Last time I talked about how information isn't the same as formation for our children. If you look through this blog I think that you will see JUST HOW MUCH information I took in. Of studying and learning there is no end!
I was in search of the perfect curriculum combination that would magically meet all of our needs. Here is a list of the programs we have done in our 12 years of schooling:
- Created our own homebased Montessori-ish coop (when my oldest was 1 yo)
- That coop morphed into a church based Montessori, music, play coop (did that on and off for 4 years)
- Bible Study Fellowship for a year
- Attended a week long training for the AMO program led by the lady who wrote the history part of the Principle Approach
- I dabbled with Ambleside for a year (or more - it all blends together)
- Spent a year as a Montessori teaching assistant (under the tutelage of a couple who had done Christian Montessori for 30 years)
- My oldest spent 1 1/2 years at a local preschool - morning 2 days a week
- My second spent 1 year as a 4 yo at a local preschool - 2 days a week
- Speech therapy (2 hours a week for a year)
- Classical Conversations - Foundations - 3 years - I always helped in the littlest class
- The CommonPlace - the coop my friends and I put together for ourselves - leaned CMish - 2 years
- Artios - an integrated history, English, drama, music and art program. I have taught history there 3 out of the last 4 years
- Community Bible Study - Not exactly an academic coop but it served as a great homeschool community for us - 1 year
- I also taught Christian Education at our church for about 5 years
This doesn't include the 1 or 2 park days we had a week. Most years we were in at least two coop settings. CRAZY!!
Although we were enrolled in these programs and many of them provided a curriculum, that didn't stop me from researching and trying to implement more. Beyond curriculum I also spent hours (weeks, months) reading and listening to podcasts about education and philosophy of education. One friend commented I was the least stay at home mom that he knew. Another claims I have a self taught PhD in curriculum and education design. With all these resources and knowledge - why did we drop out?
Even though I would explain to you that the curriculum was not the main thing, my life told a different story. I was expecting a curriculum to teach itself and fix all the problems. It can't.
Once I had personally studied a topic I felt like we had "learned" it. I am NOT the primary student though - my kids are. I needed to actually TEACH them the subject matter. The early grades involve a lot of skill building - handwriting, reading, adding, etc. This requires time and repetition. I am not the best coach and I didn't realize just how much my kids needed consistent short practice and clear models. In the end, the early years (5 through 8ish) are primarily about being a great coach or tutor to your child (pick a math and reading curriculum and DO IT daily bit by bit). I was encouraged to read a book by many older homeschool moms that advocated this method in 2011 (the 3Rs). I read it and dismissed it as too simple, I was homeschooling so we could do more. I wanted to move on to ideas and discussions and the "fun stuff" of teaching. Instead of tutoring my kids in skills, I hoped they would pick them up along the way so that we could do the stuff that I enjoy. I was selfish. I didn't help build a ladder of success for them rung by rung - I hoped they would just jump up the ladder and join me at the top. They are doing fine - but I could have been much more helpful in the process. They do need the "riches", but at that age they also need practice and skill building.
I also lived with the fear that I was missing out on another method, idea or plan that would be just a little bit better (did I mention the file cabinet of Latin curriculum I own) and offer more security. I love to research and that's what I did to no end (pretty much literally). I wanted a plan that would ensure success and so I kept looking.
So, while I was desperately looking for something outside to fix me and them on the right path; I wasn't tuning into the guide and the one who knows THE WAY - the Holy Spirit. Here's the deal, God who made and loves my children and made me their mom knows what they need. Yes, it is important to have quality curriculum guides and support and materials- but in the end - if you are open to it - He will reveal exactly what your child your needs. I was still acting like a teacher in a group setting trying to create a plan for the "average" and "potential" child - while ignoring the clear needs of the specific child in front of me. I had a gazillion methods but I only needed one chosen to meet a particular child's needs. My kids didn't care how much I knew about curriculum development and design - they wanted to know how much I cared about them. Am I seeing them? Am I helping them? I was trying to teach to an imaginary child - who they should be, when I should have tutored and parented the one sitting in front of me.
The primary redeeming factor of this mess is that God has given me amazing relationships with people from very different perspectives. I never found the "perfect" curriculum but I did find some incredible people to do life with. I was also willing to take a chance on something new so we helped found 5 of those programs listed above. Some of them we built ground up, others we just brought to our area. What an amazing privilege and opportunity. Some of them are going strong and others were for just a season.
We probably could have survived the many waves of trial and error and philosophy changes if I had anchored myself in studying my kids and meeting their needs. Homeschooling is NOT classroom teaching and you can't just bring school home and expect success. I had trouble marrying my philosophy with the children I loved in a way that made sense. In the end, I too often chose the philosophy, curriculum and plan over the needs of the child in the moment. I made the wrong choice.
You can see my other confessions here.
Showing posts with label coaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coaching. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Friday, August 12, 2016
A.R.C.H. - Coaching for Academics - Math
There is so much to say about coaching academics. I just touched the surface with handwriting and reading and now we dive into math.
First, take a deep breath. Did you know that children who delay formal math until 7th grade learn it easily. quickly and with less stress (lots more about it here)? Of course you do regular math around the house (counting, page numbers, reading the clock, cooking). As we will see this is because math is logical and abstract - something that is not a strength of your average 6 and 7 year old.
Of course, waiting that long is not an option. When you think about great math programs many people praise Montessori math. I spent a year as a teaching assistant in a 3 to 6 year old Montessori classroom and math is the very last area children are allowed to use. Most children don't start math with numerals until 5 or 6 (this is a school that starts reading at 4). Why? Because math is a very abstract concept. The reason why Montessori does math so well is that it uses manipulatives to make math tactile and less abstract. When you lay out the 1,000 bead chain (exactly what it sounds like) you get a real sense of how big 1,000 truly is.
3 Modes of Math Learning
Beechick explains that there are 3 modes for math and uses Piaget's development theory to support her claims:
- manipulation mode - using physical objects to aid with math problems (until at least 6 or 7)
- mental image mode - imagine objects in our head - four people in our family and one guest equals 5 people (until about 12 or 13)
- abstract mode - use numbers without thinking of images (twelve years old and up)
As always, some children will move through these stages more quickly - but this is the average. Do you see why delaying formal math instruction might relieve stress? Is this shocking to you?
Children can't move forward until they are developmentally ready to do so (sound familiar). Beechick encourages us to "know which mode of thinking the child does best, and take advantage of that strong mode. This way you teach more arithmetic." So, the reason why Montessori is so successful is that it ALWAYS starts in the manipulative mode and allows the student to decide when they are ready to move unto the next mode. Beechick explains that many math books try to move through all 3 modes in one page or lesson. They start with a presentation using physical objects in the class, move to pictures on the page and then at the bottom of the worksheet expect children to just use numbers (4+3). This is TOO fast for many kids.
Use Manipulatives
I encourage you to do what Beechick calls "taking the long view" - basically allow children to use manipulatives for as long as they need to do so (like Montessori). When a child is ready to move to the "mental image mode" using the manipulatives will take SO MUCH longer that they will want to leave them behind. If this is an area that your child struggles with I highly recommend The Three R's by Ruth Beechick.
Montessori math gets expensive fast and can be hard to use at home; however, you could get some beads during sales. The cheaper option is buying cuisinaire rods. Miquon math (here is the scope and sequence) is a whole program (cheap workbooks) built around using the rods. My oldest son hardly touched the rods to do Miquon because he moved quickly into the mental image stage (after being in a Montessori setting); I expect my number 2 will need to use the rods more.
There are FREE videos at Education Unboxed with great ideas about how to use rods to teach simple concepts all the way up to division, fractions and square roots. So, if your child is struggling with a concept let them "see" it with the rods (or beads) and play with it so that they can get it. Please collaborate with your child's teacher on this issue so that your child can feel successful in math.
Math and Handwriting
Honestly, older math books expected all math to be done with pictures and orally until children were about 8 years old. Dominoes were often used to introduce all of the number bonds and were repeated until they became rote. Learning to do math in your head (figures) was a large part of early math education. Another barrier for some children at this young age is actually writing the numbers. Yet another reason math was done orally. Why let handwriting stand in the way of your math development? Honestly, like spelling words, if your child is struggling with handwriting you might have him tell you the answer out loud - you write it down on a separate sheet of paper and then allow him to copy it onto his worksheet. Again, this won't help with tests but having the numbers modeled correctly will allow him to focus on the math. (Montessori was genius at separating tasks so that students only worked on one skill at a time).
Another way to make math fun is through board games (more and more) that introduce basic mathematical concepts. I can't wait to get my hands on Prime Climb. My kids have no idea what complicated math, strategy and problem solving skills they are learning while having fun. Here is a 70 page PDF that includes a ton of math games that support all types of math operations using a basic deck of cards. It's a great way for my husband to interact with them as well. There are also many books that touch on math concepts, the Sir Cumference series is pretty fun.
Puzzles, pattern blocks, regular blocks, tangrams and similar toys help kids develop their spatial abilities. Cooking with kids is also a great way to introduce fractions. I have been meaning to read the book Ratio which is all about the patterns of cooking. Bedtime Math provides different levels of math problems each day to help you think differently about math.
We all want our children to be successful. Allowing our children to learn these academic skills at their own pace, knowing which concepts they have mastered and which ones they should attempt next can make a huge difference in their confidence. In the end, we want them to have the WILL and the SKILL. If we push and compare them to others they will lose confidence in themselves and lose the will to master these difficult skills.
Next week we tackle the last part of our A.R.C.H. - Habit formation.
First, take a deep breath. Did you know that children who delay formal math until 7th grade learn it easily. quickly and with less stress (lots more about it here)? Of course you do regular math around the house (counting, page numbers, reading the clock, cooking). As we will see this is because math is logical and abstract - something that is not a strength of your average 6 and 7 year old.
Of course, waiting that long is not an option. When you think about great math programs many people praise Montessori math. I spent a year as a teaching assistant in a 3 to 6 year old Montessori classroom and math is the very last area children are allowed to use. Most children don't start math with numerals until 5 or 6 (this is a school that starts reading at 4). Why? Because math is a very abstract concept. The reason why Montessori does math so well is that it uses manipulatives to make math tactile and less abstract. When you lay out the 1,000 bead chain (exactly what it sounds like) you get a real sense of how big 1,000 truly is.
3 Modes of Math Learning
Beechick explains that there are 3 modes for math and uses Piaget's development theory to support her claims:
- manipulation mode - using physical objects to aid with math problems (until at least 6 or 7)
- mental image mode - imagine objects in our head - four people in our family and one guest equals 5 people (until about 12 or 13)
- abstract mode - use numbers without thinking of images (twelve years old and up)
As always, some children will move through these stages more quickly - but this is the average. Do you see why delaying formal math instruction might relieve stress? Is this shocking to you?
Children can't move forward until they are developmentally ready to do so (sound familiar). Beechick encourages us to "know which mode of thinking the child does best, and take advantage of that strong mode. This way you teach more arithmetic." So, the reason why Montessori is so successful is that it ALWAYS starts in the manipulative mode and allows the student to decide when they are ready to move unto the next mode. Beechick explains that many math books try to move through all 3 modes in one page or lesson. They start with a presentation using physical objects in the class, move to pictures on the page and then at the bottom of the worksheet expect children to just use numbers (4+3). This is TOO fast for many kids.
Use Manipulatives
I encourage you to do what Beechick calls "taking the long view" - basically allow children to use manipulatives for as long as they need to do so (like Montessori). When a child is ready to move to the "mental image mode" using the manipulatives will take SO MUCH longer that they will want to leave them behind. If this is an area that your child struggles with I highly recommend The Three R's by Ruth Beechick.
Montessori math gets expensive fast and can be hard to use at home; however, you could get some beads during sales. The cheaper option is buying cuisinaire rods. Miquon math (here is the scope and sequence) is a whole program (cheap workbooks) built around using the rods. My oldest son hardly touched the rods to do Miquon because he moved quickly into the mental image stage (after being in a Montessori setting); I expect my number 2 will need to use the rods more.
There are FREE videos at Education Unboxed with great ideas about how to use rods to teach simple concepts all the way up to division, fractions and square roots. So, if your child is struggling with a concept let them "see" it with the rods (or beads) and play with it so that they can get it. Please collaborate with your child's teacher on this issue so that your child can feel successful in math.
Math and Handwriting
Honestly, older math books expected all math to be done with pictures and orally until children were about 8 years old. Dominoes were often used to introduce all of the number bonds and were repeated until they became rote. Learning to do math in your head (figures) was a large part of early math education. Another barrier for some children at this young age is actually writing the numbers. Yet another reason math was done orally. Why let handwriting stand in the way of your math development? Honestly, like spelling words, if your child is struggling with handwriting you might have him tell you the answer out loud - you write it down on a separate sheet of paper and then allow him to copy it onto his worksheet. Again, this won't help with tests but having the numbers modeled correctly will allow him to focus on the math. (Montessori was genius at separating tasks so that students only worked on one skill at a time).
Another way to make math fun is through board games (more and more) that introduce basic mathematical concepts. I can't wait to get my hands on Prime Climb. My kids have no idea what complicated math, strategy and problem solving skills they are learning while having fun. Here is a 70 page PDF that includes a ton of math games that support all types of math operations using a basic deck of cards. It's a great way for my husband to interact with them as well. There are also many books that touch on math concepts, the Sir Cumference series is pretty fun.
Puzzles, pattern blocks, regular blocks, tangrams and similar toys help kids develop their spatial abilities. Cooking with kids is also a great way to introduce fractions. I have been meaning to read the book Ratio which is all about the patterns of cooking. Bedtime Math provides different levels of math problems each day to help you think differently about math.
We all want our children to be successful. Allowing our children to learn these academic skills at their own pace, knowing which concepts they have mastered and which ones they should attempt next can make a huge difference in their confidence. In the end, we want them to have the WILL and the SKILL. If we push and compare them to others they will lose confidence in themselves and lose the will to master these difficult skills.
Next week we tackle the last part of our A.R.C.H. - Habit formation.
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