Gabe and Asher recently got to drive a new toy over at Grandpa Smith's - an electric ATV. Gabriel drove it pretty well once he got used to it, and Asher did okay with some help at the slow speed (5mph). They drove up and down the street with cousin Noah for a couple hours. Noah is three and drove very well. At times all three of them were on at once. They had a lot of fun.
Elizabeth would like to get the kids one of those electric cars, but I am hesitant. Gabe already bikes faster than they go, so he'd be bored of it quickly. I'd also hate to see any damage come from it and the design flaws in the things are obvious. The electric motor torque is very strong and the takeoff is dangerous if they are unprepared. Common sense would tell you to put switches on the handgrips to be sure the kids are holding on before power can be applied to the motor. Instead the things have a pedal throttle right where you get on and off at (with no power switch handy). A slow-start circuit for the motor could make this a lot more suitable for kids. I'm reminded of the time as a kid when someone floored an electric golf cart while one of my buddies was climbing in - he was thrown for a backflip.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Isaiah is crawling and talking
Isaiah started saying "dada" several weeks ago. We doubted he really understood it until about two weeks ago when he began only using it when talking to me. Then he added "mama" and "baba." He babbles constantly now and plays with toys on the floor. He does the same sidewinder army crawl that Gabe did, but he is showing signs of getting on his knees to crawl soon. He is eating cereal everyday and likes it now. For some reason he has been crying a lot lately and sleeping less. Hopefully it is teething that is bothering him. Hopefully it ends soon.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Preparing for Gabriel's Kindergarten Year
We are starting to realize we need to lay out our plans for Gabe's kindergarten year of school. We don't really think kindergarten is a big deal since it was instituted under false pretenses and assumptions, and isn't compulsory in Iowa yet, but we will teach him some basic things. He will probably have an hour or two each day dedicated to it. We are setting up a table and chair in our office for him so he can shut the door if necessary.
The overall method we will use for these first few years is memorization of facts. Kids memorize well and need to have a lot of facts before they worry about linking them together with reasoning, logic, etc. Everything will be presented as a set of facts to know and remember. Later we will introduce reasoning, logic, and argument. This is the classical method of education.
We plan to spend a lot of time on phonics. He will learn to read more slowly this way than if he learned the look-say memorization method, but it will pay off in the long run. Phonetic reading increases the vocabulary from around 2000 words to 20,000 words over word memorization and allows for a deeper understanding of the construction and etymology of words. This is why it has been used everywhere in the world for all of time except for public schools in the U.S for the last 20-30 years. This is why the U.S. has the smartest 4th graders around and terrible 12th graders - the cheating methods look good at first but limit future growth. If he learns his phonetic sounds this year very well that will be enough. Elizabeth has a book and audio tapes to go through for this during Asher's nap time.
We also plan to spend a lot of time brainwashing the poor kid with the Bible. He will learn to answer the questions in a children's catechism that comes from the Westminster Confession. He will learn many Bible stories and be quizzed on them. This will be done in the evening with dad.
Mathematics for kindergarten will include learning number magnitudes (playing cards), time and money, etc. A lot of games will be used to spark interest in this. Next year we will find a workbook but this year just games and dad's personal tutoring in the evening.
Finally, Gabe needs a lot of work on drawing, coloring, writing letters, etc. He hasn't spent much time on this yet and has a long way to go. We hope to see him writing out the alphabet legibly and drawing basic shapes and figures well by the end of the year. Elizabeth will work on this with him during Asher's nap time.
The overall method we will use for these first few years is memorization of facts. Kids memorize well and need to have a lot of facts before they worry about linking them together with reasoning, logic, etc. Everything will be presented as a set of facts to know and remember. Later we will introduce reasoning, logic, and argument. This is the classical method of education.
We plan to spend a lot of time on phonics. He will learn to read more slowly this way than if he learned the look-say memorization method, but it will pay off in the long run. Phonetic reading increases the vocabulary from around 2000 words to 20,000 words over word memorization and allows for a deeper understanding of the construction and etymology of words. This is why it has been used everywhere in the world for all of time except for public schools in the U.S for the last 20-30 years. This is why the U.S. has the smartest 4th graders around and terrible 12th graders - the cheating methods look good at first but limit future growth. If he learns his phonetic sounds this year very well that will be enough. Elizabeth has a book and audio tapes to go through for this during Asher's nap time.
We also plan to spend a lot of time brainwashing the poor kid with the Bible. He will learn to answer the questions in a children's catechism that comes from the Westminster Confession. He will learn many Bible stories and be quizzed on them. This will be done in the evening with dad.
Mathematics for kindergarten will include learning number magnitudes (playing cards), time and money, etc. A lot of games will be used to spark interest in this. Next year we will find a workbook but this year just games and dad's personal tutoring in the evening.
Finally, Gabe needs a lot of work on drawing, coloring, writing letters, etc. He hasn't spent much time on this yet and has a long way to go. We hope to see him writing out the alphabet legibly and drawing basic shapes and figures well by the end of the year. Elizabeth will work on this with him during Asher's nap time.
Elizabeth's latest hospital stay
Elizabeth was in the hospital last week with a kidney infection for several days. Her vomiting and pain were really bad for a couple days and the recovery has been slow and gradual. Luckily we had some help with meals and watching the kids. This week she is doing her best becuase I am finishing up an ISU distance graduate class and catching up at work. She is about 80% and the kids are about 120% trouble and energy. We're going to need our anniversary date this coming weekend to relax. 8 years. 3 boys....
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