Fostering learning
Amber Boggs
Hi everyone,
I am very new to this group, and also very new to the Unschooling community. My children are 5 4 and two. Smile
With that said, I am hoping someone out there might be able to shout some good suggestions my way.
I am looking for things activities movies etc. that I can have around the house that will help foster my children's love of learning. Things such as good DVDs about nature, books etc. One hard aspects about finding such things is that me and my husband are both totally blind, so we cannot read a lot of mainstream books and less they are adapted. My son in particular loves learning new things, and when he has activities around he will choose to do the activities that challenge his brain more often than not. Fun websites that they could visit would also be helpful. They both have their own computers, and with our assistance should be able to do some of the fun website activities that are out there.
They all love movies, and I would love some recommendations on good-quality documentaries etc. for this age group. We love doing crafts together, but I have a very difficult time coming up with craft ideas for them. They do make up their own stuff, but they also like some ideas of things they could make.
My son who is five, has shown an immense interest in writing his own superhero story. We are currently looking for a program an app for their iPods or some other method of helping him write the story, and compose pictures. I know Microsoft word seems like the obvious choice, but due to our vision problems, we are unable to use the clip art that goes along with it.
Are there any children's encyclopedias for the iPod etc. that do not require children to be able to read in order to utilize?
We do not intend on using any of these activities or tools to force them to utilize them, but we want to have them available if they ask or show interest in using them.
I guess I am just having a hard time finding the things I am looking for. I am certain if I were cited this wouldn't be as difficult, but the vision loss definitely throws a wrench in some of the things I would like to utilize.
Thanks everyone in advance for any suggestions you may have.
Amber
Sent from my iPhone
I am very new to this group, and also very new to the Unschooling community. My children are 5 4 and two. Smile
With that said, I am hoping someone out there might be able to shout some good suggestions my way.
I am looking for things activities movies etc. that I can have around the house that will help foster my children's love of learning. Things such as good DVDs about nature, books etc. One hard aspects about finding such things is that me and my husband are both totally blind, so we cannot read a lot of mainstream books and less they are adapted. My son in particular loves learning new things, and when he has activities around he will choose to do the activities that challenge his brain more often than not. Fun websites that they could visit would also be helpful. They both have their own computers, and with our assistance should be able to do some of the fun website activities that are out there.
They all love movies, and I would love some recommendations on good-quality documentaries etc. for this age group. We love doing crafts together, but I have a very difficult time coming up with craft ideas for them. They do make up their own stuff, but they also like some ideas of things they could make.
My son who is five, has shown an immense interest in writing his own superhero story. We are currently looking for a program an app for their iPods or some other method of helping him write the story, and compose pictures. I know Microsoft word seems like the obvious choice, but due to our vision problems, we are unable to use the clip art that goes along with it.
Are there any children's encyclopedias for the iPod etc. that do not require children to be able to read in order to utilize?
We do not intend on using any of these activities or tools to force them to utilize them, but we want to have them available if they ask or show interest in using them.
I guess I am just having a hard time finding the things I am looking for. I am certain if I were cited this wouldn't be as difficult, but the vision loss definitely throws a wrench in some of the things I would like to utilize.
Thanks everyone in advance for any suggestions you may have.
Amber
Sent from my iPhone
Sandra Dodd
-=-
I am looking for things activities movies etc. that I can have around the house that will help foster my children's love of learning. -=-
I am looking for things activities movies etc. that I can have around the house that will help foster my children's love of learning. -=-
The best resource for new unschoolers these days is an introductory series of e-mails by Pam Laricchia.
One comes every three or four days for a few weeks.
I think it will help you change your mind about "fostering their love of learning" and help you discover learning in everything around you.
I'm not sure how links work for you, as you can't see. There is a list of activities for young children on my page, with the transcript of a chat discussing such things:
Sandra
Amber Boggs
Hi Sandra, thank you for those links.
I'm probably not expressing myself very well when I say foster their love of learning. Let me give an example of the things that happened around here. My son will see a very cool spider on the ground, and wants to learn all about him. What kind of spider he is, what he eats etc. Normal sighted parents would help the child look up information in a dictionary or encyclopedia spider book etc. If the child wanted to read more about the spider they could simply read about the spider to the child. As my kids get older and are able to read, they will be able to seek out this sort of information on their own if they choose. Right now I am looking for resources that will help me fill the curiosity of things in the environment that we encounter or talk about etc.
I'm probably not expressing myself very well when I say foster their love of learning. Let me give an example of the things that happened around here. My son will see a very cool spider on the ground, and wants to learn all about him. What kind of spider he is, what he eats etc. Normal sighted parents would help the child look up information in a dictionary or encyclopedia spider book etc. If the child wanted to read more about the spider they could simply read about the spider to the child. As my kids get older and are able to read, they will be able to seek out this sort of information on their own if they choose. Right now I am looking for resources that will help me fill the curiosity of things in the environment that we encounter or talk about etc.
Sean my son in particular loves to ask a lot of questions, and loves to explore websites photographs etc. of the subject he's interested in. The iPad and iPod is very helpful but a lot of times they will ask questions about the games they're playing and it is difficult for us to answer them because we cannot see what they're pointing to and they cannot yet read. I guess I'm probably looking for resources for myself that my kids could also use to be able to help answer their questions, and make it fun for them with visual stimulus etc.
On the other side, I am looking for activities that will help entertain them throughout the day, that we can do together that may or may not teach them something. Does that make sense? :-) I have a nasty head cold and I'm afraid I am not expressing myself very clearly.
Again thanks for the links. I am going to check them out.
Sent from my iPhone
Again thanks for the links. I am going to check them out.
Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 6, 2013, at 8:17 PM, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
-=-
I am looking for things activities movies etc. that I can have around the house that will help foster my children's love of learning. -=-The best resource for new unschoolers these days is an introductory series of e-mails by Pam Laricchia.One comes every three or four days for a few weeks.I think it will help you change your mind about "fostering their love of learning" and help you discover learning in everything around you.I'm not sure how links work for you, as you can't see. There is a list of activities for young children on my page, with the transcript of a chat discussing such things:Sandra
Sandra Dodd
Amber wrote: -=- I am looking for activities that will help entertain them throughout the day, that we can do together that may or may not teach them something. Does that make sense? :-)-=-
I understand the words, but you need to read the links first, instead of asking more questions.
Unless you deschool yourself, so that you're looking for learning instead of teaching, unschooling won't work.
In the spider example, I think sighted parents would use google, rather than a book these days.
Maybe your son could take a digital photo and upload it to facebook and you could ask what kind of spider it is from people there. Or take the photo to the library and ask for help if you want them to learn to use books with wildlife listed by categories.
Or maybe you could hire a mother's helper a time or three a week—an older child who could help your kids do things, and play with them and help them with their games.
But for starters, that e-mail introduction by Pam Laricchia will help you, and the list of activities for young children (in the second column of that link in the other e-mail, so if you're having the page read, maybe skip toward the end).
Here's something about using "learn" in your thoughts and language, rather than "teach."
http://sandradodd.com/teaching/
There are quotes on that page, so something you won't know who's "speaking" until the end of a section, maybe. I'm not sure that page will work, read by a computer. It won't be clear whose voise is what, if you can't tell the darker words, and the indentations. Sorry about that.
Sandra
I understand the words, but you need to read the links first, instead of asking more questions.
Unless you deschool yourself, so that you're looking for learning instead of teaching, unschooling won't work.
In the spider example, I think sighted parents would use google, rather than a book these days.
Maybe your son could take a digital photo and upload it to facebook and you could ask what kind of spider it is from people there. Or take the photo to the library and ask for help if you want them to learn to use books with wildlife listed by categories.
Or maybe you could hire a mother's helper a time or three a week—an older child who could help your kids do things, and play with them and help them with their games.
But for starters, that e-mail introduction by Pam Laricchia will help you, and the list of activities for young children (in the second column of that link in the other e-mail, so if you're having the page read, maybe skip toward the end).
Here's something about using "learn" in your thoughts and language, rather than "teach."
http://sandradodd.com/teaching/
There are quotes on that page, so something you won't know who's "speaking" until the end of a section, maybe. I'm not sure that page will work, read by a computer. It won't be clear whose voise is what, if you can't tell the darker words, and the indentations. Sorry about that.
Sandra
Joyce Fetteroll
On Sep 6, 2013, at 11:30 PM, Amber Boggs wrote:
What you want is better ways to answer your kids questions.
It seems a quibble, but words are like directions from a GPS. Words that vaguely resemble what you want will turn you in the wrong direction. If you really want to go northeast, the longer you spend heading north, the further you'll get from northeast.
The Android devices can do that too. In a NYTimes face off, the Android system did better on Google searches. Which makes sense since Google developed it! ;-)
But is that how *your kids* learn? Be aware of *their* learning rather than some ideal. If they're asking about a spider they may want the name, and maybe 2 or 3 facts. You kids may want a broad range of facts from the surface. However your kids learn *that's* their natural style.
Joyce
> Fostering learningLearning doesn't need encouraged. Learning happens as a side effect of doing and exploring what interests you. People don't need encouraged to do what they enjoy! ;-)
What you want is better ways to answer your kids questions.
It seems a quibble, but words are like directions from a GPS. Words that vaguely resemble what you want will turn you in the wrong direction. If you really want to go northeast, the longer you spend heading north, the further you'll get from northeast.
> The iPad and iPod is very helpful but a lot of times they will askDoes your iPad and iPod have Siri on them? (I think it can be downloaded for some older generations.) You can ask natural language questions. Do you have an app that reads the text for you?
> questions about the games they're playing and it is difficult for
> us to answer them because we cannot see what they're pointing
> to and they cannot yet read.
The Android devices can do that too. In a NYTimes face off, the Android system did better on Google searches. Which makes sense since Google developed it! ;-)
> I guess I'm probably looking for resources for myself thatIt's a pretty image to picture kids getting fascinated by a subject then delving deeply into it.
> my kids could also use to be able to help answer their questions,
> and make it fun for them with visual stimulus etc.
But is that how *your kids* learn? Be aware of *their* learning rather than some ideal. If they're asking about a spider they may want the name, and maybe 2 or 3 facts. You kids may want a broad range of facts from the surface. However your kids learn *that's* their natural style.
Joyce
lucy.web
As a family we have very much enjoyed watching David Attenborough Nature dvds from the BBC. He has done many series over the years, but the more recent series have the more snazzy camera-work, so might be the most visually stunning for your children. They are not specifically aimed at children, but the narration is clear and concise, and it's been easy for my children to follow from when they were quite young. There are sometimes scenes of lions eating gazelle, and suchlike, which may be a concern for some. Some of the series look in detail at certain species and habitats (insects or oceans, for example) and some of them take a more global perspective and touch on how habitats and species interact with each other.
Your example of finding a spider, and then looking it up in a reference book reminded me a lot of how I had assumed our "unschooling" would look, when my children were as young as your children. It hasn't turned out like that at all, not for my family. Saying: "let's go and look it up" has pretty much always been a turn-off for my children, even though they have never been to school. My younger daughter would just walk away, my older would sit and listen dutifully, and feign interest, but soon go onto something else of her own choosing. I think, despite my best intentions and efforts, me reading stuff out from a book to them was just too 'teachery'. I hadn't yet properly deschooled myself. I could hear my voice becoming teacher-like even when I was doing it, but I couldn't seem to help it.
My younger daughter just refused to engage at all, and I think she has emerged fairly unscathed from it, but my older daughter still struggles sometimes with thinking of learning as being something that comes from the outside, something that is done to her. I wish I could take it back.
Nowadays, what works best for us is to explore stuff together on Google, or even better to find videos about it on YouTube or similar. We also watch a lot of documentary dvds, and listen to a lot of audio books, all together. I have shelves and shelves full of non-fiction books that never really get browsed or used - I wished I had saved the money! But both girls devour fiction books quite happily, so it's not a reading thing … it's more about the tools they choose to use to get their info.
As an example my younger daughter thinks there's a great white shark in our little pop-up swimming pool. She also has a killer-whale shaped inflatable. I commented that I thought that the killer whale would scare the shark away and keep her safe. Later in a quiet moment when we both happened to be at the kitchen table I looked up "Killer whale versus Great White Shark" on my ipod. We discussed the facts and figures and the sizes of each creature, etc. Then she asked if there were any videos of a killer whale fighting a great white shark, and we found one on YouTube and watched it together. Very different from the days when I would - effectively - stop what we were doing so that we could go and look something up.
There's a fab group on Facebook - if you've not already found it - called "My unschooler is interested in …" If one of your children became interested in spiders, for example, you could post about it there, and you would get lots of wonderful replies suggesting fun resources to do with spiders.
Lucy
Your example of finding a spider, and then looking it up in a reference book reminded me a lot of how I had assumed our "unschooling" would look, when my children were as young as your children. It hasn't turned out like that at all, not for my family. Saying: "let's go and look it up" has pretty much always been a turn-off for my children, even though they have never been to school. My younger daughter would just walk away, my older would sit and listen dutifully, and feign interest, but soon go onto something else of her own choosing. I think, despite my best intentions and efforts, me reading stuff out from a book to them was just too 'teachery'. I hadn't yet properly deschooled myself. I could hear my voice becoming teacher-like even when I was doing it, but I couldn't seem to help it.
My younger daughter just refused to engage at all, and I think she has emerged fairly unscathed from it, but my older daughter still struggles sometimes with thinking of learning as being something that comes from the outside, something that is done to her. I wish I could take it back.
Nowadays, what works best for us is to explore stuff together on Google, or even better to find videos about it on YouTube or similar. We also watch a lot of documentary dvds, and listen to a lot of audio books, all together. I have shelves and shelves full of non-fiction books that never really get browsed or used - I wished I had saved the money! But both girls devour fiction books quite happily, so it's not a reading thing … it's more about the tools they choose to use to get their info.
As an example my younger daughter thinks there's a great white shark in our little pop-up swimming pool. She also has a killer-whale shaped inflatable. I commented that I thought that the killer whale would scare the shark away and keep her safe. Later in a quiet moment when we both happened to be at the kitchen table I looked up "Killer whale versus Great White Shark" on my ipod. We discussed the facts and figures and the sizes of each creature, etc. Then she asked if there were any videos of a killer whale fighting a great white shark, and we found one on YouTube and watched it together. Very different from the days when I would - effectively - stop what we were doing so that we could go and look something up.
There's a fab group on Facebook - if you've not already found it - called "My unschooler is interested in …" If one of your children became interested in spiders, for example, you could post about it there, and you would get lots of wonderful replies suggesting fun resources to do with spiders.
Lucy
Meredith Novak
>> Let me give an example of the things that happened around here. My son will see a very cool spider on the ground, and wants to learn all about him. What kind of spider he is, what he eats etc. Normal sighted parents would help the child look up information in a dictionary or encyclopedia spider book etc.<<Okay, there's a big part of your problem - you have a 20th century idea of what research looks like ;)Nowadays, normal sighted parents would help the child look things up online - do a google search for images, look at youtube videos, search for websites. So what you need isn't an encyclopedia, it's a way to help your kids use search engines, especially youtube, since it's absolutely full of videos of people doing things - like playing games. So it's a fantastic way to answer questions like "how do I get past this level?" for kids who don't read yet. It's even fantastic for kids who do read - my daughter loves looking up game walkthroughs and tutorials on youtube.A good resource for documentary type movies is netflix.A good resource for arts and crafts sorts of things is Pinterest.---Meredith
<regan@...>
The iPad app called Toontastic is great for kids who like storytelling. A narrator outlines a 5-act dramatic structure (set-up, conflict, challenge, climax, resolution), and then the child can make as many of these sections as he chooses. There are built-in backgrounds, or the child can draw his own. There are built-in characters, or the child can draw his own. Then, it works like a puppet show where the child uses his finger to move the pictures around and uses his voice to say whatever sound effects and dialogue he wants. At the end of the scene, the child can add pre-set music. When the story is finished, you can upload it to the game's server so that you can share it with friends.
Hope your son likes it!
Regan
--- In [email protected], <plaidpanties666@...> wrote:>> Let me give an example of the things that happened around here. My son will see a very cool spider on the ground, and wants to learn all about him. What kind of spider he is, what he eats etc. Normal sighted parents would help the child look up information in a dictionary or encyclopedia spider book etc.<<Okay, there's a big part of your problem - you have a 20th century idea of what research looks like ;)Nowadays, normal sighted parents would help the child look things up online - do a google search for images, look at youtube videos, search for websites. So what you need isn't an encyclopedia, it's a way to help your kids use search engines, especially youtube, since it's absolutely full of videos of people doing things - like playing games. So it's a fantastic way to answer questions like "how do I get past this level?" for kids who don't read yet. It's even fantastic for kids who do read - my daughter loves looking up game walkthroughs and tutorials on youtube.A good resource for documentary type movies is netflix.A good resource for arts and crafts sorts of things is Pinterest.---Meredith
lucy.web
As a family we have very much enjoyed watching David Attenborough Nature dvds from the BBC. He has done many series over the years, but the more recent series have the more snazzy camera-work, so might be the most visually stunning for your children. They are not specifically aimed at children, but the narration is clear and concise, and it's been easy for my children to follow from when they were quite young. There are sometimes scenes of lions eating gazelle, and suchlike, which may be a concern for some. Some of the series look in detail at certain species and habitats (insects or oceans, for example) and some of them take a more global perspective and touch on how habitats and species interact with each other.
Your example of finding a spider, and then looking it up in a reference book reminded me a lot of how I had assumed our "unschooling" would look, when my children were as young as your children. It hasn't turned out like that at all, not for my family. Saying: "let's go and look it up" has pretty much always been a turn-off for my children, even though they have never been to school. My younger daughter would just walk away, my older would sit and listen dutifully, and feign interest, but soon go onto something else of her own choosing. I think, despite my best intentions and efforts, me reading stuff out from a book to them was just too 'teachery'. I hadn't yet properly deschooled myself. I could hear my voice becoming teacher-like even when I was doing it, but I couldn't seem to help it.
My younger daughter just refused to engage at all, and I think she has emerged fairly unscathed from it, but my older daughter still struggles sometimes with thinking of learning as being something that comes from the outside, something that is done to her. I wish I could take it back.
Nowadays, what works best for us is to explore stuff together on Google, or even better to find videos about it on YouTube or similar. We also watch a lot of documentary dvds, and listen to a lot of audio books, all together. I have shelves and shelves full of non-fiction books that never really get browsed or used - I wished I had saved the money! But both girls devour fiction books quite happily, so it's not a reading thing … it's more about the tools they choose to use to get their info.
As an example my younger daughter thinks there's a great white shark in our little pop-up swimming pool. She also has a killer-whale shaped inflatable. I commented that I thought that the killer whale would scare the shark away and keep her safe. Later in a quiet moment when we both happened to be at the kitchen table I looked up "Killer whale versus Great White Shark" on my ipod. We discussed the facts and figures and the sizes of each creature, etc. Then she asked if there were any videos of a killer whale fighting a great white shark, and we found one on YouTube and watched it together. Very different from the days when I would - effectively - stop what we were doing so that we could go and look something up.
There's a fab group on Facebook - if you've not already found it - called "My unschooler is interested in …" If one of your children became interested in spiders, for example, you could post about it there, and you would get lots of wonderful replies suggesting fun resources to do with spiders.
Lucy
Your example of finding a spider, and then looking it up in a reference book reminded me a lot of how I had assumed our "unschooling" would look, when my children were as young as your children. It hasn't turned out like that at all, not for my family. Saying: "let's go and look it up" has pretty much always been a turn-off for my children, even though they have never been to school. My younger daughter would just walk away, my older would sit and listen dutifully, and feign interest, but soon go onto something else of her own choosing. I think, despite my best intentions and efforts, me reading stuff out from a book to them was just too 'teachery'. I hadn't yet properly deschooled myself. I could hear my voice becoming teacher-like even when I was doing it, but I couldn't seem to help it.
My younger daughter just refused to engage at all, and I think she has emerged fairly unscathed from it, but my older daughter still struggles sometimes with thinking of learning as being something that comes from the outside, something that is done to her. I wish I could take it back.
Nowadays, what works best for us is to explore stuff together on Google, or even better to find videos about it on YouTube or similar. We also watch a lot of documentary dvds, and listen to a lot of audio books, all together. I have shelves and shelves full of non-fiction books that never really get browsed or used - I wished I had saved the money! But both girls devour fiction books quite happily, so it's not a reading thing … it's more about the tools they choose to use to get their info.
As an example my younger daughter thinks there's a great white shark in our little pop-up swimming pool. She also has a killer-whale shaped inflatable. I commented that I thought that the killer whale would scare the shark away and keep her safe. Later in a quiet moment when we both happened to be at the kitchen table I looked up "Killer whale versus Great White Shark" on my ipod. We discussed the facts and figures and the sizes of each creature, etc. Then she asked if there were any videos of a killer whale fighting a great white shark, and we found one on YouTube and watched it together. Very different from the days when I would - effectively - stop what we were doing so that we could go and look something up.
There's a fab group on Facebook - if you've not already found it - called "My unschooler is interested in …" If one of your children became interested in spiders, for example, you could post about it there, and you would get lots of wonderful replies suggesting fun resources to do with spiders.
Lucy
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
Amber I would like to give you this sites to fellow unschooling parents that have three boys.
The mom and dad are both writers and he is deaf/blind and she is deaf .
He is John Lee Clark
and she is Adrean Clark
Alex Polikowsky
From: Amber Boggs <amber@...>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, September 6, 2013 9:30 PM
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Fostering learning
Hi everyone,
I am very new to this group, and also very new to the Unschooling community. My children are 5 4 and two. Smile
With that said, I am hoping someone out there might be able to shout some good suggestions my way.
I am looking for things activities movies etc. that I can have around the house that will help foster my children's love of learning. Things such as good DVDs about nature, books etc. One hard aspects about finding such things is that me and my husband are both totally blind, so we cannot read a lot of mainstream books and less they are adapted. My son in particular loves learning new things, and when he has activities around he will choose to do the activities that challenge his brain more often than not. Fun websites that they could visit would also be helpful. They both have their own computers, and with our assistance should be able to do some of the fun website activities that are out there.
They all love movies, and I would love some recommendations on good-quality documentaries etc. for this age group. We love doing crafts together, but I have a very difficult time coming up with craft ideas for them. They do make up their own stuff, but they also like some ideas of things they could make.
My son who is five, has shown an immense interest in writing his own superhero story. We are currently looking for a program an app for their iPods or some other method of helping him write the story, and compose pictures. I know Microsoft word seems like the obvious choice, but due to our vision problems, we are unable to use the clip art that goes along with it.
Are there any children's encyclopedias for the iPod etc. that do not require children to be able to read in order to utilize?
We do not intend on using any of these activities or tools to force them to utilize them, but we want to have them available if they ask or show interest in using them.
I guess I am just having a hard time finding the things I am looking for. I am certain if I were cited this wouldn't be as difficult, but the vision loss definitely throws a wrench in some of the things I would like to utilize.
Thanks everyone in advance for any suggestions you may have.
Amber
Sent from my iPhone
I am very new to this group, and also very new to the Unschooling community. My children are 5 4 and two. Smile
With that said, I am hoping someone out there might be able to shout some good suggestions my way.
I am looking for things activities movies etc. that I can have around the house that will help foster my children's love of learning. Things such as good DVDs about nature, books etc. One hard aspects about finding such things is that me and my husband are both totally blind, so we cannot read a lot of mainstream books and less they are adapted. My son in particular loves learning new things, and when he has activities around he will choose to do the activities that challenge his brain more often than not. Fun websites that they could visit would also be helpful. They both have their own computers, and with our assistance should be able to do some of the fun website activities that are out there.
They all love movies, and I would love some recommendations on good-quality documentaries etc. for this age group. We love doing crafts together, but I have a very difficult time coming up with craft ideas for them. They do make up their own stuff, but they also like some ideas of things they could make.
My son who is five, has shown an immense interest in writing his own superhero story. We are currently looking for a program an app for their iPods or some other method of helping him write the story, and compose pictures. I know Microsoft word seems like the obvious choice, but due to our vision problems, we are unable to use the clip art that goes along with it.
Are there any children's encyclopedias for the iPod etc. that do not require children to be able to read in order to utilize?
We do not intend on using any of these activities or tools to force them to utilize them, but we want to have them available if they ask or show interest in using them.
I guess I am just having a hard time finding the things I am looking for. I am certain if I were cited this wouldn't be as difficult, but the vision loss definitely throws a wrench in some of the things I would like to utilize.
Thanks everyone in advance for any suggestions you may have.
Amber
Sent from my iPhone