Momof3 Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 I need some ideas for teaching my preschooler (dd3). She does 'school' with me and ds4 because she doesn't want to be left out of anything. We spend abt 1-1/2 hrs on our 'classes' every morning. Mon thru Thurs is Bible, Reading, Math, History, Science. On "Fine Arts Friday" we do Bible, Reading, Music & Art. We do everything together except for reading. The rest of our day is fairly structured as well, with plenty of times for both indoor and outdoor play, reading together, "table time" (coloring books, puzzles, etc.), etc. My question is this: I have a hard time relating to dd3's learning style. I am much more like ds4 - logical, structure-oriented, word-oriented, math-oriented, etc. Ds4 enjoys memorizing lists, listening to stories (with or w/o pictures), stretching his brain with logic puzzles, etc. Dd3 is different. She's very visual. She loves colors and has a real appreciation for beauty and color in art. She's super-expressive (yes, a drama queen), talks with her hands, and wears her expressions on her face. :) She can't stand listening to stories (or 'lessons') without having pictures to look at or things to do. She's very 'bouncy', active, playful. Very coordinated. I know it's not a serious problem now b/c she's very young still. But I'd like to start out on the right foot. Any of you have experience teaching a visual learner (or maybe you are one yourself) with some advice for me? I'm really open to any suggestions - curriculum, activities, or just what it's like to learn this way or teach this type of learner. THANKS! P.S. As far as curriculum, my plan is to use Saxon Math (ds4 will prob go thru at an accelerated rate, but I like Saxon for the hands on approach with dd3?), SOTW history (I love this curriculum, but am concerned that dd3 won't get much out of it?), and AIG science (similar in style to SOTW). Quote
LittleIzumi Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 Right here. I'm much more verbal and I have one strong VSL (with ADHD). I actually wrote a huge blog post on teaching VSLs and curricula that works better and why, plus other resources. It saves me from typing the same thing over and over and over and over here, lol. For my girl, Saxon and SOTW would both crash. Quote
MrsH Posted March 14, 2013 Posted March 14, 2013 I'm (slowly) learning that it's totally fine for kids to be doing something else while you're reading aloud to them, depending on the type of activity. We've had great success with coloring pages and less success with drawing their own pictures. Creating a scene at a sand table (moonsand is AWESOME for this) can be helpful, especially if it's related to the story being read. Messing with a ball of playdough feels nice, or even just rubbing a smooth stone can be great for keeping fidgety hands occupied. I'm trying to get my eldest to a point where she can be knitting while we read aloud, but not quite there yet. There is nothing wrong with strongly preferring picture books, especially at this age. Could you be sure to include lots of Caldecott Medal winners? Also, how about the "Look With Me" series of arts books? I've been (loosely) using the Wee Folk curriculum with my 3 year old and it's super cute. I love that it's based on reading a story book several times throughout the week, it lists an additional non-fiction book (related), and has a related project and field trip each week. The field trips are super simple, like "visit a duckpond" or "take a walk and look at birds." It gives me a way to really talk about that subject with my daughter and enjoy it together, rather than everything being so disjointed. For math, I'd just have lots of manipulatives for her to play with at this point. We don't yet own any c-rods but those seem like a fabulous option. Also, going around measuring stuff is more kinesthetic, and you could even go so far as figuring out how many mommy feet something is, vs how many kid feet. Oh and of course the (by now cliche) advice to have her join you in cooking... Not sure if this is helpful at all, but those were just some thoughts that came to mind. Quote
Momof3 Posted March 14, 2013 Author Posted March 14, 2013 Thanks for the helpful tips! The whole-to-parts discussion is particularly interesting. I guess I've never thought of dd3 being "whole-to-parts" but now that I think of it, I'm sure she is! Quote
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