BASE NOTES: As has become the norm, the kids had another fantastic time at music class. Today they got cards with lines and dots on them that represent musical compositions. Already they're learning that you read music from left to right, and that some notes are short and some are sustained, some are high and some are low, and that musical notation is the key to what's what. Without a doubt, Musikgarten is laying a great foundation for their musical education.LEFT OUT?: I got an email from the folks at Scholastic today. I used to order a lot of books from Scholastic when the kids were in a bricks-and-mortar school. Now, Scholastic doesn't seem to want my money, but I digress. ... Anyway, one topic that caught my eye in their email today was under an Expert Advice heading. It read, "Left Brain, Left Behind?" Curious, I clicked on the link. The story starts:
Does your child prefer to work alone rather than with others?Yes, yes and yes! (when it comes to CJ).
Seem to be bright and intellectually active at home, yet frustrated and bored by
school? Interact more easily with adults than peers?
The story was about a new book "Raising a Left-Brain Child in a Right-Brain World: Strategies for Helping Bright, Quirky, Socially Awkward Children to Thrive at Home and at School" by Katharine Beals PhD. In an interview, Beals says that as she learned more about the "new Reform Math pedagogy" popular in schools at the present, she started "noticing how ill-suited it is to the typical analytical math student. This made me take a closer look at current teaching trends in general, and I began to see how not just in math, but in all subjects, today’s classrooms conflict with just about every left-brain strength and weakness." Beals says by her observation, "Students today spend more time working in groups, and less time working independently, than ever before." I think she's right based on my childhood experience compared to Rick and Ken's years of schooling compared to CJ's disastrous kindergarten experience. Another Beals insight: "The analytic content of math and science has been drastically watered down, and foreign language classes now emphasize informal oral communication over mastery of grammar. All this favors the more outgoing, artistic students, especially those who shy away from rigorous analysis, and who think holistically enough to handle big, open-ended projects. " I think she is spot on in her observation, and spot on in her analysis of how this change affects different types of learners.
The (short!) interview is definitely worth reading, and her book is definitely on my "must read" list.
FREE PLAY DAY: We were supposed to have a playdate in the park with Connor, but it was miserable weather-wise (think sheets of rain). Darn. So instead, we (at Annabelle's suggestion) busted out the Play-Doh. Historically Mr. CJ has had zero interest in self-directed Play-Doh play, so I suggested the two make some items and open up a Fall Farm Stand. So they (mostly Bee) made plums, blackberries, apples and lime juice (yeah, I know - lime juice?). Anyway, I had them set prices for their items, and I came shopping-with green M&Ms as money. (I expected them to hike their prices when they saw the currency I was using, but they stayed true to advertised prices.) The best part of the activity was when the produce stand closed. CJ continued to play with the Play-Doh all by himself - for 45 whole minutes. He made creative monsters and had epic battles - it was terrific!
Of course, all of this serves as a reminder to me that it's important that we build plenty of time for "free play" into the schedule. I, um, have this tendency to overdo things and I realize that I need to balance my attempt to make sure they Learn Everything About Everything with plenty of no-agenda time. Which reminds me of a great quote I saw this week:
If we merely cram kids full of a lot of 'what,' we leave them utterly unready for 'what if?'
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: This weekend we'll be going to our last (sniffle sniffle) baseball game of the year, so I thought I'd take the opportunity get myself - er- the kids another great library book on the topic. This go round was Take Me Out to the Ball Game by Jim Burke. 
The kids are always eager participants in the seventh inning stretch, so I wanted to give them a little history surrounding its song. The book tells the story of Jack Norworth. In 1908, while riding an elevated subway in New York, near the Giants' stadium, the entertainer spied a poster that read BASE BALL TODAY - POLO GROUNDS. Though he'd never even been to a game, the poster inspired Norworth to jot the lyrics to what has become an American standard. Shortly thereafter, composer Albert Von Tilzer, who frequently collaborated with Norworth, wrote the melody for the lyrics. The book includes a photo of the original manuscript, illustrations to bring the entire song's lyrics to life, and includes gems about the great Christy Mathewson and the wild playoffs of 1908.
After enjoying the book, we went to YouTube to compare and contrast different takes on the song. I was thrilled to find an audio recording from 1908, the year the song was written (and the last time the Cubs won the World Series).
We also watched a couple of comical-or-horrific-depending-on-your-proclivities versions of the song, one by Christian vegetables, another by creepy cats.
Mercifully, I leave you with this - a must hear. Played masterfully by Bernie Williams, it's a hauntingly-beautiful, guitar-only rendition. As CJ was listening to the music from across the room, he asked, "Why is it so sad?" I explained that for years and years, Bernie played baseball and he loves it, but that he doesn't play any more and he really misses the game. At that, Annabelle burst into tears.
Powerful stuff, baseball and music. ...
Best advice I've heard in a long long time about kids and school is a story a physicist told on Science Friday a few months ago. When he got home from school each day, his Mom asked, "Did you ask a good question today?" Never asked "What did you learn?".
ReplyDeleteOf course the real trick in a typical classroom is hoping that there's someone around/available to answer that question. That is one luxury we have here at Magnolia Prep - I am able to always stop/drop what we're doing and answer spontaneous questions (like why a snake has a forked tongue).
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea is that asking a GOOD question in and of itself shows understanding of the topic. For a scientist, every answer just raises another question - or two - or twenty. And I think that is where CJ may be headed. Imagination and curiosity.
ReplyDeleteGood point. Because demonstrating knowledge is really important.
ReplyDeleteAbout CJ - I was comparing notes with another mother of a quiet kid the other day, and I told her that many people will think a quiet kid isn't sharp because he or she doesn't talk a lot. However, what these people fail to realize is that while the quiet child is not talkingtalkingtalking, he or she is watching and analyzing. And boy oh boy, what one learns by being an astute observer.