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issue 112 fall 2012
A PUBLICATION OF
Oak Meadow
Living Education
Curriculum & School
In this issue…
Learning Skills and Styles
Challenging the Advanced Student e Thinking Outside the Box(ed) Curriculum
Study Skills Toolkit e Learning With Style e Ask the Experts! e Craft
In this Issue:
p. 3
Learning with Style
p. 6
Thinking Outside the
Box(ed) Curriculum
p. 8
Challenging
the
Advanced Student
p. 9
Book
Review: Brain
p. 10
Study
Skills Toolkit
Rules
p. 11
earning Theories
L
Collide with Real Life
p. 13
Organizational Tips
Having the freedom to meet the unique learning
styles of our children is one of the great benefits
of homeschooling. For many of us, it’s why we homeschool.
However, it’s not always easy to figure out what to do or how
to do it. Luckily, our collective homeschooling community is a
wonderful resource for ideas on how to improve our teaching
skills. In this issue, as we explore Skills and Styles across the full
spectrum of learners, we turn to our parents and faculty for advice.
Hopefully you will find something here to inform and inspire your
homeschooling journey.
We hope you enjoy this issue of Living Education! We love to hear
from our readers, so if you have some feedback for us, or ideas, or
just want to say hi, you can email [email protected].
from An Oak Meadow
Parent
p. 15
The
Homeschooling
Advantage: Addressing
Autism Challenges
p. 14-15Oak Meadow News
p. 16
Craft: Beads and Buttons
Living Education
A publication of Oak Meadow
To contact Oak Meadow
Phone: 802.251.7250
Fax: 802.251.7258
Email: [email protected]
oakmeadow.com
LIVING EDUCATION
is the educational journal of
Oak Meadow, and welcomes
submissions from our readers.
Send all inquiries and submissions to livingeducation@
oakmeadow.com. We look
forward to sharing your story!
From all of us at Oak Meadow
A S K
T H E
EXPERTS
!
O
ak Meadow Teacher
Advice on Making
Learning Easier
Wouldn’t we all like to learn more easily and more quickly, and retain
what we’ve learned longer and more clearly? There are lots of books
about learning, memory, time management, etc. but we decided
to go right to the source of educational wisdom. We asked our Oak
Meadow teachers for advice on how to learn more effectively and
efficiently. Here are the gems they shared with us.
DAVE BRADT, High School science
Do not hesitate to reach out to your teacher with the slightest
of problems. Even if it seems like a silly question or something
that you would rather just “fudge” on an assignment, it will be
far more rewarding (for you and for your teacher) if you adopt
some patience, reach out to your teacher, and get to the bottom
of your issue! When you struggle with a concept and then master it, there is no
greater thrill in education.
BRIAN MORGAN High School Program Director
Real concentration lasts for about 10 minutes max. Maximize
concentration by focusing on ‘stuff’ to be memorized for short
bursts a dozen times a day. If one sees a new vocabulary word
a dozen times in 24 hours, that word ‘sticks’ forever. Consider
the number of times in a day that one has 2-3 minutes available. e.g. in the bathroom, waiting in line, walking somewhere, etc. List the ‘stuff’ to
be memorized in a small notebook that can be kept in a pocket or a purse and
take it out at every opportunity to study 2-3 items.
Read more expert advice throughout this issue and at http://www.
oakmeadow.com/newsletter/2012-fall-teacher-advice-learning-easier.php
Style
LEARNING
with
By Lawrence Williams, Ed.D., Co-Founder and President of Oak Meadow
Each of us tends to prefer one
way of learning more than another. Some of us learn
best through reading. Others prefer to hear information
spoken before they can make sense of it or remember it.
Some need to see diagrams or demonstrations in order
to develop understanding. Still others need to physically
touch, manipulate, move, and experiment in order to relate
to a given subject. In addition, there are various other ways
of learning beyond these. For example, some children
might benefit from a social environment filled with group
activities; others need ample time for reflection.
One Style Doesn’t Fit All
In previous generations, learning styles were not even acknowledged, much less accommodated. From one perspective, one could
even say that the very concept of “learning disabilities” arose (and
continues to arise) from an inability of some teachers and administrators to recognize and deal effectively with the different learning
styles of children.
The concept that prompted much of the current debate over learning styles arose in the 1970s, with the
left-brain/right-brain theory of neurological functioning. This prompted educators to view students as either
left-brained learners (those that tend to approach things in a logical, linear or verbal manner) or right-brained
learners (those that approached things in a more creative, spatial or holistic manner). Gradually, however,
this view began to lose favor, as further research indicated that the learning process involves a very complex
interaction of both hemispheres simultaneously. Nevertheless, educators recognized that the left-brain/rightbrain concept, though incomplete, was true to a certain extent, that children do learn differently, and that
teachers had to move beyond the purely logical-verbal approach traditionally used in schools and learn how
to teach in ways that could appeal to a broader range of learning styles.
The Treasure Trove of Multi-faceted Intelligence
Recently, research on learning styles has increased considerably, and our understanding of these differences
has grown. Two of the most prominent theories are those of Robert Sternberg of Yale and Howard Gardner
of Harvard. In The Triarchic Mind, Sternberg proposed that there are three types of intelligence. He calls
these componential (the mind that is tested by IQ tests), contextual (the kind you use in creating new
environments), and experiential (a practical or “street-smarts” kind of intelligence). Conventional school
activities tend to focus upon componential intelligence, while contextual and experiential intelligence is what
we tend to use in the everyday world. Naturally, this causes a problem for many children.
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
3
The theory that has been most
widely acclaimed is that proposed
by Howard Gardner. In Frames of
Mind, Gardner synthesized evidence
from brain research, psychological
testing, experiments with animals,
developmental work with young
children, descriptive accounts of
exceptional ability, and cross-cultural
studies. This evidence supported
the idea that there are seven different kinds of intelligence:
linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, bodilykinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal. He
has since added an eighth type, naturalistic. These are not
completely separate forms of intelligence, but rather aspects
of the same intelligence that is within each of us. That is, we
all have all eight types of intelligence in varying degrees, but
generally one or more of these aspects tends to predominate,
and this creates a particular style of learning for each individual.
How can we make sense of these various approaches when
we’re homeschooling our children? How can we cooperate
with individual learning styles to help our children learn more
effectively?
There are so many creative options in working with a particular
learning style. Often parents find themselves coming up with
really imaginative activities on the spur of the moment. Here
are just a few suggestions to give you an idea of the range of
possibilities:
Verbal-Linguistic learners like creative writing and word
games; making up rhyming verse (perhaps in the form of rap
music lyrics) about any subject can be very effective.
Logical-Mathematical learners like logic problems and mysteries; they enjoy creating timelines for history or graphs for
science.
Visual-Spatial learners enjoy drawing pictures and maps, or
creating puzzles and 3D models; they use imagery to understand so providing a visual aid is always helpful.
Bodily-Kinesthetic learners can benefit from chewing gum or
sitting on a ball while solving math problems; they like roleplaying historical and literary characters.
Musical learners benefit from translating facts into rhythmic
forms (such as clapping while reciting multiplication tables);
they may study best with music in the background.
Interpersonal learners enjoy a dramatic production or group
discussion; they appreciate problem solving with others, and
connecting their studies to real-life situations.
4
Intrapersonal learners enjoy reading biographies and watching plays or historical reenactments; they appreciate time for
reflection and journal writing.
Naturalistic learners benefit from observing the natural world,
so field studies are especially important; literature and writing
assignments can capitalize on this interest.
Thomas Armstrong explored Gardner’s model and developed
techniques for working with each of these types of intelligence
in his book In Their Own Way: Discovering and Encouraging
Your Child’s Personal Learning Style. This is an excellent source
of information for anyone interested in understanding how to
work with the different learning styles proposed by Gardner.
Knowing Style When You See It
Using Armstrong’s criteria, Oak Meadow has developed a
learning styles evaluation (www.newsletter/2012/learning-withstyle) to use in determining the particular learning styles of your
child in relationship to the eight types of intelligence. You may
also find it interesting to evaluate yourself to determine your
own learning style and note how it compares with that of your
child. It can be helpful to take into account our own innate
tendencies when working with children to ensure we are not
unintentionally steering them toward our own preferences.
The purpose of identifying learning styles is to begin the
process of identifying and appreciating our children’s unique
ways of learning and expressing, and then to encourage
that uniqueness by structuring school (and life) activities
accordingly. As our children find joy in embracing the world
through their unique learning styles, they gradually become
able to explore other learning styles, other creative outlets, and
other points of view. By starting with their strengths, we help
them develop the confidence they need to tackle the greater
challenges that lie ahead.
As a homeschooling teacher, you have the opportunity to
discover and cooperate with your children’s preferred mode
of learning, so they can learn more easily and enjoyably. Your
choice of curriculum can help you in this process. Curriculum
should honor and address a wide variety of learning styles, and
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
A S K
T H E
EXPERTS
!
Oak Meadow Teacher Advice
on Making Learning Easier
SARA MOLINA, High School languages
Engage with your family and friends! Talk to them about
what you’re learning—teach them something new!
be designed to encourage curiosity, creativity, experimentation,
and self-expression.
makes the most sense, and then to explore it using the other
senses.
Learning Through the Senses
Sensory richness is a natural mode for learning. Just watch any
infant or young child at play, and you will find seeing, hearing, feeling, and doing all inextricably interwoven. It makes
common sense that the more senses you include in a learning
experience, the more meaningful and lasting that learning will
be, and the more opportunities there will be for different types
of learners to derive value from the experience. This is all the
more reason to put active learning, not worksheets and tests,
at the center of real education.
Oak Meadow’s curriculum is designed to offer a balance of sensory learning opportunities to take into account learning styles
and the fact that we all process information in different ways.
• Those who need pictures in order to understand are called visual processors. Visual processors need to see information mentally or physically in order to comprehend.
• Auditory processors need to hear information spoken aloud
for learning to happen.
• Kinesthetic processors need to have a body connection, either
doing or feeling, in order to process information.
A Rich, Relevant Education
Of course, assessing and addressing learning styles is not the
sole key to academic success. Many diverse issues factor into
learning, including temperament, diet, exercise, parental
expectations, emotional and social issues at home and with
friends, and so on. The key, no matter your child’s grade level,
is to show an active interest in what your child is learning,
and to pay attention to his level of joy and follow-through. If
you notice a pattern of frustration, agitation, distractedness,
apathy, or boredom, you will need to assess what is amiss. Approaching the task from a learning styles perspective can bring
an ease to learning and produce remarkable results.
One Thing Leads to Another
Another important discovery has been made about sensory
modalities: once rapport is established through the person’s preferred sensory modality, he or she is fully capable
of processing information through the other senses. This
breakthrough in our understanding of sensory and neural processing has profound implications for education. Rather than
demand that all students should be successful with lecturestyle classroom teaching, this discovery highlights the importance of offering sensory-rich learning that can be adapted to
the needs of each individual. In this way, each student has the
opportunity to engage with new information in the way that
This article was excerpted from The Heart of Learning, by
Lawrence Williams (an Oak Meadow publication).
Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic
Uses Expressions such as…
See the picture, take a look, seems
to me, point of view
Rings a bell, loud and clear, manner Get a hold of, get a grip on, get a
of speaking, unheard of
feel for, keep in touch, off the cuff
Connects through words
such as…
Target, vision, clarify, show, insight,
examine, reveal
Resonate, click, answer, message,
listen, discuss, debate, propose
Grasp, powerful, reflex, pressure,
tackle, tangible, wrestle, handle
Enjoys activities like…
Reading, watching TV or movies,
writing, drawing, daydreaming
Listening to music, radio, hearing
or telling stories, singing, talking
Dance, walking, bicycling, sports,
crafts, outdoor activities
Gives or understands
directions by…
Seeing or drawing a map
Hearing verbal directions
Body gestures or leading the way
Approaches work
through…
Goals, plans, to-do lists
Talking it through, using others as
a sounding board
Jumping right in, action
Memorizes best through…
Visual cues, faces, spatial orientation, sketches, mind maps
Names, words, sound patterns
(rhythmic/rhyming)
Hands-on activities, practical
applications
Table adapted from Accelerated Learning for the 21st Century, by Colin Rose and Malcolm J. Nicholl (1997)
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
5
Thinking Outside
the Box(ed) Curriculum
By DeeDee Hughes, Managing Editor, Living Education
Curriculum packages—dubbed curriculum in a box
or boxed curriculum—offer homeschooling parents a
complete curriculum for a full year. Some parents feel
they have struck gold when they find a curriculum
package that suits their child. It is exactly what
they want and need to keep their homeschooling on track. Many other homeschoolers,
however, think that curriculum packages are too confining, too rigid. They think,
“Curriculum in a box? That’s not for creative types like us.”
Think again.
Oak Meadow was designed with flexibility at its core. With an understanding that the learning
styles and needs of children vary greatly from year to year and family to family, Oak Meadow
continues to produce curriculum that encourages thinking outside the box.
A Little Vinegar and Baking Soda Goes a Long Way
Students of all types benefit from a learning approach that
engages a wide variety of skills, activities, and interests.
When students are studying Ben Franklin, for instance, they
may be encouraged to make a quill pen, vegetable ink, and
parchment paper before writing a speech he might have made
to the Continental Congress. When learning about animal
classification systems, they might spend time digging in the
garden for specimens, drawing what was discovered, and then
researching the similarities and differences between them.
Giving students such varied, hands-on experiences makes
learning more relevant, not to mention much more fun.
Integrating an artistic or imaginative element into the child’s
curriculum can produce benefits far beyond simply acquiring
a new skill or retaining new knowledge. Creative pursuits
encourage creative thinking and an agile, flexible mind,
attributes that have been increasingly cited as necessary for
21st century success.
There are many ways to include arts, crafts, handwork,
woodworking, etc. into a homeschooling program, and if
students are given a choice of hands-on projects, this dynamic
experiential learning will enhance their academic studies. Why
spend time with endless worksheets or doing hours of desk
work when the same learning goals can be accomplished in a
way that is more memorable and more meaningful? Letting
students explore a subject from many angles can keep learning
fresh and lively. Taking the lessons from page to practical
application can make a huge difference. Have any of us ever
6
forgotten seeing the vinegar and baking soda volcano erupt or
rocket shoot skyward? A little experimentation makes geology
and aerodynamics leap from the page straight into the heart of
a young learner.
So Many Projects, So Little Time
So how exactly does Oak Meadow incorporate different
learning styles into the curriculum? What does this active,
creative curriculum look like? Here are just a few of the
projects and assignments that students can do:
Kinesthetic learners:
• Use hammer, nails and scrap wood
to make letter shapes.
• Shape and bake crescent rolls for
letter C.
• Make letters out of clay and then try
to identify them with closed eyes.
• Study birds by making a grapefruit
bird feeder.
• Make a tin can lantern when studying Paul Revere.
• Create an edible cell model out of Jell-O and fruit (a
perennial favorite!).
Visual Learners:
• Look for letter shapes in the environment.
• Find numbers of things around you (4 chair legs, 7 trees,
5 plates on table).
• Draw an illuminated manuscript when studying the
Ancient Celts.
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
• Make graphs of the number of fruits in
the kitchen, trees in the yard, pets in
the neighborhood.
• Design and watercolor a Minoan wall
mural from Ancient Greece.
material gives students free rein to exercise their creativity and
building skills (math! physics!) while studying first-hand the
issues of pollution, recycling, and sustainability. With projects
like these, skills and knowledge come together in a synergy of
learning that is truly remarkable and effective.
Auditory Learners:
• Explore language and math through
songs, poems, and tongue twisters.
• Sing (at the top of your lungs!) in
different rooms to hear sound absorbed
or reflected.
• Memorize and give a speech rallying
the colonists during the American
Revolution.
• Make up a chant or verse to learn
something you are studying, Colonialera-style.
• Make an ancient African drum and have a drum
“conversation”.
An Educational Culture of Innovation
Making Connections the Oak Meadow Way
Last week my neighbor asked me for suggestions that might
help her 8-year-old daughter learn to distinguish and identify
consonant blend sounds with more accuracy. In a matter of
minutes, we had come up with a fun game based on the fact
that her daughter had just acted the part of Hermione in a
Harry Potter play. The idea was to take turns making up magical
spells with nonsense words, and then both mom and daughter
would spell them out. Of course, being nonsense words, there
would be no right and wrong answers, just fun times and an
opportunity for discussion about the different sounds that letters
make, and the different ways certain sounds might be spelled.
“Twella-brella-nokery” is silly and fun, AND it is perfect for
practicing auditory recognition and matching sounds to letters.
Of course, most activities engage multiple learning styles,
and these are often the best ones. In addition, many projects
will connect learning from two or more disciplines. For
instance, designing a treasure map with directions that use
measurements and the compass points (“Go 20 feet north,
then walk southeast for 3 yards before digging down 2 feet”)
brings into play a plethora of skills and subjects. Creating a
model of a traditional Native American village, complete with
a dwelling indigenous to the student’s geographical locale
(sod, bark or adobe) and tiny handmade grass baskets and
clay pots, immerses the student in a rich mixture of culture,
research, experience, and understanding. Building a brush
pile in the backyard and then checking it in two weeks to see
if any animals are using it is a unique way to study animal
habitats and hone observation skills, not to mention opening
a conversation about habitat conservation and environmental
stewardship. Inventing something from junk or recycled
A S K
T H E
EXPERTS
!
Oak Meadow Teacher Advice
on Making Learning Easier
Not only does Oak Meadow curriculum provide many ideas for
assignments and projects, the entire organization encourages
a creative approach to learning and adapting lessons to bring
out the best in each student. Dozens of phone calls are fielded
in our office each day, and Educational Counselors are often
heard coming up with creative suggestions on the spur of the
moment. Teachers are also asked for advice and frequently
provide ideas for supplemental learning. A culture of creative
exploration is nurtured within the Oak Meadow community.
With a company comprised mainly of educators, this is no
surprise. Our curriculum might come in a box, but it inspires
a spirit of freedom to learn in innovative ways. This is what
makes Oak Meadow so unique.
That’s thinking outside the box—that’s the Oak Meadow way.
DeeDee Hughes, Living Education’s Managing Editor, helps to
develop Oak Meadow’s creative and innovative curriculum. She
loves thinking outside the box.
ANTONY YAEGER, High School humanities Whenever possible, try
to make your answers or projects reflect your understanding of the
subject matter through your creativity and imagination. Doing so helps
your work more accurately reflect you as a student and a person, and
thus, deepens your connection to what you are learning.
LESLEY ARNOLD, K-8 faculty Strive for a healthy balance of
physical activity and quiet activity in a day. It’s good to have moments
of lots of physical activity (like taking a walk or doing gymnastics),
and then have quiet time for doing school work. This balance should
happen through the school day.
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
7
CHALLENGING the Advanced Student
One of the most wonderful things about homeschooling is
that it can accommodate the needs of students across the full
spectrum of ability. One-to-one attention from home teachers
can encourage and expand on individual strengths, and
curriculum can adapt to address individual needs.
When looking at children who are considered advanced,
researchers generally divide them into two categories. For the vast majority of children,
“gifted” refers to subject-specific advancement rather than a genuinely superior level of
mental processing. Parents whose children rise “above the curve” sometimes feel unsure
about how to best nurture their child’s special gifts. They may even wonder if they are
competent to do so, or worry that they are somehow holding their child back. These are
usually groundless fears.
The Breadth vs. Depth Dilemma
There are two ways in which an advanced student can be encouraged. The first approach is to accelerate
learning, and the second is to deepen the learning. Each option has its benefits and supporters, and since
every child is different, no single option will work for every situation. Parents usually know their child best
and are in the best position to make the right decision regarding educational approach.
If a curriculum is designed with flexibility at its core, as Oak Meadow curriculum is, choosing either option
is possible. In the acceleration model, parents might choose to have their child work at a different grade
level in a single subject, or condense two years of work into a single year. For example, a sixth grade student
might take a full year to complete sixth grade material in English, social studies, and science, but work
through sixth grade math by mid-year, and jump into seventh grade math right away, completing that by
year’s end. This is not uncommon and can work very well to keep a student challenged and engaged.
There are concerns, however, in allowing a child to advance far above grade level. The first is that the
content itself will be aimed at an older audience, and may not be appropriate for a younger student. It
is not a question of comprehension, but of developmental appropriateness—a fifth grader may be able
to intellectually grasp teen level material regarding diverse topics such as the atrocities of war or the
psychology of interpersonal relationships, but on an emotional or personal level, the treatment of these
topics might be disturbing or meaningless to a ten-year-old. In addition, just because a student can read
and comprehend advanced work doesn’t automatically mean the child will be able to respond to it in a
mature, complex way.
The second concern regarding acceleration is that often students will rejoin their peers in later grades, and
if the accelerated student is suddenly in a classroom with a social atmosphere several years ahead of her,
difficulties can arise. This is sometimes what happens when accelerated 16-year-olds are thrown in with
college students. Again, this is not a merely a question of intellect; education encompasses far more than
that. The ability to work successfully within a group of colleagues is just as important as the ability to
succeed on your own.
8
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
Making the Most of Your Child’s Gifts
Oak Meadow educators generally favor the second approach to
serving advanced students, and advise families on how to deepen
the learning experience within a grade level. Fortunately, using Oak
Meadow curriculum makes that easy, too. Extension activities are often
included in the curriculum. Enrolled students are encouraged by their
teachers to “own” their assignments by finding a personal connection
to the material, or proposing additional ideas for projects. Habits
of mind (http://www.oakmeadow.com/newsletter/2012-habits-ofthe-mind.php) can be used as a framework for supporting a more
comprehensive involvement with academic work.
Finding ways to enrich the student’s exploration of grade level
material results in a more complete, nuanced understanding of the
material, and often helps the student create relevant connections
across disciplines. For instance, when studying the discovery of
electricity in science, your student might also write (and perform!)
a speech announcing Thomas Edison’s newly patented light bulb.
Your student could list ways in which electricity changed life in the
late 1800s, and draw sketches of some of Edison’s other inventions.
He might find out which of his ancestors would have been alive
when electricity became widespread, and write about what that
might have been like for them. Math could be worked into the
lesson by having your student calculate the additional number of
hours worked per year after electric lighting lengthened the work
day, or estimate the increase in factory output with longer hours
versus the additional expense of electricity. This multi-disciplinary
approach encourages a flexibility of thought and develops creative
problem-solving skills.
Project-based learning, another Oak Meadow hallmark, also gives
advanced students the chance to explore a subject from many
different angles. Experiential learning combines practical knowledge
with academic study, yielding a richly layered understanding.
Giving students the chance to develop long-term projects—such
as building and installing bat houses, and then studying the bat
population and its influence on the ecosystem—also helps sustain
their engagement over time, which gives them more opportunities
for mature thought and individual interpretation of the material.
Students can also benefit from the enrichment model by
participating in independent, student-guided study and projects.
Independent study can involve professional internships or
mentoring from an expert in the community, which for enrolled
students can translate into high school credit through Oak
Meadow’s Advanced Study Program. Community partnerships
like these benefit everyone involved.
Regardless of which opportunities a parent offers, there is an innate
human need to explore the world and challenge oneself. This inner
drive, paired with the many options available to the homeschooling
parent, practically guarantees that a gifted child is bound to soar.
BOOK REVIEW
Brain Rules
by John Medina (Pear Press, 2008)
In a highly readable style, John Medina delivers mounds
of intriguing brain research studded with brilliant gems of
practical advice in Brain Rules. Eye-openers such as these
make the reader sit up and pay attention:
“it is literally impossible for our brains to multitask
when it comes to paying attention”
“a person who is interrupted takes 50% longer to
accomplish a task…[and] makes up to 50% more errors”
The practical potential of this information is easily
recognizable even to those of us who aren’t brain scientists.
Medina doesn’t shy away from controversial statements:
“If you wanted to create an educational environment that
was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing,
you probably would design something like a classroom.”
However, the author doesn’t ask you to take his word on it.
Everything is solidly backed by validated scientific research:
• “In one recent study, children jogged for 30 minutes
2 or 3 times a week. After 12 weeks, their cognitive
performance had improved significantly compared
with pre-jogging levels. When the exercise program was
withdrawn, the scores plummeted back to their preexperiment levels.”
• “One study showed that if [an A student used to scoring
in the top 10 percent] gets just under seven hours of sleep
on weekdays, and about 40 minutes more on weekends,
she will begin to score in the bottom 9 percent of nonsleep-deprived individuals.”
• “ In one study, the group given multisensory presentations
generated more than 50 percent more creative solutions
on a problem-solving test than students who saw
unisensory presentations [such as text only]. In another
study, the improvement was more than 75 percent!”
Luckily, Medina doesn’t just drop these in our laps and
go home; he eagerly proposes ways in which this amazing
information can be used in education and business. His
ten-minute lecture design makes perfect sense once you
look at the research supporting it. His advice to create an
interruption-free zone during the day has already proved
beneficial in my own homeschooling/work-from-home
household.
This book has an entertaining style and relaxed tone that
keeps pulling you forward. Some of his explanations made
me laugh out loud. Based on a dozen pithy Brain Rules (#1:
Exercise boosts brain power; #4: We don’t pay attention
to boring things; #7: Sleep well, think well; #10: Vision
trumps all other senses.), Medina shares vital information
that gives all of us a chance to use our noggins better.
To read more, visit http://www.oakmeadow.com/newsletter
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
9
TOOLKIT
To become an effective and efficient learner—whether for schoolwork or
professional development—you need a well-stocked tool kit. Check our list
and see how many tools you use.
FOCUS AND MOTIVATION
TIME MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION
Create a quiet place to study that is comfortable and uncluttered. If music
Plan a to-do list for each day. Set specific goals (“Write outline for history
helps you tune out distractions, set it up to play beforehand so you don’t have
research paper; do math practice test”); keep the list short—about 5 items—and
to fiddle with it.
refer back to it often to stay on track.
Visualize the ultimate goal to motivate yourself (the research project
completed or the math test marked with an A) before you begin your work for
the day.
Prioritize your list. Divide it into three categories: things that need to be
done today; things to do after the top-priority items are finished; things that
can wait until another day if necessary.
If you tend to get fidgety, read on an exercise bike, or chew gum. Put a
porcupine ball (a nubby rubber ball) on the floor and let your bare feet roll it
around while you work.
Schedule time for distraction-free work each day. Turn off the cell phone,
log out of chat windows, and ignore incoming email. (You’ll be surprised how
much you can accomplish in a very short time when you are fully focused.)
When your mind wanders to something else you want to do, write down
your distractions to deal with later (this will help you let them go and get back
to focused work).
Organize your workspace (and computer files) so everything is close at
hand when you need it.
Get regular exercise and adequate sleep to improve your focus, concentration, and productivity. Added bonus: you’ll just plain feel better.
When you are finished for the day, put everything away where it belongs
so you can find it again when you need it. If you need to, take a photo when
your room or desk is organized, and then refer to it later when cleaning up.
Eliminate time wasters like checking email, Facebook, texts and Twitter throughout the day. Check messages once before you begin work and then
Take frequent short breaks before you get stuck or frustrated. Walk the
dog. Bike around the block. Get your blood pumping. Breathe deeply. Don’t let when you are finished.
your breaks take so long you lose your momentum—enjoy your break, and then
Survey the material before you begin reading (chapter title, section headget back to work.
ers, graphics, photo captions, etc.) to get the gist of things before getting down
to details.
For difficult or dreaded tasks, use the 10-minute rule: Work on it for
ten minutes at a time (the timer is your friend!). Take a break or work on
Set a timer for one hour of focused, distraction-free time. When it rings,
something else, and then do another ten minutes. You’ll quickly start to make
take a 10 minute break to stretch, or get a snack. Set a timer for your break, too,
headway and that will encourage you.
and when it rings, begin another distraction-free focus hour.
Be persistent. Set a task goal for yourself (with a reward when it’s comBefore writing a paper, review your notes. It will save you time in the long
pleted), and stick with it.
run.
Consider how you decide to spend your time. Apply the 10-10-10 rule,
Don’t waste time obsessing over unimportant details. Nothing is ever
asking yourself “How will this decision affect my life 10 minutes from now, 10
perfect. Just do your best, and then move on.
months from now, 10 years from now?”
Use a calendar to keep track of long-term assignment deadlines, course end
dates, vacation dates, social, or work commitments.
NOTE TAKING AND CRITICAL READING
REMEMBERING
Get in the habit of active reading. Look up a word you don’t know,
underline something you find interesting, put a question mark by something
you don’t understand. Use colored highlighters to help you keep track of things
better.
Study at the time of day you are most alert. For most teens, this means
during the day and early evening.
Take good notes while you read. Typing handwritten notes into the computer lets you go over the material a second time. Rewrite your notes into full
sentences and then proofread for errors and to get the info more solidly in your
head (reading aloud helps).
You will read with purpose if you are trying find out the answer. So, when
reading a textbook, reword the section header or chapter title as a question:
What were the major tenets of the Constitution?
Make sure you understand the material; memorizing isn’t enough.
Divide large passages into smaller sections and keep asking yourself questions along the way: “Do I understand what’s going on here?” If not, reread or
ask questions. This self-check will help you keep focused and make sure you
comprehend the material.
Put down your notes and teach what you just learned to an imaginary
audience. Put everything into your own words, and speak with enthusiasm (you
might want to be alone when you do this!). Walk around and use gestures—
moving will help you remember, too.
Use the two-column strategy for note-taking: main ideas on the left and
details on the right. Focus on main ideas first, and then details. Test yourself by
folding the paper in half.
Take the time to do a quality job. Correcting mistakes on sloppy work will
cost you more time in the long run.
10
Use your imagination to picture things in your head with as much sensory
detail as possible (like playing the movie version of the book)—add movement,
color, sound, smell, touch.
Practice makes permanent. Go over your notes and review the reading
material several times over the course of several days—repetition is important to
converting a short term memory into a long-term one.
Review previous material before you add new information. This helps
you connect the new information to what you already know, which will add
Living
Education,
publication
of remember.
Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
relevance
to it andamake
it easier to
Learning Theories COLLIDE WITH Real Life
By Michelle Simpson-Siegel, Executive Director, Oak Meadow
Recently I observed my five-year-old son pulling his underwear
up tightly under his shorts and then pulling them down, over and
over and over again. Perplexed, I gently asked him what he was
doing. “Mom, I’m giving myself a, what’s it called? A wedgie? Yeah,
I’m giving myself a wedgie and then picking it out.” At times, children, in their unabashed naiveté,
can leave us speechless. Their primary task is to
explore their world and in doing so they bump
up into things, sometimes in a way that brings
an “Aha!” response, and other times, “Oh, no!”
I had no idea how to respond to my son in that moment. My
impulse was to react with “Stop that!” I refrained, and tried to
rationally assess the situation, even though I was reeling because
his behavior struck me as something Flounder from Animal
House would have done. I was a bit stranded regarding my next
move. Was this an opportunity to discuss body awareness? Was
it a chance to offer a lesson in appropriateness and that there’s
a time and a place for everything (well, except for wedgies,
maybe). Or should I give a clear direction and instruct my son
to stop giving himself wedgies, thank you very much.
Every moment is a teachable moment. A litany of questions
launched in my Conscious Parenting mind: What can a
five-year-old understand? What language do I use to best
convey my message? Is this normal behavior? Who gives
themselves a wedgie over and over?? All these questions—
which flashed through my mind in three seconds while I kept
a noncommittal puzzled half-smile on my face and continued
calmly braiding his sister’s hair—boil down to the central issue
that occupies the minds of all parents and educators: “How do
I effectively respond to this child in the moment?”
Let’s face it: we want our parenting and
our teaching to be effective. We may
trust in the process, but we also want to
see progress and results. So how do we
reconcile the two?
Lately, I return to this unlikely pairing of books to help me
answer the big question: Howard Gardner’s Frames of Mind,
the Theory of Multiple Intelligences and Amy Chua’s Battle
Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Gardner’s theory, though not wholly embraced by the
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
psychological sciences, gained traction in the education
world because it resonated with teachers’ experiences in the
classroom: students have different innate aptitudes that
develop at different rates. Gardner proposed a spectrum of
intelligences, and teachers and parents everywhere heaved a
huge sigh of relief. Suddenly it was not only okay to have a
learning style that differed from the traditional public school
construct, it was perfectly understandable. Acknowledging
different learning styles had an amazing effect. Kids whose
behaviors led to frustrations and misunderstandings were now
getting bouncy balls to sit on during math and stand-up work
stations for writing, and suddenly learning took a great leap
forward.
As Gardner points out, it was generally believed that intelligence
was something inherited. Now, however, an increasing number
of researchers believe the opposite to be true: “that there exists
a multitude of intelligences…; that each intelligence has
its own strengths and constraints; that the mind is far from
unencumbered at birth; and that it is unexpectedly difficult to
teach things that go against…the natural lines of force within
an intelligence” (Gardner 1993: xxiii)—in other words, an
individual’s natural learning styles.
Similar to Rudolf Steiner’s work with temperaments, Gardner’s
theory propelled teachers toward creatively meeting the needs
of multiple intelligences and gave every mama some quasiscientific data to support with conviction her explanation of
“That’s our Suzy!” It became easier to accept Suzy’s challenges
while honoring Suzy’s gifts. Gardner affirmed what parents
have always known: every child brings something to the table.
It’s our job to create opportunities where children can flourish,
and to equip them with the tools to effectively articulate their
11
unique voices, no matter which intelligence(s) they possess. But just when my “I’m OK, You’re OK” pendulum begins
to swing too far (“Just stop with the wedgies, already!”), I am
pulled back into balance by Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger
Mother. I was a fascinated skeptic when I first read the excerpts
from Chua’s book, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal
in 2011, but then, I quickly became a huge fan of her thoughtprovoking parenting memoir with its good and honest writing.
I was grateful to hear a mother truthfully share her challenges
raising her daughter. She described her intense parenting
approach—reflecting on and laughing at her own strictness and
limitations, often with tongue-in-cheek humor—while taking
a hard look at ingrained cultural values. In doing so, Chua, a
Yale law professor, created a firestorm of controversy and kickstarted a much-needed dialogue in America about the popular
parenting style of unconditional acceptance. She posits that we
have successfully raised a generation of “over-indulged children”
by setting low expectations for their performance and behavior.
After reading her book, I had the good fortune to hear Chua
speak at the 2012 National Association of Independent
Schools conference in Seattle. She conveyed a story about
her daughter trying to master a piece on the violin. The child
struggled and wanted to quit. Though Chua insisted that the
child persist, Chua’s husband suggested that “Maybe she just
can’t do it.” Chua would not accept her husband’s admission
of their daughter’s incapability; instead she required the girl to
play on until she mastered the piece.
The child achieved the goal at last,
and to this day credits that moment of
“breaking through to the other side” as a
crucial moment in her life.
As a young adult she told her mother that whenever she
faces challenge or adversity, she recalls that violin lesson and
she feels confident.
Was there another approach that could have made learning
the piece more stress-free? Would taking into account the
child’s learning styles have resulted in a more effective and
efficient learning experience? Perhaps, but the breakthrough
A S K
T H E
EXPERTS
!
Oak Meadow Teacher Advice
on Making Learning Easier
12
I had was that cooperating with learning styles is not always
enough. Sometimes you still have to push. The rewards, like the
confidence of the young violin player, are worth it.
Chua cites this confidence as a stress-reducer, contrary to the
stereotype that strict parenting is “stress-producing.” Because
her daughter knew that she had accomplished something that
previously she had not thought possible, she had developed the
character and fortitude to face whatever came her way. Her
daughter also learned the value of practice. As an athlete and a
writer, I too know that practice works. Use it or lose it.
The marriage of Chua’s adherence to practice and high
expectations with Gardner’s multiple intelligences is not as
bumpy as you might expect; in fact, it’s a pretty good match.
We can help our children develop those areas in which they
excel, and we support them in the areas in which they need to
become more skillful. We can accept that children will learn
what they are able at various stages of development, and that
every child is on their own timetable, while encouraging a solid
work ethic and good old fashioned stick-to-it-iveness. We can
inspire curiosity in our children but also persistence. There is no
loftier goal of education—the marriage of skill and possibility. It is a formidable task to determine in which instances we
should insist on the consistency of practice, whether it is
making the bed, doing schoolwork, playing a sport, or caring
for a family pet, and when we need to give our kids a break.
But helping each child learn from within the framework of
his or her native intelligences can make a big difference in
how successful they are. It can help us ultimately answer the
question “How can I effectively respond to this child in this
moment?”
In the end, I could see that the whole wedgie business had
already started to lose its appeal. I rejected practice-makesperfect in favor of the distraction of a walk outside, and a fruit
Popsicle. An effective response? For my son, in that moment,
yes.
Michelle Simpson-Siegel,Oak Meadow’s Executive Director,
always tries to capture the teachable moment.
APPLE GIFFORD, K-8 Program Director Some students do better
focusing on one subject at a time. If you are enjoying your lessons from
a particular subject, and want to explore that subject in more depth
consider doing several lessons in a row just on that subject. It can be fun
to immerse yourself completely in your math lessons for a few days
and then switch gears to social studies. Don’t feel that you have to tackle
each subject in each day.
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
Help!
My Home is Overflowing with School!
O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L T I P S F R O M A N O A K M E A D O W PA R E N T
By Jerri Mayer
Whether you’re just starting out or have been on the
homeschooling journey for years, organizing your
homeschooling routine can seem like an immense undertaking.
The key to any successful organizational system is to keep it
simple and make it part of your normal daily routine. The first
year that I homeschooled my son Matt, I worked hard to make
sure that homeschooling didn’t throw our entire household into
chaos. By the time his little brother Mason was ready for school, I
had gotten a whole lot better at it.
Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned. Hopefully these simple suggestions can help
you get organized, too.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER: Divide up school supplies into individual bins. Inexpensive,
plastic containers with lids can be purchased from any discount store. Label the bins
according to their content and keep them where they are easily accessible. This will help
you save valuable time and energy looking for needed materials.
SCHOOL IS IN SESSION: Implement a school schedule and daily routine for your
child. Displaying a large calendar in your home, marked with school times/days,
activities and field trips, allows students to better grasp their homeschooling schedule
up to a month at a time.
MY SPACE: Whether your family prefers working in a formal classroom setting, at the
kitchen table or a picnic table, it is important to create a proper workspace for your
child. Remove any items that you feel could cause distractions that would negatively
impact the learning process.
LESSON PLANNING 101: Set aside an hour each weekend to prepare for the following
week’s lessons. Daily work bins or file folders can save you time and frustration! Many
homeschooling families with multiple children prefer to pre-fill individual work bins
for each day of the upcoming week. This system gives students the ability to work
independently and visually comprehend their daily work load. It also allows the parent
the freedom to move from child to child answering questions or assisting with more
challenging tasks.
MAIN LESSON BOOKS: The sky is the limit on ways to document your child’s work.
Many veteran homeschoolers believe the Main Lesson Book concept is the easiest, best
organized, and most memorable way to organize your child’s school work. I agree! By the
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
13
end of the school year, your child has created a beautiful scrapbook filled with all
his hard work. Pre-made Main Lesson Books can be purchased directly from Oak
Meadow or you can create your own MLB by simply hole-punching the school work,
binding it together with string, and adding a sturdy cover.
SHUTTERFLY: Hands down, my favorite homeschool aid is Shutterfly.com! All
you need is one hour a week, a digital camera, and a desire to brag about your
homeschooler. Throughout the week, I snap little pictures of the boys working on
everything from science or history projects to painting wonderful works of art.
Then on Sunday, I upload these pictures directly onto my Shutterfly account. Once
uploaded, these items can be posted to your personal share site, photo album, or
memory book, and can be made accessible to your Oak Meadow teacher. With her
access, she can view and comment on the posted pictures, videos and school work.
With Shutterfly, you also have the ability to create personalized yearbooks for your
children. Simply drop and click your photos into the website’s “Memory Book”
feature. By the end of the year, each child has a personal yearbook filled with all their
school activities and accomplishments. Blank pages are left for signatures and well
wishes from friends and family. For less than an hour, once a week, you have created
a fantastic, professionally bound record of your child’s school year. Plus, you have
made a beautiful yearbook that will be enjoyed for many years to come.
COMMUNICATION: If you’re a family that has chosen enrollment in Oak Meadow
School as we have, I would encourage you to take full advantage of the knowledge
and experience of your child’s teacher. Your entire learning experience becomes easier
and more productive the more the parents and teacher communicate. Mark your
calendar as a reminder of when to submit work to your teacher, and don’t hesitate
to email or call when you have questions. Regular communication will help your
teacher better assist you in tailoring the material to your child’s needs.
Listening to your family’s needs and daily rhythms can help you put in place an
organizational system that will work best for you and assist you in reaching your
homeschooling goals. Just as importantly, it will help you achieve peace of mind!
Hopefully these ideas will give you a starting point for getting your home ready
for the upcoming school year. Staying organized will return benefits that the entire
family will enjoy.
Jerri Mayer lives with her family in Oklahoma, where she spends a lot of time sharing learning adventures with her sons.
•
Oak Meadow News
The Oak Meadow community is pleased to welcome
Brian Morgan as the new High School Program
Director for Oak Meadow School.
Brian’s experience is a perfect fit for our School’s
commitment to providing a world class education.
In fact, Brian brings with him experience in
international education, and is eager to explore new
mission-appropriate courses, and building faculty
expertise in the distance-learning world.
Brian received his B.A. in Modern Languages from
Cambridge University. He also studied at Moscow
State University and at the Centre Universitaire
14
d’Avignon. He began his teaching career at Phillips
Exeter Academy as an instructor of French, Russian
and German. While at Exeter, he coached track
and field and directed the Exeter Summer School.
Afterward, he became Director of The Putney School
in Putney, Vermont for twelve years, and Head of
The White Mountain School in Bethlehem, New
Hampshire for four years. Brian is a long-time Trustee
of the Verde Valley School in Sedona, AZ where he
oversaw the school’s adoption of the International
Baccalaureate Diploma Program. He is also a Trustee of
the progressive K-8 Riley School in Glen Cove, ME.
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Every child is different, as any
parent or educator will tell you.
Sometimes those differences require
more than the ordinary effort on the
part of the homeschooling parent.
In this article, Rachel Monk,
a homeschooling mom who
uses Oak Meadow curriculum,
shares how she has taken
advantage of Oak Meadow’s
flexibility to help her son J.J.
learn in a way that fits
him best.
The Homeschooling Advantage:
Addressing Autism Challenges By Rachel Monk
I am no expert or anything, but since my son was 1 ½ years old—
long before we got the autism diagnosis—I’ve been working hard
to help J.J. learn. Since the diagnosis almost three years ago, I
have done a great deal of research on autism,
explored different therapies, tried different
techniques and activities, and participated
in a 24-week case study at our children’s
hospital, which included training on how to
handle behavioral problems in children with
autism. And although every child manifests
their symptoms differently, there are often the
common strings of symptoms that make a
diagnosis possible.
To begin, J.J. is a very bright kid. Before he entered kindergarten in public school in the fall of 2011, he could already
read at a 3rd grade level (although his comprehension was lacking), and he had memorized all sorts of information on
his subjects of interest including the solar system, world geography (the location and shape of countries, their names and
their corresponding flags), the human body, various foreign languages, etc. He is very passionate
and when intrigued, he has amazing focus and attention to detail. However, whenever he is even
minutely discouraged, even simple tasks can seem like an impassable mountain.
hat’s when it pays to be creative.
When I pulled my son out of public school for numerous reasons at the end of October 2011, we began
homeschooling since that seemed the best way to get J.J. the personalized attention he needed in order to
succeed. The Oak Meadow curriculum is fantastic, and I plan to use it for my newborn daughter when
she gets older, but in my son’s case, I needed to do a little tweaking to take advantage of his abilities and
address his challenges. To read about some of the things that worked for J.J.’s family, go to
http://www.oakmeadow.com/newsletter/2012-homeschooling-addressing-autism.php.
Brian has served on the NEASC Commission on
Independent Schools as well as numerous accreditation
committees, both in New England and overseas. Brian
enjoys traveling, especially to visit with his daughter,
who is also a teacher, and her family in India. Both his
daughter and son-in-law have undertaken their Masters
degrees via distance learning, and Brian is intrigued by
the potential role of distance learning in the future of
international secondary education.
“ I am thrilled to have been invited to join the Oak
Meadow team! Many great universities, both in
the United States and abroad, are now offering
educational opportunities through distance
learning, and secondary schools cannot be
far behind. Oak
Meadow is setting
the pace in the
re-definition of
American—and
international—
schooling, and is
giving new meaning
to the philosophy
of education as a
liberating enterprise.”
We invite you to meet Brian, our faculty, and staff at
our Fall Open House on Saturday, October 6. For more
information, visit our website, or call 802-251-7250.
Living Education, a publication of Oak Meadow Curriculum & School
15
BEADS and BUTTONS
Beads and buttons are
fun to make, especially by
children who love hands-on
learning, but clay can also be used to explore any
academic subject. Here are just a few ideas to get
your imagination started:
Clay
Textures
Thin dowel
Knife
Needle
Prepare clay by warming and softening it in your hands.
Create letter and number shapes for alphabet
and math learning.
S culpt bird heads when studying how bird beaks
are shaped differently for different purposes.
ake a model of a Mesopotamian ziggurat,
M
a Mayan temple, an adobe dwelling, or an
Egyptian pyramid.
Enjoy this craft from Clay Fun, an Oak Meadow
original publication, which is part of our second
grade curriculum.
PO Box 1346
Brattleboro, VT 05302
Happy doodling!
we invite you to try your hand at an Oak Meadow doodle! Get out the colored
pencils and let your imagination soar. As long as the doodle has the name
Oak Meadow worked into it somehow, the sky’s the limit! We are especially
looking for doodles that showcase Oak Meadow’s uniquely creative, independent
education. Selected Oak Meadow doodles will appear on our website and in our
promotional material. So start doodling and keep your eyes open for an email
announcing the contest rules and submission guidelines
(or check our website for further details).
If you are as much a fan of the Google doodle as we are,