Day 2 and 3

I would like to say, that if anyone wants my notes from any of the classes, I'd be glad to share them.

 

So, day 2

 

First session I went to was Adapting to Students with Special Needs with Val Gray.  She was one of the panellists from the day before, and really a great and nice speaker.  Her career is working with differently abled students, whether they be learning delayed or gifted or medically disabled or whatever.  Her first job was in an institution, so I had a long conversation on the side afterward and picked her brain about some of Andrei's specific issues.  The focus of her talk was about the barriers that criticism puts up and how, as parents, we have to praise so much more often so our children don't become hardened and wall themselves in.  She said especially for me, it will be hard because Andrei has nothing but walls from the orphanage, and I have to work and chip away at that as my primary job.  She also said that the only consistant thing she has seen that leads to a productive adulthood has nothing to do with acadamia, and everything to do with love and relationship.  So, again, Tracy - RELAX!  :)

 

Second session was Learning Styles with Heddi Craft.  This one was very infomative and it talked about all the kinds of learning styles and intelligences.  Every book has their own way of describing, so she condensed them all and gave lots of ideas how to help your children learn better - even things that they may be contrary to.  I listed some things for Andrei since he likes to move around all the time - to help him learn reading and more of the sit still types of subjects.

 

The third and fourth sessions of the day were both by Catherine Levison about the Charlotte Mason method.  This is why I wanted to go to this conference.  Actually someone had lent me every one of her sessions on tape just days before I left, but I still wanted to go to all of them in person.

 

First was an Introduction to Charlotte Mason just giving a rundown of the program.  Here's her website with the basics -  http://www.charlottemasoneducation.com/index.html  What drew me to this method was that it's literature focused and I love to read and hope my children will too.  Also, I know I have learned so  much more about history, geography, culture etc. from reading than what I did in school.  So I was really looking forward to hearing more.  Here's a couple other points about the CM method - no tests, no workbooks, no textbooks, short lessons, lots of outside time, focus on beauty and art and loving learning.  Doesn't that sound fun?  It does to me anyway.

 

The last session of the day was History and Science with Charlotte Mason.  Basically - read interesting books about science and historical figures.  Get out and enjoy nature.  Read biographies.  Find out how people lived day to day.  Connect with ideas, don't just memorize facts. 

She also talked about two ideas that we will save for the future.  First - a nature journal.  She recommends getting outside daily and going for nature walks at least once per week.  The nature journal is where you observe and draw the things you saw that day.  Secondly she talked about the Book of Centuries.  This is just a binder with paper - each piece representing 100 years (like a timeline - but in a book) and you just write interesting things you come across on the appropriate page.  Very casual, but for all the facts that you don't have to learn - and also to compare what was going on in the rest of the world when big things were happening somewhere else.

 

That was the end of day two, but since the last two sessions on day three were also Catherine Levison, I'm just going to keep going.

 

The third session was titled - Language Arts for Almost Free.  Read good books to learn literature.  Read good books to learn reading.  Read good books to learn grammar.  Write beautiful quotes to learn writing.  Write beatiful quotes to learn spelling.  Learn a foreign language (or 2 or 3) and do all of these things in that language too.  That's it.  Okay, there is a bit more to it, but that's the quick version of it.  Good books are defined as - not dumbed down for children, beautiful illustrations if you're still reading picture books, about real people or real events and culture. 

 

The last session was about how rigid of a schedule, and I'm getting sick of writing so I'll just quick summarize.  Short lessons are great for mom and kid so you don't burn out.  Also, kids are only kids once so let them have all the free time they can.  Do what works for your family so you are all happy because the most important is family relationship and a love for learning.

 

Those were all the sessions I went to.  I'll write tomorrow about other parts of the conference and also what we plan to do this coming year.  :)