Well, here goes. I go off on tangents and then when I take a breath, notice my childrens' glazed over eyes, or that they aren't even in the room anymore, I rethink my plan of lecturing.
Before I had kids, I taught at a public school and had the fortune of attending a conference in which I got to choose a class on story telling. How to do it "interestingly". The first rule is to NOT HAVE THE BOOK IN FRONT OF YOU. What? You mean I can't READ the book to the children? I have to TELL them the story? Have any of you read those books about the African spider, Anansi? They are kinda like the Aesop Fables, only with African touches to them. In one of the books, the story is about a rock. The instructor told us to go find a rock and then proceeded to show us how to just lay the rock on the floor and tell the kids the story, all centered on that rock. I tried it the next week with the class. I'm so painfully shy sometimes, but I sucked it up and tried it out. It was awesome! The kids were attentive and quiet. I was out of my seat and talking with my hands, but that rock was the main focus of the story and it was really a wonderful lesson to me and how to teach children. Who doesn't love an object lesson?
I know this isn't supposed to be about story telling, but rather about lecturing. I have one kid with ADHD who is super smart but just can't sit still long enough to get the whole lesson in. I have another one that would rather read all day. I have two others that if it doesn't involve trains or something that fits into a specific agenda (say, tea party, wearing the color pink, or asking why she wasn't the first born child), I'm not getting anywhere. I've discovered that if I can come up with object lessons or something that involves movement, I get some great results.
This year I started out with a curriculum based on the classics. I got copies of the McGuffey readers, spelling lists, and grammar lessons from the 1800's. They are so cool, but I gotta tell you, boy some of that stuff is dry and puts me to sleep while I'm trying to teach it to the kids. Snooze fest! (Sorry, should I not say that too loudly?) We all better start wearing football helmets our heads bob around so much. I decided to do more oral stuff with the kids and shorten the lessons. This is helping; they see us making progress and feel like they got somewhere and at the end of the week we do a bit of review and move on if they got the concepts. I know they need more writing experience, so I'm not abandoning the lessons completely, but I found I get more back when we all get to participate instead of just me droning on.
I think I'm going to try that storytelling out a bit more than I have.
Salisbury Family Reading
Mom: I picked up Robinson Crusoe today. The original wasn't in, so I got the illustrated version. I also really wanted to check out a book on the Lost Colony of Roanoke, after researching some stuff online. Never found anything at the library about it. Bummer.
Isaac (Love of Learning): I think reading is still a bit hard for him. His eyes don't work together so it makes tracking difficult, but I find him reading more and more the less I prod. He's into the Weird School books. I hear they are really funny. Ugh..and Captain Underpants. Dribble. (but who doesn't enjoy some of that now and then?)
Jesse (Love of Learning): He's reading BeastQuest. He is Curtis' #1 fan for computer games, so he loves this fantasy sci-fi stuff. But, he's also read Moby Dick, Black Beauty and a few other classics.
Hannah (Core): Fancy Nancy. She's doing pretty good on reading the site words. Curious George and Dora books are not far behind.
Simeon (Core): anything with trains: Thomas the Tank Engine specifically. He clears out the whole shelf. He's not really interested in any other books...wait, take that back. Recipe books. I have to fight with him for them. He sleeps with them, eats with them, they go to the bathroom, church, stores, appointments and for rides with him.
As a family:
Aesop Fables
Flower Fables (Louisa May Alcott)
Showing posts with label Lecture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lecture. Show all posts
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Lecture Environment
Lecture: n.
1. An exposition of a given subject delivered before an audience or a class, as for the purpose of instruction.
2. An earnest admonition or reproof; a reprimand.
I feel that every healthy learning environment automatically has an element of lecturing going on. An example in our home happened recently after scripture study. We are reading in 3rd Nephi about the parable of the lost sheep. What a perfect time it was to turn the parable into a positive and influential lecture time. It was a topic that was weighing heavily on my mind because of how much I love my friends who are having difficult times right now. I used the analogy that President Ezra Taft Benson spoke of so often in his home, "No empty seats in Heaven." I asked them to look at each other and asked how they would feel if one of us did not make it to the Celestial Kingdom, but the rest of us did. Wouldn't we miss that person terribly? Every child was sober and listening intently. They nodded their heads sadly. I then spoke of our helping those we know outside of our family. Benjamin went so far as to name several of his friends that he would miss terribly. I then turned the lecture into an open forum/discussion and asked what we can do to help those we love and befriend to stay on the straight and narrow path. After the influential and sober lecture, it naturally turned into a lively and positive discussion.
Lectures are a necessary part of learning. When we go to college we listen to lectures. We internalize and take it the aspects that can change us or that affect us. When we go to church, we have lessons many times in the lecture format. Lectures can be powerful learning tools.
I have many positive memories of lectures from my parents that are still with me today. To lecture someone or a group of people takes time, energy, and effort. It is a labor of love because more often that not we are doing it for their good and because we love them.
Lecturing in the homeschooling environment can come in various subjects and for various reasons. The reason could be anywhere from the importance of making our beds to why math is important and how everyone will use it in some form another in life.
Recently, several of my children became "pyromaniacs" and were caught a couple of times lighting small things on fire (i.e. sticks, leaves, paper, and later my pillow and part of my bed!) With the help of my friend Dawn on here, I turned their inappropriate behavior into a learning lecture complete with pictures of burn victims to fire safety. It became a varied learning lecture and I feel that not only did they learn a lot from it, but they became more aware of life, natural consequences, and very grateful to God for not getting burned or killed. Between this intense lecture and the fear of them almost burning the house down we've not had another incident since.
I am very much an advocate of a lecture in the learning environment. I agree with Aine that it should not be done too often as the effectiveness with wear off and eyes will glaze over and ears will shut off. Kids need variation in learning. Lecturing is a great one to teach important lessons. Hats off to the old fashioned "lecture"!
1. An exposition of a given subject delivered before an audience or a class, as for the purpose of instruction.
2. An earnest admonition or reproof; a reprimand.
I feel that every healthy learning environment automatically has an element of lecturing going on. An example in our home happened recently after scripture study. We are reading in 3rd Nephi about the parable of the lost sheep. What a perfect time it was to turn the parable into a positive and influential lecture time. It was a topic that was weighing heavily on my mind because of how much I love my friends who are having difficult times right now. I used the analogy that President Ezra Taft Benson spoke of so often in his home, "No empty seats in Heaven." I asked them to look at each other and asked how they would feel if one of us did not make it to the Celestial Kingdom, but the rest of us did. Wouldn't we miss that person terribly? Every child was sober and listening intently. They nodded their heads sadly. I then spoke of our helping those we know outside of our family. Benjamin went so far as to name several of his friends that he would miss terribly. I then turned the lecture into an open forum/discussion and asked what we can do to help those we love and befriend to stay on the straight and narrow path. After the influential and sober lecture, it naturally turned into a lively and positive discussion.
Lectures are a necessary part of learning. When we go to college we listen to lectures. We internalize and take it the aspects that can change us or that affect us. When we go to church, we have lessons many times in the lecture format. Lectures can be powerful learning tools.
I have many positive memories of lectures from my parents that are still with me today. To lecture someone or a group of people takes time, energy, and effort. It is a labor of love because more often that not we are doing it for their good and because we love them.
Lecturing in the homeschooling environment can come in various subjects and for various reasons. The reason could be anywhere from the importance of making our beds to why math is important and how everyone will use it in some form another in life.
Recently, several of my children became "pyromaniacs" and were caught a couple of times lighting small things on fire (i.e. sticks, leaves, paper, and later my pillow and part of my bed!) With the help of my friend Dawn on here, I turned their inappropriate behavior into a learning lecture complete with pictures of burn victims to fire safety. It became a varied learning lecture and I feel that not only did they learn a lot from it, but they became more aware of life, natural consequences, and very grateful to God for not getting burned or killed. Between this intense lecture and the fear of them almost burning the house down we've not had another incident since.
I am very much an advocate of a lecture in the learning environment. I agree with Aine that it should not be done too often as the effectiveness with wear off and eyes will glaze over and ears will shut off. Kids need variation in learning. Lecturing is a great one to teach important lessons. Hats off to the old fashioned "lecture"!
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