classic Theater. And he discovered the Far Side in his pile of Garfield comics and laughed a lot at things I assumed he wouldn't get. Who knows?!
We did manage to do some seatwork this week - practicing our writing in grammar workbooks. Iggy's writing is pretty amazing - he likes to do a typeset letter a and g. Don't try to talk him out of it. And he takes quite a bit of time writing, admiring the swirls of some letters and the sharpness of others. I almost wonder if we shouldn't start him off with calligraphy and then go back to printing. Because the printing is pretty slow and pretty painful to watch.
If I expected him to do the writing output of a regular class, he and I would sit in total misery all day, every day. I am glad that I get the time to help him learn in ways that are suited to his learning style while some things (like writing....a neurological and motor skills function that he is "behind" in) get to catch up. If writing fast and well had to be a component of his learning in every subject, I doubt he'd be able to learn anything. I wonder how many other kids are out there like that?
Lucy also began talking a lot this week. Water, carry, banana, not that, cheese, please, thank you, and finally....NO. She is now saying No a lot. Hooray! Not. Haha. Those wonderful twos aren't far away.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas!
Another Christmas is over! Unbelievable. Time really flies when you're having fun. Both Iggy and Lucy had a fantastic time at the annual Lines family gathering. And they both got lots of presents and played with their cousins. We are now relaxing at Larry's Mom's before heading into Houston to visit with friends for a few days. After that, we'll head down to Galveston for a night with Larry's brother and family and then head up to Austin to be with my family. A lot of traveling!!
Just like every year, Iggy had a big intellectual leap the week before Christmas. He sailed through his reading comprehension workbook (orally...). He seemed to really "get" multiplication and we worked all the way through the fives. Since the nines are so interesting, we did some of those as well. 9+9=18. 9x9=81. 1+8=9. 8+1=9. See? Nines are interesting. We're still working on handwriting (printing) with Handwriting Without Tears and grammar with Grammar Ray, MadLibs, and general discussion about nouns, verbs, and adjectives. I try to throw in as much discussion about Latin suffixes and prefixes as I can. Iggy doesn't seem particularly interested, but he does pay attention.
Iggy's main interest these days is jokes. And puns. And homophones. He still loves LEGOS with all his heart. He is interested in spelling, mainly because Google works better when you spell things correctly. And he has a lot of energy. A lot. Winter makes me want to hibernate. Winter makes Iggy want to jump all over the house. The only time he sits still is when he's reading.
Lucy's about 18 months gestational age. Because she sees us do so much reading, she is showing a lot of interest in the alphabet and can recognize a couple of letters. I should be teaching her the alphabet phonetically, but she seems to prefer the alphabet song. And she is trying to write. She keeps trying to draw an I, but you can tell that she can't quite figure out why her hand isn't writing what she wants it to write. I mentioned to my mother that I wanted the wooden letters from Handwriting Without Tears and she bought the whole shebang! Lucy has really enjoyed the magnetic letter board - you "write" the letters with wooden curves and lines that are magnetized on a small magnadoodle type slate. She also insists on having her own workbooks and paper so she can work while Iggy works. I didn't think that homeschooling a 7 year old with a toddler around would be as easy as it is. She just wants to do what her brother is doing. Now, cleaning with a toddler around is another story.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas full of love and joy. I am grateful for all of my family and friends and all of their support for Iggyschool. He is genuinely blossoming as a homeschooler and I feel like I am starting to blossom as a Mama teacher. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Just like every year, Iggy had a big intellectual leap the week before Christmas. He sailed through his reading comprehension workbook (orally...). He seemed to really "get" multiplication and we worked all the way through the fives. Since the nines are so interesting, we did some of those as well. 9+9=18. 9x9=81. 1+8=9. 8+1=9. See? Nines are interesting. We're still working on handwriting (printing) with Handwriting Without Tears and grammar with Grammar Ray, MadLibs, and general discussion about nouns, verbs, and adjectives. I try to throw in as much discussion about Latin suffixes and prefixes as I can. Iggy doesn't seem particularly interested, but he does pay attention.
Iggy's main interest these days is jokes. And puns. And homophones. He still loves LEGOS with all his heart. He is interested in spelling, mainly because Google works better when you spell things correctly. And he has a lot of energy. A lot. Winter makes me want to hibernate. Winter makes Iggy want to jump all over the house. The only time he sits still is when he's reading.
Lucy's about 18 months gestational age. Because she sees us do so much reading, she is showing a lot of interest in the alphabet and can recognize a couple of letters. I should be teaching her the alphabet phonetically, but she seems to prefer the alphabet song. And she is trying to write. She keeps trying to draw an I, but you can tell that she can't quite figure out why her hand isn't writing what she wants it to write. I mentioned to my mother that I wanted the wooden letters from Handwriting Without Tears and she bought the whole shebang! Lucy has really enjoyed the magnetic letter board - you "write" the letters with wooden curves and lines that are magnetized on a small magnadoodle type slate. She also insists on having her own workbooks and paper so she can work while Iggy works. I didn't think that homeschooling a 7 year old with a toddler around would be as easy as it is. She just wants to do what her brother is doing. Now, cleaning with a toddler around is another story.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas full of love and joy. I am grateful for all of my family and friends and all of their support for Iggyschool. He is genuinely blossoming as a homeschooler and I feel like I am starting to blossom as a Mama teacher. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The Power of A Passionate Teacher
Some people have a calling in life, a true calling, to teach kids. Iggy's drama teacher, Toby, is one of those people. She runs the NW Optimist Performing Arts Center - one of those amazing programs that has grown, organically, from the amazing mind of one person. She took an Oklahoma City Parks and Rec building and turned it into a place where kids can learn drama, dance and music.
It is a wild and wonderful place, and when I started Iggy in her homeschool creative dramatics class last year, I honestly did not imagine that she could draw so much out of him that he would comfortably perform in a play this year! He had lines! He let her put makeup on his face. He went up in front of a crowd of people and performed the role of Zebulon Zook (the joke telling, crash landed alien) in the play The Planet of Perfectly Awful People. It was totally wild. Iggy loved it. We loved it. And I can't tell you how grateful I am that we found the NW Optimist Center, Toby and her wonderful staff, AND something that Iggy loves to do. So, thank you Toby! Your passion for drama and kids is amazing. Thank you!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Lucy and Iggy
Lucy and Iggy have both matured a lot this past year, but Lucy's motor skills have really advanced in the past couple of weeks. She is also quite the mimic and follows me around the house "helping" me (undoing my housework much of the time). By the end of the day, the house is gloriously messy with her snacks and schoolwork strewn all over the floor. I see it as a sign that she's comfortable exploring her world.
It's unfortunate that I didn't have this perspective when Iggy was the same age. I was so concerned with things staying clean and apprehensive about him getting into things that I constantly scolded him. It was a really stunting approach, and probably the root of a lot of frustration for him. He is only, just now, feeling comfortable ownership of his time, his choices and his environment. Better late than never, I guess.
They're also both pretty great about really helping when it's clean up time. Lucy puts her things away and Iggy sweeps the floor with the swivel sweeper. Then we all stand back and admire the clean before bed. Then we get up and mess it all up again the next day. It's a nice routine.
Part of me is sad this week - several freezing nights and the garden really has given up the ghost for Winter. Everything is dead except for a few hardy stalks of Swiss Chard and the carrots that I got into the ground too late this year. Oh, how I love that garden. It's been one of the happiest things about moving to Oklahoma and one of the nicest gifts of this wonderful old rent house. I don't know if I would have attempted the garden if the previous tenant hadn't left one behind. When we got here last Summer, we were truly amazed at the beets and basil and tomatoes growing in our backyard. There is nothing like the pride of picking your own fresh food.
When Larry suggested we plant a late garden for my birthday and Mother's Day, and spent an entire sweaty day digging out the beds for me, I couldn't imagine my little plants growing so big and making so much food. Then he planted a garden in the new community garden at his work, and we had food from that garden, too. Some things that did amazing in my garden (like peppers and tomatoes) didn't fare well in his. Other things that wouldn't survive in my garden, the squash vine borers destroyed all my summer squash, went crazy in his. We had vegetables to eat nearly every day. I can't wait to do it all again next year.
It's unfortunate that I didn't have this perspective when Iggy was the same age. I was so concerned with things staying clean and apprehensive about him getting into things that I constantly scolded him. It was a really stunting approach, and probably the root of a lot of frustration for him. He is only, just now, feeling comfortable ownership of his time, his choices and his environment. Better late than never, I guess.
They're also both pretty great about really helping when it's clean up time. Lucy puts her things away and Iggy sweeps the floor with the swivel sweeper. Then we all stand back and admire the clean before bed. Then we get up and mess it all up again the next day. It's a nice routine.
Part of me is sad this week - several freezing nights and the garden really has given up the ghost for Winter. Everything is dead except for a few hardy stalks of Swiss Chard and the carrots that I got into the ground too late this year. Oh, how I love that garden. It's been one of the happiest things about moving to Oklahoma and one of the nicest gifts of this wonderful old rent house. I don't know if I would have attempted the garden if the previous tenant hadn't left one behind. When we got here last Summer, we were truly amazed at the beets and basil and tomatoes growing in our backyard. There is nothing like the pride of picking your own fresh food.
When Larry suggested we plant a late garden for my birthday and Mother's Day, and spent an entire sweaty day digging out the beds for me, I couldn't imagine my little plants growing so big and making so much food. Then he planted a garden in the new community garden at his work, and we had food from that garden, too. Some things that did amazing in my garden (like peppers and tomatoes) didn't fare well in his. Other things that wouldn't survive in my garden, the squash vine borers destroyed all my summer squash, went crazy in his. We had vegetables to eat nearly every day. I can't wait to do it all again next year.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Last week we joined the Funschoolers and went on a field trip to the Oklahoma Library For The Blind and Disabled. The tour guide, Ms. Golightly (oh, I love that name) was awesome. Our group was mainly 5,6, and 7 year olds and toddlers and she made the tour perfectly age-appropriate, showing us the Brailler and letting each kid type their name into Braille. She let us handle the manipulatives that blind preschoolers use to develop sensitivity in their fingertips. We went into the studio that volunteers use to record books for the blind and she had each kid go into the sound-proof both and scream. We visited the cassette and thumb-drive stacks, and she showed us that the stacks slide forward and back to conserve space. She took us into her office and showed the kids how her computer reads her email to her. It was an amazing visit, and all the more amazing because Ms. Golightly is legally blind - she can only differentiate between light and dark.
Iggy is working hard on memorizing his lines for the homeschool play at NW Optimist Center. His saintly drama teacher - Toby - has really helped him come out of himself and it was great hearing the whole class laughing and giggling at the jokes in the play at the last play practice. We have a lot of memorization this week and Larry and I will be helping him with his blocking every night. Iggy has a lot to do!
Last Thursday was Iggy's last swim lesson of the year. He's decided against doing basketball, asking instead for a basketball for himself so that he can teach himself how to dribble. He says that once he can really dribble, he'll want to do it (next year, I guess).
Iggy is working hard on memorizing his lines for the homeschool play at NW Optimist Center. His saintly drama teacher - Toby - has really helped him come out of himself and it was great hearing the whole class laughing and giggling at the jokes in the play at the last play practice. We have a lot of memorization this week and Larry and I will be helping him with his blocking every night. Iggy has a lot to do!
Last Thursday was Iggy's last swim lesson of the year. He's decided against doing basketball, asking instead for a basketball for himself so that he can teach himself how to dribble. He says that once he can really dribble, he'll want to do it (next year, I guess).
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