All SORTS of Fun in Tot School

I’ve always been good about spending time with my 3 year old daughter, Bubby, since she was the first and only one for a while.  We are starting to get our feet wet with homeschooling, but I have found I need something to do with my youngest daughter Boo (16 months old) in the meantime. I came across Tot School and found my answer!  Tot School is created just for the toddlers in the family, as a way to play and learn, and get a little special one-on-one time.  My oldest is just about out of Tot School range, but I will put up some pictures of activities we’ve done recently.

I already had a 9-holed cubby, and loved the trays so much used in Tot School, that I got some for myself.  As you can see here, I have it set up for both of my girls. Some tasks are a bit more challenging to hold Bubby’s interests, some activities are just for Boo, and a few are suitable for both of them. I really like how the trays create intentional play. My girls usually have one or two trays they both fight over, and Tot School has been great for teaching things like waiting your turn, choosing another activity until the one you want is available, and respecting eachothers space during an activity. Usually one will go to the other’s tray and start playing, but our rule is that in Tot School, one tray per kid. (Okay, sometimes the rule is broken, especially if they are playing nice and staying occupied so I can get other things done!).

The first set of pictures (edit: pics have been removed) are of Bubby doing various sorting tasks.  She sorted small square blocks by color, shapes by color (a bit trickier because there are two variables with these objects), by shapes, books by size, socks by type (whites, darks, and designs), and socks by person (Mama, Bubby, and Boo).  She came up with the idea of sorting the socks by person on her own!

The last two pictures are of the cubby with the Tot School trays for the girls and the two of them doing the activities.

The top row has activities for Bubby (3.5 yo):

• magnet & container full of various objects (plastic, metal, paper, wood)
• dry beans & an egg carton with numbers in the bottom from 1-12 for counting (this was easy for her so I added numbers for counting by 2’s)
• stamps

The middle row has activities for both girls:

• 4 sectioned tray with pom-poms, ice cream scoop, & tongs (Bubby can use the tongs and sort pom-poms by color; Boo enjoys scooping the pom-poms and putting them in the tray…or all over the floor!)
• rectangular plastic container with a bucket, funnel, rake, and spoon (I’ve had this set up with water and also with uncooked rice)
• play-doh and cookie cutters

The bottom row has activites for Boo (16 mos. old):

• my old school wooden hammer and wooden nail ‘bench’
• a few foam alphabet letters we are talking about (I, E, O, A, M, D)
• paper towel rolls and cars (for rolling the cars through the tunnels)

Stay tuned for more updates on how Tot School is going for us!

Art History Books for Kids

For the past couple weeks I’ve been teaching my 3 year old daughter, “Bubby” (nicknamed this when she was little because she called everyone Bubba for some reason), about famous artists.  I think it is important to teach my children about art and music history, and want them to be able to have an appreciation for each.  While at the library, I found some really neat books written by Laurence Anholt about Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, and Leonardo Da Vinci.  The author has written historically factual stories about each of these famous artists, but in a child friendly way.  For example, the “Girl with the Ponytail” was a favorite subject of Picasso during a particular summer.  The story is about how Picasso met Sylvette, how she became famous as his model, and how Picasso let her choose one piece of artwork at the end.  Sylvette was then able to sell the painting and afford her own art studio.  Real pictures of the artist’s work are incorporated throughout each book (paintings, sculptures, and/or drawings).

Bubby was able to relate to the artist through the characters in the story and it really helped us understand each artist’s personality too.  This is what she (and I) learned from these books:

We discussed vocabulary for: artist, famous, painting, sculpture

Pablo Picasso:

• Liked painting people in unusual ways (for example a foot could be by person’s head, and an arm by a foot, and Picasso often didn’t do things symmetrically- made an ear on one side of the head completely different than the other)
• Liked creating paintings and sculptures
• Had a very cluttered studio with all sorts of objects and artwork around
• Was a silly, happy man (at least during the period when this book was written)

Edgar Degas:

• Liked painting horses and dancers
• Liked creating paintings and sculptures
• In the end was a grumpy man due to loss of eyesight

Leonardo Da Vinci:

• Liked studying how and why things worked
• Liked creating paintings, drawings, and inventions
• Wrote his notes in mirror image
• Was a compassionate man who took in children from the street

Bubby and I also went online to view more famous paintings from each of these artists.  (Picasso is not on this site, but there are many resources online and at the library for these artists.)  She also had fun creating her own drawings,  paintings, and sculptures after reading each of these books.  The picture above is an example of her version of a “Picasso” person compared to her regular drawing of a person.  Due to these books, Bubby has been able to recall the facts above and I think our discussions are setting a good foundation of knowledge about the artists in a fun way.  There are a few more books in the series of Anholt’s Artists Books for Children (geared toward children ages 4-8 years old) on artists such as Matisse, van Gogh, and Monet.  I plan to look for them on our next trip to the library!

These are the three books we already checked out from the library:

Do you know of more child friendly art and art history books or websites? I would love to know about them! Please share in the comments below.

Differences Between Children

I spent Friday outside replanting the garden area in my front yard.  Some of the plants were damaged due to a few freezes this past winter and it’s also needed mulch for at least the past year or so.  We just were not ready to put money into it and had not made the time to do it.  It looked pretty bad (to put it nicely!) and was definitely time to make it look beautiful again.

My parents came over to help with all the planting and to have extra sets of eyes on my two daughters since the road runs right in front of my house.  The girls had an absolute blast playing outside in the water from the hose and in all the dirt.  My oldest was kind enough to spray water into the dirt to create a small mud hole for my youngest daughter.  In the picture my little dirtball is actually wearing a light purple tank top and light green shorts with flowers.  Who knew?!  We did the signs for DIRTY (alot!), TREE, GRASS, FLOWER, WATER, and HOT.

I think I was the one who did the most learning during this project, noticing the differences in personalities between my two girls.  My youngest loves to get as wet and dirty as possible, whereas the oldest does not.  My youngest also held the worms and bugs we found, whereas my oldest was squeamish.  My youngest climbed on top of all the bags of mulch to get as high up as possible and laughed as she teetered precariously on the edge, whereas my oldest preferred to stay on the ground.  But my oldest always desires to help (even with washing dishes or watering the garden) and my youngest could care less.

Are your children like this?  Is the oldest child usually the helper and the youngest rebellious?  I wasn’t sure if this is pretty typical or if it’s just my kids.  I also wonder how this would change, if at all, if we had a third child.  Time to go so I can pry my youngest off the coffee table…

Go With What You Know

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!  Today I have a special guest post from Jason Barr, who has given us a dad’s perspective on what it means to be a part of his son’s life and education.  You should also head over to Jason’s blog Start Being Your Best, where you can read my post titled The Working Mom’s Dilemma.

As a father of a two and a half year old son, I’m always excited to get home from work.  My family and I are fortunate enough to allow my wife to be able to stay home and take care of our son.  It allows us the opportunity to see him grow and develop, learning from my wife and being able to ask questions about the new things he observes in the world around him.  While I’m happy to be able to allow my wife this freedom, I wish that my situation would allow me to do more of the informal education that occurs on a daily basis.

Often times, he’ll run up to me when I come home and want to show me something that he’s learned during the day.  I’ll feel happy for him, but somewhat sad that I couldn’t be there to see it when it happened.  I’ll even get a little jealous of my wife, wishing she’d save some things for me to teach him!  What I’ve decided to do is find areas where I am the best instructor in the house (not an easy task, with a talented wife like mine!) and focus on things that he and I can do together.

1.  Baseball.  The first programs my son would sit still and watch for any length of time on television were baseball games.  Not sure why, because a lot of adults I know say it’s boring.  Now, the games have been eclipsed by the Wiggles, but he and I still enjoy a quick minute or two together when there’s a game on.  He liked to emulate the batters, so we bought him a tee and bat set that we use in the back yard.  I’ve taught him how to hold the bat correctly, how far away he needs to stand, and how hard to swing.  He’s very excited to “get bigger” so that he can hit without the tee.  While my wife enjoys the sport, I’m the real baseball expert in the family.  My son and I talk about what the different players do on the field, and though I’m pretty sure he’s not absorbing everything, it’s something that I’m best prepared to take on.

2.  Cars, trucks and construction equipment.  I don’t know what it is about little boys, but they seem fascinated by this kind of stuff, even if no one in the house models it for them!  I’m about the least mechanically-inclined guy who ever took a shop class, but I still know more about this stuff than my wife does, simply because of the society we’ve grown up in.  We’re not trying to enforce strict gender-roles in our son (he’s as welcome to be a dancer as he is to be a fireman), but since he’s curious about it, I’m the one that started teaching him about this area.  My wife has grown more knowledgeable over time (how can you not, when you read the same books over and over, right?), but I can still pull out little trivia that my wife wouldn’t know.

3.  Anything having to do with traditional “guy stuff”.  Again, it’s not about passing on stereotypes, it’s simply about who’s had more experience with it in the past.  I’ve spent more of my time in the presence of machinery, guns, tools, building fires, and catching frogs than my wife did.  So, if there are opportunities to answer questions or explore curiosities in these areas as he grows up (don’t worry; I’m not teaching my two year old how to shoot a gun just yet, or build a fire, either), then I’m going to seize those opportunities where I can have the most impact.

It’s difficult for parents who work outside the home.  While we all may harp on about “quality time” vs. “quantity time”, I don’t know if there’s a distinction.  To a child as young as my son, the amount of time I get to spend with him IS more important that what I try to cram into it.  All he understands is that I’m either around or I’m not, so when I’m around I’d like to be able to spend time with him doing stuff he enjoys, even if it’s mundane.  By trying to focus on things that I know well, it allows me to feel like I’m actually participating in his education.  That may make me feel good, but it’s also a benefit to him.  He can learn from my experience before he gets old enough to roll his eyes at me when I launch into a “When I Was Your Age…” speech.  The most important thing to remember, I think, is he’s just happy I’m there.

Jason D Barr writes Start Being Your Best, a blog chock-full of creative personal development articles, designed to help you reach the goals YOU want to reach.  If you like what you’ve just read, you can see more posts like it twice weekly by grabbing a subscription here or by following him on Twitter here.

Teaching Sentence Structure

I was doing a bit of homeschooling with my oldest daughter a few days ago and she was reading through sight word and blend cards that came with a game we have.  Having the words on the cards all mixed up reminded me of a particular test I have given as a speech pathologist to evaluate a child’s language skills.  One section of the test evaluates the child’s understanding of sentence structure by having the words from a sentence mixed up.  The task requires the child to use every word and rearrange the words in proper order to create a meaningful sentence.  The test gets more difficult by requiring the creation of two meaningful sentences, or sometimes it can be a sentence and a question that are created from the given words.  The complexity of sentence structure also increases as the test progresses.  I decided to try this with my daughter using the cards we have, although it could be done with words written on index cards or a piece of paper.

The first picture is an example of two sentences I gave my daughter with the words mixed up.  These can be rearranged to say “What is that?” and “I will tell you.”  And the final two pictures are an example of how a question and a sentence can be created from the same set of words.

I had not thought about doing this before, but think I will continue to do this with my daughter periodically to gauge how much she understands the structure of English language.  As she gets older, I can see this activity being a fun way to introduce or review grammar lessons.  Do you have any fun ideas for teaching grammar or sentence structure to your child?  I would love to know about it!  Please share in the comment section below.

The FURminator

For all the pet owners, I want to tell you about the Furminator because it does such an awesome job.  It is a shedding tool for dogs and cats that helps to remove the undercoat.  My oldest daughter has an allergy to dog dander.  Getting rid of our dog was not an option, so I’m always looking for ways to reduce the allergens in our house.  Besides getting a better air filter for our air conditioning unit and a better vacuum, I think the Furminator is one of the best purchases I’ve made.  My sister and I initially split the purchase of the first one because we weren’t sure how good it was going to work.  After one use, both my sister and I were sold.  I have used it on my dog and on my long haired cat, and both enjoy being brushed by the Furminator.

I have attached a picture of my dog after a few minutes of brushing with the Furminator.  Keep in mind some of her hair is dark so you can’t see it well on the grass, and some of it blew away also.  Every time I brush my animals I am just amazed at how much hair comes off.

The best price I was able to find was through Amazon for about $25-30, which is much cheaper than I have seen in the local pet stores.  I recommend this for any pet owner who has an animal that sheds.  It has reduced the dander that my daughter is allergic to and the number of unwanted pet hair “tumbleweeds” in my house.

Testing & Improving Reading Fluency

In my previous post, I discussed the importance of reading fluency and the impact it has on reading comprehension.  Now I will discuss how to measure and improve reading fluency.

Testing Reading Fluency

You can easily test a child’s (or your own) reading fluency by selecting a passage of appropriate grade level text.  With a timer set, have the child read the text at a normal rate for 1 minute and mark where the child stops.  Also mark any reading errors such as words that were omitted (skipped), mispronounced, substituted (read another word in its place), or pronounced by you if the child paused for a couple seconds.  It may be easiest to tape record the child and mark the errors made afterwards.  Now count up the total number of words read correctly per minute (WCPM).  You can do this process 2 more times with different passages in order to get a WCPM average, and more realistic reading fluency rate.  Jan Hasbrouck and Gerald Tindal are two researchers who did a study titled “Oral Reading Fluency: 90 Years of Measurement” in 2004.  The data from their study provided them with oral reading fluency rates for children in grades 1-8, which is useful in determining where a child places in relation to average for a particular grade.

Improving Reading Fluency

As a speech-language pathologist I often work with students to improve their reading fluency since it so greatly affects reading comprehension.  I select an appropriate passage for the student, which may be below grade level if the student is struggling with reading fluency.  Note: It is important to select a passage that will be a bit of a challenge, but not so difficult that it will cause frustration.  Once the passage is selected I have the student read from it for 1 minute and note any reading errors that were made.  I then count the number of words he read correctly during the 60 second reading, which gives me the number of words read per minute (wpm).  Next I go over the reading errors with the student, having him sound out any words he struggled with, mispronounced, or skipped.  After the review, I have the student read the same passage a second time and stop at the same spot where he did after the first 60 second reading.  I document the amount of time it took him to read it the second time, and the number of errors he made.  Again I review any reading errors that were made (if any). I repeat this process a third time, having the student stop in the same place and then document the amount of time it took to read and number of errors he made.  Usually the student will improve his reading rate (by reading the passage in less than 60 seconds) and/or his reading accuracy (by making fewer errors) with each successive second and third reading of the passage.  After working on reading fluency, I usually have the student continue reading the paragraph or passage and then ask him a few reading comprehension questions.  Below is how I document reading fluency.

Date

Time 1: 60 seconds/ # errors/ # words per minute (wpm)

Time 2: # seconds/ # errors

Time 3: # seconds/ # errors

It is important to note that just because a student has a fast reading rate and reads accurately, it does not mean he necessarily comprehends the text being read.  Likewise it would be unwise to focus just on reading rate at the expense of having incorrect prosody or not comprehending what was read.  Notice where a child’s reading errors occur.  Are they due to rate (trying to read too fast and skipping words or maybe taking too long to decode words)?  Are they due to accuracy (reading the words incorrectly or pronouncing the words incorrectly)?  Does the child understand what was just read (if asked who, what, when, where, why type questions about the text)?  Was incorrect prosody (phrasing and expression) a factor in poor comprehension?  Or was poor comprehension due to weak vocabulary skills?  By examining the errors a child makes, I am able to determine what areas need work.  Then I can target specific skills to develop those areas and improve overall reading fluency and comprehension.

I believe the best ways to improve a child’s reading fluency and comprehension is by being read aloud to, and through practice reading aloud.  By reading aloud to a child, you are providing a model of reading rate, fluency, and expression.  You can also ask questions about what you have just read, which demonstrates the importance of comprehending what was read.  And by having the child read aloud to you, he has the opportunity to practice and get feedback on his reading fluency (i.e. rate, accuracy, and prosody).

Let me know if you have any questions about testing or improving reading fluency in the comment section below.

The Importance of Reading Fluency

What is reading fluency and why is it important?  Reading fluency is comprised of the rate, accuracy, and prosody you use while reading.  Reading fluency is important because the ability to read efficiently, accurately, and with appropriate expression and meaning allow for what is read to be comprehended.

Reading rate just means the speed, or how quickly, you are able to read text.  The rate you are able to read at depends upon your ability to automatically decode words on the page.  If you are a good reader you are able to look at the letters and sounds that form a word and quickly put them together to read the word.  If you struggle with reading you take more time to sound out each letter in a word and then to blend the sounds together in order to read the word.  And when you have to do this for every word in a sentence, it is very easy to forget the words you sounded out at the beginning of a sentence.  For example, let’s say this is the sentence you are reading from a book: “The cat sat on a large mat.”  It makes a big difference if you are able to read this sentence in 5 seconds as compared to taking 2 minutes to read it.  This is why reading rate can greatly affect reading comprehension, and why reading needs to become automatic in order to become a good reader.

Reading accuracy means how accurately, or correctly, you are able to read text.  It is important that you are reading the words on a page correctly.  Otherwise it makes no difference how quickly you are able to read because the meaning of what you have read is wrong.  For example, let’s say this is the sentence you are reading from a book: “The frog jumped over the log.”  And then let’s say you did not read it accurately, and this is what you read instead: “The frig jumped over the dog.”  As you can see, the meaning of what you just read was completely different than the sentence in the book and does not make any sense.  Reading accuracy is just as important as reading rate in becoming a good reader and being able to obtain meaning from what you have read.

Reading prosody means the ability to read with expression and proper phrasing while reading text.  Prosody is what makes you sound natural while reading, and helps the words you are reading convey meaning.  For example, let’s say this is the sentence you are reading from a book: “Mom, look over there!  It’s a snake!” And this is how you read it aloud instead: “Mom look over there it’s a snake.”  As you can see, the excitement or fear that the original sentence should convey was lost in the reading.  It not only sounds boring, but comprehension of what has just occurred may be missed because it was not read with correct prosody.

Stay tuned for my next post, which will discuss how to test and then improve reading fluency.

What Is Your Learning Style?

Auditory Visual Kinesthetic (AVK) modes of learning incorporate sound, sight, and touch into the learning process.  By incorporating all three modes together, it allows for more avenues of input to the brain, which make learning easier.  Most people have a particular strength (for example, mine is visual) but by incorporating as many modes of input together into a learning experience, it can not only strengthen the weaker modes but make long term recall of the information learned much easier.

I came across a questionnaire called the VARK (Visual Aural Read-Write and Kinesthetic) which is divided into four modes of learning.  There are 16 items in the questionnaire, and you are to check the answer(s) that best match your preference for each situation.  You are to check more than one box if the answer applies to you.  At the end of the questionnaire you are given the results of your learning style preference which may be multimodal (more than one mode), visual, aural, read-write, or kinesthetic.

After you complete the questionnaire, or if you prefer not to take the questionnaire, you can read the VARK Helpsheets which give you study strategies for each mode type.  I believe it is beneficial to understand your own mode of learning because you are then better able to understand the other modes of learning.  Whether you are homeschooling, teaching in the classroom, doing speech therapy, or just playing at home with your kids, by making a learning environment multimodal (AVK or VARK) you are much more likely to meet the needs and strengths of every child and create the success you desire.  Also, when age appropriate, I believe it is beneficial to take the time to teach each child about his own learning style and preferences.  You can then teach him the study strategies that will build on his strengths and make learning the easiest and most enjoyable for him.

Downsides of Homeschooling

In my last post I discussed the benefits of homeschooling, which mainly revolve around the ability to customize and control your child’s education.  The following is my list of possible downsides of homeschooling for you to consider.

Cons to Homeschooling:

1.       It is a full time job.  Homeschooling is a full time job when you consider the planning, teaching, and learning required on your part in order to teach your child.  You will likely be scheduling time with co-ops, play groups, or other group activities in your community so your child has the opportunity to socialize with other children.  In a nutshell, it takes time to prepare, plan, and execute the homeschooling lifestyle.

2.        Ability to afford homeschooling. Since homeschooling is a full time job, it requires someone to stay home in order to teach your child.  This typically means relying on a one-parent income which may require sacrifice and careful budgeting.  You will also have to purchase school materials and books for your child, which would not be a factor if your child was attending a public school (although if you take into account the school supplies, clothes, and shoes you would typically purchase for school throughout the year it could be about the same cost.)

3.        Control over the content taught to your child. (Yes this, and the next item were on the pro list too!)  While it can definitely be a benefit to control the content taught to your child, with the control also comes the responsibility.  You are ultimately responsible for what your child knows, and if you are not thorough in your teaching then your child is the one who pays.  It is your job to do a good job, so your child reaps the benefits of an excellent education rather than suffers due to the lack of a poor education.  The responsibility rests on you.

4.       All that time with your child. While quality time with your child sounds great, homeschooling means 24 hours a day 7 days a week with your child.  Most children do engage in social, athletic, and other educational activities (especially as they get older) so you will have some time apart.  But unlike public school where your child is gone for 6-7 hours a day during the week, with homeschooling your child is home with you most of the time.  You need to be able to spend all day together and get along, so you should to evaluate the dynamic between yourself and your child to decide whether homeschooling fits your personalities.   Also consider your child’s needs and your own.  For example, some kids just need to be in a classroom full of kids and thrive on socializing with others.   And some parents need time and space away from their child, whether it is to get other things accomplished or have time alone.  Lastly, since your child does not go away to school you do not have that time alone to do housework, run errands, or do things for yourself.  Instead your child is around all day continually making more of a mess (think school books and papers laying around, working on science experiments, serving and cleaning up 3 meals a day at home, etc.) and just one more thing to be prepared for if you are considering homeschooling your child.

Hopefully my list of pros and cons will get you thinking a bit more about homeschooling.  Maybe it isn’t something you have ever considered before and realize it is something you might want to do.  Or maybe you were considering homeschooling and realize it just isn’t the right fit for you or your child.  Deciding to homeschool is a personal decision for every parent.  You need to take into account your personality, your child’s personality, and your lifestyle to determine if homeschooling is the right option for your family.

So where do you stand?  Are you now considering homeschooling, or are you changing your mind?  Let me know in the comment section below.