Page Four
COMPETENT KIDS
From Marilyn Hall (CA):
…A note on 2-year-olds. At 27 months, with a 3-month-old sister, Michael: cracks eggs, chops vegetables for soups and steaming, stirs soups or vegetables on stove; puts butter on tortillas for quesidillas - has not burned or cut himself and I have done both in the same time he’s been cooking with me. He can use a screwdriver and knows the Phillips from regular, and removed the handles from my cupboard doors and only reluctantly replaced them; took the phone apart (I put that back together); took apart all the toys with screws (these are tiny screws - 1/2″ long). He took the torn webbing off my lawn chair - worked diligently for 2+ hours, occasionally asking for help with a screw too tight for him to loosen … He is delighted in being useful. He helps me make biscuits and bread and granola. He is respectful of real danger and mindless of parent fears. He touches the cold stove, but not the hot burner.
He only in the last three months has allowed us to read to him; before that he was only interested in the covers or flypapers and absolutely refused, closing book, leaving, etc. He then chose four books and would let us read only those four for two months, and then suddenly was interested in others - I read a new book through and he simply sits. On the fourth or fifth reading he points to a picture or anticipates a word in the text. On Reading #10 or so, we hardly finish the book because he points out everything. Then on to a new book. He picks out books he likes and only occasionally indulges adult preferences … _____
From Elizabeth Swift (VT):
… It’s great to have a publication supporting children’s competence. I used to think we were the only ones who allowed our under-two-year-old to use a real hammer. He also uses (at 4) a real screw driver. He can take the reflectors off the truck and put them back on all by himself and nobody taught him. We just discovered him doing it.
We’ve seen recently how important it is to encourage this independence. Grandma was here last week and was stifling the independence we are encouraging. We had a real series of blow-ups between her and Gabriel until I made it clear to her that, yes, he was allowed to pour his own juice, set the table, help peel potatoes, decide whether he needed boots on or not. I’m sure she believes we’re letting him “rule the roost,” but I see all of this as encouraging him to make his own decisions …
[From a later note:] Grandma may be beginning to see things our way. She just gave Gabriel his own eggbeater (regulation size) so that he can make pies (using instant pudding and graham cracker crusts) all by himself. He loves making the pies and loves the compliments they produce … _____
A California reader wrote:
… May I tell you some of the things that my son does day in and day out, everyday, which I notice that most mothers do not allow their children to do? I am not proud that he “does” something, but I feel a little sorry for other children who do not even have the basic freedom to move as human beings in their own homes (something must be wrong).
At two years, he: - selects a cassette tape to play; puts into tape player. - does gardening: plants seeds, waters, conditions soil. - finds aluminum cans outside, collects them to be recycled (on his own, I don’t point them out). - watercolor painting, etc, (gets out own materials and puts away nicely) . - butters a peanut butter sandwich from jar (with knife). - washes dishes, puts on rack to dry; sweeps; mops up spills; cleans table with sponge. - does errands: gets/finds things; puts things away in shelves, drawers, etc. - plays drums, ukulele, flute, hand cymbals, sometimes organ - seriously, with rhythm, etc. - brushes own teeth; washes face, hands, dries them; hangs up towel; etc. -feeds himself and is allowed to be a little messy (aren’t we all) but he cleans it up.
… Oops! Also forgot that he plays outside all day long without supervision from me on playground equipment, in games with older children. But most children under five years are not allowed outside for any period of time by themselves. If they do manage to make it outside, it is with Mother shouting, “No. No,” etc.
… On a different subject, I have found that photo-essay adult books seem to be the best and most interesting for my son now (the library kiddie books were just too weird). These are the books that deal with flowers, wild animals, fish, dogs, etc. They are interesting to me, also (The “kiddie” books were not) …
SKYLER AT 2
From Meryl Runion (FL):
… Skyler (2) has changed a lot since my last letter [GWS #29]. He’s a mixture of very dependent and boldly independent. He still has to help much of the time but he’s gone for stretches, too, visiting the boy next door. He sings, sings, sings, and he’s much more reasonable.
Now that he has a social life of his own, I actually have occasional moments to do things without him. It’s a funny feeling … We live at the end of a dead-end street so I can let him go out without supervision. I check on him from time to time but he doesn’t seem to want to go farther than next door, anyway. He and the four-year-old run back and forth every half hour or so … I think it’s good for his self-esteem for him to be able to come and go without me on his tail.
I remember when we lived in Thailand, we were in a resort that had cottages. There were about 15 adults on staff and a girl about two years old running around. The whole six months we were there, I never figured out who her parents were (someone told me later). She was very charming and happy and also very able to look after herself. She was comfortable with all the adults. I was so impressed with what a nice thing it is for a small child to be able to wander freely without an adult watching (and usually judging) her every move. She never did fall into the ocean.
Skyler is still nursing, nursing, nursing. I never like to push Skyler into or out of things and it just hasn’t seemed appropriate to cut back at any point. I still don’t use sitters for the same reason. Even so, my neighbours are noticing that the clingy child who always wanted UP is coming into his own and being very independent. But he keeps coming back for “MY MILK”‘
I used to read a lot while he nursed but now I read to him. It’s funny, I would just as soon he learned to read late, rather than early, but I find myself reading to him two hours a day while he nurses and he’s got a lot of books almost memorized. I used to dislike Mother Goosey type books, saying they were too silly. But then I obtained an album of Mother Goose. He loved it and used to ask to hear it all day long. Now the Mother Goose books are his favorite. If I try to read a verse he knows there’s a tune for, he’ll insist I sing it, and I’ve had to make up tunes for many of those I don’t know tunes for.
He sings a lot during the day - but so do I. We’re not a musical family, I don’t play an instrument and don’t put the radio or stereo on much and yet music is a big part of our lives. So many things inspire me to song - the squeak of a swing, the sound of the washer, some situation that reminds me of a passage of a song. Skyler is the same way. He rides down the street on his trike singing “TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR” so the whole neighbourhood can hear. I think it’s great because it’s so joyful. What I want Skyler to gain most from his early education is a sense of joy and delight.
… Skyler doesn’t help as much since he has his own life now but he’s still there much of the time. Sometimes I hold him up to reach the clothesline so he can hang the clothes. He still sits on the vacuum - it hasn’t broken yet. Some things he gets very upset if anyone else does. But generally he’s more reasonable now. He doesn’t get upset when I won’t let him do something impossible and dangerous (with a few exceptions - he’s dying to drive the car). He’s happy with only a small part of a job - when we scoop grains at the store, I can fill the scoop and aim it in the bag as long as I let him tilt it that last little bit. I tie his shoes up to the very end and then he pulls the loops through. I think even that small involvement prepares him to do the job…
The neighbours are less of a problem now that Skyler is more reasonable. My next door neighbour was warning me Skyler would be a juvenile delinquent because I didn’t spank him when he bit her son, but now they play together pretty well. So far, at least, the “terrible twos” are a piece of cake compared to l 1/2. It doesn’t take the same energy I used to expend constantly trying to redirect (distract) him. Now I can ask him to put something back and he does. And some habits have dropped off without too much effort - I was able to put the knobs back on the oven, I was able to put my books in the shelves (I can even take him to the library), the trash can is no longer suspended from the ceiling. Some day I’m sure the chairs will remain upright - now they are always knocked over, but we walk around them and put them up when we need them, assured that this too will pass. Oh yes, he doesn’t even walk on the tables at restaurants anymore.
When my friend tells me her son (now 3 1/2) shares because she worked with him on it, I smile a little inside but also feel sad her son doesn’t get any of the credit. She’s sure all of his virtues exist because she put them there. I’m convinced they’re there because they’re natural. So we try to set good examples (I never walk on the tables of restaurants or at home), tolerate what we can, gently ask him not to do some things and if we need to, we distract him.
Sometimes of course we need to physically prohibit some activity. That’s when I’m so glad he’s nursing. When he gets upset and mad at me (for example when I don’t let him use the garden hose to water the rug in the living room), he takes his comforting from me, so we’re brought back together immediately. Nursing is his source of comfort and it’s hard to be mad at someone who’s giving you milk. “I like MY MILK,” he says …
2-YEAR-OLDS’ LANGUAGE
From Lezlie Long (OR):
… One of the things I’ve noticed about Richard (2) that’s different from Robert and Rebecca is that anything he says has to be perfectly correct. If he wants his coat from the car, it’s: Rich: Me go to car and to get my coat? Me: Yes. Rich: Can me go to car and to get my coat? Me: Yes. Rich: Can me go to the car and get my coat? Me: Yes. Rich: OK.
Then he goes and gets his coat. This can be very frustrating when it takes five minutes to get his sentence correct and you know what he’s saying but he just has to say it right. Once I got good and mad at him and picked him up and took him with me rather than stand there patiently and listen. Of course he was heartbroken and cried for 30 minutes which made me madder so I was snapping at everybody. Now even if I’m irritated, I take the time to listen to him. It’s hard but it’s worth it … _____
And from Chris Laning (CA; see GWS #27, “Unrelated, But Family”):
… Leah has grown two whole clothing sizes in the past six months and her language is growing by leaps and bounds. Other kids come to play with her and Larry three mornings a week, and she goes to a friend’s house the other two. We really notice the difference on those days when she doesn’t have playmates. She wears us out instead! We just can’t keep up with her two-year-old energy. We have FINALLY found some other people who think it is perfectly natural to nurse a child until she is three or even older, if she still wants it. Most of the comments otherwise have been, “Aren’t you afraid she’ll get too clingy and dependent?” (No signs of that yet!) She does almost always want to nurse when going to sleep or when she’s just waked up. If she wakes up alone in the bed she almost always cries - seems to feel very lonely and abandoned.
We are astonished at the length and complexity of the sentences she’s coming out with. She and I were curled up on the floor, pretending to be cats (a favorite game), when she said “Turn off light!” I said, “But cats can go to sleep with the light on, can’t they?” and she replied firmly, “People turn light off when people go to sleep in beds.”
… It is delightful to hear her talking away, often just to herself. experimenting. Fortunately she seems to enjoy it when we laugh at what she said! The other night, after searching for her papa and finding him in the bathroom, she came out into the living room and announced, “Papa brushing her teeth.” She thought that over for a minute and then said, “Papa brushing his teeth,” which seems to have been more satisfactory.
… We try to keep an ear open for times when she’s tired of grownups always being the ones that know all the answers. She does get quizzed on things, and most of the time doesn’t seem to mind it, but occasionally will say “I don’t know” when what she seems to mean is “I don’t want to answer.” We do try to teach her that her body is her own and that she can always say no if she doesn’t want someone to touch her (doctoring being the only exception) -we have to be sure we don’t assume we can walk into her mind without her permission, either …
LEARNING THROUGH PLAY
Janet Williams wrote in the PA Unschoolers Network #6:
… Katie (4) has spent the better part of the winter absorbing phonics and playing with letters. She developed a game of alliterative speech. First she began with reciting nursery rhymes - with modifications. One of her favourites was “Dary dad a dittle damb.” (Oh, the delight of the forbidden fruits!) Then we started speaking to each other in the “language” of a given letter. On B day, I would ask, “Bate, bhat bould bou bike for breakfast?” On S day, she would ask, “Som, slease sive se sa srink.” The whole family would get into the act. When Kate would ask questions in her letter-talk, the replies would come back in letter-talk.
Over and over, I am struck by how easily we learn if we “play” with something instead of “working” at it. All five of our children learned to read by playing with letters and sounds as Katie has. All five have learned ease with the typewriter/computer keyboard by using and playing in their own “improper” manners. All five are comfortable with the computer logic because they played tricks on each other. (Did you know that we are now capable of electronic teasing?) All five learned about numbers by playing number games in their heads, in UNO, in YAHTZE, in the endless “How old will I be in x years?” Then, “Amy is 3 years older so she will be y (x + 3) then, right?” All five have absorbed Spanish and sign language from Sesame Street and now French from Mom.
… BUT I still hesitate (what if I’m wrong?) over pronouncing Hawaiian or Russian names. I still grit my teeth every time I approach the typewriter. I still have only the vaguest ideas about the computer. I still think 1 am so poor at languages - even though Catherine, my French friend, tells me how good my accent is. It seems that learning the RIGHT way (be it phonics or math or typing or French) becomes more important than DOING it. The pressure of judgement destroys the pleasure of joyous doing.
So let your silly beginning reader slaughter the phonics in his reader. (We recently had the absurdly unprofessional experience of laughing ourselves to tears over the INTENTIONAL mispronunciations and gibberish that were read from the pre-primer. I am sure that a reading expert would say it was wrong, but we had a GRAND time … and that child is reading more each day.) So let your six-year-old develop her hunt-and-peck typing. So let your four-year-old say, “Aqua, s’il vous plait.” It will all sort itself out in time if we just LET THEM BE. Playing and doing are the beginnings of learning. Don’t criticize the acorn for not being an oak yet …
MAKING THEIR OWN RULES
More from Lezlie Long (OR):
… When the family went to town after Christmas, we picked up a “Super Master Mind” that was on sale. I saw all those ads saying what a terrific game it was. Well, it is! It has lots of coloured pins that one person takes five of and arranges in a covered area, and the second person guesses or “decodes” them. Robert (5) kept begging to play with it so I finally let him. He made designs with the coloured pegs. After watching Ken and me play several times, he asked to play. Total frustration! The game is too advanced for him. He finally talked me into letting him play with Rebecca (3). So I set them all up in the living room and went into the kitchen to work. Pretty soon I heard “Yeah! Becca, all right! You won!” Rebecca comes running in to tell me she won. She was so excited and proud! I went in to watch them, and what they did was pick one colour for all five pegs and all they had to do was guess which colour. It took each of them five or six tries to get the right colour but then there were cheers of “You won! You won!” They never keep track of how many tries they take; to them, it’s not important. Robert tricked Becca once and slipped in an extra colour. It took forever for her to figure it out. When she did they both laughed but have not tried to do that again … _____
From Kath Raymond, 3700 NE Van Buren, Minneapolis MN 55421:
… I saw one evening that Seth (then age 4) was really having no fun playing “Candy Land” and neither was I, of course - it’s not that great a game. So we began to make our own rules. We played it backward, we traded places, we let Seth take as many turns as he felt would make him happy - we had a good time. That was my first experience of the fact that we were the controllers now. I don’t know who made the rules on the cover of a boring box game - so why was I following them?
Since then we have questioned so much more. We’re coming up with our own answers - all ours - and that feels great!…
LETTING GO OF TV
Mary Lee wrote in the Winter ‘83 Western Pa. Homeschoolers:
… We cast our TV into the attic this past Saturday … I would say the most influential part of the whole deciding process… was Justin.
Justin had destroyed a dollhouse I had been working on for some time -pushing out windows and breaking furniture. This was quite out of character for him and he showed no remorse. He even seemed proud of his “accomplishment.” I was quite disturbed and felt he should be punished, so Reese and I decided no TV for 24 hours. Justin has always been fond of TV and watched it often more than I liked him to watch. In those 24 hours, I saw a child who often threw temper tantrums after a TV session, turn into a sweet cooperative little boy, the boy we knew Justin to be. (We couldn’t understand these recent changes in behaviour.) He played happily outside that day, “read” his books, built magnificent block castles, really helped around the house, took a short nap only to arise refreshed (he used to wake up cranky and mean), ate better than usual and generally knocked old Mom off her feet.
TV was brought back the next day, old behaviour resumed, and I pointed it all out to Reese, who was beginning to notice too. We also talked about our own habit of turning on the TV when wanting to avoid a certain chore, or person, or when not wanting to make an effort to find something more creative or constructive to do. We also wondered what effects TV was having that we weren’t recognizing. I knew TV made me dissatisfied with my life even though I like my life - explain that one!
So Saturday, for one week, up to the attic went the old TV. You know we honestly, truly - I do not lie or exaggerate - have not missed it. Justin asked about it once a day for three days, and has not since.
And behaviour is changing. We are reading more, talking more, going outside more, becoming more involved in outside activities, and generally becoming more human. We’re more satisfied, seem less cranky, go to bed earlier, and thus feel better. So, sorry, TV lovers - I think the Lees’ TV shall stay in the attic until we decide to sell it! …
INSTEAD OF TEACHING
A letter from Nancy Edmondson to Susan Richman in the Winter ‘83 Western Pa. Homeschoolers:
… I thought your idea about going ahead and working on the alphabet book alone without trying to draw their interest purposely was helpful. Thinking of that the other night, I got out a puzzle and started doing it on the kitchen table. I might have met with resistance had I suggested they might want to help me. So I said nothing, but before I even had all the pieces turned over, they were there eager to help …
KIDS WATCH PARENTS LEARN
Suzanne Alejandre wrote:
… In moving to Germany, Rich and I learned a valuable lesson in what it is like to be a two-year-old child … We could not communicate, everything we did was a new experience. Just buying groceries was a hard task. All the products were packaged strangely. We couldn’t recognize them by sight, we couldn’t read the labels, and we couldn’t ask anyone! Then when we had decided what to buy, we were not familiar with the money…
We had to learn each task as we were doing it and we experienced all the frustration that goes along with the process of figuring things out. At the same time, we experienced the exhilaration of a simple, completed task. I can still remember the joy of going through the “correct” steps of buying a loaf of bread in a bakery. I came home and recounted the entire dialogue to Richard. I was so proud of myself!
… Even more important for us as a family was that our (then) 2- and 4-year-old sons were often with us through these experiences. They learned as much as we did by watching how we handled situations. they’ve seen me throw fits just as they have! They’ve seen me angry, fearful, crying, ecstatic, everything’ - all the range of emotions … It is an invaluable experience for a child to watch their parents go through the stages of learning. Rarely will they disrupt - they honour what you are experiencing because they have recently been there. They understand and are watching intently to see what you will do to make things work out.
Sometimes they even help. Recently Rich went downtown with Niko because a pair of gloves he had bought already had a hole in them and they were-still quite new. When they got to the register where Rich was to make his complaint, Niko whispered, “Daddy, the word for hole in German is ‘loch.”‘ And, actually, that helped because Rich hadn’t known the word! …
LEARNING FROM TRAVEL
Christine Gajzago wrote in the Australian newsletter Otherways, 3/83:
… I’d like to talk more personally about the experiences Ami (6) and Pablo (2 1/2) and I had while overseas. Our aim was to enjoy ourselves and see and do as much as possible … I see no reason why learning should not continue in the same way at home as it did on our trip. With all that concentrated novelty of experience, away from the many distractions and routines of home life, I could see our learnings and discoveries more clearly than usual. Our trip served to magnify, perhaps, what normally goes on at home.
Most people have said: “It’s all right to stop lessons while overseas because it’s so ‘educational’ and such a rare event. But at home children need structured input because they wouldn’t learn enough otherwise.” I disagree with this view. Often I wonder if behind it lies a lifestyle that may be dull and circumscribed for children and/or does not involve children in the daily ebb and flow. I know this from personal experience. If I am rundown and too preoccupied with my own problems, Ami and Pablo usually let me know. Boredom and frustration set in once they have finished their independent activities and they need external recharging …
The grandest palaces in Europe were not an insurance against ennui if my children’s momentary needs for playfulness, energy discharge, food and rest were not met. I noticed from the start of our trip that everything was enjoyed from the context of playfulness. Playfulness does not necessarily require another child but any playful, interesting, energetic, amusing, available person.
Ami and Pablo learnt much on our plane journey to Europe. For instance, the length of the trip reinforced the idea of the distance between Australia and Germany. Even when Ami missed her daddy during the next three months, she did not ask for him, realizing he was too far away. We spoke a lot about the geography of the world which was becoming real now, about how planes work, about many things. But all this was in response to questions and while we played or she chatted to passengers of different nationalities. Ami became very excited about a Philippino girl with whom she played up and down the aisles and the Philippines really became a place in her inner map of the world. Especially after our 5-hour delay in Manila! Since then Germany, Hungary and England have also become concrete reference points in her inner map …
From the start I discovered that there was little point expecting Ami to be enthused about everything I was or to realize that she was in a once-in-a-lifetime situation. She and Pablo lived, and still do, very much in the present … It took time and some effort to respect Ami’s pace and style of learning about the world. Once I did, we enjoyed ourselves more … When I tried less, I experienced more and generated more excitement …
And Ami did become ecstatic and creative and active so much without any prodding at all. From the moment we landed and entered the German landscape Ami was agog with excitement. “Look! Look!” she would say over and over as we passed mountains and forests and pretty chalets with shuttered windows and geraniums in profusion, and castles that looked like fairytales.
She asked questions over and over like - “What was this room for?,” “Where did the princess sleep?,” “Who painted that picture?,” “What is that painting (usually one with strong emotive or religious imagery) about?” The very same situations that aroused excitement or deeply absorbed her in long reverent silences, did not excite her if I chose to point them out at the wrong time.
Of course since we spent most of our time with distant relatives in a Bavarian village, she needed no prompting to learn German and she learnt with great speed in the daily context of play with children who spoke only German. She picked up a strong English accent while we were in England in a matter of days too, even though by this stage, she also spoke German with me sometimes. In bed at night she did her “homework” and rehearsed new words and phrases with me. Some times she would ask me what certain words meant that she had heard and not understood that day … I saw over and over how children regulate their own learning and learn best that way. Adults learn a second language best when they need and want to use it. Why do we expect children to learn anything well any other way?
…Ami wanted to be a princess in a castle (and was) - she wanted to be dressed appropriately and when she became a princess, her face exuded radiance. She became part of her surrounds, part of the past - not just a passive, detached observer. She also needed to extend herself physically wherever she was - to run up and down spiral tower stairs, to hide in the turrets on a castle wall, to explore and climb over and through the beautiful scenery - not just gaze at it.
And everywhere, a landscape or special place took art importance when it was associated with special people … _____
Gwendolyn West (TN) wrote in a report on her family’s home-schooling:
… Our trip to England and Wales was a marvellous experience for the whole family. The boys readily figured out English money, subways and which double-decker to catch to go where. They loved Dover Castle (we studied feudal times and read King Arthur before we left) and the Tower of London with its crown jewels and rooms of armour. When we were out in the countryside in Rye, Sussex, we stayed in an old smuggler’s hideout, an inn remodelled in 1420. Our room was in the peak, full of beams, the lovely and authentic Elizabethan architecture surrounding us. Jason was in awe of Stonehenge (we studied that previously, too), and both boys found the ancient Roman baths of Bath fascinating.
But perhaps best of all may have been staying in our Evans family homestead (my maiden name) that dates back to the 1200’s when King Edward II is thought to have hidden prior to being murdered; an official stone marks the spot. Here we stayed one night under down comforters in the chick-walled farmhouse. The boys had “high tea” complete with cakes, biscuits, etc., that my Evans relatives lavished on us as if we were royalty. They also gave us traditional meals of lamb and porridge! The boys played with the rural Welsh children, who were intrigued with meeting Americans, and lots of questions were exchanged with answers on both sides. The Welsh accent is very strong, and we all worked at comprehending it. While I attempted painting my old family homestead, about ten Welsh children gathered. Friendly and warm, they had many questions. They invited Jason and Nathan into a “den” (fort) they had made, to walk down the rocky footpath to the river, to climb trees, etc. My boys learned the internationality of children everywhere. They had a wonderful time. They also played with the Evans’ donkey, cats and dog. We explored the area. It is a blustery, green, hilly country of unspeakable beauty, and I know the boys felt this, too.
They loved the experience of London taxis, double-decker buses and of their dad driving our Hertz car on the left-hand side of the road. They became masters at helping us conquer roundabouts and all road signs and were amazingly quick to spot a castle. (Their father, I might add, drove, to my surprise, like a true Briton!) …
LANGUAGE THROUGH ACTION
[DR:] A few years ago, some foreign language teachers began using a new method called “Total Physical Response,” or TPR, and home-schoolers might like to adapt some of its basic principles for their own use. As a GWS reader writes:
… The book LEARNING ANOTHER LANGUAGE THROUGH ACTIONS, by James Asher, Ph.D. ($10 from Sky Oaks Productions, PO Box 1102, Los Gatos CA 95031). subtitled “The Complete Teacher’s Guidebook,” intrigues me. He says this method of teaching foreign languages was invented from closely observing how children and infants learn language, and he says adults can learn this way even faster than kids, because of having a larger vocabulary to start with … Imperative statements are the key. Also it’s important not to intimidate students by requiring them to repeat words; rather, as far as speech goes, the students remain passive as long as they want, and, of course, testing in the usual sense is not done either.
Standing together with the students where s/he can be seen by them, the instructor gives a verbal command and immediately carries out that command him/herself, encouraging (not forcing) the students to do likewise. Initially, these are simple imperative statements, like “Sit down!” “Stand up!” “Jump!” “Turn around.” Gradually, more and more elaborate imperatives are issued (involving body parts and common objects in the vicinity) which can be directed to individual students, e.g., “Joe, go touch the door!” “Lee, hit your knee!” “Marie, run to my desk!” The next stage is to introduce compound sentences, questions, and humour, but keeping to the imperative form, e.g., “Run to the door and slam it shut!” “Will you bring me your book?” “Did she slam the door?” “Joe, lie down on the floor and go to sleep!”
… When the instructor knows what words students know, s/he can ask them individually or in groups to pass on a “command” to the teacher or other individuals or groups … The book gives rather detailed step-by-step instructions, which can, of course, be varied considerably, but I think many readers would find a wealth of good ideas in it … _____
[DR:] You can find a slightly longer description of TPR methods in an article by James Asher in Psychology Today, 8/81. Dr. Asher recommends that instructors not ask students to speak until the 12th hour of training, at the earliest, and when they do speak, that students not be interrupted with corrections as long as their speech is intelligible. He describes several experiments in which students who learned with the TPR method remembered more than those taught by conventional methods.
RAVE REVIEWS
Jane Filstrup [”Bilingual Family,” GWS #30] writes:
… Thank you for sending the neat little tape of John’s trip to Sweden [TRAVEL DIARY Vol. I; $6 + post] … You know Emma and Burton (5) are bilingual, by an artificially constructed home program in French. Somewhat to their sensible father’s chagrin - “This thing is going too far!” - they are learning Italian from a recorded course. That is why they commented when their father found them listening raptly to this unconventional tape diary, “Oh, this is the friend of those children. We put it on when we got boring of Italian.” HOW HOW HOW did John know a travel diary would be so appealing to (at least non-TV watching) young people? It must be the verisimilitude that hugs them in. Hearing sounds of the environment is interesting - one waits for them. Imagine, that is a SWEDISH police car whistle; maybe the kind Siowall’s and Wahlools police darted around in (me); what happened to the car? (Burton).
Asked point-blank what they take away from the tape, my son says, “Ca me fait penser que je suis sur l’avion” (It makes me feel as though I’m on the plane), while Emma says, “Maman, je fais semblant que je suis en avion” (I pretend I’m on the plane, too). I’m not sure whether I want to wire us up to do a tape diary in Paris this summer, but my book will definitely recommend it to other parents travelling with children of all ages. And if anybody MAKES one, my children, for two, would love to hear it’…. _____
Susan Richman (PA) writes:
… We love the STEWART PIANO PRE-SCHOOL BOOK (GWS #31)! Jesse has really been enjoying playing piano since we’ve received the book - he plays “Hot Cross Buns” all over the piano, and has discovered major chords all over (without the 1-3-5 chart, just discovered on his own, he thought they sounded so pretty.) We’ve been writing out lots of simple songs in numbers, noticing similar patterns in different songs, such as that “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and “Why Doesn’t My Goose” (an old round) both end with 5-4-3-2-1.
It inspired us to get our old piano repaired and tuned, and both boys thoroughly enjoyed seeing the old piano tuner at work, seeing the inside working of the piano. Made me realize that the piano is just a sort of “magic” instrument with no rhyme or reason to it, until you get to see all the fascinating inside mechanisms. I know Jesse and Jacob never imagined all those felt hammers, strings, and connecting rods were inside our old upright! So glad you found out about the Stewart books … Very fun to do at home -certainly less expensive than LESSONS … _____
[JH:] About Jesse discovering major chords - that’s how and why human beings invented our musical scale and intervals - because they sounded so pretty.
YOUNG VIRTUOSO CELLIST
[JH:l The Jan./Feb. ‘83 issue of Music Magazine has a story about the oustanding young cellist Ofra Harnoy, who at 17 was the youngest first-prize winner in the 31-year history of the New York Concert Artists Guild, and who has already made a commercial recording and will soon play with several major orchestras. In the article she says, “When I was very young I grew up with music every day. Either my parents were playing or there were records on all the time. They tell me that when I was two years old I would break out in tears when I heard sad music being played.” When she was six her mother gave her a quarter-sized cello, and she immediately began playing under her violinist father’s instruction, “There was no one there to tell me that it was difficult, so started playing in all the positions right away.”
This is what I tell all the people I know, young or old, who take up the cello, and what my experienced piano teacher friends Phyllis Jansma (of Stewart Piano) and Norman Hess tell all their pupils - play all over the instrument, and in all the keys. Don’t get the idea in your head that some parts of the instrument are harder than others, for on the piano and the stringed instruments, at least, it is not true. (Of course, it is true for most wind and brass instruments, where the high notes are definitely harder to play.)
When beginners think of their instruments as things on which and with which they can explore, and have adventures and make discoveries, they enjoy their playing more and make much more progress. Music approached in this spirit does not have to be drudgery, even for rank beginners.
Later the article quotes Harnoy as saying, “I don’t have a teacher now. When I occasionally go back to Orloff or Pleeth it is to exchange ideas and renew inspiration. Even though I will always be learning, I’m not being taught.”