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LisaR
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 10:09am | IP Logged
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cactus mouse wrote:
Yes - Memorizing the Baltimore Cate is much different from Atrium...but I am thinking it may be just as important...I like that I can do both  . ) |
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right, but this is where I'm trying to tell myself that I don't HAVE to do both or do it all anymore, and if I do have the time/energy, I should defer to the Balt Cat. rather than Atrium, kwim??
for me I used to get caught up in all the "great stuff" out there, now I'm into scaling back, and hitting the basics simply hard and quick. Maybe ramping up our daily Mass attendance a bit more plus the Balt Cat might be better than running off to another "experience" for my kids, kwim??
but I am not knocking Atrium, just using it as an example.
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Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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ALmom
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 10:43am | IP Logged
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I think the longer you homeschool, the more you discover the truth about how your particular children learn best - and you use whatever you need to use out there instead of trying to find the "perfect" homeschooling way. At least that is my experience. I also have learned that just because something is good in small doses, that does not mean you dump all else and do it exclusively. I think so many of the different philosophies of education are discoveries about a truth about how children learn. There should be an inherent growth, instead of an outright departure from what worked in the past - but also a recognition of whatever truth is in newer discoveries of how children learn (or in some cases, particular children). I have found that I've learned a lot from the various therapy avenues we've had to travel. Obviously if you have a child with sensory systems that don't work in the ways most people's work, you have to make adjustments - but you can also use some of this to help a child be more efficient if one sensory system is stronger than another.
In my house, there has to be a balance between structure and exploration, between discipline to just do the unenticing or uninspiring and plenty of rabbit trails to aid in inspiration; a balance between memorizing and understanding and doing it in small doses over long periods of time so that it is long term memory and not a "pass the test" memory. There has to be repetition but not busy work. The reason the Burger King commercial sticks is because we heard it over and over in little chunks over a period of time. Our Latin tutor was a big stickler for memory work - but he insisted that they not take the whole deck of vocabulary and run through it. He insisted that they take 5 cards and go over them for a few seconds frequently throughout the day and finding some sort of peg that would remind them- if you are watching a show, during the commercials. (The marketers took something about how we retain things and use it to make sure their product is not forgotten, and there is something to the length of the commercial repeated over and over and over). They didn't add any new cards in until these were solid. He didn't want them to spend a huge time at one sitting, but a short time (a few seconds - maybe a minute) but many times a day.
I've learned to accept the little lessons in how to help my children as they come - to recognize them. They often come from unexpected places.
I started out very unschooly and have become more structured in some ways. I have definitely gone to lots of planning (whether it is my own or borrowed from providers). I sign up for curriculums when it helps me - but I make sure I am free to adjust as needed. If my children come back to the same basic facts over and over again in history and obviously know them - then no need to drill. If we need to, we tackle one small part at a time and move forward from there.
I really am of the mindset of a little learned well is more valuable than a lot of cursory coverage. Of course, being human, I am pulled into various currents that aren't best and what I've learned isn't always implemented perfectly - but we have a clearer picture of what we are striving for both academically and otherwise. There is a more intentional awareness rather than a panic. I'm also a lot more forgiving of myself and my children and realize that we strive and with God's grace make adjustments and start again many, many times in our lives. I think it is important for children to learn that failure is OK too, it is a really good teacher. Edison said that he didn't fail, he just learned 10,0000 ways not to do something - or some such thing. That seems to be how I've been learning to homeschool  .
Janet
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LisaR
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 10:54am | IP Logged
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ALmom wrote:
I really am of the mindset of a little learned well is more valuable than a lot of cursory coverage.
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yep, I think this is right where I am at right now!!
__________________
Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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Natalia
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 11:01am | IP Logged
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Quote:
| The formal discussion got me wondering about this. |
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Are you referring to another thread? Did I miss it?
Natalia
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http://pannuestrodecadadia.blogspot.com
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MaryM
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 11:20am | IP Logged
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Natalia wrote:
Quote:
| The formal discussion got me wondering about this. |
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Are you referring to another thread? Did I miss it? |
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Here is the thread that sparked this discussion - What do I risk by not "getting formal?"
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Mary M. in Denver
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Willa
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| Posted: June 27 2008 at 11:57am | IP Logged
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ALmom wrote:
Our Latin tutor was a big stickler for memory work - but he insisted that they not take the whole deck of vocabulary and run through it. He insisted that they take 5 cards and go over them for a few seconds frequently throughout the day and finding some sort of peg that would remind them- if you are watching a show, during the commercials. (The marketers took something about how we retain things and use it to make sure their product is not forgotten, and there is something to the length of the commercial repeated over and over and over). They didn't add any new cards in until these were solid. He didn't want them to spend a huge time at one sitting, but a short time (a few seconds - maybe a minute) but many times a day.
I've learned to accept the little lessons in how to help my children as they come - to recognize them. They often come from unexpected places.
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How true -- one example for me was that to help my son get started writing narrations last year, I would write out the type of questions you would get in an old Catholic textbook -- the sort of questions that added up to a kind of outline if you answered them.
IT was not very CM-y but it got him over the log and then he was able to make his own outlines and write his own narrations with ease.
I love the Latin tip. I think I shall have to try that next year with my 12 year old. I know Cheryl Lowe says that we always tend to over-estimate what a child can learn in a short time and UNDER-estimate what he can learn in the long run. Patience in building up a foundation of habits can pay off better than acceleration through a bunch of things. This is an area where I feel I'm a bit less "formal" (if that's the right word) but a bit more intentional. I think I probably had some pride or laziness wrapped up in trying to push through a lot of material or do lots of things, rather than prioritizing and then following through on the priorities.
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Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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Bookswithtea
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I really think its individual. One thing I've noticed is that there is a huge focus in hsing on children's learning styles, but very little focus on mom's teaching style. When I tried to follow only my kid's so called learning styles, we made very little progress and I felt very much "all over the place." My brain doesn't work that way. I need order. We absolutely have "school time" and "fun time" , I don't feel even remotely guilty about it, and I despise making everything a "learning experience."  It is so not fun to feel like I have to read aloud every stupid flora and fauna sign at an arboretum or zoo or wherever and dig through field guides while trying to nurse a baby in a sling and keep a 3 yr old from wandering off.
That said, I'm still not a memorization mom (or an Atrium mom, for that matter). I'm more of an "explain it to me in your own words" mom. That just seems to work better all around for us. I cut and butcher other provider's manuals and make them work for us. I need a plan or I go crazy, but I don't like the plans available to me for purchase.
I am probably more formal than I was in the first two years of hsing (a disastrous attempt to be an unschooler), but less formal than many I know...well, that's probably not entirely true. I'm formal in the structure/routine of our days, but I am firmly in the "better late than early" camp so I guess I expect things at different ages than others. I try hard to structure things to allow for lots of "masterly inactivity" and keep in mind CM's "all true education is self education." I dunno...there is no method label for what we do and I can't even judge how formal (or not) that it is compared to others...its just what we do.
Now I feel like I'm talking in circles...maybe I should be quiet and recite the Big Mac song instead... 
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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ALmom
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Books - you're right about mom's style having to be part of the puzzle. I should have added that to what I learned - what I could deal with and what I could not deal with. I do not do projects or lead group discussions or do crafty stuff or unit studies, nor do I make everything into a learning experience. I'd go absolutely nuts if I had to identify all the flora and fauna - I'm not even sure what fauna is. I'd better have something that teaches me the basics or at least is self-teaching for the dc or we won't get anywhere in some subjects!!! If my children need some of the stuff I simply cannot do, then it is self directed and only requires mom to have materials on hand. I have some project, hands on type learners, and books that start ideas rolling serve them well for self-created projects. Most of what I need for support is a result of my deplorable lack of education. I have discovered that if we can find something that efficiently and clearly gets the basics across, the children can then race past me in their hunt for knowledge. But I've got to help them get the basics. This really comes home to roost in science in our house.
Books, every time you post, I see a lot of myself (not in terms of ignorance but in terms of method or hodge podge, mom needing order and sequence, not even knowing how formal or not you would be etc.) - you are just learning a lot more quickly than I did  . Would you ever be planning to visit south - if so, I've really got to meet you in person!
Janet
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4Real Forums : Philosophy of Education
Topic: 'formal' discussion
