Teaching Children to Have Beautiful Spirits

Suzuki did not want to raise a nation of musicians.  Teaching children to be concert violinists was never his goal.  Teaching them to have beautiful spirits was.  He lived through both world wars.  What a lot of ugliness he must have seen, and yet he was not embittered by it.   His father’s violin factory was bombed, and one brother was killed in the explosion.  But this modest, self-taught musician with only a high school diploma went on to change the world.  In 1991, a the age of 93, he was selected as one of the most influential people of the twentieth century.

The Mother Tongue Method Explained

What is the mother tongue method?  How does a baby learn to speak?  He is first loved.  He is surrounded by language and quiet acceptance.  His parents already love him – he does not have to earn that love by learning to speak.  His parents speak to him, as though he could already understand.  They surround him with words.  They sing to him, talk to him, read to him, and when he utters his first babbling sounds, they praise him profusely.  What parent isn’t proud to tell everyone at the office when his baby son first makes the sound “da-da”!

The baby is making sounds but not intelligible ones.  His parents continue love him and praise him, and model perfect language.  He says more nouns, and later a few verbs.  He even starts to form two-word sentences.  “Wan down!”  “Go bye-bye!”  The wise parent praises his toddler, but continues to model perfect speech.  The parent may repeat, “You want down.  Yes, son.  You want down,” as he reinforces and reteaches correct pronunciation.

By age five, most children have mastered the basics of language.  They speak in complex sentences, and are able to make their wants and wishes known.  They may learn a few more vocabulary words once they start school.  They may even learn to diagram a sentence, but most of what they have learned they learn from their parents, not the twelve years spent in formal education.

Music Instruction May Begin at Birth or Before

Parents are The Child's First, Best Teachers

When the child is a toddler, often around age 2, the mother then starts violin instruction, but brings her child to every lesson. This is important, for the mother must understand the basics of violin before she can help her child practice. As soon as the toddler shows an interest in imitating his mom, then he begins formal violin instruction. The Suzuki method continues to teach in the same manner as language acquisition, though. The child listens to a recording of the short musical selection he is to learn – as much as ten thousand times! The child learns how it is supposed to sound, and learns to correct himself. Because Suzuki students concentrate so much on building listening skills, they often perform very well in all areas of study in school.

Only Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

Suzuki Teacher and Her Student

There are many books, blogs, and websites available to help Suzuki parents. There are charts for daily practice,  motivational techniques, and more. Then communities with larger Suzuki programs may also have group lessons and theory classes for their little students. The group lessons are a blast, and often all the motivation that young students need. However, I had four children enrolled in a great Suzuki program, so I basically had twelve half-hour classes a week! It wasn’t far to the church where the program rented space, but it was too far to walk. When two of my four decided they didn’t really want to continue, I didn’t try very hard to change their minds.

None of my children majored in music when they went to college. But they are all musical. They sing in church choirs. They sing when they do their chores or take a shower. My son took his violin with him to Korea when he was stationed there. My oldest daughter plays her violin for her daughter now. And I think that my children do have beautiful spirits. They care about deeply about each other, often calling each other more frequently than they call me! They care about their friends and neighbors. They are considerate, polite, responsible, resourceful young adults. I’m so proud of them.

I can’t guarantee that if your child studies the violin he will be a kind, responsible adult. No program of instruction can do that. But I do believe that the time a parent spends actively involved with his child can make a world of difference.  So whether it be in music, baseball, camping, biking or stamp collecting – whatever is your passion, share it with your child.

Related Reading:
Amazing Grace
Three Year Old Music Conductor
J4 – Musical Family Wins Face Off Contest

Photo Credits:
Top: photo by Mark Rain
Middle: photo by Paul Byrley
Bottom: photo by Lee Farmer

A Walk in the Rain is More Fun with a Bright Umbrella

• April is the name of the month that follows March
• April is often a rainy month (in the northern hemisphere)
• The rain helps the ground to thaw
• Spring showers and warm sunshine help new plants to sprout
• Leaf buds turn into leaves on trees and bushes
• Grass turns green and starts to grow
• Many animals have new babies in the spring
• Farmers are busy preparing the soil for planting

Many of the activities this week will deal with water, so I hope you don’t mind getting wet! Make sure to locate your umbrellas, so if you get a gentle rain without thunder, you and your young child can go for a walk and explore the magic and mystery of water’s effect on the once-frozen earth.

Nurture a Healthy Respect – Not Fear – For Storms

It is not uncommon for the young child to be afraid of thunderstorms. Perhaps it is because of the loud noise thunder makes, or because an older sibling or relative has demonstrated fearful behavior during a storm. Perhaps it is because whenever there is an evil character in children’s programming, there are thunderstorms and lightning in the background! I have seen this in everything from Disney classics to Carebears and other Saturday morning kid-shows! No matter what the cause, you’ll do yourself and your child a huge favor if you help him through this fear to develop a healthy respect and enjoyment of stormy weather. Yes, we should get in out of the rain – but we do not need to hide under our beds!

Spring Rain

Looking for Puddles to Splash In

This week you and your child will plant some bean seeds, dig in the mud, build moats in the sandbox, make a rainbow collage, go on a picnic and more. Have fun with the lesson plans, but tailor them to meet your schedule as needed. It’s okay if you don’t get through all the activities!

Here are some helps, if you don’t know the songs:
Eentsy Weentsy Spider
Rain, Rain, Go Away
If you’re happy and you know it

Five-Star Picture Books for April Showers:

• Ruby’s Rainy Day by Rosemary Wells
• The Rainy Day by Anna Milbourne
• One Rainy Day by Valeri Gorbachev
• Rainy Day: Get Dressed for Splishy-Splashy Fun from Barron’s Educational Series
• It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
• Little Cloud by Eric Carle

Quality Recordings and Materials for April Showers week (optional)

• Rainy Day Games: Fun with the Animals of Noah’s Ark
• Healing Sounds of Nature – Thunderstorm, Rain and Ocean Waves. Music for Deep Sleep
• Thunderstorm by Atmosphere Collection
• Rachmaninoff for a Rainy Day
• Disney’s Fantasia
• Small Rain Coats, Rain Boots
• Umbrellas
• Doll Rain Coat, Doll Rain Boots
• Garden Tools, Radio-Flyer Wheelbarrow

April Showers Lesson Plans

Related Reading:
Ten Rainy Day Games for Children
Rainy Day Activities

Photo Credits:
Top: photo by Eric Hersman
Middle: photo by GrandmaMusher
Bottom: photo by GrandmaMusher

Write first words in large letters in red ink on sturdy posterboard. Think really Large!  Like six inches!  This is because baby vision is not 20-20, and you want them to be able to see it well.  And they are more attracted to red than black.  Try “mommy” and “daddy” for the first words, as these are often the first words a baby learns to say.

Step one:
Show the “mommy” card quickly and set it down.  Play with your baby.  Do patty cake, or kissy games, or “this little piggy”.  Then flash the card again and say clearly, “This says mommy”.  Set the card down and play for another couple of minutes.  Repeat one more time, then the lesson is over.  You spend only a few minutes total, but show the card three times.  Repeat later in the day, several times a day, for a week.

Step two:
Do the same routine the next week with the word “daddy”.

Step three:
The third week is a big challenge.  You flash one card and ask your baby what it says.  If he says the word correctly, praise him!  Get real excited.  Jump up and down, clap your hands, kiss him profusely.  This is a big deal!  But if he is wrong, just go back to step one and begin again.  He’s a baby!  Give him a break!

Step four:
Once your baby recognizes Mommy and Daddy correctly, you can move on to more words.  Now the letters can be slightly smaller, five inches, I think.  It’s been 26 years since I read the book.  I don’t remember the next sequence of vocabulary words taught, either, although I don’t suppose it really matters.  You could teach words as your baby learns to speak them.  If “highchair” is part of his vocabulary, then make a word flashcard for it.

That’s the Glenn Doman approach, in a nutshell.

Teach Your Baby To Read

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baby-knowledge

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He now has other books available, as well.  “How to teach your baby Math” and “How to teach your baby to be physically superb” really caught my eye.  I’ll be ordering them soon, and posting a book review of them as well.

If you’re really interested in early reading, you might want to check out this website. I just discovered it this morning, but I’ve emailed them and asked for a free demo so I can learn more about it. I’ll let you know what I learn! The demo is free, though, so if you don’t want to wait, go ahead and order it yourself.

I think teaching a baby is exciting, but the most important lesson is not reading, or math, or physical fitness. I think the most important thing gained from these activities is the close bond you build with your child.

For further reading:
Early Reading, Pros and Cons
Reading Readiness
Great Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers
My Book Store

Photo Credits
Top: http://www.flickr.com/photos/futurestreet/ / CC BY 2.0

Vinegar, Water, or Baking Soda Will Clean Almost Anything

Light Duty Cleanser

For a light duty cleanser, you really can’t beat straight white vinegar in a spray bottle! You can buy a gallon of vinegar for around two dollars, depending on where you live, and it will last you for months. There are literally a thousand and one uses for this ancient liquid made from acetic acid and water, then fermented. (An older method was to allow a distilled alcohol like wine, gin, or vodka to oxidize and ferment). It can cut grease, remove mineral deposits, remove stains, eliminate odors and sterilize inhalers and baby bottles. Sometimes it is used full-strength, sometimes diluted with water, or sometimes mixed with either salt or baking soda. For a more detailed list of uses, check out Vinegar Tips .

I fill a plastic reusable spray bottle with full-strength vinegar. I spritz it on mirrors and windows and wipe clean. It takes a little more rubbing than window cleaner, but it works. The recipe on the above vinegar tips page says to mix it with ammonia and cornstarch. I haven’t tried that. I don’t like ammonia and don’t have it around the house, but you might find that it works better for you.

I spritz the counter tops and sinks with full-strength vinegar and wipe clean. The vinegar removes mildew, mold, and mineral deposits, and leaves a fresh smell behind. The chrome faucets look almost shiny new. I spray the tub and shower area well, then wipe dry with a cleaning rag. I spray a wad of toilet tissue with vinegar and wipe the outside of the toilet, then flush the paper. You can spray light switches and door knobs with vinegar to disinfect. Lastly, I pour vinegar from the jug into the toilet – about two cups – and let sit for an hour or two. Then brush and flush – you haven’t added chemical toxins to the waste water, and your bathroom is sparkling clean and disinfected.

Heavy Duty Cleanser

For heavy duty cleaning, add some liquid laundry detergent and water to white vinegar. Use this when straight vinegar alone doesn’t get the job done. The only time I use this is on something VERY dirty that hasn’t been washed in a while. Like toys that have been stored in the attic for years, after my kids outgrew them while I waited for the grandkids to come along. I can clean pet dishes with this, gardening tools, and stubborn stains.

I forgot to mention that the straight white vinegar is great for cleaning carpets! Even pet accidents come up without staining. Pick up any solid mess, blot up liquid mess with paper towels. Spray the area and blot with paper towels, continue to spray and blot until all stain is gone. The vinegar spray worked on spilled grape juice, red playdough, and wine, as well. For really old stains, you need to combine vinegar, salt, and baking soda. Pour into stain, scrub, let dry, then vacuum. This took up some three year old carpet stains that other cleaning products left behind.

Scouring Powder

Finally, for scrubbing, I use either baking soda or plain white salt. Baking soda is less abrasive, so use on anything you don’t want scratched. Salt has more scratch to it, so use on severe stains and deposits.

With these three cleansers, I keep everything clean and sanitary, and best of all, I don’t need to use an inhaler afterwards. I don’t have to wear protective gloves (thank goodness, as I’m allergic to latex, too). And I can feel good about it, because I know I’m not contributing to global warming or filling up the landfills. I buy in bulk and reuse small containers.

I don’t have any activities for preschoolers and toddlers yet for Earth Day. I will put that on the schedule for next year. But our young children learn best from observing us, so just by being “green” yourself, you’ll be raising a greener child.

First off, if you want to raise a reader, you must be one!  Your actions really do speak louder than words.  The toddler and preschool child is eager to be just like you.  If you swear when you stub your toe, you can expect to hear those words coming from your child’s mouth at the most inopportune moments.  If your child often sees you in front of the mirror fixing your hair, she may want her hair fixed, too.  Let your child watch you brush your teeth. Hand her a toothbrush and she will try to copy your actions.  This “show and do” method of teaching is so simple!  How else do you think your baby learned to speak in the first place?

Read to Your Child Often, Not Just at Bedtime

Visit the library weekly.  Many libraries have beautiful children’s sections.  Ours is filled with sturdy preschool toys, puzzles, games, kitchen sets, play houses, and more.  Little ones can play while their parent selects picture books for them.  They even have book sets to check out – a bag of books, puzzles and toys centered on a theme, such as “pets” or “music”. I love the children’s library, but more importantly, so does my granddaughter.

Next, teach your child to recognize her own name.  Do just the first name, or the first, middle and last- especially if there are likely to be other children in school with the same first name.  Print it out, and say it.  Write it on a card for your child to keep in her pocket.  Label every piece of artwork she makes with her name in the corner.  Put it in the upper left corner, so she learns to read from top to bottom and from left to write.  Write her name on all her outside toys if you take them to a public park or playground.  Write her name inside her clothing, especially jackets and outer wear that she might remove and leave behind.  Write her name on a peg where you want her to hang her jacket, if appropriate.  Write her name on a placemat at the table.

And finally, teach your child to write her own name.  Have her form crude letters with ropes of playdough.  Let her draw the letters in wet sand or shaving cream.  Write her name with glue on cardboard and shake colored salt or sand into the glue.  After it dries, she can trace the letters with her fingers.  And when she can hold a pencil or crayon well, help her learn to write her name.

Never to Young to Learn

If your child enjoys that sort of game, move on to ending sounds.  This is very helpful for the child who doesn’t pronounce the last sound of words.  That is, by the way, not uncommon, but do not let it continue.  If your child says “dow” for down, or “uh, uh” for “up”, then you need to fix that.  Over-enunciate the final sounds.  Pretend you do not understand.  Say something like, “Do you mean dowN?  Downuh?  Say “DOWN”.  You can expect your child to rebel a little, but before long she will be listening for, and pronouncing the final sounds of her words, as well.  If not, then you may want to have your child’s hearing tested.  It is not a bad idea to have both hearing and vision tested sometime before kindergarten.

Readiness for kindergarten and the school experience is more than just letter recognition.  Other skills your child should master include tying her shoes, toileting by herself including washing her hands, cutting with scissors, holding a pencil correctly, able to sit reasonably still on a chair for a minimum of fifteen minutes, listen to and follow directions, and get along with other children.

For further reading:
How to Teach Your Baby to Read
Early Reading Pros and Cons
Great Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers
My Book Store

Some of the pros include:

• good readers make good students.  They are far more likely to stay in school than poor readers
• the “Matthews Effect” – good readers get better, poor readers get poorer over time
• the opportunity for learning languages begins to close at age four
• reading is the single most important skill a child will ever learn
• current methods of teaching reading are NOT working for millions of students
• teaching reading earlier may eliminate most reading problems according to a panel of reading specialists and early childhood educators
• children who are taught to read earlier enjoy reading more than children who learn after age five
• children who can read are seldom bored
• early readers tend to excel in other areas of study as well

Some of the cons include:

• poor eyesight.  There is little current study being done on this topic, but former research suggested that early reading was strongly related to vision problems in children.
• early childhood is the time to learn about the world through movement.  To be outside, touching, tasting, smelling, experiencing.  Learning from a book may rob the young child of these important stages
• teaching a young child to read is time-consuming.  Some studies suggest it is far better to delay reading until the child is ten years old or more
• not all children experience success at an early age.  Is it right to set a young child up for failure?

As you can see, the pros really do outnumber the cons.  When I tried to google for “cons” to write this article, it was very hard to come up with any.  And the definition of “early reading” has changed!  The articles on the web are not talking about teaching a four or five year old to read, but teaching a baby!

I taught my firstborn to read when she was two years old.  I read a paperback book from the library called “How to Teach Your Baby to Read” by Glenn Doman.   I wrote out the suggested vocabulary words on large sheets of posterboard, and worked with not just my young daughter, but three of the four children I babysat.  Tammy caught on quickly, and I have pictures of her “teaching” another baby as she played with the flashcards.

My problem with Tammy was probably my fault. Glenn Doman’s method is the sight-word method at first.  You teach your baby a lot of vocabulary words, until they are reading their first book.  Then you teach them phonics.  I skipped that step. She had a little difficulty when she went to public school.  She was a very active, kinesthetic learner.  She made quick decisions, without much thought.  For example, she read “comfortable” as “conference table”.  Neither word should be in a primary reader, but it was something she read incorrectly.  If I had followed the rest of Glenn Doman’s method, she would have been spared this.  However,  when I pulled my children out of public school and homeschooled them, I was able to teach her phonics then.  She went on to graduate with honors from public highschool, and was on the national dean’s list in college.  She is my only child (out of four) to wear glasses, though.  She is very near-sighted.  I wear glasses, and I was also reading before kindergarten.

I did not teach  my middle child, Annika, to read early.  I tried at age four, but she wasn’t interested.  I tried again at five, and at six.  She had no interest.  At age seven, she was suddenly ready. I used the “Sing, Spell, Read & Write” program, and she went through it in three weeks.  She went from not being able to read, to reading at a fifth grade level in three weeks.  She is now 23 years old, and reads a thick novel in about two days.

As for those ridiculous little worksheets so popular in preschools and kindergartens, you’ll not find them in my lesson plans.  They may teach something.  They teach following directions or cutting and pasting on the line.  But they are mostly worthless.  A child will not learn that this shape “T” is the letter “t” and that it makes the “tuh, tuh” sound and that “truck” and “toy” start with the “tuh, tuh” sound by doing a worksheet.  Only the child who already knows the letter T can do the worksheet correctly, and why waste his time drilling on something he already knows?  There are so many better ways to teach a young child than with worksheets.

Check out my units, A is for Apple, or B is for Bugs! for a week’s worth of fun activities that teach letter sounds and recognition. Then, take a break and spend a week on the color red. For more fun ideas, visit my Lessons page, or better yet – subscribe to my blog, and never miss another update again.

We’ll explore some of those ways in future posts.  So stay tuned!

Photo Credits:
Top: photo by Jessica Merz