Teaching the ABC's in 3 easy steps

This morning I overheard a commercial where the father was worried about his preschooler learning the ABC's  and to the rescue comes a computer web site, because he is the father, not the teacher.  Well I know you parents have heard this before....  But YOU are your child's first teacher.  And honestly, I can see why a parent may not feel empowered, but I am here to help.  Teaching your child their ABC's really is not hard or technical.  It is really quite easy.  Just do these 3 things OFTEN (practice makes perfect kind of thing), even from the day you bring your child home from the hospital and your child is guaranteed to get them down pact. I am even going to give you a bonus to help them transition into reading!  I personally have raised 2 children, my daughter who is a typical learner had them down by 3 and my son who is not a typical learner had them down by 18 months.

First step, and this is easy.... SING YOUR HEART OUT, sing your ABC's over and over again and AGAIN.  You can even start this at birth, sing when you change a diaper, walk them around calming them, in the car, anywhere and anytime.  Sing with them as they learn the song and encourage them to sing it to you often, you can even get geeky and teach them the alphabet in sign language.  You see, you want your child to know the letter "w" but how often do we go around saying "w"???  The name is not in the brain and if it is not in the brain, then it is harder for them to retrieve "W" when they need it and they can feel frustrated.  But the alphabet song is fun and easy, and your child will be able to retrieve the letter.

Second step I used ... READ!  Oh my, every parent should get Dr. Suess's ABC book!!!  Read it and read it and read it some more!  I read this book so often that I could tell it to you by heart!  While you read, talk and point out letters, and really expose them to this book.  You really do not want to know how often we read this book!!!  There are so many other great Alphabet Children's books out there, hundreds and hundreds to choose from.  Just Google Alphabet books and the world of letters will open up to you!  Some extra advice, once they start mastering their ability to recognize the letters by sight, then start going over it using the phonic sounds!!!  This is an AWESOME way to build a reader without lots of frustration, and it is natural and easy!  I tried this and I had a son who was a phonetic reader at 3 and my daughter was reading Junie B Jone chapter books at the beginning of Kindergarten.

Third step, when you are out, just point out letters and take that boring moment when you are waiting for something to review letters, really simple!

Teaching your child their alphabet is really easy,  not fancy, not expensive and really no need for a web site.  But I do have to admit that I do actually like Starfall and it is free.  But what I love the most, is the bonding time, sharing the moment, the enthusiasm and the love.  Like everything in life, you have to practice a lot, you have to put in the effort, but it is well worth the time and the bonding is priceless!

Renaissance Man Hall of Fame: Thomas Jefferson

Shhhh....
Don't tell my husband but I have a crush on another man.

The man of my dreams not only has  articulate mastery of  English, but he spoke Latin, Greek, Spanish, French and 10 Native American Dialects.  He had college equivalent mastery over the law, physics, mathematics, philosophy, zoology and chemistry.  It was also said that he would sometimes practice the violin 3 hours a day.

He was an plantation owner and grew many plants from all over the world in his famous gardens and designed his famous home Monticello.  He was a business man, inventor and attorney.  He drafted the Declaration of Independence, served as United States Minister to France, Secretary of State, Vice President and President of the United States.  Ahh... what a dream man.

Thomas Jefferson had quite the life, and did many amazing things.  But he was a shy man, the love of his life died at a young age and only 2 out of his 6 children lived into adulthood. What an amazing life this man lead,  so very much to learn about him, but this is only a blog.

Save Your Money Product Review : Dunecraft

My seed bombs...  Well they BOMBED!!!
When I saw the seed bombs in a catalog, I was interested, very interested!  They had my number!  Plants and a new and interesting way to grow them, well sure!!!  I can go for that!  So I got my bombs and looked at the box and set one in a pot with soil and watered it and waited, and waited and waited.  Nothing happened.  Well I am experienced gardener, so I tried to cover it, and waited and waited and waited, and nothing happened.  I tried one outside, and the last one I tried in a bag. Yeah, even after weeeeeeks, nothing is happening. Sigh...  Oh and I just learned that I was supposed to get 6 and I got 4.  The box shows a beautiful product in 5 days, well, not mine.

Well, a few weeks ago, I just so happen to have ordered another product by Dunecraft, a peanut growing kit, yeah, still nothing....

I then remember a cactus growing kit I tried last year and you guessed it......
nothing.

If I was not an experienced gardener, I would really think it was me, but considering my hundreds of starters are hogging up every window and table, I highly doubt I have a black thumb.

So please take my advice and save yourself some money and time, and just buy fresh seeds and soil and pots and don't waist your time and money on this company.  3 strikes and in my book, they are out.

You Had Me At "Amado Mio"

I remember it like it was yesterday, my husband and I were playing pool and drinking beer at the Eastside Pub in downtown Olympia and out of the jukebox China Forbes belted out "Amado Mio" and I fell in love completely!  I had to have Sympathique by Pink Martini!!!  They are an amazing band from Portland Oregon, amazing artistic voices and a amazing orchestra!  Oh it was candy for the ears of this  Renaissance mama! "They are a cohesive blend of Cuban, French, Greek, Japanese, Italian, classical and Brazilian music" perfectly remarked a reviewer on Amazon.

They have produced many more albums, not as romantic as the first one, but having a son, I fell in love with their style.  I loved how they played music spanning many cultures and languages, some I loved, but I admit there is a Japanese song that kinda is out of my range.  They would play many instrumental pieces, jazzy pieces and classic children songs like Que cera, cera.  I even love 2 song off of Splendor in the Grass where there is a female song and a male song in response.  Only one song has made me raise an eyebrow, and that is about a cross dressing DA in Bitty Boppy Betty, but it is cute!

Even though their latest album Dream a little dream is not my favorite, I like the feel of the CD.  This CD has the Von Trapps grandchildren, and not as much of Pink Martini style that I like.  But culturally, I really like the influence of the Von Trapp children for my son.  I like the feel of the songs that come from all over the world, like Ireland, Sweden, Japan, France and Rwanda. 

AND do not worry, all this cultured music, and my husband is sure to round out our son with Pixies, Decemberist, Nirvana and more.  All children need a well rounded musical education!

Renaissance Man Hall of Fame: George Washington Carver

Last week I realized that even though I had heard the name George Washington Carver and heard that he invented the peanut, I had never actually read anything about the life of this man.  But once I did, I discovered a new hero.  I love the kind of people that even though they had to face extreme odds and ugliness, they go on to do amazing things with their lives and for the good of others.  But what is even more amazing about this man, is that he wanted to live a simple life and to contribute to society, but he asked for nothing in return.  He could have lived the life of a rich man, but he lived a practical life, he felt that he should not get rich off of science.

So I honor thee......

George Washington Carver was born to slaves in January of 1864, it was a very turbulant time for slaves, he had lost his father before he was born, he was born weak and sickly, and saddly in the night a group of men kidnapped him and his mother from their owner Moses Carver.  Moses got George back, but they never saw his mother again.  George was raised by Moses and his wife, even after slavery ended, and he was a curious and intelligent little boy.  He loved plants and growing things very much and people called him Doctor Plant, but because he was black he could not go to school where he lived.  He moved away and lived with foster parents so that he could go to school,  he worked and did odd jobs to earn his keep. 

Carver loved art and considered being an artist, he played the piano and loved to sing, but because he did not have parents, it was a long time before he could save enough to go to college.  Finally he earned enough to go to college at 30.  He had to move to Iowa, where there was a college that would accept black students.  He worked his way through college doing other students laundry and odd jobs and finally he graduated from college.  He studied agriculture and set out to help the farmers. He became a proffesor and did  many experiments with peanuts and sweet potatoes.  Carver tried to convince farmers that peanuts and sweet potatoes were a good alternative crop to grow, that cotton was bad for the soil and was damaged easily by weather and insects.  At first farmers did not want to change and they feared that no one would buy it, especially since peanuts were considered monkey food.  Carver did lots of experiments and came up with hundreds of ways to use peanuts and it was said that he served a several course meal to distinguished guest made entirely of peanuts.  Eventually farmers started to listen to Carver and peanuts became a very important crop in Georgia and South Carolina.

Being wealthy was not important to Dr. Carver, he lived a very modest lifestyle, but it was very important to him to help farmers, and his fellow scientist.  I am touched how Dr. Carver came into the world facing many obstacles  like being poor, slavery and being orphaned, but he never let these things destroy his spirit, he worked amazingly hard to follow his dreams and to help other people.  What an amazing story, what an amazing man.  The kind of man I want my children to grow up to be like.  People need hero's and Dr. Carver has definitely become my hero.

Save your money review... Little Passport

Sigh...  Just opened my credit card statement and hmmmm....  $13.95 a month- that is how much I am paying every month for Little Passports.  That's about $167.40 a year and it really hit me. WOW...  am I really getting my monies worth???  I love to try new things and was hooked at the thought of my son running to the mailbox, all excited to get something new.  But...  that excitement maybe lasted 5 minutes. Sigh...

Now please do not get me wrong, I absolutely love and am a very big fan of American Entrepreneurs, Little Passports is a very cute product, but for 13.95 a month for shipping and handling, a piece of paper with facts, a postcard, a little trinket, a sticker flag, country label, and pointer for the map, a little card with your internet access, couldn't I do better with my money?  This price point is just so high!  Like I said, this is $167.40 a year! And being the frugal Renaissance mama I am, I considered the fact that I could not resell any of it on Ebay ;)  So, I reconsidered and decide that for geography and culture, I would go back to the old plan, a much less expensive plan!

So back to the old ways I go....
I was/am using A Trip Around The World, , there is also Another Trip Around the World and A New Trip Around the World.  These books are K through 5, there are 12 countries covered in each book and about $12.00 each new.  They have printable maps, relevant facts on language, culture, food and recipes, printable flags, and a list of recommended books.  I love these books!  So much information and very inexpensive, oh and you can resale them ;)

Instead of a huge map on the wall, may I suggest  a educational jigsaw world puzzle!!!  I LOVE PUZZLES,  LOVE THEM!

Sit with your children the first time and discuss the puzzle, while you put it together (and if you are anything like me you really start saying things like "I did not realize those countries were so close").  Then have them practice on their own, if they enjoy it, and they will build familiarity with the puzzle through time until they an ZOOM through it really fast.  Meaning that if they are zooming, they are remembering and internalizing where countries are.  The beauty of puzzles is that they have to really focus on individual pieces, and I like to time my son, the faster he gets, the more he is learning and he loves to get a little prize (okay, that might sound like a little bribery, but trust me, if he truly did not want to do it, I would never push him)  But in the end, they are learning.

But I realize the "mail thing" is a big draw to kids, children love to get mail!  But maybe get a few magazine subscriptions, like National Geographic or Click.  My son is so excited and reads from cover to cover Boys Life!  But there are so many great publications out there!

A Day as an Artist

Harlequin's Carnival, 1924-25, by Joan Miro

This week we are studying Joan Miro.   Miro was born in Spain in 1893 and moved to Paris later in life to study art.  He was influenced by Picasso and Cubism, and Catalan art, but later became known for being a surrealist..  He was also a sculptor, tapestry design and painted murals.  

At first I really did not care much for his style, and thought since my son loved Picasso, that he would love Miro.  But it worked the other way, my son took no interest and as I practiced painting in Miro's style, I began to really enjoy him!  I especially enjoyed splattering my art, odd huh!

We are just wrapping up our last lesson in our Atelier video based art program level 2.  I have to say I love this program, though maybe a bit spendy.  I love how many ways she approaches art and the different artist that she uses, I love to see on DVD her explain the days lesson, do it, and then we get to watch the children make the project.  She uses many mediums and I really feel she is very creative in her ideas. Personally I love art now, I rarely remember having a lot of art lessons in grade school and something about having to earn grades in high school took all the fun and exploration out.  Plus, me being me, I love to just sit at the table with my son and share in the experience :)  Like I said earlier, it is really a great experience to see what your children's personal choices are in art!