In Praise of the Blogger Mobile App and iOS 6.x

I wanted to take just a few minutes to tell you how impressed I am with the Blogger Mobile App and iOS 6.X using my iPhone.  I created the last blog post in about two minutes using the camera on my iPhone, Siri and the Blogger Mobile App.  This is a great opportunity for people that have special needs to use technology to be able to communicate to the rest of the world.  So easy, so powerful!
And I dictated both blog posts, then edited with the keyboard.

Are you going?

Folks, the Minnesota Catholic Home Educator's Conference is coming right up.  We are just a month away!  And, if you blog, consider checking this out.  It's posted by the sweetest blogger in the state.  And, I will be there, too.  I hope that doesn't keep you from attending :-).

For what it is worth, I will be hosting the next session on homeschooling children with special needs right after the Blogger's Chat. 

On Saturday, I will be speaking about Beginning Homeschooling at 11am and making learning fun by using some very easy game ideas at 3pm.  You can get more details here, if you like.  I hope you can make it.

Great deal on Brainology...

Just a quick note - right now, for a very short time, the Brainology course is available for the low price of $19.99 at homeschoolbuyersco-op.com  so if you have ever considered this, now is the time!  That is 75% off the cost.
Brainology was created by Carol Dweck as a way to help middle school/high school teens get passed a fixed mindset.  My kids did it and really enjoyed it and learned a lot.  Expect to spend about 5-6 hours total, over a couple of weeks.  Don't rush it. 
I don't make anything off of this.  I just wanted to let you know.  Homeschoolbuyersco-op.com is a free organization that arranges group purchases for curriculum, passing on savings to home educators.

Video Case Study

If you would like to see a video case study my family did for Providence eLearning, here you go!



We had a really good time working with Providence eLearning.  My kids are really enjoying the materials.

Solving Problems Vs. Creating Solutions - A Mindset Context Switch

With all that has been going on in my schoolroom this year, I have had to change my mindset.  In fact, I've decided to take on the slogan of the Robinson family from "Meet the Robinsons."

Slogan of the Robinson Family - Keep Moving Foward!

Let me ask you this...Are you a problem solver or someone who finds creative solutions?

I have always considered myself a "problem solver."  While that might be a great title to have, I think it might be determental to my kids if their teacher is constantly trying to solve problems in her school.   I now try to actively seek creative solutions rather than focus on solving problems.  Why?  Creating solutions and problem solving involve very different states of mind. Creativity activates positive thoughts while problem solving is focused on what is negative. Creating is forward focused; it’s building toward the future. Problem solving is focused on the past.

I've had to make a context switch.

When I tell my kids "we have a problem" it casts a dark tone over the day and the person to whom this message is directed.  What if, instead we said something like, "Wow!  We need to find a new way to do this!"  I don't know about you, but my kids much prefer the later.  

What does creating look like?

There are five steps in the creative process from Robert Fritz, which are types of action, not a formula. These steps are:

1. Conceive of the result you want to create. Creators start at the end by knowing what they want to create. (By the way, this is the way Right Brainers think all the time.  We start with the end in mind.)
2. Know what condition or situation currently exists. If you don’t know what has already been created or done, it’s impossible to know what to do next. (This is where most people stop!)
3. Take action. When you know what you want and what you currently have, take action. Creating is a learning process, so every action may not work. When actions don’t work, readjust. (Take a lesson from the Military - do an After Action Review.  Figure out what worked and what didn't so you don't have to redo it again.  Keep moving forward!)
4. Learn the rhythms of the creative process. There are three phases: germination, assimilation, and completion.  (Listen to the niggling voice in your head...ideas come in the strangest places and at the strangest times.  Most of mine come after 11pm when talking with my husband.)
5. Create momentum. Professional creators create momentum. The seeds of their next action are planted and  germinate in their present actions.  (Keep improving and keep talking about your changes with someone.  Sounding boards have a good way of keeping you in check and moving forward.)

The comments in parenthesis above are mine.  According to Robert Fritz, when talking about problem solving in a particular scenario in the corporate world, "The problem led to action to solve the problem. The action lessened the problem. Less action was needed to solve the problem. Less attention was given to the problem, and the problem resurfaced. Problem solving," Fritz explains, "provides a way to organize our focus, actions, time, and thought process. Designing solutions to problems gives the sense that something important is being done."

He adds, “…it’s an illusion.”

What’s the alternative if designing solutions to problems doesn’t work?  It is in finding creative solutions.  Now, you might say, "That is in the corporate world!  I am a home educator. When my kid has a problem, I need to find a solution!"  I can tell you that after years of trying to fix my son's dysgraphia, I realized that I needed to find creative solutions to the problem rather than to fix him.  He wasn't broken.  He just wasn't able to do what I was asking him.  Poor kid.  I am astounded at his resiliancy given I kept trying to fix him.    

So, the first thing you need to do is change your language.  Notice that the word “problem” is not present in the five steps above. The tone is positive and growth oriented.

What do you think could happen if instead of telling your child "There is a problem" to changing your approach to "Let's find a better way?"
 

Dysgraphia and Creative Writing

Dysgraphia is a learning disability in which writing is difficult.  This is more than just the inability too legibly create letters and words.  It extends to the inability to spell and properly organize thoughts on paper. A child that is dysgraphic gets hung up so much on how to form the letters, that their brain often loses track of what they were trying to spell or write. 

Here's a picture of the process for the visual learners...

When my son was diagnosed with dysgraphia in December, it came as no surprise to me.   I have spent much more time on handwriting, spelling and sentence building with him than with any of my other children.  When he practices a lot, his cursive is nice and legible, but it requires so much work and effort on his part, he is unable to write spontaneously.  He can do copy work very well.  He can't easily write what he thinks. 

I have always encouraged my son to type assignments.  He has had his own laptop since he was 10 because of the difficulties he has always had with writing.  He is not a proficient writer, but he types faster than he writes.  He has also learned to rely on the spelling and grammar checking, and I am okay with that.

Obviously because of his difficulties, I will not give up on teaching him the elements of writing (five paragraph essays, in particular), formatting (MLA mostly), and grammar (via intense Latin study and an extremely rigorous grammar program).  We've also come up with an editing process that I found out is used often...just didn't know it already existed.  It's called the power method and it uses an acronym which makes the process easy to remember:

P-lan
O-utline
W-rite
E-dit
R-evise

Now, that may seem obvious, but it is not to an ADHD kid, especially one who hates the writing process.  I have always tried to get my kids to plan out what they are doing BEFORE they write.  They have begrudgingly done it, sort of...however, it wasn't until we were working through Essay Voyages by Michael Clay Thompson last year that they saw the power of the outline.  I gave the four kids I was working with an assignment.  Within the book, there was an outline of an essay.  Their job was to write their own essay, using all the things they had learned thus far from that outline.  They were all astounded at how easy it was when they had a good outline!  From there, the editing and revising was actually easy.  Handwriting aside, the process seemed easier.

However, I had never spent much time on story writing.  I didn't feel I needed to because my kids have always been good, not only at narration, but at making up their own imaginative stories.
One babysitter told us, after watching my children play, that my eldest son would make a good scriptwriter and director.  He would orchestrate elaborate stories into their play sessions.  Not only would he tell everyone what to do, but also what to say.  All the kids would follow his instructions because his stories, created on the fly, were fantastic.  Somehow, it occurred to me last year that my son needed to work and further develop that skill. 

One thing I have learned (listen up curriculum developers) is that the assignments need to be engaging  The premise behind TJeD is to let kids follow their interests and they will learn what they need to learn.  Inside my kid is a story teller without a way to get it out.  I decided that I needed to take things into my own hands and figure out a way to get him writing creatively.  So, given his interests - Star Wars, weapons, adventure stories, games and role playing (although he'd never played an official RPG), I took a lesson from Joseph Campbell and great ideas from George Lucas, a student of Campbell, and put them all together.

Last year, the idea started niggling and I bought some Star Wars books to thumb through.  Of course, my son thought that was divine.   Then, I had to take some time and learn what RPG was all about.  I guess I hadn't realized that Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) is a role playing game.  I never played it, but my friends in high school (yes, almost 30 years ago) did play it.  So I did have exposure, just not experience.

What I ended up with was a writing class for reluctant writers based on the Star Wars universe using role playing games as a way to a create the story.  While I wrote the class for my son, I knew he would not be interested in doing it by himself.  That is where the RPG comes into play.  I knew that if he had to share the story with others and that others would be involved in the story with him, he would work hard.  What an incentive!  So, we invited 11 of his friends to join us.  I used Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces to teach the boys what makes a good myth.   One young man dropped out, but the older brother of another participant requested to join when he saw how much fun it could be.  These young men, aged 11-14 voluntarily joined us six weeks over the summer to write five 8-10 page stories.  And yes, my son came up with five 10 page stories.  I typed much of it for him because his ideas came so fast, he couldn't capture them all.  We're now working on using Dragon Dictation so he can hand it by himself.

Here is what I found.  The boys loved the themes, character development and structure.  But I think I was the big winners because I learned so much in those six weeks about boys, the writing process, RPG, Star Wars (did I really need to know more???) but most importantly  I also got to know these 11 young men much better.  It was especially funny to see how they would include each other or me in their stories, either by killing them off (not me) or buttering them up (most often me) so that others would include them in their stories.

My daughters, age 9 and 12 at the time, sat in hiding close to our school room enraptured as they listened in as the boys told their stories.  I am now working on the same process for girls, but the story lines will be much different.  In fact, we're toying with either a time travel element or putting the entire story in a particular period of time...not sure yet about that one.  Perhaps...



So, I'm curious.  Would it make sense to run the Star Wars class again?  Would there be interest?  I know the boys that took it enjoyed it, but I don't know if they will join us again.  By the way, I only charge for the cost of materials for these classes.  I am not interested in making money on it.  Last year, the boys paid $30, which covered all the class costs as well as snacks, materials, books, etc.  Let me know if you have someone interested.  My son would be...

A fork in the road...

The last month and a half have been fraught with worry and much self reflection.  I've kept my posts to reviews of late because I needed to reassess where I wanted to go with this blog.  For the most part, this blog is about me and my journey of self-education and the homeschool education I am helping my children attain.  But I've reached a fork in the road.


I learned early on in my career as homeschool teacher is that I can't teach my kids anything they don't want to learn.  My talk on motivation covers that in spades and I've got the research to back it up...they will learn something they don't want to learn to earn a grade or pass a test, but will most likely forget it if it is not of interest or not made of interest to them.  We, as a race, are pretty selfish in that respect, but it is all part of God's plan, I think.  He gives us all different interests for a reason.  We all can't be interested in the same thing or we wouldn't survive.  We can't all be doctors or engineers.

One thing I was not prepared for, in this homeschooling journey, was hurdles.  BC (Before children) I taught adults and developed curriculum.  I figured I had this "teaching thing" down pat.  Kids must be easier.  I faced difficulties that I assumed were much greater teaching adults, like being a very young diminutive female teaching men in a positions that were predominantly occupied by older male know-it-alls.  I taught UNIX system and network administrators at the upper level of their professions.  Remember the SNL skits done by Jimmy Fallon as the system guy, Nick Burns?

That's the type I'm talking about.  To be fair, not all my students were like that, but many were.
Who knew that teaching kids would be/could be harder than THAT?  Certainly not me!
But, that's good.  I love a challenge.  I just wasn't prepared for so many.

So, you may ask what those challenges were?  For many homeschoolers, they were just normal things like morning sickness that lasted all day and pregnancy fatigue that made me not want to do school - at all! Or, a parent who was terminally ill and had no one but me in town to care for them.  Or unemployment which made schooling the way I wanted to not easy, requiring creative curriculum methods, and illness and health issues on my part that knocked me on my backside.  But those were my challenges...more difficult were things that affected my kids learning like learning disabilities, mindset issues and boredom.

Why am I writing ALL this?  Because I've reached a fork in the road and the tone of this blog will be changing.  Up until now, I've purposely not explained my interest in special needs, though I've gotten lots of experience with it over the last ten years.  My son, who is 14 1/2, has had vision problems since he was one.  He's had surgeries, glasses, vision therapy, occupational therapy, and neurological therapy to work through issues he's had that have affected his vision and fine motor skills.  I've done a lot of accommodating, correcting, adjusting curriculum and environment to make learning easier for him.  It's paid off.  He's a smart kid who loves to learn and is a hard worker, but I can't take too much credit for that because he's the one who has chosen to learn.  I had chalked up his need for lots of different learning accommodations to his vision issues.  When your eyes don't work, other senses try to make up for that difficulty.  My son is an auditory/tactile-kinesthetic right-brained learner for whom adjustments have been made to meet his distinctly different and individual needs.

I knew that as college testing loomed ahead of us he would need some accommodations for testing.  I knew, even after all the work we've done, he might need more time to finish his tests and the written essay portion would be next to impossible for him.  A good friend of mine who is an Orton-Gillingham professional, recommended that I have him tested for learning disabilities before he started taking ACTs or SATs.  They will not give accommodations without a clinical diagnosis.

So last month he endured twelve long hours of neuro-cognitive testing as well as filling out several questionnaires outside that in-office testing time.  I spent time filling out forms, finding copies of previous years' standardize test results, and pouring through all his medical records and therapy records to provide the psychologist with a complete picture of his academic and neuro-cognitive development.  Then we waited three long weeks for all the tests to be scored and a diagnosis to be made, if necessary.  And in that time, I worried and questioned my methods and made myself and my husband crazy, wondering - did I do enough, could I have done more, what would the psychologist say, how would my son score?  During that time of self-reflection, I also worried how my son would handle any news he received.

Two weeks ago my husband and I met with the psychologist to receive the results.  We purposely chose to take some time to reflect on how to share the news with our son and to decide how best to adjust things as we continue with the challenge of high school before sharing that news with him.
So, if you have read this far, God bless you for your patience. 

Here's what we found.  While my son is gifted in some areas, he was diagnosed with AD/HD, a diagnosis I, up until now have despised.  I'll get to that in a minute.  The other diagnosis was dysgraphia.  That was no surprise.  When he works at it, his penmanship is legible, but large.  With lots of work and concentration, he can do copywork well.  However, he just can't write extemporaneously.  But, he can type.

The funny thing was that my husband, who has had to deal with my anxiety over all this, realized that as he listened to the psychologist's recommendations, that I was doing almost all those things he recommended.  On the way out, he said that if we didn't need that "clinical diagnosis" for our son's benefit during ACTs and SATs, he would have wondered why we were there.  I needed to hear that.
 
Yesterday, I had the conversation with my son.  We talked about what will change in his schooling to make things better for him and allow him to better reach his potential.  We will also be making different accommodations and I will learn to embrace AD/HD.  I asked his permission to write about it here.  He said that if it helped other people, he was okay with it.  He's my hero.  This kid will do great things.  I know it.

By the way, the reason I hate the AD/HD label is because it's used as a derogatory term,  not as a clinical term, by people not qualified to make that diagnosis.  I have one acquaintance that I remember saying ALL boys have AD/HD...like it was the plague.  She has only girls.  I have kids with AD/HD besides this kid, boy(s) and girl(s) and some that do not...it's not the plague.  I also hate it because I know I have ADD and, while no one ever told me, I knew something was different about me and how I went about things.  Reading the book You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! made the world of difference to me because I've gone through life feeling out of sync and constantly trying to adjust my organization skills to fit in with the normal people.  I used to beat myself up over not being able to organize my kitchen like my sister or keep my house clean the way my friends do.  I have other gifts.  I still struggle with it, though.

So, I will be changing the tone of this blog.   You will find plenty of blogs about homeschooling normal kids.  I will be embracing my smart 2e kids (Twice Exceptional is the clinical term, 2e the short hand).   And, I will be writing more about adjusting things in the homeschool to better accommodate those kids who don't learn the same way other kids do, but are just as smart, and just as important as the rest. 

The Next Generation in Digital Learning...iBooks From Providence eLearning

First of all, I apologize for my absence.  I've been busy with health things, family activities and a short-term job!

I feel blessed to have fallen into a consulting gig that seems too good to be true.  This consulting gig involves critiquing several great works of literature via an iBook format.  It's no secret I love using the iPad and iPod in our classroom, so this was a great opportunity for me. 

DISCLAMIER:  My employment with Providence eLearning was not contingent on marketing their books here on my blog.  I did ask permission to talk about their products after I review them and was given their go-ahead. My compensation is not dependent on a favorable review.

As you all know I love literature and base much of my homeschooling curriculum on Great Books and Good Books as well as Classics.  I run book clubs because I feel that children get the most out of reading great literature from discussing it and as a result learn more.  Socratic circles allow children an opportunity to not just discuss the book, but to explore other people's opinions and develop critical thinking skills.

Here are the titles I've reviewed so far and here is a link to what is available:

The company producing the iBooks is Providence eLearning.  This group is taking classical literature and enhancing it; making it accessible to all learners, regardless of whether they are in a classroom or not.  They will be tackling other subjects in the future.  So far, I am extremely impressed.  This is a boon for home educators as this makes difficult literature approachable to all and at a really, really reasonable price.  What is that price?  Only $9.99.  Amazing low price and there is so much content!

First, let me tell you about the advantages of using an iBook format.  The iBook format allows the publisher to include audio narration, audio foot notes, video, photo galleries, hyperlinks, the ability to take notes and mark up the book with highlighting.  So what happens when technology meets Classical Lit?  Amazing things!

The books offer features that our homeschooled kids might miss not going to a traditional school, to whom lecture and discussion are not readily available. Providence eLearning has done a great job providing a self-led approach for great literature.

• They get a video lecture from a professor of Literature, specifically, William Lasseter, the English Chair at Providence Academy, a Roman Catholic K-12 College Prep school here in the Twin Cities.  He's not just a Lit Prof.  He also has experience as a Shakespearean actor, which means he's a dream to hear.  
• There are many questions to "Check Your Understanding" along the way.  
• They get audio narrations.  Can I just say hurray?  I have a kid with some visual difficulties.  One of the reason he loves the Kindle is that he can resize the text and/or turn on the Text-to-speech function.  However the nasty computer voice drives me up a tree, so he uses ear buds.  Now, the iBooks do not allow for easy text resizing.  That is an issue with the iBook format, not the Providence materials.  However, I would trade that for being able to listen to a Shakespearean actor read classical literature any time.
• They have the ability to look words up on the fly by touching the word.  A definition pops up automatically, allowing the student to not lose their train of thought while in the text.  This is one of my favorite parts of all e-reading devices.
• They get a hyperlinked table of contents that allows them to easily go to any section.
• They get a glossary that is not only text based definition, but often a "Wikipedia-like" entry for each term.
• They get photo galleries.  Providence eLearning does a nice job of using the photo galleries to show pictures of the authors, and classic works of art pertaining to the material.
• They get introductory material that prepares the students for what they will learn before the learn it.
• They can highlight text in a variety colors and make notes that can be translated to flash cards.  That's a feature available through iBooks.

I heartily recommend these for advanced middle school, high school, college and adult learners.  I picked up many things and was reminded that "Great Books" and great literature are timeless.  I hope they continue on this project.  The books are a wonderful value.

Being a picky homeschool mom, the only thing I wished they had was more questions.  Providence eLearning has informed me they have a Moodle site they are considering making available to iBook users for a fee.  Considering the cost of the iBooks from Providence, I have no beef with the smaller volume of questions than I would like.  There are questions often throughout the text.  I would just like to see more end-of-section questions.  However, to get those things, I would pay more.  The amount is more than adequate for the price.

On a personal  note,  when I had a free moment here or there, I was drawn back to working on my reviews of these books, not because of a time constraint, but rather because I enjoyed it so much.

Check back soon as I will give a review of each of the four books I've read so far.  My current read is Macbeth.  I will do that review last.  But in the mean time, check out Providence eLearning's web page for the books I'm reviewing and if you have an iPad, go download a sample of the iBooks.  They are available for free.  Just put Providence eLearning into the search tool in iBooks.

Learning Styles vs. Hemispheric Dominance (Part 3 of 3 Part Post)

Learning styles and hemispheric dominance are not unrelated.  One just needs to be aware of both.  The following table gives an overview of learning styles and hemispheric dominance.   Understanding both will help significantly in putting together all the pieces of the learning puzzle.

Learning Styles (Learning Modalities and Personal Interaction)	Hemispheric Dominance  (Left Brain vs. Right Brain)
Research shows that each learning style uses different parts of the brain. By involving more of the brain during learning, we remember more of what we learn. Researchers using brain-imaging technologies have been able to find out the key areas of the brain responsible for each learning style. SEE “How to Get Your Kids to See the Light” handout.	In general the left and right hemispheres of your brain process information in different ways. We tend to process information using our dominant side. However, the learning process is enhanced when all of our senses are used. This includes using your less dominate hemisphere. Listed below are information processing styles that are characteristically used by the right or left brain.
Visual - Prefers using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.  The occipital lobes at the back of the brain manage the visual sense. Both the occipital and parietal lobes manage spatial orientation.	Linear vs. Holistic Processing - The left side of the brain processes information in a linear manner. It process from part to whole. It takes pieces, lines them up, and arranges them in a logical order; then it draws conclusions. The right brain, however, processes from whole to part, holistically. It starts with the answer. It sees the big picture first, not the details.
Auditory – Processing information received from the ear or expressed with the voice.  There are two sub-modalities: Aural - Prefers using sound and music.  The temporal lobes handle aural content. The right temporal lobe is especially important for music. Verbal - Prefers using words, both in speech and writing.  The temporal and frontal lobes, especially two specialized areas called Brocca’s and Wernicke’s areas in the left hemisphere of these two lobes.	Sequential vs. Random Processing - In addition to thinking in a linear manner, the left brain processes in sequence -- in order. The left-brained person is a list maker. If you are left-brained, you would enjoy making a master schedule and doing daily planning. You complete tasks in order and take pleasure in checking them off when they are accomplished. Likewise, learning things in sequence is relatively easy for you. For example, spelling involves sequencing; if you are left-brained, you are probably a good speller. The left brain is also at work in the linear and sequential processing of math and in following directions. By contrast, the approach of the right-brained student is random. If you are right-brained, you may flit from one task to another. You will get just as much done but perhaps without having addressed priorities. An assignment may be late or incomplete, not because you weren't working, but because you were working on something else. You are ready to rebel when asked to make schedules.  But because of the random nature of your dominant side, you must make lists, and you must make schedules in order to survive and meet deadlines.
	Symbolic vs. Concrete Processing - The left brain has no trouble processing symbols. Many academic pursuits deal with symbols such as letters, words, and mathematical notations. The left-brained person tends to be comfortable with linguistic and mathematical endeavors. Left-brained students will probably just memorize vocabulary words or math formulas. The right brain, on the other hand, wants things to be concrete. The right-brained person wants to see, feel, or touch the real object. Right-brained students may have had trouble learning to read using phonics. They prefer to see words in context and to see how the formula works. To use your right brain, create opportunities for hands-on activities.
Physical - Prefers using body, hands and sense of touch.  The cerebellum and the motor cortex (at the back of the frontal lobe) handle much of our physical movement. There are two subtypes: Kinesthetic (large motor) - prefers large movement while learning Tactile (small motor) - likes to twiddle with things in their hands or squish things - immerses themselves in the "senses" of learning	Logical vs. Intuitive Processing - The left brain processes in a linear, sequential, logical manner. When you process on the left side, you use information piece by piece to solve a math problem or work out a science experiment. When you read and listen, you look for the pieces so that you can draw logical conclusions. Your decisions are made on logic--proof. If you process primarily on the right side of the brain, you use intuition. You may know the right answer to a math problem but not be sure how you got it. You may have to start with the answer and work backwards. On a quiz, you have a gut feeling as to which answers are correct, and you are usually right. In writing, it is the left brain that pays attention to mechanics such as spelling, agreement, and punctuation. But the right side pays attention to coherence and meaning; that is, your right brain tells you it "feels" right. Your decisions will be based on feelings.
Social - Prefers to learn in groups or with other people.  The frontal and temporal lobes handle much of our social activities. The limbic system also influences both the social and solitary styles. The limbic system has a lot to do with emotions, moods and aggression.	Verbal vs. Non-verbal Processing - Left-brained students have little trouble expressing themselves in words. Right-brained students may know what they mean but often have trouble finding the right words. The best illustration of this is to listen to people give directions. The left-brained person will say something like "From here, go west three blocks and turn north on Vine Street. Go three or four miles and then turn east onto Broad Street." The right-brained person will sound something like this: "Turn right (pointing right) by the church over there (pointing again). Then you will pass a McDonald's and a Walmart. At the next light, turn right toward the BP station." So how is this relevant to planning learning strategies? Right-brained students need to back up everything visually. If it's not written down, they probably won't remember it. And it would be even better for right-brained students to illustrate it. They need to get into the habit of making a mental video of things as they hear or read them. Right-brained students need to know that it may take them longer to write a paper, and the paper may need more revision before it says what they want it to say. This means allowing extra time when a writing assignment is due.
Solitary - Prefers to work alone and use self-study.  The frontal and parietal lobes, and the limbic system, are also active with this style.	Reality-Based vs. Fantasy-Oriented Processing - The left side of the brain deals with things the way they are--with reality. Let's look at what school situations would look like for both types of brains.  When left-brained students are affected by the environment, they usually adjust to it. Not so with right-brained students; they try to change the environment! Left-brained people want to know the rules and follow them. In fact, if there are no rules for situations, they will probably make up rules to follow! Left-brained students know the consequences of not turning in papers on time or of failing a test, but right-brained students are sometimes not aware that there is anything wrong. So, if you are right-brained, make sure you constantly ask for feedback and reality checks. It's too late the day before finals to ask if you can do extra credit. Keep a careful record of your assignments and tests. Right-brained students need to check in with the teacher often! While this fantasy orientation may seem a disadvantage, in some cases it is an advantage. The right-brained person is creative. In order to learn about the digestive system, you may decide to become a piece of food! And since emotion is processed on the right side of the brain, you will probably remember well anything you become emotionally involved in as you are trying to learn.
Conclusion:  Many people recognize that each person prefers different learning styles and techniques. Learning styles group common ways that people learn. Everyone has a mix of learning styles. Some people may find that they have a dominant style of learning, with far less use of the other styles. Others may find that they use different styles in different circumstances. There is no right mix. Nor are your styles fixed. You can develop ability in less dominant styles, as well as further develop styles that you already use well.	Conclusion:  These are just some of the differences that exist between the left and right hemispheres, but you can see a pattern. Because left-brained strategies are the ones used most often in the classroom, right-brained students sometimes feel inadequate. However, teachers can be flexible and adapt material to the left or right side of the brain.

Learning Styles vs. Hemispheric Dominance (Part 2 of a 3 Part Post)

This is a continuation of my previous post on "Learning Styles vs. Hemispheric Dominance (3 Part Post)"

There are two ways you can address learning styles – looking at classic “learning styles” as defined by these books: Discover Your Child's Learning Style by Mariaemma Willis or Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom by Thomas Armstrong  which includes learning modalities and personal interaction OR looking at whether a student is a left-brained learner or right-brained learner (hemispheric dominance).  See Teaching for theTwo Sided Mind by Linda Verlee Williams if you are interested in hemispheric dominance. 

I’ve been doing a tremendous amount of work looking at the latter the last year after spending many years learning about the former!  While learning styles are mostly about how we take in information (using both our preferred and auxiliary modes), hemispheric dominance is about how we process information once the information has been obtained.  Because we have a bi-lobal brain, we process all modalities on both sides of the brain.  However, we may process that information more on one side than the other.  So, it’s really a dance and we have to look at both.  Addressing one or the other may allow a child to make significant progress toward better learning and retention.  

How does that look teaching a subject like reading?  Right brain kids are better with a whole word approach (horror of horrors!) and left brain kids are better learning phonics.  However, because of the global and creative development coming first in a right brain child, they instead will focus and learn best on creative outlets (Legos, imaginative play) and a visual 3-D world (picture books with few words, creative outlets, subjects that can be primarily visual like Science, History, Geography and Social Studies). Left brain learners prefer symbolic and word development (2-D) and excel at reading, writing, arithmetic and spelling early on (ages 5-7).   Right brain children learn symbolic development at age 8-10, meaning they may not learn to read and do basic arithmetic at the same age as the left brain child.  However, because of our left brain centric world, they are looked upon as not as smart, having learning difficulties or somehow broken.  Left brain children develop their creative edge at ages 8-10 and begin to enjoy Social Studies and Geography.  By age 11, the left brain child starts to acquire global development and masters Science and History.  Right brain kids often aren’t able to fully grasp spelling and arithmetic well until age 11. 

On the whole, there is no difference in the IQ of someone who is left brain versus someone who is right brain.  However, school performance often tells a different story.  Schools and most homeschool curricula are designed for left brain learning and right brain learners suffer.  The left brain kids see success in a typical-school setting immediately – reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, memorization which can then be translated to those subjects not necessarily considered “core curriculum”.  Right brain kids learn so differently they often feel demoralized, while just as intelligent as the left brain kid, because they don’t learn in the same sequence.

 Leonid Ponomerev, In Quest of the Quantum:

"You can devote yourself completely to science [left brain] or live exclusively in your art [right brain]. Both points of view are equally valid, but, taken separately, are incomplete. The backbone of science is logic and experiment. The basis of art is intuition and insight. But the art of ballet requires mathematical accuracy and, as Pushkin wrote, Inspiration in geometry is just as necessary as in poetry.' They complement rather than contradict each other.  True science is akin to art, in the same way as real art always includes elements of science. They reflect different, complementary aspects of human experience and give us a complete idea of the world only when taken together...."

 I found this very interesting table that lays out the way the left and right brain work from Edudemic's website  Posted by Jeff Dunn - Executive Editor:

How we interact with left and right brain functions
KEY CHARACTERISTICS

THE LEFT BRAIN	THE RIGHT BRAIN
Turns data from the external world into language. This requires sequential processing wherein data is processed one bit at a time. This is time consuming.* When I began typing this list out, I had to verbalize it in my mind and logically decide how best to present it here. Often, we can see in our mind what we want to say (right brain), but it can become difficult to put it down on paper (left brain).	Processes information very quickly as images or pictures:* When I started thinking about building this list, all that I know about left and right brain function flooded through my mind in microseconds in the form of images, experiences, music, feelings, etc. The chore is putting it in a form you can understand - that's where the left brain comes in!
Continuously dumps old information to make room for new.* Unless I "feel" or "see" in my mind what people ask me to do, I often forget the requests and need several reminders. (remember the saying, "In one ear and out the other"?)	Stores every memory*. Whatever you've experienced: Seen, smelled, felt, heard, tasted, etc. is stored in the cells of your brain, which can be accessed. It's a super-recorder that doesn't require conscious effort. Read this article for more.
Prefers study notes written line upon line of text.** Common note taking.	Likes a pictorial or diagrammatic format when taking notes during study.** Heard of mind maps? Learn a great accelerated learning method for taking notes. Click here for more info about mind maps.
Makes us think in logical ways. Take this quiz: You have a blue ball, red ball and yellow ball sitting in front you. You need to pick up two of them. But, if you pick up the blue ball, you can't pick up the red ball. If you pick up the red ball you can't pick up the yellow. So, which two balls can you pick up? To solve this, you'll need to access your logical left brain functions.	Makes us think intuitively. A lady friend of mine was a passenger in a car traveling one a hot summer day with the windows down. She told me they pulled up to a stop sign and she immediately got the prompting to roll up her window. So she did, for no apparent logical reason. Just then a bunch of tomatoes came smashing against her window, thrown by some kids out of nowhere. They disappeared just as fast as they appeared. She was startled but soon realized what would have happened had she not acted on her intuition. Go here to find out more about how intuition works.
Is verbal. My wife's cousin has the gift of telling stories in great detail and can talk for hours on end. He has a solid grasp of left brain verbal communication skills - putting thoughts and experiences to speech in a logical sequence.	Is visual. I've had a few conversations with my friend's adolescent son. He's always had great difficulty talking in full sentences to describe anything but as I observe him, I can tell he clearly sees in his mind exactly what he's attempting to communicate. His verbal (left brain) skills are not developed. Ever seen someone staring off somewhere when talking? Ever been on a vacation in your mind?
Is rational. One night our son got sharp pains in his stomach that didn't seem to subside so we decided to take him to the hospital. I didn't feel panic or concern. My thinking was, "There's no use freaking out. That won't help him through the pain."(He turned out ok - only had some gas stuck in his intestines.)	Is non-rational. Adding to the story from the "rational" left brain column: My wife got very upset and concerned in seeing our son in so much pain. It seems her emotions took over and she couldn't calm down until we found out he was going to be fine. The right brain makes us "feel" and "intuit" situations and people but we need the balance of the left brain rational side to govern our emotions.
Is analytic. When I put together kit furniture, I have to follow the directions step-by-step and when I don't, I often have pieces left over that I forgot to insert in one of the steps.	Is synthetic. In the 1400's, Leonardo da Vinci saw in his mind whole new inventions like the helicopter and single span bridge, which he illustrated in detail. It was not until modern times that these marvels were built. Sci-fi writers have visionary right brain thought. They don't allow their logical left brain to tell them what they're thinking is impossible.
Has numbering skills. Know any accountants? Left brain all the way!	Has computer-like math calculation abilities. Sometimes I can add, subtract, multiply or divide large numbers together without thinking. The answer just pops into my mind. Many times, in doubt, I check my answer with a calculator and it's always correct. Read our article about computer-like math calculation.
Is logical and conscious. Takes in information slowly. Presenting information slowly and repetitiously stimulates the left-brain.	Is intuitive and subconscious. Takes in information quickly. Presenting large amounts of information at a fast pace exercises the right brain. See our article about rapid flashing or play our rapid flashing games. Also, read about our subconscious and intuition, a right brain function.
Is capable of scanning book pages. Most "speed reading" courses I've seen train us to scan pages in blocks in which the subject is committed to memory. This does work but not at nearly the speed of training the right brain and subconscious mind.	Is capable of speed-reading. Well, it's not technically speed-reading although it may look like it. When properly trained, we are able to take snapshots of pages, store them in the subconscious mind then instantly retrieve the information from each page in the form of images.* This is taught at the Shichida Child Academies. See our article on right brain training for speed reading ability. Also, check out our right-brain speed reading training cards, games and software!
Is practical. Works well under stress.	Is emotional. Works well when fully relaxed. See our article on how our well our brain functions operate when relaxed. Also check out our info and products that help you get in the best relaxed state of mind for accelerated learning.
	Has perfect pitch. Watch a professional orchestra sometime. How do they all merge their instruments together with such perfection? Thank the senses of the right brain. See our article all about perfect pitch, where it comes from and how to develop it.
	Is linked to photographic memory. Has the ability to access information in the brain's subconscious memory files on the instant. See our article on what photographic memory is all about and how to develop it.
	Is able to acquire multiple languages. Patterns, rhythm, frequencies, tonal sounds, pitch and accents are absorbed and recorded naturally. I know a family whose mother is Swedish and the father is American. At home, they both speak in their native languages. Just by speaking both Swedish and English languages daily, all five of their children can speak these languages fluently at any given time without any confusion or mixing of languages. See our article on how we acquire multiple languages.

 

*Dr. Makato Shichida, President of Shichida Child Academies, Japan.
**Professor Chen Lung-an, Director of the Creative Thinking Educational Center, Taiwan.

My next post will be a table showing the  relationship between learning styles and hemispheric learning.

Learning Styles vs. Hemispheric Dominance (3 Part Post)

I've been doing a lot of reading on how kids learn lately, since half of my kids are "different learners" and, while I was one growing up, I just figured they had some "disability" like I felt I had.  I no longer think that is the case.  I think our education system has (long) determined there is one way, a right way, to learn.  When teachers (yes, and sometimes parents) run up against this, they label the kids as broken.  They become - Dyslexic, Dysgraphic, ADD, ADHD, slow, unmotivated...you get the drift.  While I don't disagree that those terms are valid medical terms, I think we've missed the mark.  I think kids learn differently.  One of my  favorite talks to give is "How to Get Your Kid to See the Light" which is about learning modalities.

When we take in information, we have a preferred input modality.  So, as a student is learning a new topic, they may learn more, faster or better using that preferred modality.  In fact, in 1994, there was a study that showed that kids that were taught to their preferred modality scored in or above the 70 percentile.  When a teacher or student (or preferably both) understands and teaches to a student’s preferred modality better learning is achieved.  

Once the information is received however, how it is processed depends largely on the hemispheric dominance of the student.  Our brains are made up of two hemispheres – the right and left sides.  Both sides contain identical sections (lobes) which perform specific functions.  However, fMRI studies show that each side processes things differently and we use both sides.  However, we typically have a preferred side.  The right side of the brain functions in a “whole to parts” method.  The left side learns things “parts to whole.”

A beautiful ad from the Mercedes Benz company showing a visualization of the difference between left and right brain hemispheres.

 

The ad above has great descriptions.  They are hard to read, so I will transpose them here:

Left 

brain

I am the left brain.  

I am a scientist. A mathematician.  

I love the familiar.  I categorize.  I am accurate. Linear. 

Accurate.  Strategic. I am practical.  

Always in control. A master of words and language.

Realistic.  I calculate equations and play with numbers. 

I am order.  I am logic.  

I know who I am.

Right

brain

I am the right brain.

I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion.

Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter.

I am taste.  The feeling of sand beneath bare feet.

I am movement.  Vivid colors.

I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas.

I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel.

I am everything I wanted to be.

Depending on your preferred side, you may store data in your brain differently.  Left brain learners store information in stacks (nicely organized).  Right brain learners store information all across the brain, building global connections (spread out, yet still connected.)  As someone learns something, depending on their preference, the web related to that learning experience either builds vertically (left brain) or horizontally (right brain). 

A visual left brain thinker needs to see details building up to a whole and visual right brain thinkers need to see the big picture and then have it broken down.  Think left brain thinkers need pieces to build up to “whole” understanding and right brain thinkers need to see the “whole” picture and take it apart to understand something.   So while both are visual, how the information is given must be considered also: Whole to parts (right brain) or parts to whole (left brain.) 

Here is an example.  Perhaps you want a child to work on math facts .  Right brain children need manipulatives, starting with the end in mind, dissecting the math process to arrive at the equation.  For example, if you want the right brain child to learn their addition facts, start with the answer (10) using manipulatives.  Then, have them see all the different ways they can make the answer (10 -> 0+10, 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, 4+6, 5+5).  Whole to parts, not parts to whole.  It doesn’t make sense to a right brain child to learn all the 1+ math facts.  Whereas a left brain child learns math facts best focusing on a part at a time (1+ facts, 2+ facts, 3+ facts, etc.)  Or in learning place value, a left brain child builds on learning each set of numbers in the units, then learn about tens, then hundreds, etc.  A right brain child might need a set of blocks with a “100’s” cube, “10’s” sticks and single cubes.  Giving them a bunch of blocks, you then break it down into how many 100’s, 10’s and singles there are instead of starting from the singles and back up again.

Left brain and right brain kids also develop so completely different from one another.  Left brain kids understand two-dimensional thinkers focusing on symbolic and word concepts first, then learn three dimensional thinking, focusing on creative and global concepts later.   Right brain kids are, in contrast, three-dimensional thinkers first learning the world through creative and global concepts, then evolving their two-dimensional thinking skills much later learning things first symbolically, then word development follows last.

Next, we'll look at how this affects reading...stay tuned.

Summer School Bleg

I'm curious what others  are doing during the summer.  Do you 1) shut down, do you 2) keep up with math facts and reading, do you 3) do fun stuff like camps and projects OR do you 4) keep going all year round?

This year, we are doing a combination of 2, 3 and 4.

My #2 - My first and third graders are struggling with fact memorization right now.  The third grader is definitely a right-brain learner, so memorizing facts is not an easy task for her.  We've adapted our method to her needs and we are seeing much progress.  One of the things that has helped is Times Alive by City Creek Press.  Homeschoolbuyersco-op.org is offering 50% off right now, so we decided to try it.  It's been a great help, but she really needs more work.  The first grader is just resistant :-).  They will also have some assigned reading and read alouds this summer.

My #3 - For fun, I'm hosting a Writing Club for Reluctant Boy Writers, some Engineering Camps and some AHG Badge clinics (Space Explorer, History's Canvas, Our Feathered Friends, Dawn of our Country and Archery).  My summer is filling up!  We'll also do Catholic VBS, Schoenstatt Camp for Girls, Boy Scouts Camp, our church's family camp and a couple of camping trips with the family.

My #4 - I will be still teaching Latin (Lingua Latina is our chosen curriculum), via Skype to my group of middle-schoolers at least once a week, at their request.  One of my young gents will be out of the country and plans to participate, taking his mom's iPad2 to Skype with us while he's gone an entire month.  He cracks me up because he was deeply disappointed we were going from 3x a week to 1x a week.  Love that love-of-learning!

So here's my bleg - what will you do this summer?  Your comments will be helpful for me to share with the group at the Beginning Homeschooling talk at MCHEC.  Thanks in advance!