concrete vs abstract thinking

[roseannvj]

I am using BHFHG with my 8yo son and 9yo daughter. We are loving it together and are so blessed by HOD. I have noticed, though, that my son really struggles with-- I mean truly cannot answer -- questions that are not concrete. He can give back any facts he has heard, but when it comes to thinking and applying concepts, especially in the Bible and Poetry boxes, all I get are blank stares. At first I thought he didn't answer because his sister was beating him to it but I have tried asking him to answer first, and I have even tried separating them and doing the Bible portion one-on-one. How do I handle this? Do I feed him appropriate responses? Do I skip over it? I've tried asking leading questions to try to help him come up with the ideas/answers on his own, and I still get nothing. Is this a skill that just switches on magically at some point between 8 and 9? Help please!

[MomtoJGJE]

First of all, have they done any of the guides prior to Bigger?

Second of all, with my kids, some have had magical moments where they all of a sudden get it, but some have not. What I do for all of them is ask the question, wait for their answer (I don't accept I don't know, I will accept any other words even if it's not even close) and then say something like "yeah. That could be one way of looking at it. *put on a thinking face* another way might be like *insert correct answer here*" and then we move on to the next question. I don't do this EVERY time, but maybe 3 days a week. The other days I just say "ok" and move on to the next question. I always read the key ideas to them.

Honestly sometimes I still struggle with more abstract concepts, so it could just be the person they are

[MelInKansas]

Those questions are difficult and it is a skill kids have to grow into. Even though my oldest went through all the previous guides, I know I was guilty of too much hand-holding on these kinds of questions. So here's what I would suggest:

Like MomToJGJE said, tell them to just think of whatever answer comes to mind. It should make a little sense based on the question, but encourage them to think about their answer for a little bit and then just tell you what they are thinking. Encourage their response. If you do see a connection they've made point it out. "You're right, fruit of the spirit might be like an apple from a tree...." or whatever.

Then I usually also share what I think. I think this models the thinking and helps them see the logical connection. But I don't say their answer is wrong and mine is right. I just say "well I think that...." Or if you agree with their answer for the most part, say "I agree with you, I also think that...."

If it's blank and "duh" and you feel like they really are struggling go back and read the passage again (sometimes when it's several verses and the question is about a specific verse I will read that verse again). Sometimes I pick out an important word or short phrase to emphasize and say "what does this say?" I try to let them come up with an answer first but I will help them if they seem to need it.

I hope this helps.

[Nealewill]

I wouldn't give up or even judge

As a child I could not think abstractly.....as in AT ALL! I think it is because no one really taught me how. Now as an adult it is easier. But there are still plenty of days I will have to muster through and do my best What I love most about HOD is that they provide the opportunity for kids to think about things. Last year was our first year. And my dd has a hard time with several of the first few poems. But as the year went on, she saw more and more connections and images in the poems. Now we have fun together discovering things. And this is my son's first year being really challenged with the poems and he is doing okay. But what I love about it, is that it is all up the reader to interpret what they see (within reason) and that poems speak very differently to us all. Things that I read may spark memories that I have and it may go right over my kids head. That is okay And like wise, they may see something differently that I don't see when they read a poem. I never tell my kids they are wrong either (unless clearly they missed the boat). But it is a blessing and a joy for me to see what they come up with.

I will say - CTC has a lot of prophecies. I was so excited to see these and it is definitely a highlight of this level IMHO. At the beginning of the year, I had to help my oldest dd quite a bit. This was a challenge for her and something she wasn't used to. And today, she had a tough prophecy. But we figured it out together. A lot of times I will have a scrap piece of paper that we can make notes on if we need to so that we can help make connections as well for our abstract thinking. I am not a natural like some but I have my logical systematic method that helps me lead to conclusions.

I have really enjoyed the challenge and I think that because I have given my kids the opportunity to try it out themselves without fear of failure, they have embraced it for the most part too (meaning that if they come across something they don't understand-aka all the time in the beginning , I am patient with them and lead with guiding questions until they come to some type of conclusion). Hope that makes sense

[MomtoJGJE]

On the prophecies in CTC, if Jayden couldnt' figure it out in about 30 seconds I just had her copy the key idea and we discussed it I do think it helped her because she was copying less as the year went on.

[Nealewill]

MomtoJGJE - until you said "answer key" I didn't even put 2 and 2 together....that the Key Idea had the answer! Ha ha, I guess I won't have to spin my wheels so much

And I am just editing this because I told JUST my dd that if she is struggling with the prophecy, she can look at the key idea. She says, yeah, already know that but I wanted to see if you could figure it out LOL

[roseannvj]

Thank you everyone for your responses! This is our first year with HOD, so they do not have the benefit of gradually working into it. I look forward to using all all your suggestions and appreciate your encouragement.