Love Learning

Eli Meets His Shadow: An hour in the park: a super-effective way to build neural pathways and prepare the brain for learning

One of today’s hot topics is just how much “protection” children need as they grow and develop. Many new mothers are terrified of germs that lurk on the floor and on surfaces outdoors. Even schools are beginning to respond to demands from parents to keep their children free from germs. Playgrounds are all synthetic now – rubber coated ground will not only keep Frankie clean, but if he should fall, there will be no injury.

At home, children are protected from germ and injury by being kept in containers pretty much around the clock: crib, stroller, playpen, carrier, car seat, just add to the list. While using containers to keep babies and toddlers safe might prevent the parent from anxiety about their child’s safety, the real tragedy in the situation is that as a result of being containerized, so much is NOT happening for the child in terms of healthy brain development.

WHAT?

The Role of Overprotection

Yes, most certainly. All this overprotection is actually hurting children by preventing healthy brain growth. According to many experts and researchers, while every child is born with an enormous potential for learning and growth, the brain is also smart enough to realize which brain cells are not being used and allows those cells to die off!

Judith Graham, extension human development specialist, says the following: “A brain is not a computer. The brain begins working long before it is finished. And the same processes that wire the brain before birth also drive the very rapid growth of learning that occurs immediately after birth. At birth, a baby’s brain contains 100 billion neurons, roughly as many nerve cells as there are stars in the Milky Way. Before birth, the brain produces trillions more neurons and 'synapses' (connections between the brain cells) than needed. During the first years of life, the brain undergoes a series of extraordinary changes. Then, through a process that resembles Darwinian competition, the brain eliminates connections that are seldom or never used.”

The Best Way to Grow a Child’s Brain

If you want the technical details about this topic, read Carla Hannaford’s book Smart Moves. The book thoroughly explains what happens in your child’s brain as a result of activity or no activity. The book also explains the role of outside play and exploration, of active play, of stress, of lack of sufficient relationship with parents, and so much more.

Basically, however, what she and other experts say is that children must be encouraged to move, to play outside, to experiment with how their bodies move in space, over objects, and how they balance.

Eli Meets His Shadow shows in perfect clarity a situation in which all is going well for a small child. He suggests an outing at the park and Mom agrees, so off they go. While the book is about Eli discovering his shadow and playing with it throughout the time they are at the park, what I notice is all the various types of brain-building activities Eli is enjoying. And I love it that while Mom is right there, she’s not hovering nor is she shrieking “Be careful! Get down! You’re too little! Let me hold your hand so you won’t fall!”

Eli climbs, slides, spins, climbs some more, swings, turns wheels, balances on beams, kicks a ball, crawls, and of course presumably runs around. In addition to the hugely beneficial effects of such movement on the brain and its connections, Eli also has the opportunity to discover what happens when you blow bubbles in the air. Do they fall directly to the ground? How long exactly do they stay in the air before crashing or just fading away? He also learns firsthand the peculiar behaviors of shadows. First they are by me, then in front, now very short, whoops! now very long! Now where did he go?

I honestly think that it is impossible to count how many neural connections were made during that one jaunt to the park, but I would venture to say that the benefits to Eli were incalculable. One of the richest of benefits is the time he spent with Mom enjoying the experience. For a very young child, the time spent sharing an experience with a parent is immeasurable.

Once again, the authors have gently shown us with simple words and awesome photos, what it looks like when a child is receiving maximum opportunities for maximum development. They also show what a very young child is capable of doing all on his own – safely.

Eli Meet His Shadow, words by Jeanette Gray and photos by Elizabeth Gray Earl,  is now on sale through Child1st Publications.

Eli’s Cross Day

I just love Eli’s Cross Day because I feel like I am really there seeing a real little boy having a very normal day. And his parents do such a great job of being parents in the situation! They strike a perfect balance between letting their child be cranky (we all wake up cranky from time to time, don’t we?) and not letting the mood get the best of him. I also love how Eli is given great opportunities to help Dad and learn how to work outside, encouraging his sense of being a vital part of the family.

What is central in Eli’s Cross Day is that the parents are obviously there, but they are not the dominant characters in the story. They speak little, but when they do, it counts. When Eli decides to do something he’s not supposed to do, they quietly let him enjoy the consequences of his choice in such a way that Eli is able to learn important lessons and think through whether or not he will continue down his given pathway.

Considering the fact that Eli wasn’t yet two years old in this story, a lot is going on in this book that is super important. All too frequently children this age are either overprotected, overindulged, or micromanaged. The assumption is that they are too young to know better. That they are too unformed to be able to really consider their ways and choose a path to take. That they are acting out because they are two and when they grow chronologically older, they will suddenly “know better.” I have seen children suffer from being over-managed by parents who couldn’t let them make any choices for themselves. On the flip side, I’ve also seen so many children suffer because their parents were unable to set good, loving boundaries that would guide them into making good choices for themselves. For a child to develop to her fullest potential, there must be a balance between micromanaging and too little parenting. To strike that balance as a parent is difficult, but it is definitely a good goal to keep in mind as you make decisions along the way.

And the enormous value to the child whose parents are able to find this balance cannot be overstated. At the root of good decision making, good choices, and wise living is the ability to reason, imagine outcomes, and to act based on thought rather than impulse. So many of our children today suffer from the inability to do these things. They are impulsive, don’t seem to be able to visualize consequences to their choices, and have trouble evaluating situations and making wise choices. Some don’t seem to learn from their mistakes.

I’ve worked with many children who struggled in school, and the older I got, the more I became convinced that often it was not an inability to learn that plagued these children, but rather the lack of some basic life skills that hindered their success in school. As a mother of adult children, an educator, and someone who cares very much about the quality of life our children enjoy, I see this book as vitally important because it shows very simply what our children need from us as parents if they are going to grow up to be kids who choose well and therefore live well.

Eli's Cross Day: story by Jeanette Gray, photos by Elizabeth Gray Earl

How to Spot the Most Effective Summer Learning Activities

If you’re planning to schedule time for your child to do some learning and review over the summer, you are going to be squeezing it in between playing in the sprinklers, going camping, goofing off, going to the park or zoo, eating ice cream, traveling, and all the other summer things kids so much enjoy! Better make the learning minutes count! This process will start with quickly spotting the most effective learning activities for your child. Just saying, “Go read for 15 minutes” or “Review your sight words” or “Do a page in your activity book before you go out to play” will fill time, but might not yield the results you would want in terms of real learning happening.

All learning materials are not created equal! Some exercises can be done with minimal brain activity going on. On the far extreme, there are learning activities that engage the whole brain and make for a memorable learning experience for children. Below are some simple questions to ask as you evaluate activities that will help you select what is best, whether it be for summer review or for classroom activities during the school year. Same principles apply.

Questions to Ask and Things to Note

1.    If there are questions to answer or blanks to fill in, is the answer right there so the child just has to copy it? (1 brain cell used)

2.    During this activity, is it possible for the child to fill the time, but to actually be daydreaming instead? (As in “Go read for 15 minutes – tick tick tick, but did anything happen upstairs?)

3.    Does this activity ask your child to just repeat information by rote? (Such as “spell this word five times” which he could do while thinking about the last Scooby Do cartoon he watched.)

4.    If the activity involves a page to complete, how much on that page is actual problem-solving, and how much of it is cute illustrations and decorations? (I remember teaching math in lower el and wincing when I passed out the math books – counting only four problems on pages that were heavily illustrated. FOUR problems! It took longer to pass out the papers than it did for the kids to work the problems!)

5.    How much of the activity involves memorization? Drill? Sorry, but this stuff might not stay in their heads past two days.

What Makes for an Effective Learning Activity?

1.    Let him figure out the piece to be learned: If the child has to figure something out for himself, he will most likely remember it. For example, instead of telling him that 2+5=7 and 1+6=7 and 3+4=7, give him counters or pebbles or toy frogs and two bowls. Ask him to tell YOU how many ways he can make seven? Rule here? Don’t tell him; let him figure it out for himself.

2.    Puzzles engage the brain because, again, there is a problem to be solved, and the brain loves to solve problems! Instead of giving the child a list of words and their definitions, play a game that gives clues and ask the child to select the word that matches those clues. For instance, display a list of words…well let me include here an excerpt from The Reading Teacher’s Encyclopedia Section B, page 106 (Download RTE 106),  a resource chock full of the best kind of learning activities!

Display these words: ASK, RUN, YES, AM, LET, INTO, HIM, CUT, BE, GOT, ITS, US. Then say the following:

    1.    Find the word that is the opposite of TELL. (ASK)

    2.    Find the word that is the opposite of WALK. (RUN)

    3.    Find the word that is the opposite of NO. (YES)

    4.    Fill in the missing word: “I ___ five years old.” (AM)

    5.    Fill in the missing word: “Mother ___ me go with her.” (LET)

    6.    Find the word that is made of two little words. (INTO)

    7.    Find a word you would use when talking about a boy. (HIM)

    8.    Find the word that tells what a knife does. (CUT)

    9.    Fill in the missing word: “When I grow up I will ___ a nurse.” (BE)

    10.    Fill in the missing word: “I ___ stung by a bee.” (GOT)

    11.    Which word could mean something belongs to your pet? (ITS)

    12.    Fill in the missing word: “Come with ___.” (US)

3.    Find patterns in learning. The brain loves to sort through seemingly unrelated details to figure out how the things are related, who belongs to whom, what came first, how are they alike, how are they different, etc. If you let the child find patterns for himself, learning will become meaningful. For example, if you are interested in teaching a phonics concept or a sound spelling, don’t just tell the child or don’t let the workbook tell him, give him a tactile activity and let him figure out the concept for himself. This example is taken from The Reading Teacher’s Encyclopedia, pages 198-199. In this game, you are teaching or reviewing the concept of the final Pinchy E and what it does to the vowel sound in words such as KIT or MAN (it turns them into KITE and MANE). So rather than just say, “Pinchy E makes the vowel sound long,” give him a bunch of words on little cards and ask him to do two things: First she will sort them into families that have something in common with each other (words with a final Pinchy E and those without) (pattern-seeking activity), and then she will match up the words that make a “before and after” such as KIT-KITE, AT-ATE, etc. Click on the following link to download and print this activity (Download RTE 198-199).

4.    Instead of telling HIM, let him tell YOU.  This type of learning activity takes more time and yet it is a lasting experience. Our children are drenched and soaked in experiences that allow them to just watch and remain passive: TV being the finest culprit. If you are riding in the car, ask him little questions to get his brain fired up and ready to evaluate. This process is at the root of guiding him into higher level thinking. When you ask her to spend 15 minutes a day reading, read the book first so you can give her a challenge to look for and report to you. As she reads, her brain will be on alert, scanning for the answer to your question to her. When you have the TV on, instead of just watching it together, or far worse, turning on the TV and walking out of the room, engage in a discussion about what is on. Ask him questions to make him think. For example, “Do you think that could really happen? Why or why not?” Questions that will encourage him to evaluate situations, to imagine consequences, all will help him develop a strong basis for making his own good decisions in life. OK, but I have to warn you; I did these very things when my own children were growing up and I heard a lot of “OH MOM!”s. They wanted to just watch the dumb movie, not TALK about it! But looking back, I can plainly see that the many discussions we had produced adults who know how to think, evaluate, choose well, and live well.

Five Levels of Summer Learning Fun

My last post was all about fun learning activities you can do with your children to keep their brains and bodies sharp, and it focused mainly on two of our products: SnapWords™ Cards and The Reading Teacher's Encyclopedia. Based on great feedback we received from you, we have decided to break The Reading Teacher’s Encyclopedia into five different products so it will be easy for you to get the exact levels you need for your child!

When Is It Best to Have the Full Product?

For those of you who want to use the activities with more than one child and your children are different ages, it might be easiest to have the full product. In this way, you will be able to choose the activity that perfectly suits each child.

In addition you might like having the full product even if you're teaching just one child or one grade because the child/children might be on different levels depending on the skill. For example, a child might be much further ahead with sight word recognition than he is with reading comprehension, so the level of sight word recognition you choose might be from Section D (Dolch 2nd grade level) of the Reading Teacher’s Encyclopedia, while the comprehension activities might be from Section C (Dolch 1st grade level).

When Buying by Section Might Be Preferable

If, however, you teach one child or one specific grade, you could select the level based on where your students need to begin. If you find that the kids went further than expected, you could always come back and get the next section.

And did I happen to mention these lovely “summer activities” would work wonders during the school year to help keep your students engaged fully in the process of learning? Think how you could transform recess if you were directing physical activities while reinforcing learning! I mentioned examples in my last blog post of how to use this product while getting kids moving.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

To see the list of words taught:

Click here and scroll down the page to see the exact lists of words that form the basis of the learning activities for each section of the Reading Teacher’s Encyclopedia. The words included in all the levels are all the Dolch words, plus the Fountas & Pinnell 100 most frequently recurring words and a handful of other words that have been requested by educators.

To see the table of contents:

Near the top of that same page is a wide green button for the table of contents. If you click it, you'll be able to see exactly what is in each section.

To purchase file downloads instead of hard copy CD:

If you again look near the top of the page, you'll see buttons that let you purchase one section at a time as file downloads…you can get the file immediately and save a bit in the process!

To purchase a Section at a time:

Section A

Section B

Section C

Section D

Section E

Multisensory Activities and Games to Engage Kids During the Summer Months

I’m all for outside play and relaxation in the summertime! But it's hard to ignore all that's said about how if you don’t use it, you lose it! As a former teacher, I have seen firsthand the blank looks on those rested-up faces as kids came back to school in the fall and I expected them to pick up where we left off in the spring. But resting up is important, and I'd be the first to encourage kids to play hard all summer long. So rather than missing out on the vigorous exercise kids desperately need, let’s shut off the TV and other electronics and go outside to keep building those vital brain connections. This summer, let’s keep the learning going, and how about making it fun at the same time?

Great Goals for Summer

• Lots of movement such as running, skipping, moving hand over hand on the monkey bars, swimming, rolling, spinning, dribbling a soccer ball--anything that alternates sides of the body and is vigorous.

• Retain and even improve reading fluency

• Practice visualization which leads to enhanced comprehension

• Set time aside for exploration and hands-on discovery

Plan Ahead

A great way to make sure all this happens is to plan ahead and to combine "school" activities with active ones. Making the process of learning FUN will help your child to love reading. The activities outlined in this blog post are based on SnapWords™ cards (stylized sight words: most of the words young children encounter in reading) and The Reading Teacher’s Encyclopedia, which we have just made available by level so you can choose the level your child needs to begin with. If you don’t already have the pocket chart size SnapWords™ cards, use coupon code POCKET20 for a discount at checkout. If you don’t already have The Reading Teacher’s Encyclopedia, shop HERE for a CD of the resource, or shop HERE for file downloads you can print as needed.

Activities for Level A

There are 59 SnapWords™ cards for Level A and many Reading Teacher’s Encyclopedia Section A activities.

SnapWords™ Charades

Materials:

SnapWords™ List A, something for your child to stand on outside (sturdy crate, steps, low deck, etc.), a pair of fun sunglasses, a play telephone, a favorite toy or stuffed animal, and something to hold a few SnapWords™ cards.

Sentences:

(These sentences contain all List A words and are supplied for you in the RTE on pages 76-77 should you want to have a printed version.)

• Come down here.

• Do not go up.

• He said hi.

• Jump like me.

• You can look in.

• Stop and call now.

• Play on this.

• Sit by my little one.

• We did get to see.

• We ran out to play.

• So, will you want it?

• See if it is big or not.

• Make the play for me.

• We are up but you are down.

• An orange cat is at play.

• I said no as you ran.

 How to Play:

Display the first sentence with the stylized side of the cards showing. Tell your child any word he doesn’t recognize on sight because you want to be sure he doesn’t guess and then get the wrong words associated with the SnapWords™ images. Your child will read a phrase or sentence, then choose the props he needs to act out what he read. Because the focus is on playing, he will have more motivation to read the words, and because he is acting out the phrase, his retention will be amazing! Following are a few hints for acting out “Come down here” (in case you need to prompt him!) He could ask you to stand on a step or the deck and then ask you to come down here. Or he could stand on the crate, step or deck and ask you to say “come down here.” Alternately he could place his stuffed animal on the box and talk to it. Any sentence that talks about looking or seeing might prompt your child to put on the sun glasses. Challenge your child to create his own ways of acting out what he reads.

Make an Illustrated Book

For those rainy days or quiet activity times, use the same phrases listed above and have your child make a book with a phrase and an illustration on each page. This would be a great activity to do together. Encourage your child to come up with her own phrases that use up all the List A SnapWords™ as this will strengthen her problem solving ability and will truly grow her brain in the process of learning to read, strengthening comprehension, etc.

 Games for Travel

Taken from The Reading Teacher’s Encyclopedia (RTE), here are some great games to play in the car:

• Use our Go Fish cards by printing the appropriate pages on card stock and cutting them out.

• Give each player a small clipboard and play SnapWords™ BINGO. Just find the appropriate page in the RTE and print off enough copies for each player.

Problem-Solving Games

Many of the activities in the RTE engage your child’s brain in problem-solving activities, keeping his brain working on good stuff over the summer. The RTE includes sentences to unscramble, word wall activities to solve, making words, crossword puzzles, fill in the blanks, and more.

Active Play

Make a game out of reviewing SnapWords™ individually or in the phrases and sentences provided for you. Position yourself somewhere in the yard and display the first phrase or sentence. Ask your child to read the stylized version of the sentence, and then give him an activity to do.

For example, she might read “come down here” and you would say “great job, now skip to the tree and back.” Other physical activities could include:

• balancing on one foot with arms spread

• turning a somersault

• doing jumping jacks

• running to a designated spot and back

• dribbling the soccer ball to a point and back

• running up the steps to the slide and slide down

• anything else that will work given the scope of your yard!

Additional Levels

Following are the sentences that include all of the words from the rest of the SnapWords™ lists. Use them to do similar activities to those suggested for Level A above, and use your imagination to create more games and activities!

The following phrases for Level B are also found on page 171 of the RTE:

• Read all about it.

• Run away fast.

• Who will work with us?

• Try to cut your last one.

• They must be from here.

• Yes, we took a funny one!

• What will she sing in the show?

• Many saw them pull that.

• Just let him eat good ones.

• It got into its new den.

• Ask me if I ate any, too.

• Say, am I still in our play?

• We may take it then tell you why.

• I put it away faster than you.

• Many of them gave when I went to fly.

 The following phrases for Level C are also found on page 258 of the RTE:

• Go around again before long.

• I know you’ll live next to her.

• They came to bring some better ones.

• It is another cold day.

• I didn’t find it first.

• He found it was far gone!

• The man began to ride those.

• I am told these are very old and hard.

• I never had to hold my own.

• I think I will pick much more soon!

• There were four going under after him.

• Oh, how kind to give what you made.

• I will walk over where the other one is.

• Which one is giving more?

• Don’t get off when he does!

The following phrases for Level D are also on page 342 of the RTE:

• The same animal always goes across.

• It is small, short, and round.

• I might only open it once.

• Most of the light left the fall day.

• It is best to buy both myself today.

• Every one could have been clean.

• It is mean to laugh while I am hurt.

• They should start their turn pretty soon.

• Sleep right near me.

• Draw it even and well.

• It is hot, not warm up high.

• It would grow to be full upon this.

• Close up and leave.

• Are you done yet?

• You need to keep and use it.

The following phrases for Level E are also on page 426 of the RTE:

• Mother said, “Certainly say please and thank you.”

• We thought it through together.

• I will decide on a different drink.

• Our company clapped the instant they heard a giggle.

• He will carry the prize because he is careful.

• I’m willing to write tomorrow.

• I shall wish upon a star.

• The husband struggled with the hitch.

• The whole wash is flapping.

• I stumbled and got stuck indeed!

• I imagine one hundred is enough.

• The passenger was a pleasant playmate.

• I had an accident on my bicycle.

• I held my breath in the basement.

• I realized he ate the whole pie.

• I will turn toward it.

• It’s a pleasure to have a wonderful stove!

Eli’s Books & Preparing the Brain to Learn

There’s a brand new series just coming off the press– picture books that seek to show rather than tell how we as parents can provide an enriched environment for our children from birth on up. In this day of jump starts for babies (Baby Einstein, for example) Eli’s Books, by Jeanette Gray & Elizabeth Gray Earl, come as a welcome respite from the emphasis on teaching toddlers facts that will help them get ahead in school. The enrichment I refer to has to do with developing the child, body, mind, and spirit in ways that will lead to excellence for all of life. It involves not just book learning, but whole-person development.

Commonly-Held Notions That Just Aren’t Spot on

I am qualified to write about this since I have twice been a new mother. I remember well my attitudes and thought processes when my babies were in the crib and later beginning to toddle around the house. I frequently assumed an attitude of waiting. Waiting until he can talk. Waiting until she can walk. Waiting for naptime. Waiting for bedtime! Waiting until kindergarten or preschool to arrive. Here are some commonly held ideas that we as parents probably could stand to revisit:

• Significant learning begins with enrollment in school

• Naptime is a way to keep him occupied so I can get something done

• As is bedtime

• Play is another way to keep her occupied so I can get something done

• Outdoor play is a bit more dangerous; dangers lurk in the form of ticks, mosquitoes, rabid squirrels, nails inadvertently dropped into the grass, sunburn, skinned knees, a fall from the slide, a kick in the shin from a “friend” at play

• Daycare or preschool are the only places for acquiring social skills because that’s where peers are found

• Sesame Street and other programs will give my child the jump-start he needs

• Reading books will provide all the exposure my child needs (safely)

• Significant development starts when my child can make conversation

• Activities such as baking are too advanced to involve my preschooler in and are way too messy!

• Development of the brain really is mostly about learning stuff in school

• The biggest value in outdoor play is that my child will get some exercise and fresh air (“fresh” depending of course on where you live)

So along come Eli’s Books and they beautifully illustrate activities that create really important opportunities for behind the scenes development of brain and body, mind and spirit.

What’s Going on Behind the Scenes?

So much is going on inside a tiny baby even before birth that starts the process of brain development which not only impacts performance in school, but most importantly, impacts the direction his life will take. WOW! How can this be? Again I am going to push you towards getting a copy of Carla Hannaford’s book Smart Moves because I am SO tempted to start typing out lengthy quotes from her book. If you’re going to read that much, you might as well read her and not me! After all, she’s the recognized expert on neurophysiology as it relates to education and the development of the child. Here are some important ideas taken from the book:

• “Thought, creativity and learning arise from experience. As we experience, we bring in information and build the neural networks that allow us to use that information so we may better understand the world and how to thrive in it. A major component of experience is sensory input from our environment via our eyes, ears, taste buds, nose and skin; and from our bodies via nerve receptors on each muscle and organ.” (29- 30).

• “Our whole body is designed as a fine tuned sensory receptor for collecting information.” (page 30)

• “Our sensory apparatus is so vital to learning that it begins developing within a couple of months after conception, in utero.” (30)

• “The first sensory system to fully develop and myelinate by five months after conception is the vestibular system, which controls the sense of movement and balance.” (33)

• “The vestibular system is already visible in a two month old embryo. There is much   activation of the head as the fetus moves in the amniotic fluid, then as the child goes from early movements and crawling to walking and running. The stimulation from these movements is crucial to brain development.” (35)

• “Whenever touch is combined with the other senses, much more of the brain is activated, thus building more complex nerve networks and tapping into more learning potential.” (41)

• “In a three dimensional environment, such as outdoors, the eye is in constant motion gathering sensory information to build intricate image packages necessary for learning. The brain integrates these image packages with other sensory information like touch and Proprioception to build a visual perceptual system.” (47)

What Does All This Really Mean?

I wish I’d read this book when my kids were babies; only it was not written yet. During the years  when I was being a good mommy according to the light I had, (but also was marking time until they got big enough to “learn”) I wish I had appreciated how critical certain experiences are for good brain development. Outside free play in which the child is experiencing many different textures, colors, smells, sensations, in which he can run, jump, climb, roll, and even fall down and maybe even bleed and need stitches – all this combines to create a rich background for brain development and for neural growth. Movements such as these connect various areas in the brain and establish neural pathways that will enhance learning. Most importantly, movement and the sensory experiences we described will encourage the development of the frontal lobe and its communication with the other parts of the brain. The frontal lobe is the center for complex thought, for weighing options, for body control, for reasoning. Pretty much this is the area that will help a child grow to be a person who thinks before he acts, who can reason, make informed choices, and so forth. This lobe controls fine motor coordination, simultaneous processing of information, and high level planning.

Eli’s Books are an easy read. (Smile). They show parents providing rich opportunities for their child   to experience nature first hand, to enjoy family activities usually considered “too old” for toddlers, to discover the properties of objects in the environment, and for learning from events that will lead to making wise choices. All the things that really matter in educating a child happen outside of memorization of facts in the classroom. To do well in school and in life, kids must know how to think, how to discover, how to evaluate, how to act with care. They need to learn perseverance, responsibility, honesty and all the traits that will make them into people who take full advantage of what school and then life have to offer.

Discovering Your Child’s Giftedness

The term “learning style” has been so widely used that honestly it is hard to know what the term means anymore. I winced each time I used “learning style” when writing the past four blogs about learning profiles (Concrete Sequential, Abstract Sequential, Abstract Random and Concrete Random). The blogs were about how individuals take in information about the world and how they order that information, yet when I researched the profiles, the term “learning style” was used to describe them. “Learning style” is also used to describe the three primary modalities, which are the pathways into the brain or, how information is best absorbed and how people remember best. “Learning style” is also used to describe the various ways in which individuals can concentrate best (taken from Kenneth and Rita Dunn’s work). “Learning style” is used when we talk about Gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences, and finally (although there may be more ways this term is used, being a somewhat concrete random person, I am tired of making this list and am ready to move on to the next subject) “learning style” is used when we enter a discussion about whether a person is global or sequential in how they view life.

In the Interest of Clarity

I’m interested in being super clear about our current topic. Calling this topic what I want to call it might keep a reader from glazing over when he reads the main headings of the blog. Today’s topic is based on Howard Gardener's theory of Multiple Intelligences. EVERYONE has heard about these. So rather than bore you or drive you away by going into them in depth, what I will do is point you in the direction of some checklists for you to use in determining your child’s primary giftedness/intelligence which is truly great information to have.

Here is a link that may be helpful as you determine your child's primary giftedness: http://www.spannj.org/BasicRights/appendix_b.htm

When This Information Is Most Helpful

I’m going to reveal yet another pet peeve (in addition to “learning styles” being used to mean everything). Back in the day when Howard Gardener’s MI theory was hot new news, I was in grad school absorbing everything I could about being a super teacher to every type of learner. We studied all the learning theories and of course had to create lessons that utilized these in creative ways. I remember observing a classmate of mine frantically demonstrating her lesson in class. She had chosen the MI to showcase and what she had done was try and teach the lesson in ways that would appeal to all seven intelligences. She had music playing, was using colorful pictures, was doing acrobatics, etc. I wonder how many people decided on the spot that they were finished with caring about learning styles if this sort of lesson would become the standard for what was best practice in the classroom!

My pet peeve about MI is that it is common for adults to think that they have to teach to all the intelligences. The problem with that notion is that the teacher himself is not gifted in all 7-8 ways! So how is this helpful to his students?

What made the most sense to me about Howard Gardener’s work was that it helped make clear the various ways in which children can be gifted – NOT the ways in which they learn. I did many hours of formal observation with the students I had at the time (preschool) and benefitted tremendously from having these adorable guinea pigs to try my innovative lessons on. I decided that what I needed to do was teach to the three modalities (more on this later) and let the students respond and show their learning from within their own natural giftedness or intelligence.

This worked wonders because I got to teach in a way that didn’t involve tap dancing to music while teaching and my students enjoyed “school” far more because they were encouraged to work from within their best ability.

An Example of How This Can Work

I was teaching 6th grade social studies. The setting was colonial America. We studied the required stuff out of their textbook, with me trying my best to teach to the three modalities, but what made this unit shine is that rather than assigning one identical project to every child in the class, I encouraged children to create their project using the structure that appealed to them the most. The requirement was that they show their new-found knowledge very clearly and completely. In other words, their projects would be graded for excellence of content, but they could choose how they shared that knowledge. This would be their assessment for the unit.

What resulted was so amazing. One girl (probably intrapersonal) chose to work alone and she wrote a diary from the viewpoint of a young girl who was heading west with her family in a wagon train. The diary was beautifully done with the cover burned a bit to make it look really old. One child made a TV screen out of a large cardboard box and did a newscast to share what he learned. Another child interviewed a classmate. They had chosen the questions and answers prior to their presentation so that they would be sure and cover all they wanted to cover. Some children created huge posters colorfully illustrated. One group of four children hosted a game show similar to Jeopardy. No two projects were alike! The class had multiple reviews of the material we studied, no one was bored, and by sharing in a variety of ways and from within each child’s strength, learning was deepened.

Contrast this sort of learning assessment to the typical ones in which verbal presentations are required from all students whether or not they shine at giving speeches and everyone is ready to poke themselves with something sharp to keep from falling asleep by the time speech number 15 rolls around. Let alone speech number 25!

The Concrete Random Learning Style

“Things” tend to go far better when you are teaching or parenting a concrete random dominant child if you take an approach to leading them that is different from how you would approach other learning styles. The concrete random learner can make you dizzy, startle you, amaze you with their inventiveness, and make you laugh and cry in rapid succession. However, one thing is for sure: CRs are creative, dynamic people and so worth the ride they will take you on.

Someone once said that if you throw a cat in the air, he will always land on his feet. I think of this when I talk about CR kids. My son is a CR, and one of my favorite memories illustrates his ability to think on his feet, rapidly and charmingly. We had a rule in the house – that “shut up” was not allowed in conversation. I explained to the kids that shut up was strictly taboo because it was rude, and furthermore it showed a complete disregard for the other person’s right of self expression. One day when I was in the kitchen and the kids were upstairs, I heard my son yell “SHUT UP!” Startled, I started swiftly up the stairs only to halt midway as he continued equally loudly: “… is NOT a word we use in this house!” What could I say? He made his point to his sister, but when he heard me marching upstairs, he rapidly fixed it.

Characteristics of the Concrete Random Learner

• Solves problems creatively

• Hands-on

• Makes real but original products

• Self-directed, driven by what interests him

• Enjoys a variety both in environment and in what they work at

• Thinks on her feet

• Gets in and out of tight spots with equal ease

• Inspires action in others

• Charming, friendly, and charismatic

• Sees many options and many solutions to problems

• Can visualize future events

• Accepting of and caring for many kinds of people

• Risk taker

What Is Hard for Them

• Being told exactly what to do and how to do it

• Being told it can’t be done

• Having to follow steps someone else made up

• Strict, inflexible routines

• Any routines

• Having to redo something once it is finished

• Formalities, formal reports, pomp, fads

• Completing long-term projects

• Pacing themselves and working within specific time frames

• Having to give up on something or someone

• Having to explain how they arrived at a solution or answer

• Having to choose only one option

• Locking themselves into something long term

Knee-jerk Reactions to the CR Learner

It is only natural when leading a CR to want to clamp down to “control” the innovative, unexpected actions. The interesting fact, however, is that the more we clamp down and try and control his actions, the more he will fight back. It is not that he is fighting us or the rules; he is fighting the suffocation of having his freedom taken away. It is often hardest for the concrete sequential adult to embrace the CR because to the CS, “the right way to do it” is paramount. To the concrete sequential, the concrete random isn’t doing things the accepted way, and rather than perceiving the CR as innovative and experiential, he may perceive him as rebellious.

Strategies for Home

• State the goal clearly and let him come up with the steps to attain it. For instance, “You can go to bed any time you want, just so lights are out at 8:00.” “You don’t have a curfew as long as you come in at a sensible time.” Later, “I won’t make rules for you, as long as you make wise choices for yourself.”

• Encourage her to evaluate music, movies, and books rather than stating what she can or cannot read, watch or listen to. Spend time discussing those things together without being didactic.

• Give him ample opportunity to make choices early in life when choices are less life-altering. I said “We need a lawnmower. This is the budget. It should be self-propelled so your sister or I can also use it. Go pick any one you want that meets these criteria.” There was no risk to me in asking Matthew to make this purchase. It was a perfect way to encourage him to make an important decision – he knew the goal, and he got to hear the magical words “any one you want.”

• Let her make mistakes and learn from those mistakes while still young and at home rather than choosing for her all the time in order to prevent a less desired outcome. Remember that the CR needs to find out first hand whenever possible.

• Determine that your relationship with him is paramount and maintain it at all costs. Determine to stay with him as he learns about his world and what will happen if he tries this or that.

Strategies for the Classroom

• Be very clear about what you really want from this child. If you want him to be good at following directions or if you want him to do his homework every night, I’m not so sure how it will go. If, however, your goal is that he learn the material, you might remain open to how he learns it. Homework every night might not be the most productive for him. Make a deal (CRs LOVE making deals!) that as long as he shows he knows the stuff he won’t have to do his homework. I can pretty well guarantee he will learn the material perfectly!

• Don’t insist that it can only be done one way. This is like saying “sic ‘m” to a bull dog. Clearly state the goal, show an example of a project or problem done correctly (as to the answer) and while you can show the child how you would do it, don’t insist she follow the steps exactly. Give her room to create something new. Rather than always insisting on a written paper, make room for other ways to show learning such as interviewing a classmate, making a tangible project, creating a poster that will show all the points of learning – or better yet, ask her to create a product that will showcase all she knows.

• Offer a variety of projects rather than specifying exactly how the project should be done. For instance, it is totally safe to say, “You are required to do a science project” as long as you also say, “You are totally free to choose the topic and how it looks.” Next you can also say, “There should be these particular components included so I know you understand the learning piece.” What the CR will hear first is the phrase “totally free” and as long as you say that, you can also stipulate what you need him to do.

• Be open to challenge without taking it personally. Remember, if you think something has to be done one way, be certain your CR students will immediately set out to show you the myriad ways it also can be done. Remember you are dealing with creative thinkers who thrive on original ideas, original products, and who just really need to find out for themselves “what will happen if I do this” and “How many ways can this be done?” The more black and white (sequential) you are in your approach in the classroom, the more you will inspire your CR students to be very colorful (random).

The Abstract Random Learning Style

One evening when my daughter (abstract sequential) was in high school, she came in from being out with James, a really great guy she had been hanging out with for a few months. I was sitting on the couch in the living room reading, about 15 feet from the front door. I looked up at her and smiled, “Hi sweetie!” She replied, “Hi Mom.” I looked at her face and these words shot out of my mouth. “You like James, don’t you?” My daughter’s jaw dropped and she exclaimed, “HOW did you know? I was just now starting to figure that out myself!” The only reply I could give her was that I could see it on her face. Remember the abstract sequential is typically not quick to identify her feelings nor express them. As an abstract random, however, my people radar is quivering sensitively at all times.

What They Are Good at

Heightened instincts and intuition make the AR gifted at reading signals that to others might be invisible. In addition, the AR is strongly motivated by the needs of others. Not just sensing them, but doing something about them. Innocuous questions such as “Which show do you want to watch?” or “Which game shall we play?” or “What shall we have for dinner tonight?” often throw the AR into what looks like indecision (even though the AR knows clearly what he wants) because in making the choice, the AR worries that he will be depriving his companions of what they want!

 Taken further, this care for the welfare of others stirs an AR to action and can form the basis of their chosen career. For example, while I am a teacher, what really interests me and furthermore, what became a career for me, is finding out where roadblocks for learning are and finding solutions for them. I feel deeply the pain of children who are failing and need help.

Attunement and harmony are highly valued by the AR. Harmony with those around her are important for the AR, and this results in an unwillingness to argue unless the topic is one that is vitally important. The older I have gotten, the more carefully I have edited out the things that are not worth arguing over. Rather than having a thousand hills upon which to die, I have it narrowed down to a very few. For my children, for example, the two things I want more than anything are for them to be safe and be happy. To me these two things encompass all else. They have been brought up to know what is right, how to care for others, how to make good choices, so if they are happy, that means they are living consistently with what they believe. If they are safe, this means they are free of anything that would damage them, body and soul.

The AR at School

This attunement to people carries over into the classroom where it impacts many facets of the child’s experience there. To the AR, all of life is about people and relationships. If she feels the teacher is not happy with her, she will be distressed. If the teacher takes a hard line with a child that the AR feels is overly harsh, he will become upset for that child. If the material being studied is not clearly related to the life of the AR, she will be unable to see its importance to her life. Many ARs drop out of classes that are technical and sterile and it is critical to show the importance of those classes as stepping stones towards achieving the final goal, which may be about helping people.

What They Need as They Learn

• Frequent feedback – to answer the question, “Am I on the right track?”

• Ability to use their creativity – “I know what you want, but can I do it my way?”

• Teamwork and collaboration

• Acceptance and validation of their feelings

• Freedom from conflict

• Ability to be spontaneous

• Appreciation for their efforts

• Freedom from competition

• The ability to revise midstream once they have new information

• Personalized learning that allows them to use their strengths

• Relevance to people, to them

Sources of Stress at Home and at School

• When people jump to negative conclusions

• Pressure to be more sequential

• Being alone

• Time limits, such as using a stopwatch to time her work

• Strict, inflexible schedules

• Having to be exacting with answers

• Having to finish one thing before starting another

• Being criticized unfairly or harshly

• Demands to prove her intuitions

Helping ARs Achieve a Good Balance

One of the dangers of being an AR, as you might imagine, is that they can be susceptible to those who would take advantage of their good nature and desire to help. When leading AR children, while it is very important to affirm their desire to care for others, we need to also teach them that it is wise to also draw lines in the sand over which another person should not cross. Sometimes the only way to get this point across to the child is to not only show how this action will hurt her, but to also show how it will not really help the other person either. For instance, the AR child will be alert to other students who ask for help with their work. It would be easy for the AR to become so involved in helping their classmate that they neglect to do their own work. You can say, “It would be best for Jane to do her own work because if she doesn’t, she won’t learn the material and might fail the class. Care for Jane’s welfare might prove to be the tipping point for him that will teach him to guard himself against unnecessary “helping.”

The Abstract Sequential Learning Style

This is one blog I am going to thoroughly enjoy writing. I have a child who is dominantly abstract sequential and have enjoyed and admired her for nearly 28 years now! I have to admit that for years there were aspects of my daughter’s make up that I didn’t know how to interpret, but after reading The Way They Learn when she was in 9th grade, a lot of the pieces suddenly dropped into place. It was amazing! There are always personal traits that can be perceived negatively by others when in reality what is going on is positive. For example, the AS child may seem to be aloof at times, may seem opinionated, may even seem argumentative on occasion, and when rushed, may come to a complete stand-still. But if we take the time to delve beneath the surface with the goal of mining the gold in the child, the rewards will be great. Best of all we will be equipped with the knowledge we need to relate beautifully to him.

What They Need

To AS learners, gathering facts from recognized experts in their field is critical, so if you express an opinion, be prepared to back it up with some verifiable data. This is one child you don’t want to say “Because I said so” to! One of the little areas where my daughter and I butted heads frequently was over my relying heavily on my instincts but my daughter needing to see tangible proof of the facts. “How do you know that?” is a question an AS might vocalize on a regular basis. While dominant AS people can imagine and create, they are firmly based in fact, logic, and expediency. What they create will likely be a system that will be useful and solve problems. They are less likely to create simply for enjoyment, making things up out of thin air. Their creation will meet a need and solve a problem. They do not trust emotion and feelings unless they have had time to evaluate whether or not those feelings and emotions are completely justified. At times it will take the AS child some time to even figure out WHAT they are feeling. AS children have an inborn sense of how much time will be required to complete tasks they are asked to do – and complete them thoroughly. If they sense that they have too much to complete in the amount of time they have, they can become very distressed to the point of shutting down and refusing to do the work. While their more random counterparts might be ok with doing a rushed job just to call it done, AS children would rather not do the work at all than to do it in a haphazard manner.

Sources of Stress

Sources of stress in the classroom for AS dominant children include hearing an annoyed rant from the teacher which should be directed to a small number of children in the classroom, but is instead verbalized to the whole group. Busywork for homework, too many assignments for the time allotted, timed tests or quizzes in which they are to complete as many answers as they can in a given amount of time (but are not allowed to complete ALL the questions), unclear questions or directions – all this creates stress and upset for this type of learner. The AS child does poorly with tests that are true/false or multiple choice where the best answer is one that is true most of the time, and excels on tests that allow for variables in the answers. If the question allows any room for situations in which that particular thing might not be true, AS learners will not know how to answer. My daughter performed outstandingly in classes in which she was able to share her reasoning, but did less well in classes that were more concrete in their approach. The only thing I knew to tell her was to answer the questions anyway, but use asterisks and write her comments by the questions that to her seemed to present more than one answer. (Then I prayed the teacher would read and consider her comments!)

What They Are Good at

AS learners are wonderful at evaluating situations or needs and creating systems or procedures that are efficient and which meet those needs. I learned early in my relationship with my daughter that she would not have to find out the hard way how to make good choices. She was constantly observing and evaluating the behaviors of her peers. She would be dumbfounded at times with the choices her more random counterparts made that ended badly for them, especially when they repeated their poor choices multiple times. She was also frustrated when she had to work within a disorganized system of any kind. By the time she was in 10th grade, we had a little conversation about her future. I said, “You are gifted in creating systems and procedures. My advice to you is that you prepare yourself for a career in a field in which you can create systems and not have to work for someone who is not as good as you at creating them.” It was less important WHAT she did, but it was critical that she be able to have the freedom to come up with procedures on her own because no matter what emergency situation she found herself in, she calmly and quickly evaluated the problem and arrived at a workable solution. Her sense of what will work well and what will not work well is heightened and she chafes at having to follow directions that to her seem illogical or meandering.

The Bullet Points

For those of us who love lists and bullet points, here they are:

Who They Are & What They Do

• Analyze a situation before acting

• See the big picture and imagine a solution

• Are admired for their intellect

• Are exact and precise and logical

• Are factual and can back up what they do or think

• Solve problems efficiently

• Are logical and structured in their thinking

• Like to discuss and debate controversial topics

• Need a quiet environment in which to think and work

• Admire intellect and ideas

• Tend to ask amazing questions

• Remember details and can relate them back to you

What They Prefer

• Listening to lectures or lessons and reading

• Following logical, accepted procedures

• Data to back up statements

• Teachers who are experts in their field

• Seeing a project through to the end

What Is Hard for Them

• Being rushed

• Not having their questions answered

• Being asked to express their emotions

• Being governed by someone who is governed by sentiment

• Working inside a system that is not efficient or effective

• Illogic

• Lack of clarity as to the task or question

If you have a child who is AS and he is upset, rather than making him verbalize what is bothering him, play 20 questions like this.

“Was it something that happened at school?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Was it something in class?”

“No.”

“On the playground?”

“Yes!”

If you are lucky enough to finally guess correctly, your child will likely smile with relief and say, “Thanks! I feel a lot better!”

Abstract sequential learners are in the great minority. If you are the parent or teacher of an AS, any time you invest in becoming attuned with her will pay off in huge dividends to both of you. I will never forget pulling my upset 3rd grader into my lap one Sunday morning after she told me she’d had a nightmare. Turns out she had been having them for a solid year, but was just then able to verbalize to me what her fears were. I felt pretty awful for not picking up on it sooner. The best piece of advice I can offer is to take the time to notice the little things – don’t become too busy to be in tune with him. Notice body language, pay attention to his frustrations, and listen to him talk. The AS child will usually not demand the acceptance and support he needs.