When I find a new blog, I read through their latest posts until I find something that doesn't interest me. If It's right away, I simply click on. If I'm five or six posts down and still reading, then I'm in. This blog had me with the post "How to Mentor a Kid with Big (Possibly Unrealistic) Dreams."
"As I have walked the world—a tramp for the Lord—I have learned a few lessons in God's great classroom." Corrie ten Boom
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Monday, September 16, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Focusing on Strengths
"It is easy for those working with children with disabilities, including their parents, to dwell upon the deficiencies. But if children experience success in their strength areas, they become more confident in their abilities." SENG August newsletter
A social work major in college, I chose the strengths perspective as the foundation of my approach to family problem-solving. For me, it's the idea that everyone brings something to the table which can be used for the good of all. In homeschooling I hope to use my son's strengths - imagination, curiosity, energy, and marching to his own drum - to also improve his areas of weakness. I think we'll have the most success with project-based learning based on his areas of interest, incorporating reading, writing, and public speaking as means to the end.
Coming soon: a summer and book update.
A social work major in college, I chose the strengths perspective as the foundation of my approach to family problem-solving. For me, it's the idea that everyone brings something to the table which can be used for the good of all. In homeschooling I hope to use my son's strengths - imagination, curiosity, energy, and marching to his own drum - to also improve his areas of weakness. I think we'll have the most success with project-based learning based on his areas of interest, incorporating reading, writing, and public speaking as means to the end.
Coming soon: a summer and book update.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Hothousing
I know there is a lot of controversy around early learning. Most of the negativity seems to originate from the perspective that the parent is forcing the child to learn by withholding something necessary (love, affection, food) or the "drill and kill" idea. I found the term hothousing on a parent forum, where some of the parents shared that they felt like their insatiable, intense child was hothousing them!
I was reading a blog about a mom who did a full Glen Doman home program from birth (I think), only to find out when he was 9.5 months that her son (born premature) had a brain-injury. She wrote, "The good news is that T was a lot worse and the program we've been doing so far has brought him from severe to mild brain injury. Usually, when a child's behind in this category, he's also behind in this category. It wasn't that way for us, and she said the only way that happens is if parents have already been working on healing it." Good for them!
Personally, I think so much depends on the child's interests and the parent's motivation. Someone observing my house might wonder why I support early learning. For Raccoon and me, it's all about enjoyment and fun. My son is not nearly compliant enough to be forced!
I was reading a blog about a mom who did a full Glen Doman home program from birth (I think), only to find out when he was 9.5 months that her son (born premature) had a brain-injury. She wrote, "The good news is that T was a lot worse and the program we've been doing so far has brought him from severe to mild brain injury. Usually, when a child's behind in this category, he's also behind in this category. It wasn't that way for us, and she said the only way that happens is if parents have already been working on healing it." Good for them!
Personally, I think so much depends on the child's interests and the parent's motivation. Someone observing my house might wonder why I support early learning. For Raccoon and me, it's all about enjoyment and fun. My son is not nearly compliant enough to be forced!
Friday, October 21, 2011
My Motivation
Since I had done a lot of reading before Raccoon was born, I felt like there was so much more that I should be doing to enrich Raccoon's crucial early years. I imagined other mothers being able to do these amazing programs with their children that I could not, due to trouble with nursing and sleeping, colic, several major moves, and other upheavals during Raccoon's first two years. I did the best that I could, incorporating as many things from the Doman books as possible. But as he grew and became increasingly mobile, almost everything that we were doing, and enjoying up to that point, stopped working. I got stressed trying to find new ways to make things work, and then it wasn't fun anymore for Raccoon or for me. I took a break for awhile from intentional early stimulation, and I stepped back to examine why I was so frustrated that things weren't working. So what if we didn't do any structured learning? One of the common criticisms of early learning is that the parents are forcing the children. I wondered, if I was really honest, did I have any hidden motivation or agenda?
In the end, I realized that my motives were a mixture of good and bad, like most things in life. Mostly, I wanted to share with Raccoon my love of learning. But if I was truly honest with myself, there was also some need to validate my capabilities as a mother by his achievements. "See, Raccoon can do this, so I'm not a total failure." After realizing this, I prayed a lot about whether I should continue or not. After a time, I felt peace about it and I set some new goals.
My new focus in every area is exposure and enjoyment, not mastery or performance. I don't need to know how much he knows, test him, or try to catch it on camera. Glen Doman says that the child will show the parent in time, and Maria Montessori said something like, "You don't dig up the seed to see if the plant is growing." As long as Raccoon and I are having fun, and the information that I provide is clear and of the highest quality that I can do in a reasonable amount of time, I am content. My focus is also on being more intentional about enriching the time that we spend together and to create more mutual respect in my relationship with Raccoon. (Love is already there and flourishing.) My ultimate hope and prayer is that if he learns that I listen to and respect him now while he's little, he'll still come to me and trust me to respect him when he's not so little anymore.
In the end, I realized that my motives were a mixture of good and bad, like most things in life. Mostly, I wanted to share with Raccoon my love of learning. But if I was truly honest with myself, there was also some need to validate my capabilities as a mother by his achievements. "See, Raccoon can do this, so I'm not a total failure." After realizing this, I prayed a lot about whether I should continue or not. After a time, I felt peace about it and I set some new goals.
My new focus in every area is exposure and enjoyment, not mastery or performance. I don't need to know how much he knows, test him, or try to catch it on camera. Glen Doman says that the child will show the parent in time, and Maria Montessori said something like, "You don't dig up the seed to see if the plant is growing." As long as Raccoon and I are having fun, and the information that I provide is clear and of the highest quality that I can do in a reasonable amount of time, I am content. My focus is also on being more intentional about enriching the time that we spend together and to create more mutual respect in my relationship with Raccoon. (Love is already there and flourishing.) My ultimate hope and prayer is that if he learns that I listen to and respect him now while he's little, he'll still come to me and trust me to respect him when he's not so little anymore.
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