not measuring up
swissarmy_wife
My son came to me today and asked what I had done with that "math
book" (read: curriculum) that we had done years ago. After a short
discussion on where it went, he asked me to get another one even
though he acknowledged he'd tire of it quickly. After talking, this
is what i learned from him today:
- he thinks school kids must be smarter because they go to school to
learn all day. :-(
- he wants to learn math in a "normal" because he feels he isn't
learning enough.
I gather one of the reasons he thinks that school kids "must be
smarter" is that he tends to be around public schoolers a lot more
than homeschoolers. His activities and sports are dominated by school
kids. He has no interest in going to school but for some reason he
feels he isn't measuring up.
We talked for a little while and I pointed out that all the cooking,
and shopping, Runescape, and a few other daily things we do all
include math, but it didn't seem good enough for him. He thinks maybe
a workbook would help. And he says he does not want to learn math
from a computer. (I had pointed out all the math he does playing
computer games)
Maybe I'm being too vague, if so please feel free to ask me questions.
I guess I'm not sure where to go next. I'd like to help him feel
better, but I'm a little stuck. I'd like to get him the workbook he
wants, and I most likely will, but I have a hunch that after the
workbook novelty wears off we'll be right back to this problem, as its
not the first time he is bringing it up.
book" (read: curriculum) that we had done years ago. After a short
discussion on where it went, he asked me to get another one even
though he acknowledged he'd tire of it quickly. After talking, this
is what i learned from him today:
- he thinks school kids must be smarter because they go to school to
learn all day. :-(
- he wants to learn math in a "normal" because he feels he isn't
learning enough.
I gather one of the reasons he thinks that school kids "must be
smarter" is that he tends to be around public schoolers a lot more
than homeschoolers. His activities and sports are dominated by school
kids. He has no interest in going to school but for some reason he
feels he isn't measuring up.
We talked for a little while and I pointed out that all the cooking,
and shopping, Runescape, and a few other daily things we do all
include math, but it didn't seem good enough for him. He thinks maybe
a workbook would help. And he says he does not want to learn math
from a computer. (I had pointed out all the math he does playing
computer games)
Maybe I'm being too vague, if so please feel free to ask me questions.
I guess I'm not sure where to go next. I'd like to help him feel
better, but I'm a little stuck. I'd like to get him the workbook he
wants, and I most likely will, but I have a hunch that after the
workbook novelty wears off we'll be right back to this problem, as its
not the first time he is bringing it up.
Karen Swanay
Heather,
How old is your son? If he's "mature" enough you could enroll him in
an adult continuing ed class with you. My little brother and my mom
took accounting together when Brian was 12. Maybe this would give him
the "feel" he thinks he needs? Or maybe you could get him some Sylvan
tutoring the beauty of that is I think you can turn it on and off at
will (you'd have to check if they have a long term contract) but then
he'd see what he knows and what he doesn't. Or he can be taught in a
schooly way if he thinks he's missing that but it wouldn't be school.
You could just do like an hour a week. Or maybe get him a tutor from
a local college to come to the house to tutor him. If you think he
just wants to try it out this might be a good compromise.
Feel free to ignore if that's not going to work for your boy. Just
random ideas I had but may also not be unschooly enough. My kids
haven't been asking for math. They want a compound microscope and
agar plates. =)
Karen
How old is your son? If he's "mature" enough you could enroll him in
an adult continuing ed class with you. My little brother and my mom
took accounting together when Brian was 12. Maybe this would give him
the "feel" he thinks he needs? Or maybe you could get him some Sylvan
tutoring the beauty of that is I think you can turn it on and off at
will (you'd have to check if they have a long term contract) but then
he'd see what he knows and what he doesn't. Or he can be taught in a
schooly way if he thinks he's missing that but it wouldn't be school.
You could just do like an hour a week. Or maybe get him a tutor from
a local college to come to the house to tutor him. If you think he
just wants to try it out this might be a good compromise.
Feel free to ignore if that's not going to work for your boy. Just
random ideas I had but may also not be unschooly enough. My kids
haven't been asking for math. They want a compound microscope and
agar plates. =)
Karen
[email protected]
Been there. Done that.
Cameron felt the same way. I contacted Pam Sorooshian about some books
that might make him feel better---'cause, well, that's what he asked
for. But Cam was 18-ish, I guess.
Math for Dummies, All the Math You'll Ever Need---and one more, but I
can't remember its name. I've heard The Math Devil is fun, but we don't
have that one.
He went through two of them, did several of the problems and realized
that he's just fine. <g> He made plenty of mistakes; but after looking
at the answers, he knew where he went wrong. It helped him understand
some concepts.
For Cam, it was more about reassuring himself, I think. As soon as he
was satisfied, it became a non-issue again.
It was a much bigger deal when he was younger. At 13, 14, and 15, he
really thought he was stupid---and would always be stupid because he
didn't "do math" and because I didn't make him read. I asked whether he
thought doing math worksheets would make him smarter. He said no. <g> I
asked whether he thought he would like to read more if I made him. He
said no. <g> I also (as you did) told him all the different ways he WAS
being exposed to math. That wasn't the same to him either.
It was important to me that he not think that school learning was the
best/only way to learn. But I'd done plenty of damage when he was
younger by telling him that school was his "job" and all that. Plus, he
had all his schooled friends who were always busy "studying." How could
he ever be as smart 'cause all *he* did all day was play? <G>
It took time. It's been really good for him to see Duncan's progress
withOUT school. He also knows NOW that he has his entire life to learn
WHATEVER he wants to. He knows NOW that he's a passionate learner.
Didn't help his teen years though! Just so much comparing that goes on
in those years! He's come out the other side very confident that he CAN
learn though---and that's *wonderful* for me to see! (Him too, I guess!
<g>)
I cannot stress enough how empowering an unschooling conference can be
for him as well as you!
Seeing---and becoming friends with---other unschoolers shows them that
they are not always "on the outside." He can meet older unschoolers who
have never had a "math lesson"---and he'll see that, not only has it
not held them back, they are amazingly smart and comfortable with Who
They Are.
Try, try, TRY to get to one, if at all possible. It's a great
jump-start!
~Kelly
Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://www.LiveandLearnConference.org
-----Original Message-----
From: swissarmy_wife <heatherbean@...>
My son came to me today and asked what I had done with that "math
book" (read: curriculum) that we had done years ago. After a short
discussion on where it went, he asked me to get another one even
though he acknowledged he'd tire of it quickly. After talking, this
is what i learned from him today:
- he thinks school kids must be smarter because they go to school to
learn all day. :-(
- he wants to learn math in a "normal" because he feels he isn't
learning enough.
I gather one of the reasons he thinks that school kids "must be
smarter" is that he tends to be around public schoolers a lot more
than homeschoolers. His activities and sports are dominated by school
kids. He has no interest in going to school but for some reason he
feels he isn't measuring up.
We talked for a little while and I pointed out that all the cooking,
and shopping, Runescape, and a few other daily things we do all
include math, but it didn't seem good enough for him. He thinks maybe
a workbook would help. And he says he does not want to learn math
from a computer. (I had pointed out all the math he does playing
computer games)
Maybe I'm being too vague, if so please feel free to ask me questions.
I guess I'm not sure where to go next. I'd like to help him feel
better, but I'm a little stuck. I'd like to get him the workbook he
wants, and I most likely will, but I have a hunch that after the
workbook novelty wears off we'll be right back to this problem, as its
not the first time he is bringing it up.
Cameron felt the same way. I contacted Pam Sorooshian about some books
that might make him feel better---'cause, well, that's what he asked
for. But Cam was 18-ish, I guess.
Math for Dummies, All the Math You'll Ever Need---and one more, but I
can't remember its name. I've heard The Math Devil is fun, but we don't
have that one.
He went through two of them, did several of the problems and realized
that he's just fine. <g> He made plenty of mistakes; but after looking
at the answers, he knew where he went wrong. It helped him understand
some concepts.
For Cam, it was more about reassuring himself, I think. As soon as he
was satisfied, it became a non-issue again.
It was a much bigger deal when he was younger. At 13, 14, and 15, he
really thought he was stupid---and would always be stupid because he
didn't "do math" and because I didn't make him read. I asked whether he
thought doing math worksheets would make him smarter. He said no. <g> I
asked whether he thought he would like to read more if I made him. He
said no. <g> I also (as you did) told him all the different ways he WAS
being exposed to math. That wasn't the same to him either.
It was important to me that he not think that school learning was the
best/only way to learn. But I'd done plenty of damage when he was
younger by telling him that school was his "job" and all that. Plus, he
had all his schooled friends who were always busy "studying." How could
he ever be as smart 'cause all *he* did all day was play? <G>
It took time. It's been really good for him to see Duncan's progress
withOUT school. He also knows NOW that he has his entire life to learn
WHATEVER he wants to. He knows NOW that he's a passionate learner.
Didn't help his teen years though! Just so much comparing that goes on
in those years! He's come out the other side very confident that he CAN
learn though---and that's *wonderful* for me to see! (Him too, I guess!
<g>)
I cannot stress enough how empowering an unschooling conference can be
for him as well as you!
Seeing---and becoming friends with---other unschoolers shows them that
they are not always "on the outside." He can meet older unschoolers who
have never had a "math lesson"---and he'll see that, not only has it
not held them back, they are amazingly smart and comfortable with Who
They Are.
Try, try, TRY to get to one, if at all possible. It's a great
jump-start!
~Kelly
Kelly Lovejoy
Conference Coordinator
Live and Learn Unschooling Conference
http://www.LiveandLearnConference.org
-----Original Message-----
From: swissarmy_wife <heatherbean@...>
My son came to me today and asked what I had done with that "math
book" (read: curriculum) that we had done years ago. After a short
discussion on where it went, he asked me to get another one even
though he acknowledged he'd tire of it quickly. After talking, this
is what i learned from him today:
- he thinks school kids must be smarter because they go to school to
learn all day. :-(
- he wants to learn math in a "normal" because he feels he isn't
learning enough.
I gather one of the reasons he thinks that school kids "must be
smarter" is that he tends to be around public schoolers a lot more
than homeschoolers. His activities and sports are dominated by school
kids. He has no interest in going to school but for some reason he
feels he isn't measuring up.
We talked for a little while and I pointed out that all the cooking,
and shopping, Runescape, and a few other daily things we do all
include math, but it didn't seem good enough for him. He thinks maybe
a workbook would help. And he says he does not want to learn math
from a computer. (I had pointed out all the math he does playing
computer games)
Maybe I'm being too vague, if so please feel free to ask me questions.
I guess I'm not sure where to go next. I'd like to help him feel
better, but I'm a little stuck. I'd like to get him the workbook he
wants, and I most likely will, but I have a hunch that after the
workbook novelty wears off we'll be right back to this problem, as its
not the first time he is bringing it up.
swissarmy_wife
He's 9. You know. this is a GREAT idea for down the road. I'll have
to file it away somewhere. He's not quite ready for it though. :-)
--- In [email protected], "Karen Swanay"
<luvbullbreeds@...> wrote:
to file it away somewhere. He's not quite ready for it though. :-)
--- In [email protected], "Karen Swanay"
<luvbullbreeds@...> wrote:
>
> Heather,
>
> How old is your son? If he's "mature" enough you could enroll him in
> an adult continuing ed class with you. My little brother and my mom
> took accounting together when Brian was 12.
swissarmy_wife
I'll check out a few resources. I hesitate to get anything that says
a "grade level" on it. He would most certainly be behind on some of
those things and I have no intentions of making him feel worse!
He's done an awful lot of growing in the last few weeks. :-) He's been
through some visible maturity changes and he has been so open and
candid with me. One of those things is sports. I recently learned
just how strong his competitive spirit is when he lost his wrestling
match. I truly had no idea it would hit him so hard. The next day he
even said to me, "I'm ok now. I learn more when I lose then when I
win." And in a sport like wrestling. Tis very true! All of his
teammates are public school kids. One in particular he likes an awful
lot, but he hasn't made a move to "hang out" outside of practice. I
caught a comment the other day about how he doesn't even know if they
have anything else in common. He worries about that stuff, rather
than if they just had fun together. I think he's doing a lot of
comparing right now.
a "grade level" on it. He would most certainly be behind on some of
those things and I have no intentions of making him feel worse!
He's done an awful lot of growing in the last few weeks. :-) He's been
through some visible maturity changes and he has been so open and
candid with me. One of those things is sports. I recently learned
just how strong his competitive spirit is when he lost his wrestling
match. I truly had no idea it would hit him so hard. The next day he
even said to me, "I'm ok now. I learn more when I lose then when I
win." And in a sport like wrestling. Tis very true! All of his
teammates are public school kids. One in particular he likes an awful
lot, but he hasn't made a move to "hang out" outside of practice. I
caught a comment the other day about how he doesn't even know if they
have anything else in common. He worries about that stuff, rather
than if they just had fun together. I think he's doing a lot of
comparing right now.
--- In [email protected], kbcdlovejo@... wrote:
>
> Been there. Done that.
>
Heather McLean
-----Original Message-----
From: swissarmy_wife <heatherbean@...>
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 1:48 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: not measuring up
I'll check out a few resources. I hesitate to get anything that says
a "grade level" on it. He would most certainly be behind on some of
those things and I have no intentions of making him feel worse!
He's done an awful lot of growing in the last few weeks. :-) He's been
through some visible maturity changes and he has been so open and
candid with me. One of those things is sports. I recently learned
just how strong his competitive spirit is when he lost his wrestling
match. I truly had no idea it would hit him so hard. The next day he
even said to me, "I'm ok now. I learn more when I lose then when I
win." And in a sport like wrestling. Tis very true! All of his
teammates are public school kids. One in particular he likes an awful
lot, but he hasn't made a move to "hang out" outside of practice. I
caught a comment the other day about how he doesn't even know if they
have anything else in common. He worries about that stuff, rather
than if they just had fun together. I think he's doing a lot of
comparing right now.
From: swissarmy_wife <heatherbean@...>
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 1:48 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: not measuring up
I'll check out a few resources. I hesitate to get anything that says
a "grade level" on it. He would most certainly be behind on some of
those things and I have no intentions of making him feel worse!
He's done an awful lot of growing in the last few weeks. :-) He's been
through some visible maturity changes and he has been so open and
candid with me. One of those things is sports. I recently learned
just how strong his competitive spirit is when he lost his wrestling
match. I truly had no idea it would hit him so hard. The next day he
even said to me, "I'm ok now. I learn more when I lose then when I
win." And in a sport like wrestling. Tis very true! All of his
teammates are public school kids. One in particular he likes an awful
lot, but he hasn't made a move to "hang out" outside of practice. I
caught a comment the other day about how he doesn't even know if they
have anything else in common. He worries about that stuff, rather
than if they just had fun together. I think he's doing a lot of
comparing right now.
--- In [email protected], kbcdlovejo@... wrote:
>
> Been there. Done that.
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
swissarmy_wife
We were at the UWWG in Ohio in February. It was awesome!
We'll be at the NE Unschoolers Conference as well. Our plans have
been made for awhile now!
We can't wait!
We'll be at the NE Unschoolers Conference as well. Our plans have
been made for awhile now!
We can't wait!
> I cannot stress enough how empowering an unschooling conference can be
> for him as well as you!
>
> Seeing---and becoming friends with---other unschoolers shows them that
> they are not always "on the outside." He can meet older unschoolers who
> have never had a "math lesson"---and he'll see that, not only has it
> not held them back, they are amazingly smart and comfortable with Who
> They Are.
>
> Try, try, TRY to get to one, if at all possible. It's a great
> jump-start!
>
[email protected]
Or you could ask him to check out a few resources. Mention ones you've heard of that sounded interesting, Pam's website, anything else that you would use to start a search. Then work with him, if he needs your input, to try a couple of things.
Or not. :) But that's what worked here.
DD wanted something and we looked around and she picked Singapore Math and we ordered a few and after she blew through the workbooks and felt she had caught herself up to what she had in mind, she put them aside and is doing other things. For now anyway. :)
Nance
-----Original Message-----
From: swissarmy_wife <heatherbean@...>
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 1:48 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: not measuring up
I'll check out a few resources.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Or not. :) But that's what worked here.
DD wanted something and we looked around and she picked Singapore Math and we ordered a few and after she blew through the workbooks and felt she had caught herself up to what she had in mind, she put them aside and is doing other things. For now anyway. :)
Nance
-----Original Message-----
From: swissarmy_wife <heatherbean@...>
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 1:48 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Re: not measuring up
I'll check out a few resources.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Andrea Vander Pluym
How old is your son? I've read that the male brain experiences a
growth spurt in the "math side" earlier on in development. He might
be craving more challenges in this area and thinks a workbook could
provide them because he believes the kids going to school are
"specializing" in it in a sense. I'm new to these boards and am no
expert, but it seems that the philosophy of unschooling is to trust
whatever our children are interested in and to go with it (unless
it's jumping off a 500-foot-high cliff into jagged rocks below,
without a parachute). Of course, it's important to question and
discuss everything--and you're doing that.
Interestingly, I know an independent-thinking, multi-faceted woman--
I'll call her Bee--who was unschooled from birth for several years
until she started coveting her friends' school workbooks. Months
later, she had one burning, relentless desire: to go to public
school. Her mom resisted for a long time but eventually gave in
because, she said, she realized she was being conditional with a
philosophy that was, at its core, unconditional. Bee went to school
and LOVED it--she says she loved the structure, the workbooks, the
predictability, the assignments, the homework, and all that stuff
that I personally HATED when I went to school. To this day Bee thanks
her mom, and her mom says, half-jokingly, "Well, we unschooled when
she wasn't in school."
I'm not telling this story because I think your son's interest in
workbooks will lead to a serious desire to go to school. I just think
the story illustrates why it's important to have an open mind and
trust our children to show us how to do things their way, all the
while keeping our own beliefs intact.
Andrea
growth spurt in the "math side" earlier on in development. He might
be craving more challenges in this area and thinks a workbook could
provide them because he believes the kids going to school are
"specializing" in it in a sense. I'm new to these boards and am no
expert, but it seems that the philosophy of unschooling is to trust
whatever our children are interested in and to go with it (unless
it's jumping off a 500-foot-high cliff into jagged rocks below,
without a parachute). Of course, it's important to question and
discuss everything--and you're doing that.
Interestingly, I know an independent-thinking, multi-faceted woman--
I'll call her Bee--who was unschooled from birth for several years
until she started coveting her friends' school workbooks. Months
later, she had one burning, relentless desire: to go to public
school. Her mom resisted for a long time but eventually gave in
because, she said, she realized she was being conditional with a
philosophy that was, at its core, unconditional. Bee went to school
and LOVED it--she says she loved the structure, the workbooks, the
predictability, the assignments, the homework, and all that stuff
that I personally HATED when I went to school. To this day Bee thanks
her mom, and her mom says, half-jokingly, "Well, we unschooled when
she wasn't in school."
I'm not telling this story because I think your son's interest in
workbooks will lead to a serious desire to go to school. I just think
the story illustrates why it's important to have an open mind and
trust our children to show us how to do things their way, all the
while keeping our own beliefs intact.
Andrea
Debra Rossing
We found a book at the bookstore that was sort of an overall 'guide' to
arithmetic - it started at counting and went up through probability and
such. Just little topical blurbs - roughly a paragraph of text and
examples (a tad more for some concepts). It's designed more to just
"review" the information but DS has found it helpful whenever he decides
he wants some "number questions" - I write out the questions and
parenthetically note which page in the guide has more information if he
needs it. Wish I could remember what it was called but it was in the
Math section of the children's section at Borders.
We were there looking for Sir Cumference and the First Round Table
(which we found, liked, and bought the rest of the Sir Cumference series
which is a lot of fun).
Deb
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
arithmetic - it started at counting and went up through probability and
such. Just little topical blurbs - roughly a paragraph of text and
examples (a tad more for some concepts). It's designed more to just
"review" the information but DS has found it helpful whenever he decides
he wants some "number questions" - I write out the questions and
parenthetically note which page in the guide has more information if he
needs it. Wish I could remember what it was called but it was in the
Math section of the children's section at Borders.
We were there looking for Sir Cumference and the First Round Table
(which we found, liked, and bought the rest of the Sir Cumference series
which is a lot of fun).
Deb
**********************************************************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they
are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify
the system manager.
This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by
MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses.
CNC Software, Inc.
www.mastercam.com
**********************************************************************
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
brad jones
why not let him use it as a novelty then let it wear off and let everything go back to normal?
----- Original Message ----
From: swissarmy_wife <heatherbean@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 1:29:22 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] not measuring up
My son came to me today and asked what I had done with that "math
book" (read: curriculum) that we had done years ago. After a short
discussion on where it went, he asked me to get another one even
though he acknowledged he'd tire of it quickly. After talking, this
is what i learned from him today:
- he thinks school kids must be smarter because they go to school to
learn all day. :-(
- he wants to learn math in a "normal" because he feels he isn't
learning enough.
I gather one of the reasons he thinks that school kids "must be
smarter" is that he tends to be around public schoolers a lot more
than homeschoolers. His activities and sports are dominated by school
kids. He has no interest in going to school but for some reason he
feels he isn't measuring up.
We talked for a little while and I pointed out that all the cooking,
and shopping, Runescape, and a few other daily things we do all
include math, but it didn't seem good enough for him. He thinks maybe
a workbook would help. And he says he does not want to learn math
from a computer. (I had pointed out all the math he does playing
computer games)
Maybe I'm being too vague, if so please feel free to ask me questions.
I guess I'm not sure where to go next. I'd like to help him feel
better, but I'm a little stuck. I'd like to get him the workbook he
wants, and I most likely will, but I have a hunch that after the
workbook novelty wears off we'll be right back to this problem, as its
not the first time he is bringing it up.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
----- Original Message ----
From: swissarmy_wife <heatherbean@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 1:29:22 PM
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] not measuring up
My son came to me today and asked what I had done with that "math
book" (read: curriculum) that we had done years ago. After a short
discussion on where it went, he asked me to get another one even
though he acknowledged he'd tire of it quickly. After talking, this
is what i learned from him today:
- he thinks school kids must be smarter because they go to school to
learn all day. :-(
- he wants to learn math in a "normal" because he feels he isn't
learning enough.
I gather one of the reasons he thinks that school kids "must be
smarter" is that he tends to be around public schoolers a lot more
than homeschoolers. His activities and sports are dominated by school
kids. He has no interest in going to school but for some reason he
feels he isn't measuring up.
We talked for a little while and I pointed out that all the cooking,
and shopping, Runescape, and a few other daily things we do all
include math, but it didn't seem good enough for him. He thinks maybe
a workbook would help. And he says he does not want to learn math
from a computer. (I had pointed out all the math he does playing
computer games)
Maybe I'm being too vague, if so please feel free to ask me questions.
I guess I'm not sure where to go next. I'd like to help him feel
better, but I'm a little stuck. I'd like to get him the workbook he
wants, and I most likely will, but I have a hunch that after the
workbook novelty wears off we'll be right back to this problem, as its
not the first time he is bringing it up.
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Deb
--- In [email protected], brad jones <bhmjones@...>
wrote:
after watching me signing checks. I showed him a little and he wanted
more. So, we went out and got a couple simple "guides" to help - he
helped me pick them out at the bookstore. Another 20 minutes or so
and he was done with it - but we still have that stuff around should
he want it again. Likewise, we have a few "math" workbook type things
we've picked up over the last few years as DS has said he wanted
more "number" stuff and more "math". It's there for him to use or not
use at will and it does go in cycles. He'll be heavily into something
for a time then it sits and collects dust for a while then he'll go
back to it and around it goes. Kind of like a spiral staircase.
--Deb
wrote:
>everything go back to normal?
> why not let him use it as a novelty then let it wear off and let
>Yup. A couple of years ago, DS wanted to learn to write in cursive
>
>
after watching me signing checks. I showed him a little and he wanted
more. So, we went out and got a couple simple "guides" to help - he
helped me pick them out at the bookstore. Another 20 minutes or so
and he was done with it - but we still have that stuff around should
he want it again. Likewise, we have a few "math" workbook type things
we've picked up over the last few years as DS has said he wanted
more "number" stuff and more "math". It's there for him to use or not
use at will and it does go in cycles. He'll be heavily into something
for a time then it sits and collects dust for a while then he'll go
back to it and around it goes. Kind of like a spiral staircase.
--Deb
tbearup
Hey Heather!
Interestingly, I just went through this with Naturalist. It hasn't come up before, since I
don't compare what we do with any other 'grade' or 'school' or 'person'. But, Golfer and
she were working on something having to do with math and he said something like, "You
don't know how to do this? Everyone else can."
After reminding him that everyone learns things at different times, I then found her crying
really hard and panicking about being behind everyone. :( I think she had flashbacks of
3rd grade. :(
I've been finding math game and puzzle books on sale recently at Borders, and so we've
begun doing that together during the day. Her dyslexia makes math difficult--not
conceptually, but on the written page--and working it out in puzzles is tolerable and
actually fun.
In the school world, so much is based on performance, comparison, and feeling superior
to other people. The attitude is very stark for my kids, especially when we work so hard to
make a little haven of acceptance, respect, and cooperation in our home. I'm hoping that
they are learning to stand up for themselves and everyone's differences when they're with
their schooly friends, but sometimes they feel insecure about it.
This didn't really have any suggestions, but just wanted to say 'I feel ya!' on this one.
Tiff
www.childplay.wordpress.com
Interestingly, I just went through this with Naturalist. It hasn't come up before, since I
don't compare what we do with any other 'grade' or 'school' or 'person'. But, Golfer and
she were working on something having to do with math and he said something like, "You
don't know how to do this? Everyone else can."
After reminding him that everyone learns things at different times, I then found her crying
really hard and panicking about being behind everyone. :( I think she had flashbacks of
3rd grade. :(
I've been finding math game and puzzle books on sale recently at Borders, and so we've
begun doing that together during the day. Her dyslexia makes math difficult--not
conceptually, but on the written page--and working it out in puzzles is tolerable and
actually fun.
In the school world, so much is based on performance, comparison, and feeling superior
to other people. The attitude is very stark for my kids, especially when we work so hard to
make a little haven of acceptance, respect, and cooperation in our home. I'm hoping that
they are learning to stand up for themselves and everyone's differences when they're with
their schooly friends, but sometimes they feel insecure about it.
This didn't really have any suggestions, but just wanted to say 'I feel ya!' on this one.
Tiff
www.childplay.wordpress.com