Whenever I try to flash fast (ala Shichida) or according to the heartbeat (Tweedlewink method), he snatches the cards from me. Sigh....It is difficult to get past ten cards nowadays before he runs off.
Monkey boy have more important/fun things to do. For example: painting, singing to Youtube, Tot trays...
He also enjoys doing this:
Yup, so much for rapid flashing and hopes of developing photographic memory.
I hope I can post about The Solution one day :)
Why is this important? I will direct you to Shen Li's blog because she writes so much better than me. Don't forget to read the comments :)
3 comments:
Hi Jessica,
I hv another type of dilemma. I started right brain training eg flashcards when my daughter was one plus (she's now 29months) and only started Shichida school when she turned two (waiting list!). At the same time, I started montessori activities at home with her.Not so well planned and elaborate like yours, of course. When she was younger, she wasn't interested in flashcards, so we took a few months break on and off. After starting school, she loves her flashcards so much she begs for them...really! And I do hand reading, linking memory and ESP games whenever possible.
But I feel montessori moulds the child better in the sense than it encourages the child to be independent and orderly. She likes to do things on her own eg, putting and taking off clothes, washing face, clean up her room after playing etc. She even refuses my help to clear up her mess! As I'm a full time mum, I dun hv so much time to do both right brain and montessori activities. Both consume so much time to prepare! At the end of the day, I dunno whether I want my daughter to have ESP, photographic memory, can speed read or be a more independent, well mannered, artistic child and has longer attention span (which I think montessori helps in developing these aspects).
Another thing, both has conflicting approach to teaching maths,on one hand I'm flashing cards so She'll learn math through her right brain but on the other hand, I'm preparing trays for her to count manually. I wonder if this may 'confuse' her right n left brain!!
Just wanna share my thoughts...
SK
HI SK,
I can totally understand where you are coming from. I have pondered upon the same questions before.
When Tiger was much younger, it was easy to implement the lessons because he was truly like a sponge, absorbing everything that I put out for him. Then, as he approaches the Terrible Two (which I expect to worsen with the arrival of his baby sister), he is asserting his status by choosing his own work. Hence, the no-flashcard stage. I am so glad your little girl’s keen on flashcards again.
The Montessori approach is truly beautiful in its own right. I especially like the part where they are allowed to work independently and we, as parents act as observers. The sensorial and practical life lessons are also my fav.
The two methods are like day and night. So, there is no point in comparing. The similarity of the two is the parent has the responsibility to learn, A LOT.
Then again, early education is not quantum physics. Somewhere along the way, I learned to just relax ,back off and follow his lead. I just ask him what he wants to do for the day. At the moment, he wants Youtube for the Solar System Song. Yeah…in the middle of Train Week. So, I got out our Solar system chart and downloaded POI for the solar system. That’s the best part about homeschooling, you don’t have to make the child conform to the lesson. Let’s face it, all the best planning tends to go down the drain when ‘schooling’ a toddler. Instead, you have the power to mould the lessons to suit the child. Just choose to do a little each time or you can implement Montessori around the home, like in the kitchen with her own little drawer and shelf. I am planning to start that soon.
Regarding maths, he was enjoying dots with Brillkid’s Little Math when he suddenly decided that he wanted to learn the numerals. I just allowed him, albeit reluctantly. At the end of the day, I know he recognizes quantity as well because we started with quantity lessons instead of rote counting. If you are uncomfortable with counting beads, then leave out the math trays and focus on the quantity first.
In Tweedlewink, they actually count strands of beads in tens, skip counting (dots), addition/subtraction (dots and beads) and they use Cuisenaire rods as well.
We all want our children to excel but at the end of the day, it is about what they want. So, don’t worry too much and just do what you can manage. I am reading more on Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences and if my son turns out to be more bodily-kinesthetic than linguistic and ends up being a dancer, all these would nothing more than us spending quality time together :)
Hope this helps, SK.
Hello,
You can try Mercury Learning Systems SuperFlash photographic memory computer games. www.AcceleratedLearningMethods.com. Their games are great!
BD
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