Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] reading, music with almost 6yo
Bonnie Painter
Becky,
Usborne Books has a great series on Piano that I think an older child could
look at and use for self-teaching. They are usually sold through home
representatives, like Avon, but I'm pretty sure they have a web site and
could hook you up with a local consultant. They are also fairly
inexpensive. I have a few of them myself as I was going to attempt to
reteach myself some piano and thought maybe the kids would get interested.
As for reading, my son saw ads for the Phonics Game on TV and begged me to
get it. Of course, it's $200, but I knew that my neighbor's had it and that
their son had never played with it, so I borrowed theirs. It's a great game
and the kids really enjoy playing it. I don't think my three year old
really "gets" it, but I'm sure she is getting something out of it.
We also had the computer storybook version of Dr. Seuss's ABC's and I think
that that is where my son initially picked up his letter sounds. He
recognized all of his letters by the time he was 18 months old and we were
just as surprised as everyone else!
Good luck with everything.
Bonnie
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Usborne Books has a great series on Piano that I think an older child could
look at and use for self-teaching. They are usually sold through home
representatives, like Avon, but I'm pretty sure they have a web site and
could hook you up with a local consultant. They are also fairly
inexpensive. I have a few of them myself as I was going to attempt to
reteach myself some piano and thought maybe the kids would get interested.
As for reading, my son saw ads for the Phonics Game on TV and begged me to
get it. Of course, it's $200, but I knew that my neighbor's had it and that
their son had never played with it, so I borrowed theirs. It's a great game
and the kids really enjoy playing it. I don't think my three year old
really "gets" it, but I'm sure she is getting something out of it.
We also had the computer storybook version of Dr. Seuss's ABC's and I think
that that is where my son initially picked up his letter sounds. He
recognized all of his letters by the time he was 18 months old and we were
just as surprised as everyone else!
Good luck with everything.
Bonnie
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
[email protected]
Hi Becky:
This is only what we do so take it witha huge chunk of salt (the standard
warning! :):) ).
Reading: I have two kids. My now 7 yo son started to read with very little
prompting at age 4 1/2. When we saw he was catching on, we read with him a
lot and still do. My daughter is now 5 1/2. She has been on the verge of
reading forever (it seems) -- knows the letters and sounds and a few sight
words. But the whole reading thing has just not clicked yet. So, with her,
I get a huge stack of books from the library every week, read with her a lot,
answer her questions and help her realize when she _is_ reading. Sometimes
she does not acknowledge that she is reading because it's not a whole story.
But if she can read a color (she's a big artist!!) or a sign or a phrase I
praise her for her "good reading." Bits and pieces are starting to click but
I think she will be my "late bloomer" in this regard. OTOH, she had me show
her how to use her brother's Math Shark game the other day because she wanted
to practice her subtraction and we made up a number line and that helped her
(her brother was never interested in that sort of visual device). So maybe
that's what her brain is working on right now. Along with being a kid --
which takes up a lot of her energy!!
Piano/music: My son is now taking formal piano less. For the last few
months. He just had his first recital on Saturday and played two songs
beautifully. He enjoys the lessons, hates the practice, and does quite well
with as much practice as he chooses to do. His teacher totally "gets" him.
She does not nag him to do more than he does and he is proceceding at his own
pace. And doing quite well with it.
My daughter, meanwhile, has just finished up her dance lessons for the year.
They were a lot of fun and gave her a taste of a "non-Mom" class. And she
loved playing with the other little girls. There were no boys in her class
but one in the class before hers so I'm hoping she'll see that mix as well
along the way. Anyway, it was a fun, positive experience for her. She will
probably want to continue when they start up again this fall.
My son also takes Tae Kwon Do. He goes to the hour-long class from 3-5 times
a week. Last week his school put on an exhibition for one of the local elem
schools and he was asked to participate, so that was a pat on the back and he
had fun. Also they test periodically for the next belt and have to learn
kicks and memorize steps (called forms) and they are learning a smattering of
Korean and it is a great palling around with the guys (with some awesome
girls mixed in!) time. This will continue thru the summer as often as he
likes. My only "rule" on this is I won't go anywhere on the weekend if I can
help it so he doesn't go to Saturday class. Of course, all their testing
(and every other sort of recital) seems to be on Sat morning so there goes
another "rule."
My son also just finished up for the year in the on-line math class he is
taking. He did very well and went thru the material at his own pace and will
continue with the class in the fall.
As you can see, we do a few outside activities. Some unschoolers do not.
The beauty of hsing!! They have generally been a positive experience (except
for one piano teacher who ran a class that was more of a play group than a
real music class and then gave me a fight when I wanted my $$ back -- but I
got it -- $200 is a lot of $$ around here!!). The kids like these classes
and I think they supplement the other things we do nicely. I'm sure the
choice in activities will change many times but we like getting out and
about. And at least I know where all my $$ is going!!
Sometimes our getting out and about is free tho. There are lots of nice
parks and beaches and nature trails around so we are also just literally
outside a lot (Florida).
And one more thing on reading: get you child a library card!!! Mine love
that whole idea of having their own card (even if it is in my purse) and we
can get 3 X the books now!!
Well, you caught me on a chatty morning, didn't you! :):)
Take care.
Nance
This is only what we do so take it witha huge chunk of salt (the standard
warning! :):) ).
Reading: I have two kids. My now 7 yo son started to read with very little
prompting at age 4 1/2. When we saw he was catching on, we read with him a
lot and still do. My daughter is now 5 1/2. She has been on the verge of
reading forever (it seems) -- knows the letters and sounds and a few sight
words. But the whole reading thing has just not clicked yet. So, with her,
I get a huge stack of books from the library every week, read with her a lot,
answer her questions and help her realize when she _is_ reading. Sometimes
she does not acknowledge that she is reading because it's not a whole story.
But if she can read a color (she's a big artist!!) or a sign or a phrase I
praise her for her "good reading." Bits and pieces are starting to click but
I think she will be my "late bloomer" in this regard. OTOH, she had me show
her how to use her brother's Math Shark game the other day because she wanted
to practice her subtraction and we made up a number line and that helped her
(her brother was never interested in that sort of visual device). So maybe
that's what her brain is working on right now. Along with being a kid --
which takes up a lot of her energy!!
Piano/music: My son is now taking formal piano less. For the last few
months. He just had his first recital on Saturday and played two songs
beautifully. He enjoys the lessons, hates the practice, and does quite well
with as much practice as he chooses to do. His teacher totally "gets" him.
She does not nag him to do more than he does and he is proceceding at his own
pace. And doing quite well with it.
My daughter, meanwhile, has just finished up her dance lessons for the year.
They were a lot of fun and gave her a taste of a "non-Mom" class. And she
loved playing with the other little girls. There were no boys in her class
but one in the class before hers so I'm hoping she'll see that mix as well
along the way. Anyway, it was a fun, positive experience for her. She will
probably want to continue when they start up again this fall.
My son also takes Tae Kwon Do. He goes to the hour-long class from 3-5 times
a week. Last week his school put on an exhibition for one of the local elem
schools and he was asked to participate, so that was a pat on the back and he
had fun. Also they test periodically for the next belt and have to learn
kicks and memorize steps (called forms) and they are learning a smattering of
Korean and it is a great palling around with the guys (with some awesome
girls mixed in!) time. This will continue thru the summer as often as he
likes. My only "rule" on this is I won't go anywhere on the weekend if I can
help it so he doesn't go to Saturday class. Of course, all their testing
(and every other sort of recital) seems to be on Sat morning so there goes
another "rule."
My son also just finished up for the year in the on-line math class he is
taking. He did very well and went thru the material at his own pace and will
continue with the class in the fall.
As you can see, we do a few outside activities. Some unschoolers do not.
The beauty of hsing!! They have generally been a positive experience (except
for one piano teacher who ran a class that was more of a play group than a
real music class and then gave me a fight when I wanted my $$ back -- but I
got it -- $200 is a lot of $$ around here!!). The kids like these classes
and I think they supplement the other things we do nicely. I'm sure the
choice in activities will change many times but we like getting out and
about. And at least I know where all my $$ is going!!
Sometimes our getting out and about is free tho. There are lots of nice
parks and beaches and nature trails around so we are also just literally
outside a lot (Florida).
And one more thing on reading: get you child a library card!!! Mine love
that whole idea of having their own card (even if it is in my purse) and we
can get 3 X the books now!!
Well, you caught me on a chatty morning, didn't you! :):)
Take care.
Nance
[email protected]
Nance,
I think you already told me but I forgot. What part of Flordia are you in?
I am in Tallahassee.
Julie
I think you already told me but I forgot. What part of Flordia are you in?
I am in Tallahassee.
Julie
[email protected]
In a message dated 06/06/2000 12:12:50 PM !!!First Boot!!!, Jaam1224@...
writes:
<<
Nance,
I think you already told me but I forgot. What part of Flordia are you in?
I am in Tallahassee.
Julie
a town so small it is not on most maps and we actually get excited if it
shows up on the weather guy's map!
Nance
writes:
<<
Nance,
I think you already told me but I forgot. What part of Flordia are you in?
I am in Tallahassee.
Julie
>>Martin County -- just north of Palm Beach County. Hobe Sound is the town --
a town so small it is not on most maps and we actually get excited if it
shows up on the weather guy's map!
Nance
Amy
We use Hooked On Phonics.
Amy
Amy
----- Original Message -----
From: bjackson <beckyjackson@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 05, 2000 3:43 PM
Subject: [Unschooling-dotcom] reading, music with almost 6yo
> Hello Nance, Amy, Bonnie, Sue, Cindy, and others! I enjoy just hearing
that
> you are out there, living your lives in a similar way, so I can get ideas
> or just say "that sounds neat" or "me too." I forgot to get specific
> earlier, so here are some things I want to know your thoughts on:
> What's your approach to reading? My daughter is almost 6 and has been on
> the verge of reading for awhile without really taking off yet. Do you just
> read to them until they figure it out? Do you talk about some of the
sounds
> letters make or ignore phonics completely? Have regular reading practice
> where I listen to her and tell her the words or never ask her to read
> unless it's her idea? Cindy, it sounds like you have a very advanced
> reader, what are Ruth Beechick books and BOB books? I don't mean to sound
> like I'm rushing it, but there's so much she can explore on her own when
> she can read.
>
> Does anyone have some thoughts on unschooling music or giving music
> lessons? My daughter has expressed interest in playing the piano and my
> sister, my mother, and I can all play and so there's plenty of free
> teachers, but I want her to love music too, so I'm uncertain about lessons
> (I took lessons until about age 10, then hated having to practice). I've
> read that playing an instrument is beneficial in both emotional and
> intellectual ways, but I also read that a lot of the best musicians are
> self-taught.
>
> Thanks for your input!
> Becky in AR
>
>
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