Often times when teaching your own children, you scramble around looking for a program or syllabus to give you some structure. Some parents are very good with the “unschooling” method, just going with the flow and being led by the child. Unfortunately, I am not one of those parents. I have all these information in my head that I want to share with my children, I just don’t know where to start. And then I also have a fear that I may have forgotten or missed out teaching them a certain concept. I wish I had a giant checklist of “things to teach my children.”
Well, I don’t have a GIANT checklist. What I do have is a mini checklist of basic math concepts you could use as a guideline for teaching your toddler. It has nothing to do with addition or subtraction but rather concepts such as “size”, “position”, “time”, “quantity” and other things. Very likely your child has already learned some of these concepts through daily interaction. Even if they have, you could still do a quick lesson, just to reinforce it. Understanding these math concepts will help your child be familiar with terminology used by teachers and books later on when they start school. It will also help them to better follow instructions such as “put your shoes on the first shelf” or “line up from shortest to tallest.”
POSITION
above/below, over/under, top/bottom, high/low, up/down, in front of/behind, beside/by/next to, around, inside/outside, left/right, far/near, first/last, middle/between
TIME
young/old, early/late, fast/slow, yesterday/today/tomorrow, morning/afternoon, day/night, before/after
So, how do you teach these concepts to your children? There are a variety of ways. Here are a few:
Look for the concepts in story books. For example, the simple story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff can teach concepts such as big/medium/small, first/second/third and over/under. Let’s not forget Goldilocks and the Three Bears. There are basic math concepts in there too.
Use “real” objects around you. You could show your child a long pencil and a short pencil. How about sorting through a pile of books and deciding which is thin and which is thick. And now is the time to pull out all those jars and tins in your kitchen. Have your child arrange them from big to small or vice versa.
Play games. You could play “where is teddy bear?”. You hide teddy inside a box, under the chair, beside the telephone etc…, give the verbal clue and see if your child can find it. Be a little creative and see if you could come up with your own games. Even a treasure hunt could be a lesson on left/right/forward.
Worksheets. You don’t have to find a “professionally prepared” worksheet. It’s okay to keep it simple. Draw 3 stars on one side and 5 stars on the other and ask your child which is fewer/more? Draw 3 balls and have him circle the middle one. If you are hardworking, I’m sure you will be able to find some free worksheets on the net.
Remember, teaching doesn’t have to be complicated. Don’t think you need to put in hours of preparation. AND a lesson doesn’t have to last for hours. Sometimes, all it takes is 5 minutes for your child to learn the concept.
When we talk about getting children to read, we usually think of using story books, comics, magazines and school books. Well, here is one more for you - YOUR OWN FAMILY STORIES. Journaling and family history can be an exciting read for your children as well.
Just the other day, I was talking to my daughter about an experience I had when I was younger. I can’t remember what I said but I remember her saying “Oh, I know that, I read that in your book.” The book she was referring to was “My Book of Remembrance.” It’s a file that I worked on a few years back detailing everything about me. Here is what I have in the file:
Biodata e.g. date of birth, place of birth, IC number, Education… basically like a CV or a resume
Certificates e.g. copy of birthcert, exam results etc…
Chart of my family tree
History of my life - my family, my early years, teenage years, university years. Each stage of my life is given a brief description. Just writing things like who my friends were, which school I went to, favorite things, hobbies and talents, special occasions.
Also included is an 11 page paper about “My Early Years” which I wrote back in 1996 for a Family History class I took in Uni.
A page of picture highlighting my life before children and another page highlighting my life
after children.
I still need to add to this file. The reason for doing “My Book Of Remembrance” is so I can pass this on to my descendants. They will know and remember me, through me. Mind you, this is not a journal. You don’t have to write personal things that you don’t want people to read about. This Book of Remembrance is more like snippets of your life — things that would help your children get to know you better e.g. a favorite vacation, what influenced you in your choice of religion, your hopes and goals, describe your wedding day etc…. You could also have a page where you voice your counsel to future generations. Imagine what questions would you ask your great grandfather if he was alive today?
Children love to read stories of their own parents and ancestors. Can you imagine your child learning in history class about WWII and then having them read or listen to an account of their own grandparent living through that time period. Wouldn’t you think it would add some excitement to their learning?
Children also love to hear stories about themselves when they were younger. I’m now trying to put greater effort into writing a weekly journal for each child, including pictures. This is also a good way to entice them into literacy. Ask them for their input — what do they want to remember for that week?
A craft they made?
A trip somewhere?
A song they learned?
A book they read?
A skill they mastered?
Family stories make a great tool to encourage reading and writing among children. Many of us have these stories in our heads. But there is a saying that goes like this:
A BLUNT PENCIL IS BETTER THAN A SHARP MEMORY.
Plus, your children can’t curl up on the pillows with a memory. Put them down on paper and see if you can put some fuel into their passion for reading.
Are you looking to teach your children about the environment? Well, here’s a feature length documentary to help aid you in educating your children (and yourself) about the state of our planet. Topics such as global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and the depletion of the oceans’ habitats are addressed in this documentary. With the help of over fifty of the world’s most prominent thinkers and activists, including reformer Mikhail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, The 11th Hour documents the grave problems facing the planet’s life systems.
The most prominent aspect of this documentary is not how bad things have become and will become, but the hope and solutions offered by scientists and environmental advocates. Learn how we need to redesign our modern living so we can bring about a positive change.
“The 11th Hour†is opening on August 17th in New York and Los Angeles. On the 24th it opens in more cities, and in the following weeks across the country. It would be great if you could go see it and bring a friend. You can go to 11thhouraction.com to sign up.
As for people like me who don’t live in US, we just have to wait for it to reach us. I have been told that overseas showings are scheduled to start in October 2007. Woo hoo! Can’t wait to see this. It sounds like a film with a crucial message that needs to be heeded by all. Plus, I’m sure it will make a great lesson on the environment.
If you are teaching young children, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that the “fun” factor is a catalyst for learning. But it’s not easy to make every learning session fun. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Well, here is something I came across that seems pretty interesting — Robert Krampf’s Science Education Co.
The website has science experiment ideas that are simple enough for you to do at home. There are also videos that will show you how.
Well, here is one that I did with K: Shooting flames from orange skin. All you have to do is peel an orange. Then hold up the peels against a lit candle and squeeze. The oil from the orange skin will shoot forward and combust, making a burst of sparks.
Of course, enjoy the orange after that too. What does the experiment teach? Well, the idea that the orange skin holds oil that is flammable.
You could also extend your lesson by listing out the different uses of orange peel oil e.g. air fresheners, perfume, soap, insect repellents. For more information on the uses of orange peel, you can visit Wisegeek’s page on orange peels.
He says that if you rub orange peels on your skin, it would repel mosquitoes. Hmm… maybe I should try this out.
Well, if you are looking to add some fun to your homeschooling, just try some simple science experiments at home.
You’ve heard it before, that reading to your child is beneficial — helps their language skills and intellectual development. But did you know that only now there is empirical evidence to show that our notions of it’s benefits are indeed REALLY true?
A psychology professor at University of Kansas, John Colombo, recently published his findings in the Journal of Research in Higher Education. His research shows that children that had more book reading sessions (whether it was by the mother, father, grandparents etc…), had higher vocabulary. Here is what Colombo says, “It was a stronger effect for expressive vocabulary than it was for receptive vocabulary.” Expressive vocabulary refers to words that a child speaks, while receptive vocabulary refers to the words he understands.
Besides the number of book reading sessions, another important factor that was noted to help in vocabulary building was the variety of books that was being read. In other words, it helps to read different book titles throughout the week.
Although I do not need this sort of scientific evidence to convince me of the benefits of reading to my children, it’s good to know FOR SURE what it can do. Many times children will come across words in books that we may not use during our daily conversations. And definitely it helps for us to read to them because if they were to read it on their own, they may not get as much out of the book. As we read to them, they will also learn how to pronounce the words e.g. which syllable is emphasized. I remember during a geography lesson in school, how my teacher taught us how to pronouce Saskatchewan and Greenwich the right way. Also, there are certain words that I’ve learned to pronounce just because I’ve heard someone say it before. For example, the word “lingerie” and “rendezvous”.
Well, now that we have scientific evidence, let’s double those reading sessions and pile up the books. Heheheh.
can teach concepts such as big/medium/small, first/second/third and over/under. Let’s not forget Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
There are basic math concepts in there too.
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