I didn't put up a post last night because we were at Aaron's school for a Primary Parent Education evening. It sounds like this is something regular but it was our first since Aaron has only recently joined the class. Last night's presentation was more of a celebration because the Australian national curriculum body has recognized the Montessori National Curriculum as an alternative national curriculum. It sounded like a big deal and I can see why it would be a big deal for the Montessori community in Australia - all Montessori schools now have the same curriculum and there is a document that affirms its methods and teachings as something 'official'. It does make me feel a little more confident that my child will end up learning everything they are supposed to know each year.
I know I sound as if I don't have any confidence in the school that I have chosen for Aaron. This is not the case. I think the Montessori way of educating a child holistically and within context of their lives is brilliant. I love that he will be able to explore and investigate independently but with the support of his teachers. The development of strategic thinking and self discipline is much more important to me than the ability to sit obediently in a classroom and only do homework that he is assigned because he has to.
My hesitation and insecurities about this very system stem from the fact that I have no personal experience with it. It is so far removed from my own childhood education and the many beliefs that my mother has ingrained in me that I can't help but question the "follow the child" motto that drives the Montessori way. How do they know what is good for them? What if they don't choose the right activities? What if they aren't born with any curiosity to investigate anything? All this requires me to trust the teachers in his class more than I think I would need to in a traditional school. There is no homework for me to check up on his work with. No exams to give me some indication on where he stands amongst his peers. I'm in the dark! So, its back to the teacher again. There are meetings with the teacher every term and I have my first one in two weeks.
I've been thinking about it a lot. I need to sound like an interested parent, but I don't want to be labeled as one of those overbearing control freak parents that teachers probably try to avoid. Neither do I want them to think I'm one of those parents that are always worried about their child because they may then only give me the good side of things. Finally, I want them to know that I intend to continue teaching him at home even though they feel that the home is for fun activities, i.e. play. I teach him things in fun ways (except for Chinese) and I want to do this in a complementary way to the things he is exposed to at school. (OK, so maybe there is a bit of that control freak parent in me but they don't need to know that.)
So, let me end this post with this video clip. It sums up what the Montessori system is and why it is so attractive to me.
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Learning About Money
One of my favourite times during the day is after dinner and before Aaron's bed time. This is the only time of the day that I can give Aaron my full attention and I always try to make it as productive as possible. He's usually tired after a long day but if I put enough effort in to make a game out of everything, he's still incredibly receptive.
I don't think I would like to be a classroom teacher but I love teaching Aaron. There are always new ideas that I want to try out or topics that I want to explore with him. I think I still have some hidden desire to completely homeschool him but thats unrealistic.
This week, we started learning about money. He got his first taste of the value of money when he took the two dollars he earned from painting a door knob hanger to a book shop. He was very disappointed when he found out that a sharpener was about the only thing he could afford. So, we've been discussing the value of money for some time but I haven't had a chance to break down the mechanics of money with him yet.
We've starting at the very beginning (almost) and learning to count money and how the coins can be used in different combinations to make up totals. Maybe I can even teach him to go pay for things and work out the change he needs to wait for.
My intention is to also show him how money is made and circulated. And maybe I'll draw up something to show him how the price of a good or service is derived - hence explaining how Richard's daily trip to work results in money for our needs. I don't think I'll go any further than that for a five year old. He doesn't need to know about the current financial woes in the global economy.
I always end up feeling like I have achieved something when I see Aaron feel excited and eager to learn more about something.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Are Teachers Being Too Nice?
This week, Aaron started visiting his new class. He is transitioning from his current kindergarten class to a Grade 1 class. This is what the school usually does at the end of the school year for the children that are moving up a class. He was a 'late entry' to Grade 1 so he missed the transition period at the end of last year when other classmates went through this whole visiting routine.
Now, after two weeks of catching up with his friends after the holidays, he has started to spend time in the new Grade 1 class. We have been talking about this for awhile and I know that inside, he's excited about it. But of course, when the time came, he was anxious and probably feeling very alone because he had no friends yet. This morning, I happened to be around when two children from Grade 1 came to walk him over and he had tears in his eyes. He hasn't cried on any other 'first days'!
I think maybe the school/teachers have been a little too nice here. They are giving him the choice to come back whenever he wants and making sure that he is comfortable with everything. Yes, it is very considerate of them but I wonder if it would work better if they just made a clean break. Then he wouldn't have to go away and feel anxious and then come back to his old class and feel the comfort from him. Or maybe, a better strategy would be to outline for him that each subsequent day visiting Grade 1 will be for a longer period than the first until finally, say three days later, he can just go directly there.
At home, I've been trying to convince him that the way to go is to get into the new class as soon as possible so that he can teach his friends about everything when it is their turn to transition. Supposedly, there are several other children that will transition before the middle of the year.
Having said all that, I can see how their approach is aligned with the Montessori way of 'following the child'. I just can't help thinking that life was so much simpler when I went to school. Teachers were just more grown ups to tell you what to do. No talking to teachers or telling them how you feel or what you want.
Now, after two weeks of catching up with his friends after the holidays, he has started to spend time in the new Grade 1 class. We have been talking about this for awhile and I know that inside, he's excited about it. But of course, when the time came, he was anxious and probably feeling very alone because he had no friends yet. This morning, I happened to be around when two children from Grade 1 came to walk him over and he had tears in his eyes. He hasn't cried on any other 'first days'!
I think maybe the school/teachers have been a little too nice here. They are giving him the choice to come back whenever he wants and making sure that he is comfortable with everything. Yes, it is very considerate of them but I wonder if it would work better if they just made a clean break. Then he wouldn't have to go away and feel anxious and then come back to his old class and feel the comfort from him. Or maybe, a better strategy would be to outline for him that each subsequent day visiting Grade 1 will be for a longer period than the first until finally, say three days later, he can just go directly there.
At home, I've been trying to convince him that the way to go is to get into the new class as soon as possible so that he can teach his friends about everything when it is their turn to transition. Supposedly, there are several other children that will transition before the middle of the year.
Having said all that, I can see how their approach is aligned with the Montessori way of 'following the child'. I just can't help thinking that life was so much simpler when I went to school. Teachers were just more grown ups to tell you what to do. No talking to teachers or telling them how you feel or what you want.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Have You Got A Soroban?
We have a new toy in the house. I bought it for Aaron but like so many other things, I think I'm the one that is having all the fun.
Check out our new Soroban ...
A Soroban is actually the Japanese derivation of the Chinese abacus, the Suanpan. I bought the abacus on ebay and actually thought it was a Taiwanese type until I turned to trusty Google to learn how to use one. So, official information now is that the one we own is the Japanese type, referred to as the Soroban. It has one top bead and one bottom bead less than the Chinese one.
I think I got my information mixed up. They do a lot of abacus training in Taiwan but don't actually have their own type of abacus. Where did I hear this from? An eleven year old boy who can do addition, subtraction, division OR multiplication in his head as fast as I can with the calculator.
Five years ago, I taught piano to the most serious eleven year old boy you can imagine. He was the perfect piano student. And then, I found out that he was super with his mental sums. His skills fascinated me and I spent a lot of time competing with him - my calculator against his brain. It was truly amazing. We're not talking about simple two digit operations here. I could give him numbers in the tens of thousands to work with and he would still match my calculator. Can't remember if we went to hundreds of thousands or not. It turns out that he got that good by first training with the abacus. After a few years, he must have developed an abacus in his head that he could manipulate.
I'm not trying to turn Aaron into a math whiz. I just thought this would be a fun way for us to play around with numbers. We've been using cards, and dice and now, the Soroban will be another visual aid for numbers.
I've been playing around a lot with the one that we've got and even though I'm slow, I can see how its use can match a calculator. You can play around with this virtual Soroban to see how the numbers will look like. The first rod on the right is the unit rod, the next is tens, then hundreds, thousands, etc. Go have a look by keying in the digits. Make sure you look at what 5 is because its the pivot point for counting to 10.
If you've taken a look at how to count and if you've got the spare time and are interested, this is how simple addition can be.
112 + 232 = 344
To make 112, start with the third rod from the right. Push 1 bead up. Then, push 1 bead up on the next rod and 2 on the last rod.
Then, starting with the third rod from the right (the one where you should have one bead):
- push 2 beads up
- move to the next rod, push 3 beads up
- move to the next (and last) rod, push 2 beads up.
Now, when you look at the last three rods of the Soroban, you'll have 3, 4 and 4 beads. And thats the answer.
Have I confused you all? Can you see how it can be fun? Imagine the speed that you could get on this thing once you've practiced. (Yes, I know we have calculators these days but I believe this will train your brain to eventually do the math without the actual Soroban) Go get a real one and play around with it. Makes a nice clicking sound when you can go fast.
Check out our new Soroban ...
A Soroban is actually the Japanese derivation of the Chinese abacus, the Suanpan. I bought the abacus on ebay and actually thought it was a Taiwanese type until I turned to trusty Google to learn how to use one. So, official information now is that the one we own is the Japanese type, referred to as the Soroban. It has one top bead and one bottom bead less than the Chinese one.
I think I got my information mixed up. They do a lot of abacus training in Taiwan but don't actually have their own type of abacus. Where did I hear this from? An eleven year old boy who can do addition, subtraction, division OR multiplication in his head as fast as I can with the calculator.
Five years ago, I taught piano to the most serious eleven year old boy you can imagine. He was the perfect piano student. And then, I found out that he was super with his mental sums. His skills fascinated me and I spent a lot of time competing with him - my calculator against his brain. It was truly amazing. We're not talking about simple two digit operations here. I could give him numbers in the tens of thousands to work with and he would still match my calculator. Can't remember if we went to hundreds of thousands or not. It turns out that he got that good by first training with the abacus. After a few years, he must have developed an abacus in his head that he could manipulate.
I'm not trying to turn Aaron into a math whiz. I just thought this would be a fun way for us to play around with numbers. We've been using cards, and dice and now, the Soroban will be another visual aid for numbers.
I've been playing around a lot with the one that we've got and even though I'm slow, I can see how its use can match a calculator. You can play around with this virtual Soroban to see how the numbers will look like. The first rod on the right is the unit rod, the next is tens, then hundreds, thousands, etc. Go have a look by keying in the digits. Make sure you look at what 5 is because its the pivot point for counting to 10.
If you've taken a look at how to count and if you've got the spare time and are interested, this is how simple addition can be.
112 + 232 = 344
To make 112, start with the third rod from the right. Push 1 bead up. Then, push 1 bead up on the next rod and 2 on the last rod.
Then, starting with the third rod from the right (the one where you should have one bead):
- push 2 beads up
- move to the next rod, push 3 beads up
- move to the next (and last) rod, push 2 beads up.
Now, when you look at the last three rods of the Soroban, you'll have 3, 4 and 4 beads. And thats the answer.
Have I confused you all? Can you see how it can be fun? Imagine the speed that you could get on this thing once you've practiced. (Yes, I know we have calculators these days but I believe this will train your brain to eventually do the math without the actual Soroban) Go get a real one and play around with it. Makes a nice clicking sound when you can go fast.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
How did I become this mother?
I visited three schools and rang up another one today because I've recently added a new worry to my list - Which school to go to? BIG QUESTION for me at the moment even though Aaron is still a little guy.
I don't know what it is. Maybe its because I'm Chinese. I understand that play and socializing is important but at the same time, I want him to also do the serious learning. Y'know, stuff like reading, writing and arithmetic. (Yes, now, when he's four years old.) One of the great things about having nowhere to go in Palembang was that I got to spend a lot of time doing stuff with Aaron. We played a lot but we also read a lot and did a lot of pencil and paper work. I want a school that will do that with him - Play and Learn.
Of the four schools I checked on today, two were Catholic primary schools, one a state school and another a Montessori school. None of them were bad, but none of them stood out either. In fact, they were so 'bland' that I came home and looked up 'homeschooling'.
I'm chiding myself now. It shouldn't be such a big deal. He's only going into Prep in 2012. Thats a preparatory year for Grade one in 2013. But then again, I would feel a lot better knowing that somebody will be paying attention to his particular needs. I don't want to find out that they're trying to teach him his ABCs a year from now when he's already reading at the moment.
Anyway, I don't have any answers yet. They don't even tell you if you have a place at these schools until sometime next year. They're going to keep me in suspense...keep me browsing the homeschooling website.
I don't know what it is. Maybe its because I'm Chinese. I understand that play and socializing is important but at the same time, I want him to also do the serious learning. Y'know, stuff like reading, writing and arithmetic. (Yes, now, when he's four years old.) One of the great things about having nowhere to go in Palembang was that I got to spend a lot of time doing stuff with Aaron. We played a lot but we also read a lot and did a lot of pencil and paper work. I want a school that will do that with him - Play and Learn.
Of the four schools I checked on today, two were Catholic primary schools, one a state school and another a Montessori school. None of them were bad, but none of them stood out either. In fact, they were so 'bland' that I came home and looked up 'homeschooling'.
I'm chiding myself now. It shouldn't be such a big deal. He's only going into Prep in 2012. Thats a preparatory year for Grade one in 2013. But then again, I would feel a lot better knowing that somebody will be paying attention to his particular needs. I don't want to find out that they're trying to teach him his ABCs a year from now when he's already reading at the moment.
Anyway, I don't have any answers yet. They don't even tell you if you have a place at these schools until sometime next year. They're going to keep me in suspense...keep me browsing the homeschooling website.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Application For Enrolment
It won't be until 2012 that Aaron will be old enough to start the Prep year here but I think I'd better hand in his application for enrolment now as waiting lists are long. He will automatically get a place in the nearby State School because we live in the area but I also wanted to keep my options open by enrolling him at the Catholic primary school as well.
I actually like the look and feel of the State School more but the religious education aspect of the Catholic school has been gnawing at me. I am not overly religious but my faith has helped me through many stresses in my life and I want Aaron to have a similar sort of grounding to me. In this world, it feels as if religion is compartmentalised into the place of worship only. My brother went to that Catholic school so I know it does not have an overbearing amount of religious education but instead, it sound as though its just integrated into everyday school life. Thats what I want - for religion to be part of who Aaron is.
Anyway, I got an enrolment form over a month ago but didn't get around to filling it out until tonight. I'll be honest - I'm feeling a bit judgemental towards the school now.
The first page of the application is all about the parents. Not unusual I suppose but they also asked for levels of school and higher education and has multiple choice answers that were extremely categorised. They specifically wanted to know if it was Grades 9, 10, 11 or 12 that a person left school. There was also 'Occupation Group' where parents were categorised into five groups. If I were to label those groups crudely, it would be 1) Big Bosses, 2) Middle management, 3) Worker Bees, 4) The Help and 5) '8'.
The '8' was for any person not in paid work for the last 12 months.
OK first and foremost, they didn't have a category for 'STAY AT HOME PARENT'. I thought that as a school, this would be extremely pertinent information. I wouldn't have thought so much of it had they just put in an 'Occupation' field to be filled out. BUT, they have specifically asked for how far up the career ladder the parent(s) has climbed by asking for those categories. So why not find out if the family had the luxury of a dedicated person for parenting?
I can definitely see how that sort of information will be 'useful' to a school's admissions officer but unfortunately, I'm seeing it as 'useful' in all the wrong ways. I also know that this is how the world works a lot of the time. Even for primary school enrolments because this school will then lead to certain Catholic secondary schools and so on and so on. Hey its the private school vicious cycle!
Lets keep things in perspective, he's still only 3!
I actually like the look and feel of the State School more but the religious education aspect of the Catholic school has been gnawing at me. I am not overly religious but my faith has helped me through many stresses in my life and I want Aaron to have a similar sort of grounding to me. In this world, it feels as if religion is compartmentalised into the place of worship only. My brother went to that Catholic school so I know it does not have an overbearing amount of religious education but instead, it sound as though its just integrated into everyday school life. Thats what I want - for religion to be part of who Aaron is.
Anyway, I got an enrolment form over a month ago but didn't get around to filling it out until tonight. I'll be honest - I'm feeling a bit judgemental towards the school now.
The first page of the application is all about the parents. Not unusual I suppose but they also asked for levels of school and higher education and has multiple choice answers that were extremely categorised. They specifically wanted to know if it was Grades 9, 10, 11 or 12 that a person left school. There was also 'Occupation Group' where parents were categorised into five groups. If I were to label those groups crudely, it would be 1) Big Bosses, 2) Middle management, 3) Worker Bees, 4) The Help and 5) '8'.
The '8' was for any person not in paid work for the last 12 months.
OK first and foremost, they didn't have a category for 'STAY AT HOME PARENT'. I thought that as a school, this would be extremely pertinent information. I wouldn't have thought so much of it had they just put in an 'Occupation' field to be filled out. BUT, they have specifically asked for how far up the career ladder the parent(s) has climbed by asking for those categories. So why not find out if the family had the luxury of a dedicated person for parenting?
I can definitely see how that sort of information will be 'useful' to a school's admissions officer but unfortunately, I'm seeing it as 'useful' in all the wrong ways. I also know that this is how the world works a lot of the time. Even for primary school enrolments because this school will then lead to certain Catholic secondary schools and so on and so on. Hey its the private school vicious cycle!
Lets keep things in perspective, he's still only 3!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Boys and Reading
I have no idea if its true but supposedly, boys are slower to read and usually find it harder as children to sit down with a book. Where did I hear this? My mom of course :)
For now, Aaron is willing to drop everything and come whenever I say "Lets do some reading". Unfortunately, if its not a Thomas & Friends book, I have to work really hard to make him stay.
I usually do one non-Thomas book first and then let him have as many Thomas books as he likes. After all, reading is reading right? Nobody tells us grown ups what to read. We just read whatever interests us. I just want Aaron to want to read.
Each Monday morning, Aaron and I go to the Brisbane Square Library in the city. My parents have a clogging class and we tag along for the bicycle ride and library time. Usually, we spend 1 hr there but today, my parents stayed longer at their class and we were there for 2.5 hrs.
The setup of the children's lounge was ideal. There are toys (but not too many) there to distract young children. This distraction works more like a break from the books to revive the short attention span that kids have. It was easy to read Aaron a story, then allow him to go off to play while I picked out another book. He'll eventually wander back for another story again. In between stories, I also managed to enjoy a couple of my old favorites - The Adventures of Tintin.
I was amazed at the calm and quiet time we had in the library. 2.5 hrs is a long time for Aaron to be in the same space. It was me that suggested we leave in the end because I was getting a bit hungry and cold.
I feel happy today that Aaron has come to think of libraries as fun places to go.
For now, Aaron is willing to drop everything and come whenever I say "Lets do some reading". Unfortunately, if its not a Thomas & Friends book, I have to work really hard to make him stay.
I usually do one non-Thomas book first and then let him have as many Thomas books as he likes. After all, reading is reading right? Nobody tells us grown ups what to read. We just read whatever interests us. I just want Aaron to want to read.
Each Monday morning, Aaron and I go to the Brisbane Square Library in the city. My parents have a clogging class and we tag along for the bicycle ride and library time. Usually, we spend 1 hr there but today, my parents stayed longer at their class and we were there for 2.5 hrs.
The setup of the children's lounge was ideal. There are toys (but not too many) there to distract young children. This distraction works more like a break from the books to revive the short attention span that kids have. It was easy to read Aaron a story, then allow him to go off to play while I picked out another book. He'll eventually wander back for another story again. In between stories, I also managed to enjoy a couple of my old favorites - The Adventures of Tintin.
I was amazed at the calm and quiet time we had in the library. 2.5 hrs is a long time for Aaron to be in the same space. It was me that suggested we leave in the end because I was getting a bit hungry and cold.
I feel happy today that Aaron has come to think of libraries as fun places to go.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
He's going to be a ...
People just love guessing at what a young child is going to become later in life.
If they show an interest in numbers, they wonder if he'll be an accountant or some sort of scientist. Or, maybe if he likes taking things apart to see how it works, he'll be an engineer.
The problem I have with all this is that the projections into the future are always some sort of "professional" occupation, and the mainstream ones at that. You never hear anybody say things like "Yup! He's definitely going to be a baker/plumber/excavator driver."
I don't come from a very traditional Chinese family but still, it was a Chinese family. My parents didn't push it as hard as some other families but education was still sold as the key to everything in life. It was study hard or else...
My point today is that, studying hard (and smart) is no longer the only way in this world. And, it probably never was anyway. Its also important to have passion, drive and determination. That's what I want for Aaron. I'm still Chinese though, so I also what him to have something to fall back on so....he's definitely going to school! But I'm not going to present life's prospects the same way my parents did and hopefully, I'll be able to open his eyes to "all" the things that people work at in the world.
The trigger for today's post is Aaron's current passion for music. He immerses himself totally into it. If he hears the guitar, he'll be strumming and tapping his feet. If its the drums, he's going crazy with his arms. I've taken this opportunity to teach him other instruments like the tuba or cello so he also "plays" those. This passion that he has at the moment has made him very receptive to learning about all instruments and it also allows me to teach him some musical terms like forte or pianissimo. It sure beats learning about them in Theory Class later on!
So anyway, back to what happened today. My parents have been enjoying every minute of Aaron's performances but at the same time, my mother keeps cautioning me. "Its better not to encourage this too much. He might join a band later and he won't want to study" or "You need to stress the piano more or he'll just play the guitar, and that will lead to joining a band". *sigh*
What if he wants music to be his life? Bands are only one aspect of music. There are all sorts of jobs to do with music. For example, the person who puts the fingerings on music sheets, or sets the layout so that you don't have to turn the page at awkward moments.
I'm not taking any heed. I'll give equal exposure to all types of music and instruments. I'm using it to teach Italian musical terms, counting, timing, rhythm, musical styles and instrumental families.
He's only two and there is probably two week or less remaining for me to use his interest for some good here. I'm not going to spend that time worrying that he'll join a band in his teenage years!
If they show an interest in numbers, they wonder if he'll be an accountant or some sort of scientist. Or, maybe if he likes taking things apart to see how it works, he'll be an engineer.
The problem I have with all this is that the projections into the future are always some sort of "professional" occupation, and the mainstream ones at that. You never hear anybody say things like "Yup! He's definitely going to be a baker/plumber/excavator driver."
I don't come from a very traditional Chinese family but still, it was a Chinese family. My parents didn't push it as hard as some other families but education was still sold as the key to everything in life. It was study hard or else...
My point today is that, studying hard (and smart) is no longer the only way in this world. And, it probably never was anyway. Its also important to have passion, drive and determination. That's what I want for Aaron. I'm still Chinese though, so I also what him to have something to fall back on so....he's definitely going to school! But I'm not going to present life's prospects the same way my parents did and hopefully, I'll be able to open his eyes to "all" the things that people work at in the world.
The trigger for today's post is Aaron's current passion for music. He immerses himself totally into it. If he hears the guitar, he'll be strumming and tapping his feet. If its the drums, he's going crazy with his arms. I've taken this opportunity to teach him other instruments like the tuba or cello so he also "plays" those. This passion that he has at the moment has made him very receptive to learning about all instruments and it also allows me to teach him some musical terms like forte or pianissimo. It sure beats learning about them in Theory Class later on!
So anyway, back to what happened today. My parents have been enjoying every minute of Aaron's performances but at the same time, my mother keeps cautioning me. "Its better not to encourage this too much. He might join a band later and he won't want to study" or "You need to stress the piano more or he'll just play the guitar, and that will lead to joining a band". *sigh*
What if he wants music to be his life? Bands are only one aspect of music. There are all sorts of jobs to do with music. For example, the person who puts the fingerings on music sheets, or sets the layout so that you don't have to turn the page at awkward moments.
I'm not taking any heed. I'll give equal exposure to all types of music and instruments. I'm using it to teach Italian musical terms, counting, timing, rhythm, musical styles and instrumental families.
He's only two and there is probably two week or less remaining for me to use his interest for some good here. I'm not going to spend that time worrying that he'll join a band in his teenage years!
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