I Know Addition!

Our math program has been horribly inconsistent since we began back in December. But today Hunter took his first addition "test" (the candy game) and amazingly understood the concept just fine.

The Doman math program (How to Teach Your Baby Math) uses a very simple, straightforward way of teaching babies and toddlers the realities of numbers and equations. You simply show them the facts, and they discover the rules.

For teaching a toddler addition, this translates into gathering three cards and showing them: "One" (hold up a card with one dot on it) "plus two" (show the card with two dots on it) "equals three" (show the card with three dots on it).

No explanation, just show the facts. Since they can actually see the true number of dots, they understand what "plus" means because they can see what is happening. Therefore, tiny children who have been taught true quantity (see blogs under "Teach Your Child ... Math" to learn more) can learn what plus, minus, times, and divided by mean in the same way that they learn "mine" - which is, by seeing these words used in action.

Hunter has probably seen about fifty or so addition equations such as this at scattered times, and he understands. Today I "tested" him for the first time, placing a fourteen and a twelve card on the floor and asking, "Hunter, what is eight plus four?"

He knew.

Later I asked him two more problems. Bingo. Once again, he understood.

It is such an exciting thing to see that this program is really working. When I first read the book, I laughed, then stood in suspicious awe, then dove into the program in faith, thinking, "But what if it DOES work..." But, as I am here to tell the world, you really CAN teach babies and toddlers the reality of math. And it's fun. And easy. And a very noble thing to do.

"The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips."

Proverbs 16:23

"Grocery shopping"

A couple days ago I took this picture of Hunter "grocery shopping" in the basement pantry.

My original reaction was to tell him to put everything back as he was "making a mess", but what harm was he doing, really?

He got this baby doll cart and started shopping for food. Of course, he put it all back when he was done, but it was cute to see him pretending that these shelves full of food was a grocery store. And fun, too.


"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

I Corinthians 13:11

My precious boy

"Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."

Mark 10:14

Carousel at the Mall

On Sunday we went to the mall and rode on the carousel. Hunter was somewhat timid at first because of the riding motion but got used to it quickly and really loved all the paintings on the ceiling, which was decorate with pictures of some of our national memorials including Mount Rushmore, the Washington Monument, and the White House.

Of course, he really wanted to go again and ride on the panda bear, but at $2.00 a ride I had to say no. But we did get some ice cream afterwards. And after the mall and church, he was more than ready for his nap!

"Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?"

Job 39:19

Snow

So far this winter we have been blessed with a lot of snow. Blessed, yes, I think so, because for me, the beauty and fun of snow makes the long, dead cold more bearable. But for Hunter, snow is just fun.

Hunter has never gotten to play in the snow much until this winter. Last winter, he was only one and a half and our total ventures out into the snow came up to a total of one. But this year, he is enthralled by it.

We got the opportunity to play and learn in the snow today. The last time we played outside the snow was perfect packing snow and we built a snowman. But today the snow was very light, so light in fact that the trampoline (which was under a foot of snow) didn't even droop (with packing snow it droops with only two inches on it).

We talked about how light it was and compared it to the snow we played with before.

"The packing snow we made a snowman out of is more dense than this light, fluffy snow. It's light and fluffy because the molecules are further apart [spread hands apart] and with packing snow, the molecules are closer together [bring hands together]. Molecules are all the little bitty pieces that make up the snow." [smiles and continues playing (don't worry, next time it snows he will repeat every word of what I just said)]

"Look, it doesn't stick together very good when you pack it, does it?" [shakes head and smiles]

All together we enjoyed about a half hour of snow play before it was time to go inside. We didn't do much talking, but I just loved watching Hunter play with the snow. He was experimenting with everything from molding it to throwing it to rolling in it, kicking it, even eating it. I'm so thankful that I get to share these moments with him, even if it just means watching. And I am also thankful that he gets to have these moments, which could never happen in an overcrowded, overstimulating day care environment (that is, if they let the kids play outside at all during the winter).

These priceless moments of learning will never come again. The winter will soon be over, and this is his last ever winter as a two-year-old. Yes, there will be more days. More winters. More times of learning. But once it is over, you can never regain your days. I encourage parents to recapture parenting, to be their with their children and help them learn about their world. It is an honorable thing to do, and the chance will never come again. Be blessed.

"For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength."

Job 37:6

St. Valentine's Day

So yesterday was Valentine's Day and I thought about helping the kids make something memorable to put in the scrapbook to commemorate this holiday.

As a child I always watched a video around this time of year about St. Valentine, who, according to the video, was imprisoned for marrying soldiers against Emperor Claudius' law (who thought single men made better soldiers). While in prison he healed the prison guard's blind daughter and eventually gave up his life to save his Christian brothers and sisters.

When I did some more research I was disappointed to discover many conflicting reports. It seems that the true story has been lost in a history of pagan traditions involving flowers, candy, and romance. But we enjoyed a brief discussion about the history. We didn't get any books from the library, since they all focused on first grade crushes and the joys of candy, not really anything worth celebrating.

We made hearts though, and Hunter did an excellent job cutting out the shape I traced for him in construction paper. Celebrating the story of a Christian man of great love, rather than the typical cupids and candy, was a fun way to commemorate the day.

"Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman"

Exodus 35:35

You Know Your Letters?

Hunter never ceases to amaze me. It seems he is constantly blowing me away with little pieces here and there demonstrating just a small bit of how much he really pays attention, how much he really remembers, and how much he really understands.

The other day we were looking at a book from the library, an "I Spy" ABC board book.

I have been casually teaching him letters here and there for a while, but not very consistently and I've never tested him before.

But today when we were reading the book, playing the I Spy game, I discovered that he knew ALL of his capital letters! Each page I would say, "Can you find the 'C'?" and he knew it right away!

It was such a wonderful discovery: we give little kids far too little credit sometimes in their learning abilities.

"And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
Deuteronomy 11:19

Is it a Spider, Mommy?

"Is it a spider, Mommy?"

Hunter saw me pull out an empty jar from the cabinet and asked me that question. Bewildered at first where that came from, I suddenly remembered that the wolf spider we captured last summer was given a home in that same type of empty spaghetti sauce jar.

That was over six months ago. I was once again amazed at his ability to recall events from so long ago. He was only 29 months then, and I thought he didn't really care too much about the spider and wasn't paying very much attention. Apparently he was.

“The memory should be specially taxed in youth, since it is then that it is strongest and most tenacious. But in choosing the things that should be committed to memory the utmost care and forethought must be exercised; as lessons well learnt in youth are never forgotten.” -Arthur Schopenhauer

"Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee."

Deuteronomy 32:7


Date: February 6, 2008

My Imagination

"They're singing, Mommy. They're at church."

I love watching Hunter play imaginatively. I love the little worlds he creates with his toys, the dramas he acts out and the stories he tells. He's so creative, so spontaneous, so unhindered. His "imagination station" certainly is working in full fledge.

"for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts"

1 Chronicles 28:9


Date: February 12, 2008

It's a Trapezoid, Mommy!

"It's a trapezoid, Mommy!" Hunter said holding up his cracker. He was actually eating triangle-shaped crackers, so at first I assumed he was wrong. But as I turned around to look, lo and behold, it was indeed a trapezoid as the top had been bitten off and the new shape was a four-sided form.

I had forgotten that he knew those shapes. A while ago I made him some cards with various shapes on them and showed them to him, but I never tested him so I didn't really know if he learned them. Guess he did.

When I made the cards, at age 2 1/2 Hunter didn't know any more shapes than a circle, square and triangle. Most children's books about shapes only have a few shapes and the list is rarely complete. So I decided to make my own.

Some people loath flashcards as if they're child abuse, but it is putting no more "pressure" on them than reading a book would. He loves the flashcards I make him because I show them very quickly (less than a second per card) and he simply gets the pure, straight-forward information in a fun and easy way without long, silly lessons or slow, boring drills.

Knowing the names of a variety of shapes makes him notice details in things, as in the case with this cracker today. As I've pointed out so many times before, useful encyclopedic knowledge is not just "trivia", but is indeed a springboard to a great big world of new learning. Being able to recognize and name a variety of shapes extends far more than just pointing out which card is which in a set of a dozen flashcards, but opens the doors to lots more learning all around.

"Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see."

Isaiah 42:18

I also have some cards of regular polygons. I never tested him on these before but I see now that he has learned them just as quickly and just as easily as he learned circle and square, being able to instantly see the difference between an ennegon and a decagon.

It's a great big world full of wonderful things to learn about. Shapes is a splendid thing worth teaching your child.

"And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks."

1 Kings 7:5