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Ross is beginning to develop his large
muscles first in his arm by having him first learn to draw large circles
on a blackboard attached to the wall. The control of larger muscles
first, is necessary in order for a child to develop the smaller muscles
necessary to write.
He is beginning to have a more relaxed
control when drawing the smaller letters also. He is now spelling his
name orally and beginning to write it with less tension. We use the
cookie sheet with sugar sprinkled on it for him to practice his letters.
It is an easy matter to simply shake the pan and have a "clean slate" on
which to work. This is a tactile exercise. Feeling the texture of the
sugar (you may use salt or sand) registers on the brain more completely
than just holding a pencil to make a mark.
We are learning geography and today I was
surprised for him to voluntarily point out the country of Australia. He
also informed me it would be better if, "I had a globe instead of a
map!" I have video tapes of the various countries. They are interesting
and it is amazing how a child would rather watch them than some of the
simple children's shows on televison. Ross was particularly fascinated
with Venice where they have streets for roads over which boats travel,
instead of cars. It recognizes the boot called Italy and can point out
where Venice is located.
I try to be alert to teach scientific
principles. Yesterday when he was over filling a glass causing it to run
over, I took an empty glass and put various objects into it until I
could get no more into it. I told him, "when something can no longer
hold anything else it has reached its capacity as to its volume."
Interestingly enough, he seemed to understand and was ready to quit
pouring more water into the glass.
To practice the letter H today we looked
through an old magazine in order to find things beginning with H. We
couldn't seem to find much. There were Hedge Hogs, Helicopters, and
Holly. There were many pictures of people so we looked for hair. We
actually found pink hair, short hair, long hair, curly hair, very
straight hair, white hair, and more. After we tore the page out we then
tore the picture out using our fingers. This is to develop cortical
opposition and really is better for development than cutting with a pair
of scissors, although they love to do this also. Cutting with scissors
is sometimes harder for a four year old and we did much better with
tearing the paper. We then took all the H words and pasted them to a
bright colored piece of light cardboard paper, upon which we used a
heavy black marker to draw the letter H at the top. If you use a pencil
to draw the letter on first, it is easier for the child to try to follow
the lines already there. There is no rush, at this point one is simply
introducing the letters anyway. With repetition they will learn them at
their own pace.
For our craft work we gathered Pine cones
from the tree out front. We looked for the smaller ones. In a paper egg
carton we poured melted paraffin over cloves and the pine cone setting
in the place where the egg goes. We discovered we should have cut the
egg carton up to its individual holders first, but we managed as it was.
Be very, very careful with this step if you even want to do it at all.
Ross has a good understanding of the heat since they have a wood stove.
Some children may not. Working around a stove is always an "iffy" thing
and you may not wish to do it. We took the egg carton outside, since it
was very cold today, the wax set up quite nicely. It held the cloves and
the Pine cone. These are something his mother can use as starters in
their outdoor grill. With cinnamon and more cloves added this can also
be a nice potpourri, hanging on a string in the closet.
We discussed the word Guacamole since
this is what we had for lunch. I showed him the letter G, told him how
the English pronounce it and then how the Spanish language is different
and how they pronounce the word. I spoke a few phases to him in Spanish
and it was a thrill to catch his attention, in that he didn't understand
what I was saying, and then, how he laughed when I explained it was
another language other than the one we speak. Since we knew about
Venice, I was able to tell him about the Italian language. Tomorrow we
are going to start with the Lisbon video tape. Let's see! What do they
speak?
On our Christian teaching I am
concentrating on how the Master teacher Jesus emphasized the need to
"listen." |
