Learning at their own pace
Ren Allen
"Actually I do believe that ADD and ADHD exist,"
I don't.
But let me clarify. I DO believe there is a set of personality
traits and/or characteristics which you could label a segment of
society as having and call it ADD or ADHD. What I DON'T believe, is
ADD/ADHD being a "disability". It's simply a set of character traits
that happen to make it very difficult for those children to sit
still and do work they aren't interested in (good for them). They
often have a high need for movement and a classroom is completely
detrimental for these types.
If we look at it as a set of character traits, then it's really
ridiculous to give it a label and call it a disability. It's not.
We could go around lumping everyone into labeled categories
according to the traits they have,that doesn't make our differences
a problem...except in school of course.
So yeah, there are traits that make it possible to label
someone "ADD", but I believe with unschooling those traits are
strengths, not weaknesses and there is no need for the child to ever
feel "less than".
Ren
I don't.
But let me clarify. I DO believe there is a set of personality
traits and/or characteristics which you could label a segment of
society as having and call it ADD or ADHD. What I DON'T believe, is
ADD/ADHD being a "disability". It's simply a set of character traits
that happen to make it very difficult for those children to sit
still and do work they aren't interested in (good for them). They
often have a high need for movement and a classroom is completely
detrimental for these types.
If we look at it as a set of character traits, then it's really
ridiculous to give it a label and call it a disability. It's not.
We could go around lumping everyone into labeled categories
according to the traits they have,that doesn't make our differences
a problem...except in school of course.
So yeah, there are traits that make it possible to label
someone "ADD", but I believe with unschooling those traits are
strengths, not weaknesses and there is no need for the child to ever
feel "less than".
Ren
averyschmidt
> What I DON'T believe, istraits
> ADD/ADHD being a "disability". It's simply a set of character
> that happen to make it very difficult for those children to sitI agree. Interestingly, parents of children who have that diagnosis
> still and do work they aren't interested in (good for them).
sometimes say that the "disability" miraculously disappears after
school and over the weekend.
They
> often have a high need for movement and a classroom is completelyThere's a book I read a long time ago that suggests that the traits
> detrimental for these types.
> If we look at it as a set of character traits, then it's really
> ridiculous to give it a label and call it a disability.
that make up ADD are actually traits that were highly valued at one
time (think hunter-gatherer)- the inability to focus on one boring
thing, for example, is the same trait that made our ancestors able
to scan their environment and constantly shift their attention.
IMO, the "disability" isn't in these children, it's in the adults
who have unrealistic expectations of them.
Patti
[email protected]
In a message dated 10/15/2004 9:05:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
patti.schmidt2@... writes:
What I DON'T believe, is
making his life frustrating. I have found it useful to learn parenting
skills and monitor enviroments that make my child's life difficult for him to feel
at his best.
Leslie in SC
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
patti.schmidt2@... writes:
What I DON'T believe, is
> ADD/ADHD being a "disability". It's simply a set of charactertraits
> that happen to make it very difficult for those children to sitI agree. I want to add that sometimes these traits get in the child's way,
> still and do work they aren't interested in (good for them
making his life frustrating. I have found it useful to learn parenting
skills and monitor enviroments that make my child's life difficult for him to feel
at his best.
Leslie in SC
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sherri-Lee Pressman
Hi Ren and Michelle,
These traits you are referring to are actually the representational system
that the person processes and records data through.
There is Visual, Auditory, Olfactory, Gustatory and Kinesthetic.
I believe these kids who are labeled ADD and ADHD actually are kinesthetic
learners. They process and record things thought feelings. They need to be
moving to learn, they seem distracted and to not be listening, because they
might not be looking you in the eye (which most teachers demand as a sign of
respect). They learn in a different way, not worse or better just different.
The current school system doesn't allow for kids who learn differently, it
just isn't practical for a class of 35 to have 10 of these kids bouncing on
rebounders while they listen and participate in the class. However, I
believe that if they could they would be learning as quickly as other kids,
because their personal learning needs were being met. Being forced to sit
still in a chair and not talk and look in one place for any length of time,
is similar to torture and in my experience results in the total
disconnection of the learning process for these kids.
The words the teacher uses can also affect their ability to learn. SO if the
teacher was a visual learner, she would be using words like see, visualize,
imagine, focus, clear, bright, colourful and shiny etc. While a kinesthetic
learner wouldn't be able to process those words, they would be looking for
words like feel, touch, grasp, caress and rub to help them internalize and
process their learning.
Well that was a fun way to remember my NLP training and to remind me why
Hannah and I have some of our conflicts we do... I am predominately visual
and she is predominately kinesthetic.
Sherri-Lee
Need safe and natural health products?
http://www.aloeessence.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ren Allen [mailto:starsuncloud@...]
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 5:49 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Learning at their own pace
"Actually I do believe that ADD and ADHD exist,"
I don't.
But let me clarify. I DO believe there is a set of personality
traits and/or characteristics which you could label a segment of
society as having and call it ADD or ADHD. What I DON'T believe, is
ADD/ADHD being a "disability". It's simply a set of character traits
that happen to make it very difficult for those children to sit
still and do work they aren't interested in (good for them). They
often have a high need for movement and a classroom is completely
detrimental for these types.
If we look at it as a set of character traits, then it's really
ridiculous to give it a label and call it a disability. It's not.
We could go around lumping everyone into labeled categories
according to the traits they have,that doesn't make our differences
a problem...except in school of course.
So yeah, there are traits that make it possible to label
someone "ADD", but I believe with unschooling those traits are
strengths, not weaknesses and there is no need for the child to ever
feel "less than".
Ren
Yahoo! Groups Links
These traits you are referring to are actually the representational system
that the person processes and records data through.
There is Visual, Auditory, Olfactory, Gustatory and Kinesthetic.
I believe these kids who are labeled ADD and ADHD actually are kinesthetic
learners. They process and record things thought feelings. They need to be
moving to learn, they seem distracted and to not be listening, because they
might not be looking you in the eye (which most teachers demand as a sign of
respect). They learn in a different way, not worse or better just different.
The current school system doesn't allow for kids who learn differently, it
just isn't practical for a class of 35 to have 10 of these kids bouncing on
rebounders while they listen and participate in the class. However, I
believe that if they could they would be learning as quickly as other kids,
because their personal learning needs were being met. Being forced to sit
still in a chair and not talk and look in one place for any length of time,
is similar to torture and in my experience results in the total
disconnection of the learning process for these kids.
The words the teacher uses can also affect their ability to learn. SO if the
teacher was a visual learner, she would be using words like see, visualize,
imagine, focus, clear, bright, colourful and shiny etc. While a kinesthetic
learner wouldn't be able to process those words, they would be looking for
words like feel, touch, grasp, caress and rub to help them internalize and
process their learning.
Well that was a fun way to remember my NLP training and to remind me why
Hannah and I have some of our conflicts we do... I am predominately visual
and she is predominately kinesthetic.
Sherri-Lee
Need safe and natural health products?
http://www.aloeessence.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ren Allen [mailto:starsuncloud@...]
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 5:49 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] Learning at their own pace
"Actually I do believe that ADD and ADHD exist,"
I don't.
But let me clarify. I DO believe there is a set of personality
traits and/or characteristics which you could label a segment of
society as having and call it ADD or ADHD. What I DON'T believe, is
ADD/ADHD being a "disability". It's simply a set of character traits
that happen to make it very difficult for those children to sit
still and do work they aren't interested in (good for them). They
often have a high need for movement and a classroom is completely
detrimental for these types.
If we look at it as a set of character traits, then it's really
ridiculous to give it a label and call it a disability. It's not.
We could go around lumping everyone into labeled categories
according to the traits they have,that doesn't make our differences
a problem...except in school of course.
So yeah, there are traits that make it possible to label
someone "ADD", but I believe with unschooling those traits are
strengths, not weaknesses and there is no need for the child to ever
feel "less than".
Ren
Yahoo! Groups Links
[email protected]
> "Actually I do believe that ADD and ADHD exist,"You phrased it better than I did. LOL! I look back at my brother's life growing up. Had we been born in a different era he would have been classified as ADHD. He had all the character traits for ADHD. What my mom figured out was that A) my brother reacted certain ways to certain foods (primarily caffeine, sugar and corn) and B) my brother did better in classes where he could move or do something rather than sit and listen. He did well in sports not because he enjoyed sports but because he enjoyed moving. Had we been products of the 90's rather than the 60's he would have been doped up on ritalin. Fortunately, that wasn't an option when we were kids.
>
> I don't.
> But let me clarify. I DO believe there is a set of personality
> traits and/or characteristics which you could label a segment of
> society as having and call it ADD or ADHD. What I DON'T believe, is
> ADD/ADHD being a "disability".
> If we look at it as a set of character traits, then it's reallyExactly. It's like Keon and his autism. He has enough "markers" to be technically classified as autistic. I've never told him that he is autistic and rarely think about it myself (except on those really trying days when I remind myself that he is acting this way because of the socio-tactile-physical displacers that are causing him to act out - and then I act appropriately to try to work with these needs of his.) I've never looked at his autistic tendencies as disabling. If anything they allow him to do and feel things that he might otherwise not notice or be concerned.
> ridiculous to give it a label and call it a disability. It's not.
>Next time I'm going to say, "Ren tell them what I mean, 'cause my brains all muddled from not having enough tea." :-) Sorry for the poor wording. My co-parent is sleep-deprived from working 26 straight hours and somehow that is playing havoc with my ability as well. Hate when that happens.
> So yeah, there are traits that make it possible to label
> someone "ADD", but I believe with unschooling those traits are
> strengths, not weaknesses and there is no need for the child to ever
> feel "less than".
The empathic one,
Michelle
[email protected]
> These traits you are referring to are actually the representational systemI agree with you to a point. There is evidence though that for "some odd reason" the children of today have a higher incidence of "hyperactivity" (the key word from my youth) than kids of the my generation. Since the 1960's we have increased the amount of additives, preservatives, colors and artificial sweeteners that are children are exposed to. We have higher incidences of allergies to wheat, corn, eggs, and milk than we did 50 years ago. I really believe that the many of our children who are labeled ADHD and our adults who are labeled "AADHD" actually are suffering from some form of environmental exposure.
> that the person processes and records data through.
>
> There is Visual, Auditory, Olfactory, Gustatory and Kinesthetic.
>
> I believe these kids who are labeled ADD and ADHD actually are kinesthetic
> learners.
I read a study 2 years back about a school district that allowed a natural foods company to provide the meals for their school cafeteria (it was done at just one of there schools as a test). The children were fed both breakfast and lunch of all natural foods with no additives, preservatives, chemicals, colors, etc. Lots of whole grains, lean meats, fesh fruits and veggies. Within a few months test scores were up, children who previously had been labeled ADD/ADHD were fewer than before. Attention spans increased and the class problems lessened. By the end of the year it was a completey different school and many children had crossed over their diets to their home lives as well. Parents commented about how much better their children were doing in school and that their kids were in less trouble with authorities. The parents were thrilled and were willing to pay the extra cost to continue the food program the next year. The school district refused and "oddly enough" the school reverted back to the way it was. :-(
I do believe that there are children who learn from kinesthitic opportunies. In fact I think that many children learn well this way. It doesn't make them ADD/ADHD.
Michelle -resisting the urge to read any further and sending herself to bed
Ren Allen
"Next time I'm going to say, "Ren tell them what I mean, 'cause my
brains all
muddled from not having enough tea." :-)"
No, no....I figured we agreed. I just like to clarify when there is
an opportunity.
My brother has been in and out of prison his entire adult life...I
could write scads about ADD and Ritalin.:) I've often wondered how
he'd be doing now if he hadn't been taught that he had
a "disability" and given drugs from a young age. He's an addict, but
other issues like FAS obviously play a part. My family adopted him
at age 2.
Ren
brains all
muddled from not having enough tea." :-)"
No, no....I figured we agreed. I just like to clarify when there is
an opportunity.
My brother has been in and out of prison his entire adult life...I
could write scads about ADD and Ritalin.:) I've often wondered how
he'd be doing now if he hadn't been taught that he had
a "disability" and given drugs from a young age. He's an addict, but
other issues like FAS obviously play a part. My family adopted him
at age 2.
Ren
Kiersten Pasciak
In response to the previous post about ADD/ADHD which said...
"I read a study 2 years back about a school district that allowed a
natural foods company to provide the meals for their school
cafeteria (it was done at just one of there schools as a test). The
children were fed both breakfast and lunch of all natural foods with
no additives, preservatives, chemicals, colors, etc. Lots of whole
grains, lean meats, fesh fruits and veggies. Within a few months
test scores were up, children who previously had been labeled
ADD/ADHD were fewer than before. Attention spans increased and the
class problems lessened. By the end of the year it was a completey
different school and many children had crossed over their diets to
their home lives as well. Parents commented about how much better
their children were doing in school and that their kids were in less
trouble with authorities. The parents were thrilled and were
willing to pay the extra cost to continue the food program the next
year. The school district refused and "oddly enough" the school
reverted back to the way it was. :-( "
I have also read the results of some studies that suggest diet may
be the number 1 factor in some of these kids. Specifically, I have
read about the ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids ("good fats"
vs. "bad" fats) Those fats found in salmon, flax seed, nuts,
avocado, etc appear to help the body while the types of fats found
in most animal meat, processed oils, etc. tend to be damaging when
consumed in proportions that are very high. In other countries,
where the ratio is about 1:2 there is far less incidence of the the
behaviors we call ADD/ADHD. Here in the U.S., they think the ratio
is more like 1:6 in the average child.
Beyond this, however, I do think that schools are highly unrealistic
to expect a kid to sit still for almost 6 hours a day and pay
attention. Heck, I can barely do that! And why would I want to???
For that matter, why would I ever want my child to sit still that
long either?
And we wonder why our nation is getting fatter and more unhealthy!
Sorry I don't have the studies cited (this is just stuff I read
about, presumably in "Scientific American" as that is my major
source of science news.
Kiersten
"I read a study 2 years back about a school district that allowed a
natural foods company to provide the meals for their school
cafeteria (it was done at just one of there schools as a test). The
children were fed both breakfast and lunch of all natural foods with
no additives, preservatives, chemicals, colors, etc. Lots of whole
grains, lean meats, fesh fruits and veggies. Within a few months
test scores were up, children who previously had been labeled
ADD/ADHD were fewer than before. Attention spans increased and the
class problems lessened. By the end of the year it was a completey
different school and many children had crossed over their diets to
their home lives as well. Parents commented about how much better
their children were doing in school and that their kids were in less
trouble with authorities. The parents were thrilled and were
willing to pay the extra cost to continue the food program the next
year. The school district refused and "oddly enough" the school
reverted back to the way it was. :-( "
I have also read the results of some studies that suggest diet may
be the number 1 factor in some of these kids. Specifically, I have
read about the ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids ("good fats"
vs. "bad" fats) Those fats found in salmon, flax seed, nuts,
avocado, etc appear to help the body while the types of fats found
in most animal meat, processed oils, etc. tend to be damaging when
consumed in proportions that are very high. In other countries,
where the ratio is about 1:2 there is far less incidence of the the
behaviors we call ADD/ADHD. Here in the U.S., they think the ratio
is more like 1:6 in the average child.
Beyond this, however, I do think that schools are highly unrealistic
to expect a kid to sit still for almost 6 hours a day and pay
attention. Heck, I can barely do that! And why would I want to???
For that matter, why would I ever want my child to sit still that
long either?
And we wonder why our nation is getting fatter and more unhealthy!
Sorry I don't have the studies cited (this is just stuff I read
about, presumably in "Scientific American" as that is my major
source of science news.
Kiersten
mamaaj2000
--- In [email protected], "averyschmidt"
<patti.schmidt2@v...> wrote:
being in a car with him driving was frightening! He just couldn't
scan his environment very well.
I read about ADD last year and it explained so much about how my
brain works. I felt so much better hearing "brains work differently;
your strengths are over here and you may need/want to compensate for
some of these weaknesses." Much different than "you need to apply
yourself more and try harder" at things like school work.
If I'd understood myself better in college, I could have broken up
studying with frequent breaks, avoided 1.5 hr classes, etc.
So I'm all for "diagnoses" that help us understand ourselves, but it
is a shame to get caught in believing you can't do things because of
a predisposition.
--aj
<patti.schmidt2@v...> wrote:
>I dated someone once who was great at focusing on one thing, but
> There's a book I read a long time ago that suggests that the traits
> that make up ADD are actually traits that were highly valued at one
> time (think hunter-gatherer)- the inability to focus on one boring
> thing, for example, is the same trait that made our ancestors able
> to scan their environment and constantly shift their attention.
being in a car with him driving was frightening! He just couldn't
scan his environment very well.
I read about ADD last year and it explained so much about how my
brain works. I felt so much better hearing "brains work differently;
your strengths are over here and you may need/want to compensate for
some of these weaknesses." Much different than "you need to apply
yourself more and try harder" at things like school work.
If I'd understood myself better in college, I could have broken up
studying with frequent breaks, avoided 1.5 hr classes, etc.
So I'm all for "diagnoses" that help us understand ourselves, but it
is a shame to get caught in believing you can't do things because of
a predisposition.
--aj
Mysti
Hi -
I am new to the group and to unschooling. I have homeschooled my children, 11 and 7, for 3 years now but am new to unschooling.. Let's just say I saw the light. :)
I wanted to add to this thread about ADD. When my 7 yr old son was on Kindergarten, they tried to tell me he was ADHD and needed to be on Ritalin. I was more naive then about the workings of the public school system when it came to ADD/ADHD and ended up complying with their "demands". I had him on Ritalin for 3 weeks and it was awful. He was such a happy, loving child up until that point. After the first week, he cried all the time for no apparent reason. He also lost his appetite during that period. It made my husband and I sick and we took him off the medication. We researched his diet, changed the way we ate.. dyes, preservatives, sugar and so on. It made a wonderful difference. We also pulled him from school and started to work with him at home. I do notice plenty of differences as to how his brain works when compared to my daughters. His birth was extremely difficult and he was clinically dead for 6 minutes. We know that there were residual affect of this. However, he seems like a happy.. articulate, smart and curious little boy.
As for the fact that everyone's brain works differently, I witnessed something really amazing with my son yesterday. He has tried to play checkers with his sister on countless occasions, but each time can not grasp the simple context of the game. To most people it is as easy as tying your shoes.. the concept any how. Well, he started to play chess just yesterday. We went over the rules of the game and how to play it. We talked about the goal of checkmate. He instantly went to playing with his 11 ye old sister (who beats mom and dad almost regularly) and as I watched I realized that he grasped every single aspect of the game. He lost the first few matches, but not with out a fight, and then beat her in the last 3 games. I, myself still have a hard time with chess and was fascinated to see him process this game with out any trouble. He still can't play checkers and has trouble tying his shoes.. but was a champion at chess. It was certainly proof to me that the brain works in mysterious ways.
Mysti
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I am new to the group and to unschooling. I have homeschooled my children, 11 and 7, for 3 years now but am new to unschooling.. Let's just say I saw the light. :)
I wanted to add to this thread about ADD. When my 7 yr old son was on Kindergarten, they tried to tell me he was ADHD and needed to be on Ritalin. I was more naive then about the workings of the public school system when it came to ADD/ADHD and ended up complying with their "demands". I had him on Ritalin for 3 weeks and it was awful. He was such a happy, loving child up until that point. After the first week, he cried all the time for no apparent reason. He also lost his appetite during that period. It made my husband and I sick and we took him off the medication. We researched his diet, changed the way we ate.. dyes, preservatives, sugar and so on. It made a wonderful difference. We also pulled him from school and started to work with him at home. I do notice plenty of differences as to how his brain works when compared to my daughters. His birth was extremely difficult and he was clinically dead for 6 minutes. We know that there were residual affect of this. However, he seems like a happy.. articulate, smart and curious little boy.
As for the fact that everyone's brain works differently, I witnessed something really amazing with my son yesterday. He has tried to play checkers with his sister on countless occasions, but each time can not grasp the simple context of the game. To most people it is as easy as tying your shoes.. the concept any how. Well, he started to play chess just yesterday. We went over the rules of the game and how to play it. We talked about the goal of checkmate. He instantly went to playing with his 11 ye old sister (who beats mom and dad almost regularly) and as I watched I realized that he grasped every single aspect of the game. He lost the first few matches, but not with out a fight, and then beat her in the last 3 games. I, myself still have a hard time with chess and was fascinated to see him process this game with out any trouble. He still can't play checkers and has trouble tying his shoes.. but was a champion at chess. It was certainly proof to me that the brain works in mysterious ways.
Mysti
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sherri-Lee Pressman
Hi there,
There was an interesting article in Reader's Digest a few years back about
the kick backs the schools get for getting kids diagnosed with ADD and ADHD
and getting them onto Ritalin. It was nauseating to read how the teachers
and the principles were pushed to encourage the diagnosis via the school
endorsed shrink, who would prescribe the drug, send in proof to the pharma
company, who provided the school board with a nice kick back.
Now who serves who? Always get a second opinion and then listen to your gut.
Sherri-Lee
Need safe and natural health products?
http://www.aloeessence.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Mysti [mailto:pashamoon@...]
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2004 10:31 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Learning at their own pace
Hi -
I am new to the group and to unschooling. I have homeschooled my children,
11 and 7, for 3 years now but am new to unschooling.. Let's just say I saw
the light. :)
I wanted to add to this thread about ADD. When my 7 yr old son was on
Kindergarten, they tried to tell me he was ADHD and needed to be on Ritalin.
I was more naive then about the workings of the public school system when it
came to ADD/ADHD and ended up complying with their "demands". I had him on
Ritalin for 3 weeks and it was awful. He was such a happy, loving child up
until that point. After the first week, he cried all the time for no
apparent reason. He also lost his appetite during that period. It made my
husband and I sick and we took him off the medication. We researched his
diet, changed the way we ate.. dyes, preservatives, sugar and so on. It made
a wonderful difference. We also pulled him from school and started to work
with him at home. I do notice plenty of differences as to how his brain
works when compared to my daughters. His birth was extremely difficult and
he was clinically dead for 6 minutes. We know that there were residual
affect of this. However, he seems like
As for the fact that everyone's brain works differently, I witnessed
something really amazing with my son yesterday. He has tried to play
checkers with his sister on countless occasions, but each time can not grasp
the simple context of the game. To most people it is as easy as tying your
shoes.. the concept any how. Well, he started to play chess just yesterday.
We went over the rules of the game and how to play it. We talked about the
goal of checkmate. He instantly went to playing with his 11 ye old sister
(who beats mom and dad almost regularly) and as I watched I realized that he
grasped every single aspect of the game. He lost the first few matches, but
not with out a fight, and then beat her in the last 3 games. I, myself still
have a hard time with chess and was fascinated to see him process this game
with out any trouble. He still can't play checkers and has trouble tying his
shoes.. but was a champion at chess. It was certainly proof to me that the
brain works in mysterious
Mysti
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Yahoo! Groups Links
There was an interesting article in Reader's Digest a few years back about
the kick backs the schools get for getting kids diagnosed with ADD and ADHD
and getting them onto Ritalin. It was nauseating to read how the teachers
and the principles were pushed to encourage the diagnosis via the school
endorsed shrink, who would prescribe the drug, send in proof to the pharma
company, who provided the school board with a nice kick back.
Now who serves who? Always get a second opinion and then listen to your gut.
Sherri-Lee
Need safe and natural health products?
http://www.aloeessence.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Mysti [mailto:pashamoon@...]
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2004 10:31 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Learning at their own pace
Hi -
I am new to the group and to unschooling. I have homeschooled my children,
11 and 7, for 3 years now but am new to unschooling.. Let's just say I saw
the light. :)
I wanted to add to this thread about ADD. When my 7 yr old son was on
Kindergarten, they tried to tell me he was ADHD and needed to be on Ritalin.
I was more naive then about the workings of the public school system when it
came to ADD/ADHD and ended up complying with their "demands". I had him on
Ritalin for 3 weeks and it was awful. He was such a happy, loving child up
until that point. After the first week, he cried all the time for no
apparent reason. He also lost his appetite during that period. It made my
husband and I sick and we took him off the medication. We researched his
diet, changed the way we ate.. dyes, preservatives, sugar and so on. It made
a wonderful difference. We also pulled him from school and started to work
with him at home. I do notice plenty of differences as to how his brain
works when compared to my daughters. His birth was extremely difficult and
he was clinically dead for 6 minutes. We know that there were residual
affect of this. However, he seems like
As for the fact that everyone's brain works differently, I witnessed
something really amazing with my son yesterday. He has tried to play
checkers with his sister on countless occasions, but each time can not grasp
the simple context of the game. To most people it is as easy as tying your
shoes.. the concept any how. Well, he started to play chess just yesterday.
We went over the rules of the game and how to play it. We talked about the
goal of checkmate. He instantly went to playing with his 11 ye old sister
(who beats mom and dad almost regularly) and as I watched I realized that he
grasped every single aspect of the game. He lost the first few matches, but
not with out a fight, and then beat her in the last 3 games. I, myself still
have a hard time with chess and was fascinated to see him process this game
with out any trouble. He still can't play checkers and has trouble tying his
shoes.. but was a champion at chess. It was certainly proof to me that the
brain works in mysterious
Mysti
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Yahoo! Groups Links
[email protected]
In a message dated 10/16/2004 4:41:27 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
pashamoon@... writes:
He still can't play checkers and has trouble tying his shoes.. but was a
champion at chess. It was certainly proof to me that the brain works in
mysterious ways.<<<<<
And not always in a "logical" sequence! <g>
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
pashamoon@... writes:
He still can't play checkers and has trouble tying his shoes.. but was a
champion at chess. It was certainly proof to me that the brain works in
mysterious ways.<<<<<
And not always in a "logical" sequence! <g>
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
soggyboysmom
--- In [email protected], kbcdlovejo@a... wrote:
THEN became interested in checkers and a variant called fox and
hounds (I think that's the name) where on red checker and 4 black
checkers face off and the red one tries to reach the other side of
the board, no jumping pieces allowed. We were at Cracker Barrel one
day, browsing the store part where they have that giant
checkerboard. DS was looking at it (we have one at home) and an
older gentleman invited DS to play a game. I smiled and nodded when
DS checked to see if it was okay so the game got underway. Partway
through, it was obvious that the gent had to change tactics and stop
playing as if DS is a kid (even though he was 5 at the time). The
man's wife roamed by and said "Don't let him cheat" I said "I think
he's losing so I'm pretty sure he's not cheating" That caught her
attention and she watched for a bit. He kept giving DS obvious open
jumps that would then set DS up to be double and triple jumped. DS
didn't fall for it and ended up ahead. The older gent resigned the
board and told DS he had played a very good game. Boy, DS was on
cloud 9 at that.
Oh, and now DH is coordinator for a chess club at our homeschool's
co-op day. One mom held back until she found out that DH was in
charge of things then signed her DD up. And, I've heard from several
moms that their kids love it and can't wait to go back each week.
Mostly, I think, because DH doesn't lecture and quiz and all but
let's them play and points out strategies to them that they can use.
Wait until they find out that the last day of the session he's going
to take them all on - all 16 of them, 16 simulatenous games - he's
figuring he'll probably losing at least half.
>LOL DS (now 6) learned to play chess first (at 3 1/2 or 4 yrs old)
> And not always in a "logical" sequence! <g>
>
> ~Kelly
THEN became interested in checkers and a variant called fox and
hounds (I think that's the name) where on red checker and 4 black
checkers face off and the red one tries to reach the other side of
the board, no jumping pieces allowed. We were at Cracker Barrel one
day, browsing the store part where they have that giant
checkerboard. DS was looking at it (we have one at home) and an
older gentleman invited DS to play a game. I smiled and nodded when
DS checked to see if it was okay so the game got underway. Partway
through, it was obvious that the gent had to change tactics and stop
playing as if DS is a kid (even though he was 5 at the time). The
man's wife roamed by and said "Don't let him cheat" I said "I think
he's losing so I'm pretty sure he's not cheating" That caught her
attention and she watched for a bit. He kept giving DS obvious open
jumps that would then set DS up to be double and triple jumped. DS
didn't fall for it and ended up ahead. The older gent resigned the
board and told DS he had played a very good game. Boy, DS was on
cloud 9 at that.
Oh, and now DH is coordinator for a chess club at our homeschool's
co-op day. One mom held back until she found out that DH was in
charge of things then signed her DD up. And, I've heard from several
moms that their kids love it and can't wait to go back each week.
Mostly, I think, because DH doesn't lecture and quiz and all but
let's them play and points out strategies to them that they can use.
Wait until they find out that the last day of the session he's going
to take them all on - all 16 of them, 16 simulatenous games - he's
figuring he'll probably losing at least half.
Daniel MacIntyre
On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 17:41:42 -0000, soggyboysmom
<debra.rossing@...> wrote:
.
they do playing one on one.
Daniel
<debra.rossing@...> wrote:
.
> Wait until they find out that the last day of the session he's goingI bet he won't. Most people playing simuls play almost as well as
> to take them all on - all 16 of them, 16 simulatenous games - he's
> figuring he'll probably losing at least half.
>
>
they do playing one on one.
Daniel