Teaching Kids About the 4th of July

Last year when Bubby was 2.5 years old, I started teaching her the basics about the 4^th of July.  I told her it was the American flag’s birthday, because at that age she was really starting to grasp what birthdays were all about.  So this is what she learned at that age:

• The date: July 4^th

• It is the American flag’s birthday (because she had no concept yet of what America or the U.S. meant, but did know what the American flag was)

• What the American flag looks like- stars and stripes, and colors red, white, & blue

• The flag has several names: American flag, Stars & Stripes, Old Glory, Star Spangled Banner

• Usually people set off fireworks to celebrate

Now that Bubby is another year older (3.5 yo), I am able to build on her prior knowledge.  This year we talked about:

• Vocabulary: independence, freedom, anthem

• The Declaration of Independence (I have a laminated copy she can look at)

• Important men signed the Declaration because they didn’t want the King of England telling them what to do in America, especially since he lived so far away! (We looked at a map to see how far it is from America to England.)

• Important people during this time:  She loves cutting and gluing so I copied a worksheet with the pictures of 8 important people with a short description.  She put them on construction paper and is learning the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, and King George III.  I didn’t go into any more detail about who these people were this time since it is a lot of information, but will definitely be able to build on this next year.

• Symbols of America: Statue of Liberty, Liberty Bell, Bald Eagle.  I printed out drawings of these (and a few other pictures) from the internet which she colored and we put them together into a 4^th of July coloring book.

• Washington D.C. is our capital and where the President lives and works (and locate it on a U.S. map)

• The “Star Spangled Banner” is our national anthem (and we listened to it)

I hope this gives you some ideas to start with, especially with younger kids.  Sometimes it is hard to know how to explain something in simple terms, or in a way that children can relate to.  I feel it is always best to start simple, especially with something that is tangible (like the American flag) and build from there.  Next year I am thinking Bubby will be able to understand more, and might enjoy one of the educational programs on the History Channel.

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.

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.

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.

Benefits of Homeschooling

Deciding whether or not to homeschool can be a difficult decision for parents.  It’s hard to know what the benefits of homeschooling are if you have not experienced it for yourself.  If you are like me, you went to public school and feel like you got a decent education.  There is also something to be said about the public school experience…riding the bus, a classroom full of kids, and later prom and varsity sports.  We want to do what is best for our child and it is difficult to know whether the answer is for her to go to public school just like you, or to venture into unknown territory and  try homeschooling.  I’ve come up with a list of pros and cons that will hopefully get you thinking and maybe help with your decision.

Pros to Homeschooling:

1.       Your child’s education can be customized to meet her specific needs and learning style. As we know, every child is different.  No person has the same interests, abilities, or learning style.  So why does our public education system put children into the same class primarily based upon age, rather than by ability or learning style?

For example, in the public school system, why isn’t a 6 year old able to take a science class with 8 year olds if she is capable of comprehending the material and shows a natural ability in the area of science?  With homeschooling, this is able to be done because each child is able to explore her particular interests and set the pace of instruction.

Just as with interests, every child also has a different ability level in each subject.  Why do most public school systems expect children to be at grade level in every subject area?  As in the example above, the girl has a natural ability in science, but maybe she struggles with spelling and grammar.  With homeschooling, the pace can be adjusted for each subject to meet her needs.  This flexibility is especially helpful with children who have learning disabilities and/or special needs.  The curriculum can be designed and adjusted specifically for each child.

Every child has a different learning style, also.  Some children rely mainly on visual input to learn, while others rely on auditory input, and yet others rely on a kinesthetic mode of input.  Usually a child will be a combination of the three, with one mode being the strength.  (Read more about AVK  learning styles.  You can also take the VARK test to determine your own learning preference.)  In the public school system, what do you do if a teacher uses mostly visual and auditory methods of teaching, and your child is mainly a kinesthetic learner?  With homeschooling, the teaching style can match your child’s learning style.

2.       The world is your multisensory classroom. With homeschooling, teaching a child is a part of daily life.  Your child learns from everyday people and experiences.  A child can learn to interact with people of all age groups, rather than just her peers.  Multisensory opportunities are abound, as any day of the week can be a trip to the zoo, art or science museum, monument, or nature walk.  School can become like one big “field trip”, which unfortunately is not the case in most public schools.

3.       Ability to control the content taught to your child. With homeschooling, you are able to incorporate art, music, history, science, and geography into the curriculum which may not otherwise be taught in the public school system.  Also, you are able to instill your family’s beliefs and teach your life philosophy to your children.

4.       Ability to spend quality time with your child. As every parent knows, children grow up so quickly.  With homeschooling, you are able to spend precious time together with your child every day while learning and creating new memories.

Have I left any benefits of homeschooling out?  Please let me know in the comment section below.  Also, stay tuned for my next post on Downsides of Homeschooling.

How to Teach the Concept of Time at Bedtime

Understanding the concept of time is an important milestone in language development and early learning .  So after my daughter learned the 7 days of the week, I wanted to teach her how a calendar works so she could start learning about the year, months, days, and holidays and start to grasp how a calendar can be useful.  I hung the calendar in her room where we would see it and not forget it at bedtime.  As part of our nightly routine she puts an “X” in the box to cross off the day.  I ask her questions such as, “What day (number) is it on the calendar?”, “What day of the week is it today?”, “What month is it right now?”, “What year is it?”, and “What is today’s date?”  Sometimes we review the days of the week and months of the year.  Initially I started off with only one or two questions until she started to get the hang of what I was asking for and got the answers right.

I also found it extremely helpful to use stamps to represent birthdays, holidays, and weekly events on the calendar.  For example, I have a stamp that says “Happy Birthday!” with balloons on it, so I use that to represent each family member’s birthday.  She enjoys looking ahead to see who’s birthday is coming up next, and looking to see how far away her birthday is too.  I have a pumpkin stamp for Halloween and a bunny for Easter, but also use a bear stamp to represent our “Special Saturday Breakfast” (where I make whatever she wants…the request is usually chocolate chip pancakes!) and a butterfly when we go to visit the local butterfly garden.  You can even draw simple shapes to represent each activity, no stamp required.  For example, I drew waves to represent the swimming lessons she is taking twice a week.

The only thing that matters is using the same stamp or shape consistently for an activity.  By doing this you are providing a visual representation of the activity for your child, which he can use to help recall information about his day.  You can then ask even more questions like, “What did you do yesterday?” and “What will we be doing tomorrow?” and your child will be able to tell you based upon the stamp or picture you used to represent the activity.  This time also gives you a chance to review the day’s activities and discuss tomorrow’s activities.  Discussions like this will give him a better understanding of the concept of time and what ambiguous words like yesterday, today, and tomorrow mean.  Children enjoy this type of discussion and crossing off the calendar may quickly become one more thing that is required by your child before falling asleep!

Have you tried this yet or do you do something similar?  If so I’d love to hear how it’s working for you!

Educational Car Games

I think one of the best times to review or learn new information is in the car while running errands.  You can take advantage of those spare minutes (even a quick 5 minute drive) to introduce a new concept or play a fun game.  Best of all it keeps your child occupied and even entertained!

A few things I do with my daughter in the car while running errands:

Practice ABC’s -Sing them, sign them while singing, or the old standby game where you find the letters in order from A to Z on signs and billboards.

Practice counting-  First it was just 1-10, then 1-20, then counting by 10s up to 100, and now we are counting from 1-100 and by 5s up to 100.

Play the “Category Game”- My daughter loves this one and usually is the one who starts it.  Either I name a category or she comes up with one and then we each take turns thinking of an item in that category.  This is an important language development skill for children to acquire, and this is an easy and fun way to learn the concept of categories.  For example, my daughter gives the category “sea animals” and says the first item “crab”.  Then it’s my turn and I say “octopus”, and we continue until neither one of us can think of another animal.  Then we start a new category!

A few category ideas to get you started: farm animals, ocean animals, jungle animals, African animals, colors, shapes, fruits, vegetables, furniture, occupations, transportation, and things found in the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom.  For kids a bit older try the category game based on the characteristics of items such as things that are hard, soft, big, little, tall, glass, plastic, cheap, expensive, can fly, crawl, etc.

Play the “Rhyming Game”- Another version of the category game, but you just start out with a word and take turns saying words that rhyme with the first one.  For example, you start with “hat” and take turns saying “rat”, “bat”, “pat”, “mat”, “sat”, “zat”, “gat”, and “lat”.  Both real and made up words are great!

Sing songs and recite nursery rhymes- Another favorite!  Memorizing familiar songs and nursery rhymes is an important skill for children to acquire.  Being able to remember information is an important life skill, and usually is taught by learning songs and nursery rhymes.  It is also important for children to learn them because they are a part of our culture and may be referenced in material as they get older.  For example, if you are reading a story that makes reference to ‘Jack and Jill’ but you don’t know how the nursery rhyme goes, then you will not fully understand what the author is trying to say.  Nursery rhymes, songs, fairy tales, and other stories that are a part of our culture are often expected to be common knowledge.

Some of our favorites are Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill (both verses!), Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wee Willie Winkie, and This Old Man.

A tip to help your child: After saying the nursery rhyme a few times aloud, start leaving off the last word in the verse.  For example, “Twinkle Twinkle Little ____” and have your child say the word to finish it (star).  Then continue with, “How I wonder what you ____” (are).  Since the words usually rhyme, it provides a great clue and children usually pick up these words quickly.  Once able to do this, start leaving out more words (”Twinkle Twinkle  _____  ___”) and before you know it he will have the whole thing memorized!

Homeschooling: My Journey

As you know, I started signing with my oldest daughter when she was a few months old.  She has been a little sponge right from the start and at 3 years old has started to read.  I really attribute this snowball effect to the use of sign language.  So in many ways I feel like I’ve been homeschooling her from the beginning, although my intentions have only been to teach her about the world around her and to have fun while doing it.

Needless to say, she is ahead of most children her age, which puts me in a dilemma when it comes to schooling.  I already know at her tender age of 3 that she will not fit in the public schools because she would be bored by the time she starts Kindergarten.  We considered private school because they can be a bit more flexible about a child entering school a year sooner, but even they are not comfortable with advancing a child more than a year.  It is understandable because schools look at a child from a social perspective and it wouldn’t be right to put a 5 year old in with 8 year old kids- I get that.

So really the only option left is to homeschool my daughter.  If I want to keep her interested in learning and to allow her to progress at her own rate, then I gladly take on that responsibility.  I don’t want to hold her back by not teaching her, just so she fits in with kids her own age.  Just as any parent has to accept their child’s rate of learning (whether disabled, average, or gifted) I have to accept hers and everything that comes with it, too. I do have faith in my daughter and us as parents that we will make the right decisions as we continue to navigate our homeschooling journey.  It may be a bit bumpy, but hopefully fun…welcome along for the ride!

My Teaching Philosophy

As a mother of two daughters, I believe one of my main responsibilities is to teach them about our world.  Every day is an opportunity to teach them something new.  Being so young, teaching moments in our household usually revolve around our daily routines such as cooking dinner, bath time, grocery shopping, folding laundry, or going for a walk.

Sometimes something unique happens (such as a slug crawling on the sidewalk) and it catches our attention.  With childlike curiosity we begin asking ourselves questions like “Do slugs have legs?”, “What does he do when we touch him?”, and “Where does he live?”  On our search for these answers, new questions are spawned and before we know it we are learning about other bugs and insects, insect habitats and the habitats of other animals, and on…and on…

From my experiences I believe that:

• A child is born wired to learn (although each at his own speed)
• Teaching and learning can be fun
• Learning happens best through everyday experiences
• The more avenues to the brain the better (AVK or multisensory approach)
• You should let your child lead (it’s like a dance!)

From birth, a baby is bombarded by new stimuli to his senses.  He starts to process this information and rapidly begins learning.  For example, a baby will quickly learn that by crying he will get picked up or when he pushes the button on a toy, music will be played.  I believe we all come here to learn, but it just occurs at different levels and at different paces for each of us.

I believe that a good teacher is someone who is also learning.  A perfect example is the pollywog experience with my daughter.  Before this, all I really knew was that tadpoles changed into frogs.  I didn’t know much detail about how this happened and had never watched it in person.  I would say that I learned just as much about polliwogs as my daughter from this experience, but most of all we had fun together.

“To be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner.  I am not a teacher, only a fellow student.”

-Soren Kierkegaard

I’ve never sat my daughter down for a couple hours each day to do drills, flashcards, or anything of the sort.  Everything she knows has just been an extension of our everyday experiences.  For example, I had foam alphabet letters in the bath tub and she learned the alphabet and sounds each letter makes while splashing in the tub.  She learned colors while playing with play dough or painting; learned fruits and vegetables while shopping at the grocery store; learned matching from pairing socks while I folded laundry; learned measurements while helping me cook dinner or bake cookies; and learned basic telling-time skills because we feed our dog at 6 o’clock and her favorite show “Wheel of Fortune” comes on at 7 o’clock.  These are just a few examples, but all serve to show you that it has been through our daily routine that she has learned the foundation of numerous concepts.

I also believe a multisensory approach (also known as AVK) to learning greatly increases a person’s ability to remember information.  People usually have one or two modes of learning that are their strength and especially with young children it is difficult to know what mode of learning is their strength.  By using a multisensory approach, you are covering all bases.  To do this I incorporate sign language, music, and art as much as possible into our daily lives.

Lastly, you should let your child lead.  It truly is like a dance in that I see what my daughter’s interests are as a starting point, and we go from there.  By finding your child’s particular interest you can then incorporate other subjects such as science, math, reading, and history all while it remains fun.  Also, by letting your child lead you are allowing him to learn at his own pace rather than going at your pace.  This is important because you don’t want your child to feel pressured to learn, rather that learning is fun and something he wants to do.  If learning is child-driven then it will be a natural process stemming from a child’s curiosity about the world, and by feeding that desire, you will create a child who develops a love for learning.