learn to read/write with computer games (was Charlotte Mason)
Ed Wendell
We are not Bob ;) But I have a story about video/computer games that just happened this week.
Our son has been home from school for 4.5 years - we pulled him mid third grade after being in a public Montessori school from age 3 to 8.5 He will be 13 in a couple of weeks.
For the first time in his life he spontaneously wrote something more than a word or two - he wrote 3 whole pages! He has a new computer game called "Rome Total War". He is a war history buff - very passionate about it. He loves anything from ancient times to modern. He likes all aspects of war - the history (circumstances), the weapons & armor, the strategy, etc. Anyway I sat down to the computer yesterday and there sat 3 pages stapled together. He had written about the results of his campaign / battles. He wrote on a blank page (no lines) and all his physical writing was legible and in straight rows. Most of the spelling was "off" but who cares ? ;) All this from a child that is severely dyslexic/dysgraphic who usually resists even writing his own name. (like when you're sending a card and he does not want to sign it so you have to sign for him)
The biggest caveat is that we almost did not buy that game last week due to money. We have budgeted for one game or some such big expense a month. Being it was the first of the month, not the end, the money was not really there, but the moment was. ;)
My question for the group is this - he asked me to read what he wrote out loud - and then asked how he did - if it was readable and if he had spelled the words correctly. I just about swallowed my teeth! I was so worried about squashing his "spirit". I think I did a pretty great job of reading his writing as most of it just made sense to my brain - I think I missed one word out of three pages - for example he spelled men as min; my as mi; held as hild; first as frst; couple as copl; etc. But when he asked about his spelling I was not sure how honest to be. I think I said something about how he did a great job spelling phonetically and that made reading it easy for my brain - that there were a few words here and there that were spelled wrong or spaced wrong ( for example he wrote hon drid for hundred) and that if he was ever interested I would help him with spelling - to just let me know. He informed me that he had already enlisted his dad (who is the stay at home person). He had his dad rewrite it so he could compare dad's to his to see how well he did.
Suggestions on how to handle it when kids ask for your opinion on what they did ? Don't want to crush his spirit nor be dishonest.
Also reading to play games and manuals and Japanese anime books (like a comic book in book form) has been what our son has used to hone his reading and writing (typing/spelling) skills. Rune Scape was a huge catalyst !!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I'd be remiss if I ignored the importance of the role of TV and movies in inspiring reading for our son. TV & Movies, games, and books are all intertwined in our home - pretty much they all hinge upon each other. For example: He played a Wii game at a friends home that he was obsessed with. Because we did not have a Wii system, he got the game manual and read it in preparation for when he did have a Wii. We also have a house full of books he just had to have but has never read based upon his interests or some movie he has seen - he just had to have the Chronicles of Narnia trilogy and even carried it around for at least a month every time we left the house but I swear he never read any of it (maybe I just don't know - LOL)
Lisa W.
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Our son has been home from school for 4.5 years - we pulled him mid third grade after being in a public Montessori school from age 3 to 8.5 He will be 13 in a couple of weeks.
For the first time in his life he spontaneously wrote something more than a word or two - he wrote 3 whole pages! He has a new computer game called "Rome Total War". He is a war history buff - very passionate about it. He loves anything from ancient times to modern. He likes all aspects of war - the history (circumstances), the weapons & armor, the strategy, etc. Anyway I sat down to the computer yesterday and there sat 3 pages stapled together. He had written about the results of his campaign / battles. He wrote on a blank page (no lines) and all his physical writing was legible and in straight rows. Most of the spelling was "off" but who cares ? ;) All this from a child that is severely dyslexic/dysgraphic who usually resists even writing his own name. (like when you're sending a card and he does not want to sign it so you have to sign for him)
The biggest caveat is that we almost did not buy that game last week due to money. We have budgeted for one game or some such big expense a month. Being it was the first of the month, not the end, the money was not really there, but the moment was. ;)
My question for the group is this - he asked me to read what he wrote out loud - and then asked how he did - if it was readable and if he had spelled the words correctly. I just about swallowed my teeth! I was so worried about squashing his "spirit". I think I did a pretty great job of reading his writing as most of it just made sense to my brain - I think I missed one word out of three pages - for example he spelled men as min; my as mi; held as hild; first as frst; couple as copl; etc. But when he asked about his spelling I was not sure how honest to be. I think I said something about how he did a great job spelling phonetically and that made reading it easy for my brain - that there were a few words here and there that were spelled wrong or spaced wrong ( for example he wrote hon drid for hundred) and that if he was ever interested I would help him with spelling - to just let me know. He informed me that he had already enlisted his dad (who is the stay at home person). He had his dad rewrite it so he could compare dad's to his to see how well he did.
Suggestions on how to handle it when kids ask for your opinion on what they did ? Don't want to crush his spirit nor be dishonest.
Also reading to play games and manuals and Japanese anime books (like a comic book in book form) has been what our son has used to hone his reading and writing (typing/spelling) skills. Rune Scape was a huge catalyst !!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I'd be remiss if I ignored the importance of the role of TV and movies in inspiring reading for our son. TV & Movies, games, and books are all intertwined in our home - pretty much they all hinge upon each other. For example: He played a Wii game at a friends home that he was obsessed with. Because we did not have a Wii system, he got the game manual and read it in preparation for when he did have a Wii. We also have a house full of books he just had to have but has never read based upon his interests or some movie he has seen - he just had to have the Chronicles of Narnia trilogy and even carried it around for at least a month every time we left the house but I swear he never read any of it (maybe I just don't know - LOL)
Lisa W.
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Pamela Sorooshian
On Jun 13, 2007, at 8:55 AM, Ed Wendell wrote:
-pam
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> Suggestions on how to handle it when kids ask for your opinion onAsk him.
> what they did ? Don't want to crush his spirit nor be dishonest.
-pam
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Bob Collier
> My question for the group is this - he asked me to read what hewrote out loud - and then asked how he did - if it was readable and
if he had spelled the words correctly. I just about swallowed my
teeth! I was so worried about squashing his "spirit". I think I did
a pretty great job of reading his writing as most of it just made
sense to my brain - I think I missed one word out of three pages -
for example he spelled men as min; my as mi; held as hild; first as
frst; couple as copl; etc. But when he asked about his spelling I
was not sure how honest to be. I think I said something about how he
did a great job spelling phonetically and that made reading it easy
for my brain - that there were a few words here and there that were
spelled wrong or spaced wrong ( for example he wrote hon drid for
hundred) and that if he was ever interested I would help him with
spelling - to just let me know. He informed me that he had already
enlisted his dad (who is the stay at home person). He had his dad
rewrite it so he could compare dad's to his to see how well he did.
>what they did ? Don't want to crush his spirit nor be dishonest.
> Suggestions on how to handle it when kids ask for your opinion on
>Hi, Lisa
>
Whenever I talk to my son about his spelling - which isn't very
often - I always use the term 'standard spelling' to describe how he
would find the word spelt in a dictionary. As in, "Did you know the
standard spelling of that word is ...?"
As far as I'm concerned, keeping the 'lines of communication' open
with my son is more important than anything else. If I understand
exactly what he's written, the spelling of individual words doesn't
matter to me and I often will let it go without comment. Any spelling
of any word is legitimate if I recognise what the word is and
understand the message.
AND I've told my son that most people in our society regard the use
of standard spelling as a sign of an intelligent, well educated
person. Rightly or wrongly. It's up to him what he does about that. :)
Another thing I've told him is that standardised spelling is a fairly
recent development and it's not that far back in human history that
almost everybody spelled words as the words sounded to them, so
spelling words the same way as most other people do isn't exactly up
there with our biological imperatives. I read one time, in fact, that
England's literary giant William Shakespeare even had at least six
different spellings of his own name!
When I was at primary (elementary) school, I was a stickler for
correct spellings - I would be mortified if I got an incorrect answer
in the weekly spelling test. These days, I read about or see schooled
and homeschooled children participating in spelling bees and taking
this attitude that it's the most important thing on planet Earth to
be able to spell 'correctly' words they'll never use in their daily
affairs, and I wonder what the heck that's all about. I still am a
stickler about using standard spelling, for myself, but I know it's
not as crucial as good communication is.
I know of plenty of people who can write with perfect spelling,
perfect punctuation, grammar and syntax, but who don't communicate. I
do that myself sometimes. LOL
In terms of opinions generally, I make it personal - "I like that"
rather than "That's good", for example, because it is only my
opinion - and I *will* find something to like. There always is
something to like or something to build on.
Hope that helps!
Bob
Ed Wendell
Thank you Bob - I like the terminology "standard spelling" vs. correct way or right way.
I do not comment ever unless he asks me - it's just that he was asking and I did not want to crush him but neither did I want to lie.
Here is why I'm so worried about crushing him as he blooms into writing on his own:
Weekly spelling word lists of 20 words were one of the driving forces to our pulling from Public Montessori - basically we were thinking there had to be more to school than weekly word lists and all homework revolved around that. You know where every Monday they had to write each word five times, Tues. use every word in a sentence, Wed look them up in the dictionary and write the definition, etc. We'd work all the time on the lists and then he could not write fast enough to keep up so he'd be on about the 5th word and the teacher would be on word 25 - needless to say he would fail every test after a week of nothing but total focus. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lisa W.
I do not comment ever unless he asks me - it's just that he was asking and I did not want to crush him but neither did I want to lie.
Here is why I'm so worried about crushing him as he blooms into writing on his own:
Weekly spelling word lists of 20 words were one of the driving forces to our pulling from Public Montessori - basically we were thinking there had to be more to school than weekly word lists and all homework revolved around that. You know where every Monday they had to write each word five times, Tues. use every word in a sentence, Wed look them up in the dictionary and write the definition, etc. We'd work all the time on the lists and then he could not write fast enough to keep up so he'd be on about the 5th word and the teacher would be on word 25 - needless to say he would fail every test after a week of nothing but total focus. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lisa W.
----- Original Message -----
From: Bob Collier
I always use the term 'standard spelling' to describe how he
would find the word spelt in a dictionary. As in, "Did you know the
standard spelling of that word is ...?"
AND I've told my son that most people in our society regard the use
of standard spelling as a sign of an intelligent, well educated
person. Rightly or wrongly. It's up to him what he does about that. :)
In terms of opinions generally, I make it personal - "I like that"
rather than "That's good", for example, because it is only my
opinion - and I *will* find something to like. There always is
something to like or something to build on.
.
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Gold Standard
>>These days, I read about or see schooledAnd what I found as a school teacher was that some kids spell "standardly"
>>and homeschooled children participating in spelling bees<<
well, and some don't, even with all the kids getting the same spelling drill
every week (I never did that).
The principles remain the same...kids absorb what works for them and are
better at some things than other things (multiple intelligences). In general
those who conventionally spell well tend to be the ones who are visual
learners and remember the spelling of words from seeing them. That is only a
certain percent of the population, whether schooled or unschooled. Though
unschooled kids have a much better chance of finding their own ways and
means to spelling.
In our home, we tended to use the catch-phrases "inventive spelling" or
"phonetic spelling" when my kids asked about how they did with spelling
things. It was just as exciting to see a word spelled the way it sounded as
it was to see it spelled in standard form! It shows true intelligence and
logic to be able to sound out a word!
What's NOT logical is the spelling of so many of our English words. Those
who can't memorize from visual input have a harder time with conventional
spelling. And we acknowledged that! It's just kind of a fact of life as
opposed to anyone missing anything.
I remember great discussions about the structure and history of different
words based on my kids' inventive spelling. If they wanted to see the
conventional spelling of a word they wrote, we could laugh at how the word
sounded compared to how it was spelled, or notice how close it was, or see
how that little "e" at the end could change everything! I remember looking
up the origin of words, which sometimes lead to discussions of culture,
world history, etc. And sometimes didn't :o) But, the structure of words can
be so dang interesting!
Jacki
Sandra Dodd
-=-We'd work all the time on the lists and then he could not write
fast enough to keep up so he'd be on about the 5th word and the
teacher would be on word 25 - needless to say he would fail every
test after a week of nothing but total focus. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!! -=-
Yuck, yes.
Each time you can take a memory like that and pack it up, tie it off,
give it a little blessing and bye-bye, you'll clean out more room to
be calm and peaceful with your son now.
Not only does that not have to happen anymore, but you don't have to
recite it (even mentally) anymore.
You can turn away from it and let it dissipate.
Sandra
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fast enough to keep up so he'd be on about the 5th word and the
teacher would be on word 25 - needless to say he would fail every
test after a week of nothing but total focus. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!! -=-
Yuck, yes.
Each time you can take a memory like that and pack it up, tie it off,
give it a little blessing and bye-bye, you'll clean out more room to
be calm and peaceful with your son now.
Not only does that not have to happen anymore, but you don't have to
recite it (even mentally) anymore.
You can turn away from it and let it dissipate.
Sandra
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Sandra Dodd
-=-What's NOT logical is the spelling of so many of our English
words.-=-
But every word has a story that goes back to the original logic...
....as you know <g>:
-=-I remember looking
up the origin of words, which sometimes lead to discussions of culture,
world history, etc. And sometimes didn't :o) But, the structure of
words can
be so dang interesting!
-=-
Instead of getting mad at the words, we just look up why there's a
silent letter. It wasn't always silent. Words are some of the best
antiques we have, and as English is so visual, it helps when people
are "reading silently" that words are different visually.
Sandra
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words.-=-
But every word has a story that goes back to the original logic...
....as you know <g>:
-=-I remember looking
up the origin of words, which sometimes lead to discussions of culture,
world history, etc. And sometimes didn't :o) But, the structure of
words can
be so dang interesting!
-=-
Instead of getting mad at the words, we just look up why there's a
silent letter. It wasn't always silent. Words are some of the best
antiques we have, and as English is so visual, it helps when people
are "reading silently" that words are different visually.
Sandra
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