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Hawaii Babies
SanHawaii08
member
christine (and others) - re: parents and learning
SanHawaii08
member
sanae78:
(Skipped 2nd grade, always an honor student, graduated from HS at 16, graduated from college at 20.)
That being said, my mom also made a huge effort with me when it came to learning. For example, I started reading at 2 because she made flashcards and taught me, and in 6th grade she made me take pre-algebra on Saturdays at the community college. No lie. I plan to do similar stuff with Kaya.
heh, sounds familiar. i skipped 1st grade, always an honor student, graduated from college at 20 (HS at 17 though 
) i was drilled in multiplication every day on the way to school when i was 6, had huge workbooks to do every summer, started taking SAT math in 7th grade, etc. but i don't feel like everything my parents tried to do was very effective. Those workbooks, for example, totally sucked and i'm sure i didn't learn anything from them.
so i'm wondering - what other things are you planning to do with kaya? what did you parents do that you think did help or that you appreciate now?
anyone else with similar experiences to share? do you appreciate the efforts your parents made to help you (force you to) learn? are you planning to do the same with your kids?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: christine (and others) - re: parents and learning
Heh, I didn't skip a grade and I graduated college at the usual 21, but my dad forced me to learn C programming when I was in 5th grade. I hated it and I screamed "I NEVER WANNA DO ANYTHING WITH COMPUTERS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE". Well, now I'm a software engineer, so I guess it was effective in a way? =P
Both MH and I will be doing some of our own tutoring/learning at home with the LO(s), but we're hoping to make it something more "fun" rather than forced.
my dad tried to teach me Basic at some point - I flat-out refused to sit and listen. I *hated* Turbo Pascal in high school. everyone always said i'd be a software engineer b/c both my parents are and i'd "be so good at it" - i vehemently denied it, wasn't interested AT ALL. i barely used a computer until college, except for writing papers. ...after changing my major a few times, i ended up with a CS degree
sometimes, you just can't escape...
I was always a GATE student with straight A's, went to college at 17, etc. but most of that was self-driven. My mom did send me to summer school but mainly because she was a single mom and it was cheaper than a day camp or day care. I learned to read at 3 years old because she read to us all the time and took us to the library once a week. She did post flashcards around the house (like inside the linen closest there would be a card that read TOWELS, etc.) but she never drilled us or anything like that. I was the first person in my family to go to college (my mom and dad barely finished high school...both have GEDs). My academic drive was always self-motivated...my mom never required certain grades or even checked my homework, etc.
I plan to guide Libby's learning naturally...through play...and not drills, etc. My FIL wanted us to use "My Baby Can Read" and I said absolutely not. She'll learn to read when she's ready to learn...and until then we'll just read to her everyday and let her hold the book, turn the pages, etc. I also believe strongly in experiential learning...going to museums, nature walks, etc. And playing in an educational way...like counting blocks or saying their colors, etc. I don't want to force learning or make it like a punishment. I want her to become a life-long learner because she likes it.
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I'm not sure what we'll do specifically but Brady is reading "Bright from the Start" and maybe we'll get some ideas there. So far it says that a stable home and showing your child affection helps them developmentally. I would like to teach her to read early on but so far she has very little interest in us reading to her. I hope that changes!
One other thing I remember my mom doing was quizzing me on the state capitals. I think this was before I had to know them for school. I was also rewarded for every A and B. Like $20 for an A and $5 for a B on my report card. A little bribery never hurt! Haha.
Like Lori, I don't want to force it on her, either. But I hope to find ways to make learning fun. Even if it means finding computer games for her to play or whatever. Oh, and she mentioned museums and stuff - my mom was really into making sure I was cultured, too. So we went to museums, traveled a bit, went to the Hollywood Bowl to see the orchestra, went to the ballet and plays and things. I definitely want to expose Kaya to that sort of stuff, too.
My parents didn't put me in sports when I was young, though, and that's another thing I want to do. I think kids learn a lot from sports and Kaya just seems to have too much energy to sit still and read all day. The girl is gonna need to play soccer or something to burn off all this energy!
I don't think my mom had any special technique, but she did read to me every night and took me to the library often. I could read before I went to kindergarten and by first grade my favorite books were the Little House on the Prarie books. I always had those educational placemats (presidents, capitals, or before that the ones with colors, shapes, numbers, letters) and she would kind of quiz me on those in a fun way while we were eating.
I went to the best preschool our town had (not saying much) but it was my mom that did most of my early teaching. Nothing ever felt forced though. Later on I was rewarded for good grades but never did anything special.
We read to Jack every night but haven't really given much thought to any particular method of learning at home.
MH is a product of the Montessori model of education and he feels very strongly about enrolling Jack in Montessori school as soon as possible (I think age 2.5). From what I have read I really like the learn by watching and doing method all led by the child and think that can easily be transitioned to work at home too. The Montessori school in town is very highly regarded (but expensive, ugh!).
is it bad that 7k seems like a deal? The one here is about 1k/month if you also use their daycare (which we would have to since we could not leave work to shuttle him back and forth and he will still need childcare 8 hours a day regardless of where he goes). But at least we would be using it as daycare, not sure it would be feasible to send him if I was a SAHM.
that's what i was thinking too - "only $7k a year?!" sigh. i haven't researched preschools at all, but i have coworkers paying $3k/month for a nanny... my sister went to a small private preschool, montessori-like, but not an actual montessori. i remember my parents liked it a lot, and i was impressed with how child-led it was.
we went to museums, aquariums, etc when we were on vacation (ie, to the smithsonians, or monterrey bay), but I don't feel like we really did much of that when we were at home. i can also count on maybe one hand the number of times we went to plays, ballets, etc - I'd love to do more of that with my kids. I want to have those family passes and go regularly to our local museums, zoos, etc.
i don't feel like i was a very curious child, and I'd like my children to be naturally curious and want to learn about the world around them. i think these are some great ways to help develop that.
also love the idea of having names/labels for everything - we had that in french class
we'll definitely read a lot and take regular library trips, have educational play, and work learning into our daily activities (like the placemats! love them.)
oh, and MH really wants our kids to play team sports. I was pretty active, but did a lot of individual sports - skating, gymnastics, swimming, etc. I think there's a lot to be learned in a team dynamic, and hope our kids take after MH in liking those sports
...these are all great ideas, thanks
I was mistaken about the tuition. I think 7k was another school I looked at. Here's the one I want to send her to (which will obviously be more in 2 years):
Crazy. I went to a Blue Ribbon award winning school and it was less than $4k a year. Of course, that was 15+ years ago but still.
Great idea on labeling things. And the place mats! I had a puzzle of the US and had to place all the states. That was fun.
I swam, too, and was in color guard, which isn't exactly a sport but we were a team and we competed. I wish I had played more team sports and at an early age. I only started that stuff in high school. I also think starting sports early sets kids up to be more active adults.