There is always something to learn

A personal experience of Sandra Nardoni

I'm reading this book called "Discover Your Child's Learning Style" by Mariaemma Willis and Victoria Kindle Hodson. I've been wading through all the work we should have been doing in the last few months while we've been dealing with depression, sickness and injury. Rest is so foreign to me that, though I have tried to accept it, there is still a reality that three kids need mom to be well. (That's for another article though.)

Back to the topic at hand..Ahem..This book is more in depth than any other I've ever read on this topic and I think, like God always does, He has led me to it for such a time as this. I have been noticing both positive and negative things about this school year and sans injury etc.. have observed a few things that have given me some clues about what I'm doing right and what I need to still figure out. So, for those of you with some time on your hands who would like to get a peek into our crazy world, here goes. (This will be a long one.)

First, Rose is thriving on our co-op diet of history songs and all the other songs we incorporate into the memory work. I definitely feel she is benefiting from this environment, as she is able to do much of what the other kids do, in spite of her severe learning disabilities. She is gaining confidence and knowledge at the same time. Because of this book(the learning styles book) I think I'm discovering why she is doing so well. I'm still helping her do the learning assessment but ideas are unfolding about how to unlock the girl's brain. (A six year journey this Tuesday-the anniversary of our first meeting.) I think she learns in pictures (the timeline cards and other resources we utilize are very detailed visually) and also in some ways she is an auditory learner. She learns just about anything if you put it in a song. (Which is strange, because she can't hear or repeat tones correctly.) In addition to this she has to be alone with me to truly learn. That means door to the kitchen is shut, boys are outside or in their rooms. Ug. I've known this one for a while but thought I would reiterate it here. Still no clue how to use this information to help her in reading and math but my little brain is grinding right now.

The next positive thing is that Gabriel is learning well on his own with the flashcards from our co-op so I don't have to double my time to teach them the memory work because he likes to do it on his own. Hallelujah!!!! Also, I think his proficiency for math is greater than I thought. I am thinking he is the type of math person described in the book as having a Mechanical Reasoning talent. He doesn't memorize facts super quick but can work out the processes needed in the problems very easily. Who knew? I also believe Gabriel has the Performer disposition which also involves moving. This is why read-aloud time is torture if he can't play with Legos! It is also why church is such a challenge--although I recently began doing a children's story with a picture to color so he's more occupied during the discussion time. I still am looking for a creative and socially acceptable way for him to be in the church service without flipping out though. (We go to a family-integrated house church) The down side of this not- so- surprising discovery is that I can't really transition to more "scholarly" approaches for him or Ezra (get to Ezra in a moment) because they are both movers to some extent.

Now to Ezra. Ezra is in the eighth grade. All year I've been trying to get him to "act" like a junior high responsible student. He isn't the defiant type so he just kind of disappears and works on all his stuff--rabbits, piano, knitting, hunting, drawing and certainly not working on his assignments. Then, when I ask about it he says he needs help--on EVERYTHING. Sigh. He is very intelligent and I know he is capable of doing much of the work on his own but he swears he can't. So a few days ago when we started our History curriculum again afIter a long hiatus he was SOOOO excited and said he was glad to be with the rest of the family again. Hmmmm... Turns out, I'm thinking he may have what this book calls a relational disposition, which means he likes to be with people when he learns. This would explain a lot about my failing miserably in motivating him this year. So my next job is converting all his assignments into the type of assignments he will really understand. No problem.

All this information is good but it's going to take me a while to sort it out and certainly will take me a while to find solutions for each of my learners. I hope my narrative about my children will help some of you to figure out your own kids!

Courtesy: Sandra Nardoni