Ren Allen

Somebody was asking *how* kids learn without reading....I just can't
find the post to quote it right now, sorry.

I wanted to answer though, because my Jared (12) just started
reading recently. First though, cool things about non-readers:
~they see things other people DON'T see because while
we're reading signs while driving (you can't NOT read once you are
able) they don't see words, they see colors, clouds, plants,
interesting people etc.... They literally SEE the world differently.
It's amazing.

~they THINK differently than a reader. They are able to
puzzle things out, memorize shapes, colors and signs that have
nothing to do with words, in order to get the information they need.
For example, Jared had literally memorized the capabilities of many,
many, MANY Yu-gi-oh cards. He knew them by their pictures. He has
played extremely difficult games like Dungeons and Dragons all
without reading. Again....amazing.

~they often use drawing as a form of expression quite
sufficiently, because they don't have the words to use yet.

~they think (at least in Jareds case) very logically
about the whole reading/writing issue; "Why on earth is that word
spelled like this, it doesn't make ANY sense"...which leads to a
discussion on entymology and a bit of research in that area to help
explain the roots of the word....which could lead to a discussion
about other languages, culture, the evoluation of language etc....
(or not). Children that read very young don't always question the
logic and entymology aspects of language, they might later, but if
you can decode things naturally at 4-6 years old, you probably
aren't going to have the same level of critical thought and
questioning. (but then again, that's just my kids).

I just think about what it's like to see the world without being
forced to read!! Can you even imagine what that's like? How cool.
Yeah, it's a really necessary tool eventually....but I would LOVE to
remember what it's like to see the world through those eyes again.

I'm sitting here at my computer and just looking around my HOUSE, I
see words everywhere, and I can't possibly ignore what they say. I
try to imagine what that's like, what I might see if I could just
see people and colors and STUFF.

There are many wonderful things about non-readers, beyond the fact
that they learn through many, many methods that have nothing to do
with reading.

Let's see:
~observing
~doing
~watching videos, drama productions, concerts, real life
~LIVING....there is nothing better for learning than shopping, being
part of a family, interacting with you community etc....
~and my favorite; PLAY

Play is the fodder for genius, it is the stuff from which greatness
is born. Play is not only devalued and ignored in our society, it is
looked down on!!
Play is what Einstein was doing when he came up with new formulas
and equations. Play is what Benjamin Franklin was doing when he
pondered and puzzled and tried to find answers. Play is what led
Edison to patent hundreds of inventions.
PLAY.

If you read about Franklin in childhood, he was mucking about with a
kite down by a lake as a child (I believe around 11y.o.) and was
curious about the wind and weather. He stripped down, got the kite
in the air and laid in the lake while flying the kite to try and
understand how the wind moved across the water.
Can you see a parent trying to understand why on earth their child
is laying naked in a lake flying a kite!!!
But that kind of "useless" play led to great things later in life.

If a child is fascinated with something, you must TRUST that it is
important learning going on....whether it's an obsession with
trains, dirt or spongebob. Their interests, fascinations and
seemingly simply mucking about is important learning.
It may not look like much today, but it IS important.
Trust that.

Trust that books are only ONE way to learn. Trust that children will
learn in a million ways without reading. Just trust.

Ren

jlh44music

>>>>....~they think (at least in Jareds case) very logically
about the whole reading/writing issue; "Why on earth is that word
spelled like this, it doesn't make ANY sense"...which leads to a
discussion on entymology and a bit of research in that area to help
explain the roots of the word....which could lead to a discussion
about other languages, culture, the evoluation of language etc....
or not).

I loved your whole post (!), thanks for sharing your thoughts! This
is something dd does quite often, questions why a certain word is
spelled the way it is. She's considered a "poor speller" by school
standards (because she can't figure it out phonetically or when
writing, she often leaves out letters, ends of words etc). Yet she
has the most amazing vocabulary. This was one of the problem, IMO,
in school, is that when she was able to express what she knew
VERBALLY, she was so "ON"; when she tested or wrote something, it
looked like someone else, much younger had done the work. They
didn't actually say this often, but I know they felt she just needed
to try harder, make more of an effort (to do what? write it
perfectly? I tried so hard to get them to allow her to "test"
verbally, but gave up once I decided we would be homeschooling). She
needs to form a visual picture of a word, needs to see it, "hold" it,
embrace it, feel it, if you will. Once the picture is in her mind,
it's PERMANENT.

>>I just think about what it's like to see the world without being
forced to read!! Can you even imagine what that's like? How cool.
Yeah, it's a really necessary tool eventually....but I would LOVE to
remember what it's like to see the world through those eyes again.

Wow....

> If a child is fascinated with something, you must TRUST that it is
important learning going on....It may not look like much today, but
it IS important. Trust that.
>Trust that books are only ONE way to learn. Trust that children will
learn in a million ways without reading. Just trust.

Absolutely!
Jann (a voracious reader, who has learned to trust)

waltonc32927

Whew. Thank you, Ren.

My new-to-unschooling 16 y/o Does Not like to read at all and I took
great comfort in your words because while he's not reading he's
creating, exploring, dreaming and doing. He just made a remote
control car from an old rocket launcher, old capsella and some legos,
definitely not something he'd get a prize for in school but an
engineering feat nonetheless.

We're all learning to trust right now and the rewards come daily.