Yep, that's what happened. Yesterday I set out with the intention of waffling about creation and evolution and got to thinking about us and what we were created to be. Naughty me.
But before I go there. Today has started out most excellently. I have taken Michele to school and helped another parent hear Michele's class of 25 student with their reading. What a pleasure! Michele is an excellent reader and there are a number of others in her class who are also excellent readers. It is a pleasure to hear them and offer encouragement. Then there are the poor readers.
Well, really are they poor readers? I mean lets keep everything in perspective here. Michele is now five and a half. Most of the kids in her class are about the same age. Now, I can remember back when I was five. In those days, very few if any, five year old kids could read. Most of us didn't know what a letter was. But then, in those days we didn't start school until we were six. Kindergarten was expensive and most parents, mine included, couldn't afford the cost. So we missed out. Also, most parents in my day didn't encourage their children or have the facilities that I have. I started Michele on the computer when she was 2.5, Cathy the same. I wonder, even today, how many parents of public, or private, school children would do that. Maybe let the child on the computer to "play", but not learn.
So, when I take that into consideration, the children I am hearing read are not so bad after all. And, when it is all said and done, isn't that what we pay the teachers to do?
So, where does that leave me? How can I best help these kids and further their reading ability? The stories they read are very simple, depending on their ability. Obviously some one like Michele, and about 4 others, will be reading very advanced books. With the poor readers, we encourage them to read the words. Those they can't, we read and get them to repeat the word. We also get the child to sound the word. Now, because I suspect some can't, I get the child to tell me the letters in some words. My idea is to get the child to concentrate on the letter, the word and the story. We also get the child to look at the pictures, something we were never allowed to do in my day, and work out from the picture what the story might be about.
Just one more little brag. Yes, yes, I know, I can't help myself. Cathy can recognise all but four letters in the alphabet. How good is that? She, like her elder sister is an amazing kid.
So, this morning it was reading. Did I mention that I also took Cathy over to the school with me? Well, I did. It is a good lesson for her in getting use to a structured class room education system. Also, she thoroughly enjoys it.
This afternoon we will return to the school for a thing called PMP, what ever that means. It is an exercise thingy. We are in a big room with five little exercise stations set up. Each class, there are four in all, come into the room, one class at a time. The children are divided into 5 groups. They then work their way through each of the stations. The children are supposed to do the exercise and talk us through what they are doing. each exercise is very simple and takes very little time. We do 4 class rooms with around 25 kids in each class. That takes around 90 - 120 minutes in all.
OK, so, by now you are probably wondering what sort of education style parents we are. Some one called us un-schooler's because of our approach to schooling with our girls. But that isn't true. Both girls will attend school. But, we also do a bit of home schooling with both girls. But our approach is a bit like un-schooling in that we allow, certainly at home, both girls to learn at their own rate. So, I get that makes us Public Schooling Home School Un-schooler's.
Stephanie calls us Involved Parent Schooler's! Well, at least Stephanie's tag isn't such a big mouthful.
And I still haven't addressed the subject I started out to. But maybe that is another post for another time. But I really do want to address this issue of creation/evolution.
Lots of questions to think about. How old is the earth really? Was it created in 7 literal 24 hour days? Were they consecutive days? How long was each day? Was an hour the same as we understand an hour to be? Is man today the finished product of what Elohim intended? Or did we evolve, spiritually into what we are today? How long did man live for say around a thousand years ago?
So, maybe I might get to look at that next time. I do have some legitimate questions for those who believe man has evolved over 10's of thousands of years. Next time maybe.
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