learning
heasue2003
Hello,
I haven't posted in a long time sooo HI! I have a question again
about reading and unschooling in general. My four year old daughter
loves to do worksheets. She will do like 20 of them in a row with my
help (I read the directions and explain to her what needs to be
done.) The other day we made a book together . Very simple. I read
it to her and then had her read it to me. Then wrote the words down
and added different words to make a different sentence. She was able
to read and recognize the changes. My question is .. unschooling
to me is about helping my child to learn their way on their terms,
BUT can teaching them through worksheets, phonics, or repetition (
Chelsea likes this and we stop when she wants to) prevent them from
learning how to read or slow them down? I remember in a book by John
Holt he talked about how teaching a child through the conventional
methods leads to a disinterest in learning, confusion, and lower self-
esteem.
Some one mentioned a book called `How to teach your kids to read in
100 lessons'???? What is the title, the author and can you give me an
example of a "lesson" ?
Thanks for listening,
Heather
I haven't posted in a long time sooo HI! I have a question again
about reading and unschooling in general. My four year old daughter
loves to do worksheets. She will do like 20 of them in a row with my
help (I read the directions and explain to her what needs to be
done.) The other day we made a book together . Very simple. I read
it to her and then had her read it to me. Then wrote the words down
and added different words to make a different sentence. She was able
to read and recognize the changes. My question is .. unschooling
to me is about helping my child to learn their way on their terms,
BUT can teaching them through worksheets, phonics, or repetition (
Chelsea likes this and we stop when she wants to) prevent them from
learning how to read or slow them down? I remember in a book by John
Holt he talked about how teaching a child through the conventional
methods leads to a disinterest in learning, confusion, and lower self-
esteem.
Some one mentioned a book called `How to teach your kids to read in
100 lessons'???? What is the title, the author and can you give me an
example of a "lesson" ?
Thanks for listening,
Heather
Nancy Wooton
on 12/22/03 10:21 AM, heasue2003 at heasue2003@... wrote:
first christmas we switched from school-at-home to unschooling.
schedule, and competition with other kids (with the unavoidable shaming for
failure, or boredom for success). The workbooks are irrelevant.
someone else's method?
This is an excerpt from an article I wrote many years ago (linked from
Sandra's site - thanks, Sandra!):
It's so tempting to think we can teach kids, but the fact is, we present,
and they learn. If she wasn't ready, she wouldn't have been interested and
she wouldn't have learned. Reading aloud is the start; demonstrating that
reading is normal and interesting by reading yourself is part of the
process, too. My own son, Alex "broke the code" for himself at about age 5,
by typing a caption from National Geographic on the computer; he opened a
word processing program, got a new document, chose a typeface and size, and
started copying this rather lengthy photo caption about sea stars. He was so
intent on what he was doing! He looked from the magazine, written in italics
and upper and lower case, to the keyboard to find the matching letter, to
the screen, where he saw the connection between the printed magazine's words
and the ones he was typing. You couldn't make a curriculum or a lesson or a
method out of that; it was his way, in his time. Not too much later, he was
reading aloud from Calvin and Hobbes into a tape recorder; his idea, not
mine!
***
Keep providing the things that interest her. My son wouldn't sit still for
phonics, but once he understood the connection between letters on the page
and what he heard, he could read any word already in his vocabulary. He did
the same typing thing with the entire book, "Ferdinand." He got tired,
though, and had me finish it - then print it - in 40 point all caps.
Between the National Geographic and Ferdinand, he learned to read. For
"sounding out," Dr. Suess's made-up words and names can't be beat.
It sounds like you're "getting it" to me :-)))
Nancy
BTW, did you (the List You) know "Suess" should be pronounced "Zoice" (like
voice with a Z)? Always Learning ;-)
> Hello,Not if it's on her terms :-) My daughter asked for math workbooks the
> I haven't posted in a long time sooo HI! I have a question again
> about reading and unschooling in general. My four year old daughter
> loves to do worksheets. She will do like 20 of them in a row with my
> help (I read the directions and explain to her what needs to be
> done.) The other day we made a book together . Very simple. I read
> it to her and then had her read it to me. Then wrote the words down
> and added different words to make a different sentence. She was able
> to read and recognize the changes. My question is .. unschooling
> to me is about helping my child to learn their way on their terms,
> BUT can teaching them through worksheets, phonics, or repetition (
> Chelsea likes this and we stop when she wants to) prevent them from
> learning how to read or slow them down?
first christmas we switched from school-at-home to unschooling.
> I remember in a book by JohnConventional methods, to me, would mean grades, pressure to perform on
> Holt he talked about how teaching a child through the conventional
> methods leads to a disinterest in learning, confusion, and lower self-
> esteem.
>
schedule, and competition with other kids (with the unavoidable shaming for
failure, or boredom for success). The workbooks are irrelevant.
> Some one mentioned a book called `How to teach your kids to read inIt sounds to me like your child is teaching herself to read; why bother with
> 100 lessons'???? What is the title, the author and can you give me an
> example of a "lesson" ?
>
someone else's method?
This is an excerpt from an article I wrote many years ago (linked from
Sandra's site - thanks, Sandra!):
It's so tempting to think we can teach kids, but the fact is, we present,
and they learn. If she wasn't ready, she wouldn't have been interested and
she wouldn't have learned. Reading aloud is the start; demonstrating that
reading is normal and interesting by reading yourself is part of the
process, too. My own son, Alex "broke the code" for himself at about age 5,
by typing a caption from National Geographic on the computer; he opened a
word processing program, got a new document, chose a typeface and size, and
started copying this rather lengthy photo caption about sea stars. He was so
intent on what he was doing! He looked from the magazine, written in italics
and upper and lower case, to the keyboard to find the matching letter, to
the screen, where he saw the connection between the printed magazine's words
and the ones he was typing. You couldn't make a curriculum or a lesson or a
method out of that; it was his way, in his time. Not too much later, he was
reading aloud from Calvin and Hobbes into a tape recorder; his idea, not
mine!
***
Keep providing the things that interest her. My son wouldn't sit still for
phonics, but once he understood the connection between letters on the page
and what he heard, he could read any word already in his vocabulary. He did
the same typing thing with the entire book, "Ferdinand." He got tired,
though, and had me finish it - then print it - in 40 point all caps.
Between the National Geographic and Ferdinand, he learned to read. For
"sounding out," Dr. Suess's made-up words and names can't be beat.
It sounds like you're "getting it" to me :-)))
Nancy
BTW, did you (the List You) know "Suess" should be pronounced "Zoice" (like
voice with a Z)? Always Learning ;-)
[email protected]
In a message dated 12/22/03 11:31:46 AM, heasue2003@... writes:
<< My question is………….. unschooling
to me is about helping my child to learn their way on their terms,
BUT can teaching them through worksheets, phonics, or repetition (
Chelsea likes this and we stop when she wants to) prevent them from
learning how to read or slow them down? >>
Do you feel that you're teaching her?
If you do, I think that could slow down your own understanding of natural
learning.
If what you're doing seems like fun for both of you whether she's learning or
not, then I don't think it can slow her down. If it seems like work or
important teaching, it could.
Sandra
<< My question is………….. unschooling
to me is about helping my child to learn their way on their terms,
BUT can teaching them through worksheets, phonics, or repetition (
Chelsea likes this and we stop when she wants to) prevent them from
learning how to read or slow them down? >>
Do you feel that you're teaching her?
If you do, I think that could slow down your own understanding of natural
learning.
If what you're doing seems like fun for both of you whether she's learning or
not, then I don't think it can slow her down. If it seems like work or
important teaching, it could.
Sandra
heasue2003
Thanks for the replies. I do need to slow down. I feel I am trying
to teach her. Must be time for me to break out a John Holt book and
start reading. I need to be reminded about what natural learning is
and so forth....
lots of love
Heather
to teach her. Must be time for me to break out a John Holt book and
start reading. I need to be reminded about what natural learning is
and so forth....
lots of love
Heather
Nancy Wooton
on 12/23/03 9:53 AM, heasue2003 at heasue2003@... wrote:
Nancy
> Thanks for the replies. I do need to slow down. I feel I am tryingRead "The Book of Learning and Forgetting," by Frank Smith.
> to teach her. Must be time for me to break out a John Holt book and
> start reading. I need to be reminded about what natural learning is
> and so forth....
>
> lots of love
> Heather
Nancy