To Lead a Child to Learn

Helen Keller wrote, ''Anybody can lead a child to a classroom. It takes a teacher to lead a child to learn.''

Keller is perhaps the most famous of students of the 20^th century. Her teacher, Annie Sullivan, taught Helen, who became blind and deaf at the age of 19 months, how to communicate and connect with the world. The relationship between Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan demonstrates the vital link between student and teacher that creates learning and an engagement with life.

Each of us serves as a link to someone else's learning. Unfortunately, many of us send out busy signals, hang out do-not-disturb signs or simply don't answer the call. Our world is the worse for it.

Marianne Williamson, in her book A Return to Love, says that our job on this planet is to love and to heal each other. We may think our job is what we do for a living, but our essential work is to love and to teach others to love.

Each of us has someone who is calling out to us to light up their life, their mind, their heart, their body, their spirit, because love is a verb, not a state of being or a feeling. Love is what we do.

With our gift of love we connect others to their world, be it large or small. Helen Keller tells of Annie Sullivan patiently isolating an object and spelling out a word into Helen's hand, day after day, after day.

Anybody can lead a child to a classroom. It takes a teacher to lead a child to learn.

The essential connection begins by tuning our attention to the child and his or her self-chosen activities. We limit and prepare the child's surroundings in order for the child to absorb information using as many senses as possible. We connect the hand and the mind through meaningful activities. We provide opportunities for repetition in order for the child to experience and learn the new and challenging.

First, we introduce the whole of an object or idea, and then name the parts. For example: We offer the experience of an apple using as many senses as possible. Naming the object comes next. Later, we introduce the parts of the apple, such as the skin, the stem, the flesh, the seed and the core.

We present information from the concrete to the abstract. Holding an apple is a concrete experience. Saying that an apple is a fruit is an abstraction. In the oft-told story of Helen Keller's realization that everything has a name, Annie Sullivan went from the water running over Helen's hand to giving her the name in sign language into her hand. From the object to the word; from the concrete to the abstract. Experience, then language.

To guide the child, we realize that human beings have inherent traits, and we use this understanding to connect the child to life and learning. To teach, we use the knowledge that every human being is on a continuum of growth with predictable but variable patterns of development.

We give the child freedom to learn and to make mistakes. In order to practice freedom, we give opportunities to learn responsibility. Beginning with the end in mind, a teacher knows that the work is not to raise a child but to raise an adult.

We are all here in this classroom called Earth. It takes a teacher to lead us to love it.

Next week: Don't Be a Pop Quiz Parent

Kids Talk™ is a column dealing with early childhood development issues written by Maren Stark Schmidt. Mrs. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland.

She has over 25 years experience working with young children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. She is also Creative Director for a video-based reading series for children ages three to six, The Shining Light Reading Series. Contact her via e-mail at maren@shininglightreading.com.

Complete Collection of the Shining Light Reading Series Now Available on DVD
Visit www.shininglightreading.com for more information.

Ask your local newspaper to carry Kids Talk. Call, write or e-mail your local newspaper editor and recommend Kids Talk.

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©2008 KIDS TALK™
25877 East Bright Avenue
Welches, OR 97067
503.550.3143
maren@kidstalknews.com

Kids Talk is published in conjunction with Scribe Marketing

Making Halloween Meaningful for Children

Halloween used to be my favorite holiday. My sister's birthday is November 1st, and mine is in mid-October. Mom would always have a combination neighborhood open house and birthday celebration for us. We had so much fun preparing the food and decorations--handmade popcorn balls, homemade fudge, spooky punch with dry ice, string cobwebs, paper bag ghost luminaries up the walk and, of course, handmade costumes. We spent the better part of a month planning and preparing for our event.

As I've worked with young children, though, my enthusiasm for celebrating Halloween, and for other holidays, was replaced with concern for respecting the needs of the children. At pre-school, I saw most children in tears to see their friends and teachers in costume. By the time the morning was over most of the children were exhausted and frightened by all the new. The children told me about being scared going door to door in the dark. During the weeks after Halloween, I observed a lower level of concentration in our three-, four- and five-year-olds' activities. We witnessed more tears, temper tantrums, distractibility and clumsiness.

These difficulties were due to the ''treat'' aspect of trick or treating. The children with the biggest swings in concentration readily confessed to eating candy for breakfast and sneaking candy in their coat pockets. Visiting with our pediatrician about my Halloween observations, he told me the accident rate of his patients went up the two weeks after Halloween. He treated more broken bones, cuts, sprained muscles, abrasions and contusions than in any other two-week period in the year.

Halloween used to be my favorite holiday. I loved the excitement and anticipation of the day, going out on a cool fall evening and, of course, having so much candy to call my own. But after watching how small children react to Halloween, I've tried to extract the positive aspects of Halloween, and not emphasize the costumes and the candy, especially in a school environment. For children five and under, my recommendation is that Halloween should be celebrated at home only. For the young child, I recommend emphasizing the following during the Halloween season:

• The beauty of the fall and the shortening of the daylight hours
• The coming of winter and the promise of spring
• On Halloween neighbors do something ''sweet'' for you even if they don't know you or recognize you
• Even on dark nights neighbors will open their doors and hearts to you, even if you look pretty scary to them. And we can do the same.
• For one night, you can transform yourself to be anything you can imagine.
• Halloween is a time to give thanks to all those who came before us. Thank you to the first person who carved a jack-o-lantern, the first person who played trick or treat, the first person to eat a pumpkin, etc.

These essential lessons help me celebrate Halloween as an important tradition. We are in danger of losing vital teaching opportunities as we ''cocoon'' in our homes with computers, big screen televisions and garage door openers, and we act more fearful of the world around us. Perhaps this passage from the book, Graces, by June Cotner will help us gain a fresh perspective on Halloween.

Halloween Grace

Amidst hobgoblins and pranksters, Lord, we seek a quiet corner this autumn evening, to give thanks for the saints whose day this really is. Be tolerant of our commercialized, costumed fun, even as you remind us of the pillars of faith upon whose shoulders we stand today. Keep our trick-or-treating fun, clean and safe, our faith memories aware, for it is too easy to lose track of what we really celebrate in the darkness of this night.

~Margaret Anne Huffman

Have a wonderful Halloween!

Next week: To Lead a Child to Learn

Kids Talk™ is a column dealing with early childhood development issues written by Maren Stark Schmidt. Mrs. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland.

She has over 25 years experience working with young children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. She is also Creative Director for a video-based reading series for children ages three to six, The Shining Light Reading Series. Contact her via e-mail at maren@shininglightreading.com.

Complete Collection of the Shining Light Reading Series Now Available on DVD
Visit www.shininglightreading.com for more information.

Ask your local newspaper to carry Kids Talk. Call, write or e-mail your local newspaper editor and recommend Kids Talk.

Would you like to send Kids Talk to friends and family or receive Kids Talk e-mail updates in your own inbox? Sign up for FREE here:
Click here for a FREE subscription.

©2008 KIDS TALK™
25877 East Bright Avenue
Welches, OR 97067
503.550.3143
maren@kidstalknews.com

Kids Talk is published in conjunction with Scribe Marketing

A Walk in the Leaves

I can't help it. I love to go out in the fall and gather leaves. I enjoy looking at the reds, yellows, oranges and browns of deciduous leaves against the turquoise skies of a crisp autumn day. I savor peeling the paper off a broken crayon to make leaf rubbings that accentuate the veins, shape and edges of the leaves. These foliage designs transform into note cards, framed posters, placemats and Christmas tree decorations. In my humble opinion, one is never too old to take a walk, gather some leaves and break out the colors.

Learning the names of the trees in my neighborhood has made a place feel like home. Recently walking down the street where I lived in my teens, a sense of homecoming came over me as I saw the mature shaggy oaks and the ponderosa pines towering over the sidewalks. My Audubon Society Field Guide of North American Trees has gotten a workout over the years as I've moved and hiked all over the United States.

Looking at leaves and trying to figure out what kinds of trees the leaves come from are activities that helped me model curiosity and investigative skills, while letting my children know that, actually, mommy doesn't know everything. Almost everything, but not quite.

The Audubon Field Guide steps through a process of investigation and discovery by asking questions such as follows:

Where did you find the leaf?

What shape is the leaf?

Is each leaf from the tree the same?

(Maybe I shouldn't tell you, as it may spoil your fun, but sassafras has two different-shaped leaves.)

Is there any fruit visible?

What does the bark of the tree look like?

As you gather and investigate leaves, here are some ideas for discussion and new vocabulary.

The shape of the leaf.

Does it look like a heart? It's cordate.

Does it look like an upside down heart? It's obcordate.

A triangle? Deltoid.

An ellipse? Ellipsoid.

An oval? Ovate.

An upside down oval? Obovate.

A circle? Orbiculate.

A spoon? Spatulate.

A kite? Cuneate.

A fan? Ginkgos have fan-shaped leaves.

An arrow? Sagittate.

A spear? Lanceolate.

The palm of your hand? Palmate.

Are the fingers or lobes of the palmate leaf pointed or rounded?

The edge or margin of the leaf.

Is the margin of the leaf toothed, lobed or entire?

An entire edge will be smooth with no bumps around the entire leaf.

A toothed edge can be dentate, pointing outward; serrate, pointing to the leaf's tip; crenate, broad and round; or incised, with deep sharp irregular teeth.

A lobed margin will have deep indents or sinuses, called either sinuate or undulate. Sinuate margins are very wavy, while undulate are wavy but not as much as a sinuate margin.

The veins of the leaf.

Are the veins parallel or reticulate?

Simple and compound leaves.

Is there one leaf per stem, or do the leaves cluster on the stem?

Oaks have simple leaves. Walnuts have compound leaves.

Take an hour for a walk and a gathering of leaves. Create some art projects by rubbing leaves with a crayon or pressing leaves between wax paper in a book. Discover with your children and name the qualities of the plants in your neighborhood. Knowing the names of a few leaves can make a house feel like a home.

Next week: Making Halloween Meaningful for Children

Kids Talk™ is a column dealing with early childhood development issues written by Maren Stark Schmidt. Mrs. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland.

She has over 25 years experience working with young children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. She is also Creative Director for a video-based reading series for children ages three to six, The Shining Light Reading Series. Contact her via e-mail at maren@shininglightreading.com.

Complete Collection of the Shining Light Reading Series Now Available on DVD
Visit www.shininglightreading.com for more information.

Ask your local newspaper to carry Kids Talk. Call, write or e-mail your local newspaper editor and recommend Kids Talk.

Would you like to send Kids Talk to friends and family or receive Kids Talk e-mail updates in your own inbox? Sign up for FREE here:
Click here for a FREE subscription.

©2008 KIDS TALK™
25877 East Bright Avenue
Welches, OR 97067
503.550.3143
maren@kidstalknews.com

Kids Talk is published in conjunction with Scribe Marketing

Make a Date

My husband and I share the distinction of being the oldest of five children. Growing up, there was always one of the children a little out of sorts. Luckily, with four other siblings there always was someone to distract the grumpy family member until the clouds parted.

After our second and youngest daughter, Hannah, was born, her 19-month-older sister, Dana, became quite irascible. Dana refused to go to bed, and temper tantrums were frequent (hers and mine). Our nerves frayed.

One Saturday afternoon my husband and I realized that Dana's behavior was based on a need to feel like the Numero Uno she had been. Dana's place as the only child had been usurped, and my husband and I could empathize with her a bit due to our primal places in our family constellations.

But our awareness did not come quickly nor easily. Our knowledge came as a rapping at the door that won't go away and that finally you can't ignore. Our circumstances were, as a friend of mine says, not pretty. That day, Dana seemed to be doing everything in her power as a two-and-a-half year old to wake Hannah up from a nap. I was cranky from lack of sleep and trying to deal with Hannah's chickenpox. The tension in our home waited to be cut with the proverbial knife.

A knight in shining armor arrived; my husband swooped up Dana and announced that they were off for a date. Peace and quiet settled over the house, and I took a much-appreciated nap. A couple of hours later the sound of the garage door opening signaled the end of our cease-fire.

Dana came in glowing with a report of swinging at the park and eating frozen yoghurt. Dana's loving personality shone as she hugged and kissed me. Off she went to work on a puzzle, content and self-possessed.

Dana's glow of contentment continued throughout the rest of the day, into the next day and the next. What, my husband and I wondered, was different? After a bit of thinking (remember this did not come quickly) we landed on the idea that it was Mark's date with Dana, the concentrated one-on-one time that made her feel loved and appreciated. In retrospect we saw how other Dad and Dana dates created a quiet contentment for Dana.

That Saturday evening, as we realized the healing power of these outings, we consciously decided to ensure that each of our daughters got our uninterrupted individual attention for at least an hour a week.

Our dates with our daughters were simple, an outing to the park, a trip to get a snow cone or a visit to the library. As the girls became kindergarten age we were more formal about the arrangements and put these dates on the calendar, letting the girls choose an activity.

These dates with our daughters, I think, helped build a strong emotional foundation and sense of belonging in our family. I encourage you to make time to have a weekly one-on-one with each of your children.

Next week: A Walk in the Leaves

Kids Talk™ is a column dealing with early childhood development issues written by Maren Stark Schmidt. Mrs. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland.

She has over 25 years experience working with young children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. She is also Creative Director for a video-based reading series for children ages three to six, The Shining Light Reading Series. Contact her via e-mail at maren@shininglightreading.com.

Complete Collection of the Shining Light Reading Series Now Available on DVD
Visit www.shininglightreading.com for more information.

Ask your local newspaper to carry Kids Talk. Call, write or e-mail your local newspaper editor and recommend Kids Talk.

Would you like to send Kids Talk to friends and family or receive Kids Talk e-mail updates in your own inbox? Sign up for FREE here:
Click here for a FREE subscription.

©2008 KIDS TALK™
25877 East Bright Avenue
Welches, OR 97067
503.550.3143
maren@kidstalknews.com

Kids Talk is published in conjunction with Scribe Marketing