I'm a snob.
I admit it.
I think I'm even a wee bit proud of it, too.
But, as in so many other areas of my life my ideas and ideals exist over here--and over there? Well, that's reality: and it doesn't quite match up.
My son's tastes in entertainment are monstrous. Well, to me, anyway. I suppose they are normal for any 10 year old guy. The action boy-mutant-hero Ben-10. Transforming, maurading Bionicles. The mutant X-men. Graphic novels. Batman. Marvel comics. Garfield. Calvin and Hobbes. The Adventures of Bone by Jeff Smith. Bad kids' movies.
Fortunately, he also loves playmobil and stories about Ancient Rome. And he does read: even if it is something filled with drawings. (Sometimes known as graphic novels. Pah. Novels. A marketing term, no more.)
We got into this mess because, I, his mother, and teacher, did not take enough care in selecting what he was to be exposed to. Totally my fault. Good gracious that my son should be bored! Because, well, if he was, then he'd ask me to entertain him. I had a terrible attitude towards my children when they were younger and so the harvest is grim.
But all may not be lost. He is, after all, only ten and he still loves and trusts his mother. He doesn't know how much I've failed him. So, tonight, I've been combing the web and Homeschool catalogues to find stuff for him to read which he will enjoy and which will stretch his brain just enough not to discourage him, but to make it grow--in a direction that will make reality closer to my ideals.
It's been a tough slog. But today, I did check out Andrew Lang's The Arabian Nights Entertainments and, at my request, he read anything he wanted out of it. He chose Sinbad's third voyage--featuring--wait for it--a great one-eyed hairy beast:
I don't think it's an alien one eyed hairy beast.
I don't think it's an alien one eyed hairy beast.
So that's all right.
7 comments:
Now *that's* a one-eyed, hairy beast!
You never know what good stuff kids will pick up in the unlikeliest of places... When I was growing up, librarians were horrified by the thought of putting books like "The Bobbsey Twins" into public libraries. However, when I was in Grade Six, I could answer all the questions the teacher asked the class about Washington, D.C., because I'd read "The Bobbsey Twins in Washington" so many times!
You just never know... ... ...
(By the way, you might find it interesting that I got a couple of books about home-schooling out of the library today. The thought of teaching all those subjects, and being able to explore different ways of teaching and learning, just fascinates me, even though I don't have anyone to homeschool!)
I do find that interesting, veeery interesting. What books did you get?
There wasn't much choice of books at our little branch library, but the one I'm reading now is very interesting. It's "How to Home School (A practical approach)" by Gayle Graham. I also borrowed "Homeschooling for success: how parents can create a superior education for their child", by Rebecca Kochenderfer and Elizabeth Kanna. I don't know if I'll like it as well (the first one is very definitely Christian-focused, I don't know what the focus of the other is, yet.)
I'm particularly fascinated by the idea of learning to read. For quite some time this has been a fascinating thing for me to think about. I can't remember the process of learning to read, I just remember when I couldn't, and when I could. I found an interesting website today, by googling learning to read, that said that while the writer was delighted when her child started to read, the child was rather blase, as if that was just the logical thing that would happen. So maybe that's why I don't remember the process? (Or maybe it's because the process was 45 years ago!)
Sorry this comment's so long. Education and "ages and stages" stuff has always interested me.
No worries.
I've got a cup of coffee.
We're chattin' :)
I haven't heard of either of those two books. Reading is uite fascinating, especially, for me, the entire controversy between "phonics" and "whole language." I find it just amazing they once seriously believed they could take children, hold up picture cards and expect kids to "guess" what a word said based on it's shape (and the context, which would assume you knew some words already. Or had really good picture cards!)
One of the things I do remember about the learning-to-read process was the workbooks we had. I liked doing workbooks (I'm a visual person... I read yesterday that visual kids like workbooks -- I certainly did). We had "Think and Do" workbooks in Grade One, and I remember liking my phonics workbook in Grade Two. Phonics as I remember it was all about sounding out words, learning the sounds letters could make. We did have flashcards, but the ones I remember were for arithmetic (we didn't call it math until we got up to grade six or seven, I think...) I should write to my Grade One & Two teacher, and pick her brain about the process she used back in those days. I know that our readers were the old "Look, look, look. See Dick run. Run, Dick, run. Run, run, run." Obviously, repetition played a great part in the process then!
What sort of approach did you use when teaching your kids to read?
I'm trying to find the website I was delving into yesterday -- when I find it, I'll give you the url.
Now, I suppose I should be working, since I'm at work... sigh.
Aha! I found it (checking browsing history works!). The program is called "Anchors and Sails" and I'll put the url at the end of this comment. In case it gets cut off, as they often do in the comments, just google "anchors and sails" -- it's the second hit, the one with telusplanet.net as the first part of the web address. I found it very interesting.
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/bjaremko/
I'll have to take some time to explain. I didn't start when thy were three!
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