The grandfather next to us at History;Day;was;skeptical. “That;boy’s;too;young;to;know about;that!”;he;muttered.;“It’s
a shame how parents do everything for
their;kids;these;days.”
It;was;our;son;Caleb;he;was;talking
about!;He;was;only;about;five;years;old,
but;he;stood;up;there;like;a;man,;showing
off;his;salt;map;and;talking;intelligently
about;the;Battle;of;Bull;Run.;When;the
history fair was over, I encouraged the
old;gentleman;to;go;talk;to;him.
He;set;out;to;quiz;our;young;student,
but soon he had to beg Caleb to stop explaining the battle!
You see, Caleb had actually visited the
Manassas;battlefield,;and;had;stood;in
the exact spot where General Bernard
Bee had shouted at his nearly-routed
troops,;“There;stands;Jackson;like;a;stone
wall!;Rally;behind;the;Virginians!”;Caleb
and his brothers had acted out the battle
while re-living it in their minds—and
they’d;never;forget;it.
That was years ago, but we remem-
bered it recently when our friend Caryn
Hommel;asked;us;to;review;her;new;cur-
riculum, Excelerate Spanish. It is based
on Total Physical Response Storytel-
ling, 1 a method that uses movement and
acting out stories to increase retention.
Research shows that when you study
language academically, a small part of
your brain responds. When you move in
response to the language, more of your
brain is engaged. When you emotionally respond, such as when you hear a
story, then your brain is hugely responsive. The greater the perceived need for
the;knowledge,;it;seems;the;harder;your
brain;works;to;learn;it.;We;were;stunned
to;find;we;could;understand;a;short;story
in;Spanish;after;the;first;lesson.
That’s;why;hands-on;learning;is;so;im-
portant. We love reading, and you can
learn;all;sorts;of;things;from;a;book,;but
for;difficult;subjects,;or;for;things;you
really;want;to;remember,;it’s;hard;to;beat
actually doing something hands-on to
make;learning;“sticky.”
So,;how;does;that;work?;How;can;you
help your children remember more of
what;you’re;teaching?
Let’s;look;at;history.;The;way;we learned
was by reading summaries of the facts in
textbooks.;It;was;so;boring;we;were;lucky
to remember the facts long enough to par-
rot;them;back;on;the;test.;When;we;as
parents start out with biographies, though,
we engage our children right away in the
lives;of;real;people.;If;we;take;it;a;step
further, and encourage them to nar-
rate;what;they’ve;learned,;it’s;even;better.
What if it went further still? Hal came
home;from;work;one;day;to;find;our;boys
spread;out;on;the;floor;with;a;mountain;of
blankets;and;every;LEGO;man;they;could
find,;acting;out;the;Battle;of;Thermopylae
Pass.;It’s;funny;how;we;all;remember;that
name and the details of the battle even
though;it’s;been;fifteen;years.
Well, what about math? Even in the
earliest years, explaining math concepts in terms of real objects makes
the ideas much easier to learn. You can
do;that;yourself,;of;course.;It’s;easy;to
teach one-to-one correspondence by
asking;your;children;to;put;a;fork;by
each plate. A math curriculum that
uses;manipulatives;makes;it;natural;to
keep using hands-on lessons through
elementary school, but texts usually
drop;that;in;the;3rd;or;4th grade. Some
of the really difficult concepts that you
learn later, though, are easily understood in a real world context. Using
pizzas,;cakes,;or;pies;to;teach;multipli-cation;and;division;of;fractions;makes
those ideas as easy as, well, pie! Even
high school students can benefit from
understanding real-world uses of algebra and geometry. Learning about
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
If;we;want;an;education;that;sticks
with;our;children,;we;need;to;look;for
opportunities;to;put;learning;to;work.
OPPOSITE PAGE: The Young children observing Old Faithful. ABOVE: Seth and Sam at Shoshone Falls.
