Our "curriculum"

[DadDude]

I updated my blog with a post explaining my approach to the "curriculum" question.  It's kind of long.  Basically, my view about curriculum is that pre-packaged curricula make decisions for me when I'd prefer to make them myself.  I view curricula as their component parts--books, workbooks, whatever.  Often, the stuff that is packaged together isn't as good as the books and workbooks (etc.) that I'd pick out on my own.  And when it comes to subjects like language arts, history, and science, I don't see the advantage to using textbooks or workbooks at all, unless you're going to call Bauer's The Story of the World a textbook--it's pretty unusual as a textbook, if it is one.  What publishers call "trade books" (as opposed to textbooks) are usually better-written, easier to understand, often quite exciting (not boring), etc.  This is because they move up the charts not based on bureaucratic criteria but based on whether people actually want to read them.

[bella]

dad dude , didn't read your post on your blog yet but looking forward to . i love to read what you boys are doing at home and how you are learning . We too love the story of the world for us it is another read aloud wonderful chapter book . we are learning so much from it , even my 2.5 years old listening with us now asks for it ""mama can we read the story of the world"" in a cute accent . it is fun ,interactive , and really it feels like we are not doing school  , we are having fun learning . did you get he activity book that goes with it ?? you should check i out , it can be adapted to all age groups , nice complement to our reading from the book , the kids are doing map work , learning new vocabulary , practicing writing , creative art activities , all without doing THE FORMAL SCHOOLING THING .
my only problem is struggling to be consistent . this is the problem with learning at home , there will always be interruption , unexpected events ,.... the starting stopping staring stopping ... is what i need to find a solution for . and come to the kids they want to play all day . it is me who has to find ways to sneak in some learning opportunities while keeping them happy . at school they are forced to follow a schedule , learn certain routines , have no choices like at home . do i want my kids to learn this way ?? Nope , but i am looking for the time when my kids would want to do it themselves . thank i think maybe it will come with time ( i hope so ) , maybe they are still young , and being able to choose to play and not do school my way is a good thing they need to do . Because even though i want o do it differently i am a school girl myself and trained teacher the traditional way , and unconsciously i sometime find myself replicating school at home and only than we struggle . i hope members are getting my point .
many times skills i made extra effort to teach with special material , lessons  , my daughter didn't look at , and in her own time without me spending time teaching her , she acquired the skill . workbooks we bought she refused to do , or complained and did a line or two , scribbled on most . She never wanted to trace lines or letters , and now she is writing .
i wonder how she could have coped with worksheet at school .
thanks again
viv
i cannot wait o read your blog and check out how you address other areas .
thank you for sharing
viv

[arvi]

Thanks for sharing. You have covered all the subjects from logic to LA. I would like to know how you instill creativity in your children. Its a subjective discussion unlike teaching math but still would love to have your opinion on creativity.

[DadDude]

Well, what do you mean by "creativity," and why think that it can or should be taught, and by some specific approach?  I am skeptical.

I've listened to a couple speeches by "creativity education" advocate Ken Robinson, but I haven't read his book(s?), and for all I know, I have plenty to learn on the subject.  Still, Sir Ken failed to impress me.

You might say that doing art assignments develops creativity.  Well, that might develop artistic creativity, but I don't see why a lot of training in the arts is necessary, or even particularly helpful, to developing intellectual or entrepreneurial creativity.

I imagine that the most important element of creativity in general is the simple ability to think about many different possibilities, given some question or problem.  I'm not sure that any specific curricular approach would be particularly helpful to developing that.  Much more important, I guess, would be a general mood in the household and school that thinking copiously and for oneself is not just OK, but strongly encouraged.  In most of the world, this is decidedly not OK, sometimes because of people's religions, sometimes because of their politics, and most of all because of their apathy and anti-intellectualism.

[arvi]

Thanks for your replies. According to me creativity is thinking out of the box. I agree with you, it is more in the way of thinking in our day-to-day activities.

Unfortunately I was brought up in an education system that taught me that there is only one solution to any problem. I don't want this to happen to my son. Since I am less creative, I feel that doing arts or crafts or music is the shortcut route to attain creativity. I might be wrong but am still exploring this "creative" field.

[DadDude]

You could be right, but do you why think that arts, crafts, and music have any special ability to increase the ability to think outside the box?  Artiste types, when they are older, are frequently "free thinking," sometimes only in a fairly shallow sort of way, but anyway surely they aren't made that way by practicing art.  Instead, free thinking is just part of the culture of the art community, where the paramount virtue is individual expression and originality.  This of course hasn't always been true of artists, historically speaking.  Frankly, I find a lot of "creativity" in the arts, these days, to be silly and tepid at best, because it is either self-indulgent or regards as clever what is merely (to me) adolescent-seeming flouting of the erstwhile constraints of arts.  (So you know how I feel about most of modern art.)  I find some of the highest-octane creativity, these days, in software and entrepreneurship.  And one must not discount intellectual creativity, which is what an insightful essay requires.  You develop that mainly by reading, thinking, and writing.

So, what is the way to teach a child to think that there is more than one solution to a problem?

Here are some ideas:

1. Only rarely say that something is completely wrong (even if there is only one correct answer, as in most mathematics problems).  Point out what is correct in the child's reasoning, or whatever.
2. Especially when your child is working through problems, do not over-direct.  Allow your child to discover things himself.
3. Especially in fields in which there are several plausible answers to a given question, take more time to explore alternative answers, instead of simply accepting the first plausible one given.
4. Encourage your child to ask questions, by answering them enthusiastically and fully, or by helping the child to answer them for himself; by requesting questions; by asking questions yourself; and by explaining certain intellectual puzzles (such as can be found in philosophy) that can set the mind asking questions.
5. Read several very different books on a subject, and discuss the different approaches.  (Maybe such discussion isn't absolutely necessary.  The child will naturally notice the differences and absorb the lesson that there is more than one way to skin a cat, intellectually speaking.)

Well, that's all I have for now.  Back to work!

[DadDude]

I should add that I do think it's important to get some training in the arts, especially music, but also at least a little drawing.  It's also a good idea to act in a play or two.  But this is not necessarily to develop creativity, it is because these activities have inherent value and by engaging in them we understand them in a way we cannot if we never engage in them.  Besides, I think drawing is a good thing to learn because it helps design, and being able to design your own stuff is very handy.  I wish I were a better designer.

[kauaiheidi]

The ability to think outside of the box is surely an important skill many of us would wish for our children.  What are your thoughts on the role of creative free play in the development of creative thinking?  I see creative free play as enjoyable and important for general development, but to what extent does it help us think outside the box as adults, either in our general life, or specifically in certain careers? 

How does development of imagination fit in?  Last time I caved in and bought my kids a McDonald’s Happy Meal it had an activity on the side of the box that claimed to develop the kids’ imagination.  So the desire for kids to develop their imaginations has evidently gone fairly main stream. 

[fma001]

I'm a web designer, so I think art education is hugely important. Creative ability is either directly or indirectly important in many careers: web design, graphic design, computer animation, movie making, interior design, landscape design, architecture, marketing, tiling and so on. So, teaching art is important because it is beneficial in many careers.

But I'm not sure if the arts helps with problem solving or thinking outside the box. It seems to me that a lot of domain specific knowledge would be far more beneficial. The idea that general problem solving ability can be taught is popular in education but has been disproved in the business world. People who are excellent problem solvers in one domain can be hopeless in another. Music has been found to have a lot of benefits outside of the music itself. Theater can build self confidence and public speaking skills. I'm not aware of any studies that have found specific benefits in other areas of art. It would be interesting to see if these kinds of studies have been done.

Even with art teaching, I think working on specific skills is useful too. In the early years, letting children do any art project they want is probably very helpful in building motor skills. But by 1st and 2nd grade, it's a good idea to have some purpose in mind. For my 6 year old, I want to focus this year on basic drawing skills using Draw Write Now. Next year, I want to start basic graphic design in Photoshop (GIMP is a free software download if you don't have Photoshop) and work on more advanced drawing skills. She will also do art through her charter's schools homeschool classes.

[TheyCan]

I just want to add that I desire to teach my son art so that he'll be better at noticing/appreciating the tiny details around him.  I want him to always notice all the different colors of a sunset outside or a pretty patch of wildflowers, etc.  I'm an engineer and totally didn't "see" the details around me (really - it's sad how little I noticed in nature) until I got into photography.  I really wish I grew up with that artistic mindset - I think it makes for a better engineer and person. 

[DadDude]

I totally agree about learning computer-assisted art and design.  I've been wonder what would be the best first software program for H. to learn, in order to be able to start learning computer art...

@TheyCan: that's a good reason to study art, too.

Heidi--kids develop imagination naturally, I think.  I'm not aware of doing much to give H. his lively (though very idiosyncratic) imagination.  Being open and accepting of imaginative works is probably the easiest and most effective way to develop a kid's imagination.  (And not constantly dismissing ideas because they are unrealistic.)  Well, I'm sure one could do more.  But what, exactly, is the end goal?  What is an "imaginative person" like, anyway?

[kauaiheidi]

Einstein?    Actually I have no idea what he meant by “imagination is more important than knowledge” but it seems he was pretty good at thinking outside of the box.

[fma001]

It seems to me that imagination without knowledge would be useless in the work world. But imagination and knowledge can be a very powerful combination.

[fma001]

DadDude,

I looked into graphic design software for kids. I found two for kids on amazon: Crayola Art Studio and Kid Pix. It seems like they would probably be good for beginners. From the pictures on amazon, it looks like Crayola Art Studio has many of the features used in real graphic software. I'm not sure if it has layers, which are really important in graphic design. Once kids are a little older and have built up some skills, GIMP is a good option. It's free open source software that seems to do almost everything Photoshop can do. I haven't used GIMP very much because I am so used to Photoshop. But it seems like an excellent choice for people who want something free.

[DadDude]

Thanks, fma001!

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