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Hey, Julie,
I noticed on your weekly review that you started modeling for your ds and I had a lightbulb moment. I don't think I do this enough with my son right now. Sometimes I think it's because I know we are in a 2nd-3rd grade curriculum and he's in 4th so he should just get it, right? Argh! I'm so frustrated with myself- and I'm sure he's frustrated too!
Question- Could you kinda expand on how you are modeling studying for dictation? Is it a CM sort of thing that you are teaching him to help him do better? I'm a little slow... thanks

Dawn

Julie,

I picked up on this too for your ds's drawing. I am interested in your decisions and how to model certain subjects for ds's as well. I really like how Carrie has described how to model narration for those like me that need help. Good question Dawn.

Oh, you are not slow in any way! I had this lightbulb moment only after my ds began missing a bunch of dictation passages in a row. I realized we'd never talked about how to study for dictation really. So, I taught him the study method I mentioned in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5333&p=39199

He's not missed a passage now for the last 10 times! (He has a count going. ) It just really helped him prepare better for it. It is sort of a spin-off of a CM thing. It's sort of like the spelling words we did in Beyond/Bigger, where we write the word with black marker on an index card, the child studies it, we take the card away, and then the child writes it from memory. The idea of the mind taking a picture of what looks right (from a perfect model) and then relying on the memory of that "picture" to write it correctly is the CM idea I found useful in studying for dictation this way. But this is just an idea I had that I thought was worth a try, since my ds's way of studying it wasn't working anymore for him. I look for him to eventually just do his studying without the marker board again, when he can do this kind of studying more in his mind, but for now, it's a good study aid for him. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

3musketeers wrote:Julie,

I picked up on this too for your ds's drawing. I am interested in your decisions and how to model certain subjects for ds's as well. I really like how Carrie has described how to model narration for those like me that need help. Good question Dawn.

Carrie does an awesome job of writing modeling into her curriculum already, you're right, and that is such a find as it is relatively nonexistent in most curriculums! Additional modeling is something I go back to when I can see an area that is harder for my ds because it is not a natural ability of his. For instance, the dictation was harder for him because he had speech therapy for several years early on in life. Spelling and dictation have always been harder for him, as well as correctly pronouncing words. So, he needs a little more hand-holding, usually in the form of modeling. This struggle if his also comes out in his oral narrating, as he has a very difficult time remembering how to accurately pronounce names and places. This is something we are still really working on and probably always will have to.

For my oldest, drawing has always been difficult too. He was still drawing stick people at an older age, and my middle ds's coloring surpassed his coloring a long time ago. That's o.k. - every child has strengths and weaknesses, but I realized when doing the DITHOR project that I had never REALLY sat down with him and shown him how to draw a person's face in detail. We talked a lot about looking at our own faces for help, or at pictures in his books. We also talked about the basics of coloring again. We went over this a TON when he was littler, but the fact was he just was unable to do it at that time. So, for his DITHOR project, I sat by his side and modeled outlining, coloring in circles, coloring in the same direction, shading, etc. , and we also talked a lot about when to use markers as this is what he always uses and the markers often destroy the pencil details he'd added by completely covering them up. We talked about using colored pencils, thin markers for outlining, and crayons more often.

Anyway, these are very basic things that I should have talked about before, but when I chatted with Carrie, and she said she looks at her DITHOR projects as the time to go all out and really show them what a good final project would be, this hit a chord with me. I realized I don't do this often enough. Ever since we finished our DITHOR project of drawing, I can see Wyatt taking his time to draw more carefully, especially when it comes to people's faces. Also, he has stopped coloring with marker all of the time - thank the Lord!

So, I guess modeling comes in handy in dc's weaker academic areas. However we can portray each step of the process through modeling (in an encouraging way that doesn't get too overwhelming or tedious for them), seems to be super helpful when possible. I hope that makes sense!

In Christ,
Julie

I hope that makes sense!

You made perfect sense . Thank you for the detailed response. My 10 yo is still drawing stick figures as well. So I took note when I read your week in review. Great help. We have a DITHOR project coming up and I will try it out.

I also read the dictation study ideas. My oldest was zooming along, but has recently found dictation getting a little harder. I will have him try the wipe board.

Thanks again,
Cindy

I'm glad to know my ds isn't the only older boy with drawing issues! I see my nephew's drawings for CTC and am amazed, but I guess I just have to remember not to compare. My oldest has some wonderful strengths, but drawing has never been one of them. Glad something here could help!

In Christ,
Julie

Julie,
Wahoo! My ds and I had a study session together today. I showed him your "new way" to study and he got it!
He was soo thrilled! He said with a HUGE smile..."Mom, your idea was global!" (Not sure what that means- but we were sure excited!) Thanks for the reminder about taking my time to thoroughly go over and model things- it definately pays off in the long run.
Also, we took our time practicing our Daniel Boone notebooking page today. I showed him how to "draw" Daniel Boone, too. He was thrilled that he drew such a great picture! He usually just rushes through to get it done and move on to the next thing. He was not happy with me becuz I made him "drag" the assignment out and take "sooo long" to do something but he LOVED the finished product. Was it perfect... No! Was it good ... YES! He had a lightbulb moment or 2 today as well. If we do our best and take our time we can be proud of the product that we make!

Julie, YOU Rock!
Thanks, our day was blessed and today, I needed a happy!
Dawn

That's so wonderful to hear, Dawn! Your ds really stepped up to the plate. What a day worth celebrating!

In Christ,
Julie

Julie and Dawn,

I wanted to share that yesterday we too tried both of Julie's ideas for modeling. For dictation we got out the wipe board. Ds got his dictation that he had struggled with for 3 previous sessions absolutely correct . We also had a session on, "How to Draw People and Landscaping." while my middles ds was at the eye Dr. My 10 yo had brought his poetry illustration (See it Through from Bigger) to me. He has always struggled with drawing, while my middle ds thrives on it. Anyway, I looked at his original stick guy with black circles and squiggles. I said, "Lets talk about drawing." After our modeling session (modeled by Julie ); he then drew a picture of a boy finishing a race. The boy was not a stick figure, he had on clothes , I could tell he was crossing a finish line, and it was in more than one color. Break through!

Thanks again, Julie.
Dawn, good question. I'll be chatting with you .

Hooray! That is an accomplishment that I understand the magnitude of, having a ds myself that has drawn stick figures for way too long. I'm so proud of your ds, and I bet he'll continue to grow in this area. I have finally come the conclusion that some things I thought to model and teach when my dc were young, I just stopped modeling and teaching for some reason. Frustration maybe? But, now that my ds is older, he is at the right stage (for him) to really be able to take something from the modeling/teaching, and it's pretty exciting because the results happen so much more quickly than they did earlier! I am so glad some of these ideas are working for others as they've been a huge source of relief (and joy) for me too. Thanks for letting me know how it went!

In Christ,
Julie

I read this and it triggered a memory that someone had told me that modeling is effective in Math, too. Perfect timing, since dd9 and I were in the throes of teaching her long division last week- with a fair bit of angst. (She is a language arts girl.) So this week I mostly just modeled problems for her and we are actually getting somewhere! She still has a ways to go and needs coaching through the steps, but seeing me do about a hundred long division problems seemed to be much more effective than trying to get her to do something she didn't understand.
Thanks!

threegreatkids,

Loved this:

but seeing me do about a hundred long division problems seemed to be much more effective than trying to get her to do something she didn't understand.

I think as a homeschooling mom, sometimes I just think my ds's should know how to do things. "Maybe if I leave them alone they will get it sooner or later." (Like what Dawn was saying in her first post). This has been a good and inspiring discussion. I needed the encouragement to slow down and explain/demo things more completely.

Ladies,

I agree that this is a terrific discussion with so many excellent tips in it! it's a wonderful reminder to us that a little modeling goes a l-o-n-g way!

Blessings,
Carrie