Schooling Bright Eyes

I've had a rocky start figuring out how to teach Bright Eyes.  He's my unique child.  He and I differ completely in personality type and learning style, so there has been a lot of adjustment on my part to figure out what works for him. It's also taken me way out of my comfort zone, as I have to use art to teach rather than pure facts.  For example, I can show B.E. letter flashcards, and he'll only mange to get 75% of them right.  But if asked to write each and every letter - he can do it.  He learns in images.

In January, I decided to implement an actual curriculum for B.E.  One of the programs we decided to use was Saxon Kindergarten.  Saxon is one of those math programs that people either love or despise.  I'm on the love side.  Being a math person myself, I love to see the progression of how they are teaching concepts.  Something as simple as counting randomly on a number chart morphs beautifully into addition facts or number patterns.  They do it painlessly, and most of the time the child doesn't even know it's happening.  So, this was an easy choice when choosing a math program for B.E.

It has started out extremely slow.  The first couple weeks it was basically an introduction to different math manipulatives.  Each day he was asked to spend several minutes building designs with counting bears, linking cubes, and/or pattern blocks.  I just sit amazed at what he comes up with.  I'm used to the creations that Zep gives me when asked to use his creative side.  Zep is like me...we like facts, not creativity.  So, seeing these designs that B.E. presents me with has been such a joy.  I have to be sure not to interrupt his creativity until he has completed his masterpiece.  I can't imagine how he would do in a school setting as time would be limited.  It's going to be so much fun teaching this little man.

January 3rd & 19th, 2012