Update about H.

[Korrale4kq]

daddude,
I have also loved the you have included programming as part of Hs schooling. I had never thought much about it before but I certainly want to introduce something when JJ Is older.

And yes we do live close.

[Mandabplus3]

I like a confident contrairian    not only will I tollerate but encourage you too!
Actually I do believe H would have already been exposed to much of what is considered the "normal" science stuff. Through his reading and converstions with you. I would be surprised if he knew less than other kids his age about the beginners science topics!
I read your blog update and loved what you were doing for writing. I think writing is often neglected in education, what you are doing would instill a love for it as well as the nessessary skills. Writing is one of our most common afterschooling activities as its so poorly taught and given such little time. I also think encouraging typing is a great idea. plus Typing is great for Piano  Actually having read as much as I have about H I think he would really love softmozart. If you deside to ramp up the piano definately check it out. Its very much self teaching and addictive!

[Tanikit]

Thanks for the update. I'm always impressed that you manage to get so much done with H - nthough having two parents around with a toddler probably makes it easier to give H one-on-one attention. My two are both pretty close to your two but the teaching is pretty much all mine. Would love to hear more about what you have been using to teach physics - due to my profession biology comes pretty naturally but I would love to delve into physics and chemistry with my "big" girl more so than we have been doing.

The other thing I would like to know is how you implemented the reading time for him - my DD is coming up to 5 years in September and I would like after that to give her a reading time - she has recently started reading some books independently and also others to her sister, so I feel a rest period for all of us after lunch would suit us well, but how to get her to do it?

Finally wanted to know what you felt about handwriting - do you plan to keep teaching it and improve the neatness or do you think typing will take over for him? Do you think there are reasons he struggles with neat handwriting or is it just an age issue and the fact that he is a boy and also writing so much more than boys of that age usually do write?

[DadDude]

Manda, thanks for your support. Thanks also for your advice re Soft Mozart, but isn't it rather (as in ridiculously) expensive? While we put a lot of money into our homeschooling, I don't put down significant money for things I'm not convinced work very well. When its author showed up here touting it, I am afraid I was just turned off--but never did try it out or learn enough about the software, and I wound up ignoring the threads that discussed it. What would be the best thread for learning about it? Or maybe you can explain why you're excited about it, or why it's better than simply using books and practicing a lot? I haven't found any general introduction video or even any textual description that summarizes and argues for the method. Self-teaching and addictive are good, though!

Tanikit, we don't do as much as some others--I am sure not as much as several people here on BrillKids. We just study at almost every meal, and otherwise have many good habits, and it adds up. Sometimes, lately, I've felt like a unschooler...and I do think it's important that kids be interested in and preferably excited about what they are studying. So if he starts getting resistant, just as was the case when he was two, we stop and take a break. We also don't do everything every day. In fact, the last few months, it's been a rare day when we did absolutely everything: Latin before breakfast, reading at all three meals, Supermemo review in the morning, geography and chapter book reading in the morning, math and writing (in the afternoon), at least two five-minute piano lessons, another Supermemo review before bedtime, history and chapter books (read by Papa) before bedtime. We always drop a few, and that's OK. I'm sure H. really would get worn out and rebellious if we tried, so we don't try.

How did we get into the hour of daily reading (Monday through Friday)? I'll try to remember. He had been taking a nap, so I offered him the deal: read for an hour (or did we start with 30 or 45 minutes? I forget, maybe), and then you don't have to take the nap. So he was very enthusiastic about that for a few weeks, until he discovered that sometime, he might not want to take a nap or read. So there was a period, not that long, in which I had to threaten him with the corner if he didn't read. I made it easier for him by letting him read whatever he wanted, really easy books he has already read, whatever. Also, when he started out, he read out loud, not silently. He read very slowly when he read out loud, and when he chose to read silently, he was much faster. At first I tolerated reading out loud, but once he was "broken in" and accustomed to the habit of reading daily, after a few weeks, I started to insist that he read silently. Anyway, all that was about a year ago. When I tell him it's time to read, he most often just heads over to his chair and picks a book and is often reading before I set the timer. He often goes over the timer because he's so interested.

Still, he isn't that enthusiastic about his hour of reading, I'm afraid. He's resigned to it, but he sometimes complains. On the other hand, he does read easier stuff, and stuff that he happens to be interested in, on his own. An example would be yesterday, when he started an iPad recorder app, opened up Tales from the Odyssey (which is pretty easy for him, particularly since he's read it to himself recently, I read it to him a year ago, and we listened to the audiobook twice) and recorded 25 minutes of it before breakfast.

If I thought that, by giving him a stack of library books or newly purchased books, and nothing to do, he would plow through a bunch of books, we'd do that, like, all the time. But I think that couldn't work with H. Left to himself, he plays with Scratch, Legos if available, often writes, illustrates, or builds (usually involving tape and paper) something related to his latest imaginary project, etc. I've left him with nothing to do, even without reading to him at mealtime, for a few days in a row. The result, the two or three times we've tried that, has been a disaster. He runs around crazily (literally), has much less discipline than usual, and even if I tell him that he can continue without any school responsibilities only if he does some reading and writing on his own, he doesn't. So, while other people's kids might be different, H. really does seem to need a schedule.

"Papa, I'm having some fun. I'm playing chess with Mousie," he just told me as he came in the room.

[Mandabplus3]

Hmmm I understand that. Hellene ( softmozart inventor)  can be ' enthusiastic' and as English is her second language sometimes her message is lost in the passion. 
I have 3 kids and myself learning to play piano. My girls 6,8 take formal piano  lessons at school, with the standard piano books. My oldest is quite good at piano, picks up songs quickly, has good coordinated fingers, can read music fast. She is doing fine and doesn't need softmozart. Getting her to practice her piano pieces each week is an effort. However she will happily jump on soft Mozart and play pieces both at and above her current level...for ages!
My 6 year old just started lessons this year ( probably done 15x15 mins). She is BORED by it and wants to quit already, hates practice but enjoys her lessons ( they get pulled out of class for them!) I am constantly negotiating to get her to practice AT ALL. However once again she will happily turn on soft Mozart and play both the music theory games and the pieces. She is learning chords and two hands doing different things in soft Mozart and has only just got to a proper music staff in her lessons at school! They are advanced SO much quicker in softmozart.
 It is a computer game to learn to play piano.
 Different games within it teach different skills, like timing, note pitch, note order.
My 4 year old can play hot cross buns and jingle bells with 2 hands and chords, we don't practice much so he isn't exactly the best example but he loves it. He can write down his own scores to keep track of his progress. He can clearly see if he is playing too slow or gets 6 notes wrong. I don't have to tell him.
Personally, I know I don't have the patience to learn piano the traditional way. All that time learning basic pieces I don't recognize until year 4 when I can maybe play some Mozart. Not for me. I practice 3-4 times a week average, I am looking to start on something like Fur Elise next. I started at Christmas!
Yep it can be expensive, but the creator wants to get it out there. She will discount, for any mention anywhere. Facebook, blogg, email friends, brillkids..alll get a reduced rate. If you buy 1 month or 1 year and decide to get more/keep going what you already paid comes off your upgrade price. I paid $100 for a year, I keep a progress diary on the soft Mozart forum of my kids and I. I doubt I will pay much for a perpetual copy. Even if I had to pay full price I would still get it. Full price is still much cheaper than my piano lessons!
Send Helene and email and find a way to get it in your house for H to try.Hre is a link to the free starter kit so you can test it out http://www.pianolearningsoftware.com/Starter-Kits_c_1.html you will need a electric keyboard and a midi cable to connect computer to piano.  I am quite sure you will be happy. For the record, it takes a bit to figure out where to start when you first get it.  there are no step by step usage instructions. There is a curriculum guide to follow but we go faster than it. But it's a good place to start. Basically you need to use it to know how and why to use it.

[DadDude]

Pretty inspiring, Manda! Maybe I'll give it a try...

[PokerDad]

If the following seems officious, then I offer my apologies in advance. Perhaps the most efficient strategy I've found in countless endeavors is to find the top echelon of something and figure out their how and why. When we first got pregnant, I searched out the most prolific child readers to figure out "how" and "why". Hence, DadDude's essay and how I got to BK. It didn't stop at reading though. I also searched out the most prolific in mathematics and asked the same question. When I turned my attention to piano or learning music, it seems the "how" for the very young (say 3 years old and not necessarily 13 years old) was Soft Mozart.

I will admit, I saw the thread DadDude referenced where Helliene racked up negative karmas due to her bloviating; She does seem over the top, and her software outrageously overpriced (and that was before she jacked the price up even more in February), but even saying this, when I take up piano with my little one, I fully plan on swallowing the bullet and getting Soft Mozart simply due to the results. (and like baby readers, the results litter youtube)

Should something come along in the meantime that shows better results for the very young, then I'll consider something else.

My comment might not be of much help, but I thought I'd offer it regardless. As a disclaimer, I have almost no musical background - I played the drums for a year or two when I was about 8 or 9 years old.

[early learning17]

Hi,
in case anybody has been wondering (like I did) what DadDude is up to these days, here is his latest "update about the boys"
DadDude - are you still reading us here?
If I am not mistaken, I haven´t seen a post from you in a while.
Congratulations on the advances of your boys - like always very impressive!

http://larrysanger.org/2013/04/brief-update-about-the-boys/

[Tamsyn]

Thank you!  I would have missed it. 

[DadDude]

Thanks for the mention and the kind words, early learning17. I rarely read here, I'm afraid. Just no time. Starting a new business is really, really time-consuming, and among the things that have had to give has been indulging in discussion and theorizing about education.

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