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November 2004 Edition Can You See the Hidden “Fs”? By Jennie von Eggers (TMS) Did you know that you are blind to some things that are right in front of your face? Don’t believe me? Try this simple experiment, and I will prove it to you! All you have to do is count how many times the letter “f” appears in the sentence below. You can read it several times just to make sure you don’t miss any. It’s not as simple as you think! FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY IN COMBINATION WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF SEVERAL YEARS OF EXPERTISE. How many times did the letter “f” appear in that sentence? If you are like most people, you counted 3. Did you know that there are more than double that amount? The correct number of “f’s in the sentence is, seven. But how can that be? The answer is in the details! In this case, the details being the word “of”. When we read, our minds subconsciously skips over the words that seemingly have no value to the content. Even though you were purposely looking for the letter “f” your mind wouldn’t allow you to see it. This is a sneaky conditioning of your mind that happens purely on a subconscious level. The experiment got me thinking…how many things in life are we missing because we have unknowingly been conditioned not to see them? This issue of selective awareness was recently illustrated to me in the area of my children’s education during a routine visit from the pest control man. Living in the south we encounter many bugs, including lots of hungry termites. One way to combat this problem, is to have termite stations placed in the ground around your house. Each of these stations has a piece of wood placed inside. The pest control man comes about every eight weeks and checks each piece for any termite feasts on the wood that may have occurred since his last visit. My mother, who was visiting from "up North", started a friendly chat with the pest control man as he was working the stations. She quickly recognized that he had a vast knowledge of entomology that he enjoyed sharing. She recognized this as a great educational opportunity for my children and called us all out to join the bug man. For the next 25 minutes, we all learned about the fascinating (it really is!) world of a termite colony. Since most of us grew up in “traditional education” (public/private school, college, etc) settings we tend to be conditioned to recognize certain activities as being “educational”: worksheets/homework, reading, playing educational computer games, going to a museum, etc. We seek out these learning opportunities for our children and encourage them when spotted. However, how many educational opportunities are we missing simply because we don’t recognize them when they are right in front of us? How many hidden “f”s, or possible hidden educational treasures, are in our daily routine of life? The next time you are busy with the “details” of life, take a minute to stop and look for those learning treasures that may be right in front of you. Following are some ideas to get you started. The next time you go to the grocery store with your children, view it as if you are going on a school field trip. Here are some hidden educational treasures you might explore and discover while on a routine trip to the local grocery store. Cereal Aisle-Where is the children’s cereal boxes placed…up high, down low or in the middle? Do you think there is a reason they are all at children’s eye level? Where is the “healthier” type of cereals? Why? What is the first ingredient listed in the children’s cereal, what is the first in the healthy cereals? Bakery & Meat Department- Are there separate Bakery and Meat Departments? What do they do? Why did they separate those two departments? Why not just have one kitchen where they cut meat and bake cookies and cakes? Could there be any danger in that? Produce Department- Ask the Produce Manager to show you where the different fruits and vegetables come from and why they only offer them certain times of year. Are there any items you've never seen before? Write down the names and research at home to see where they come from. Dairy Department- Look at a couple items in the Dairy case. Do see any dates on them? Why do you think those dates are there? What could happen if there were no dates? Although simple and easy, any one of these conversations could spark an interest in your child that could be followed up at home in a more detailed study. "Education" is largely a matter of becoming aware of our surroundings and teaching our children to notice and question what they see. Let's be sure to impart awareness and curiosity into our children as they develop so that they will grow to see the "hidden f's" around them. Read more creative learning articles at http://www.triggermemorysystem.com/articles.html Fun & Games The following was written by brand new homeschooler Laura Reifschlager. This is a perfect example of how to creatively deal with an educational "stump". Math Game - My First Homeschool Game!! I just discovered my ds can't make change. I sent him to the store, and he discovered on his own that they gave him the wrong change, but he didn't know how to calculate it. So I made up a game. I used the random number generator in Excel and made a chart of "costs" from $1.00 to $4.99. I printed the chart with row numbers (1-12) and column letters A-D. (Picture a Bingo chart, but I don't have Bingo letters.) We use dice and 4 Scrabble letters. You roll one or two dice and choose a letter. That tells you what price you pay for an imaginary item. Then I pay with a $5.00 and he makes change for me. He had more fun playing with Dad tonight, but I think 5 or 10 minutes of this after dinner should improve his change habits. He's also a very hands on, visual kind of learner so I hope this will help him visualize money! Laura Reifschlager Memory Tip of The Month Have you had the experience of previously having taught your child something only to come upon it weeks later and have your child stare at it blankly, apparently having no recognition of encountering it before? We've found that it helps to tie concepts to a visual. (Similar to the concept used in Times Tales) I'll use division to share an example of how this might be carried out. Say your child sees the division symbol and gives you that blank stare. Try having them envision the symbol as a house. Explain that the house is full (the number inside the symbol). The man (number) outside wants to put everyone in groups and put them on the roof to make more room. Now, this has nothing to do with actually processing a division problem, BUT it will "trigger the memory" to remember what to do when encountering this symbol. The child thinks, "Oh yeah, this is where the numbers are trying to get in the house and I have to fit them on the roof." Often, that is all that is needed to get the child going. Resources "It's time for a look into the wacky side of homeschooling. "Okay Kids,Time For Bedlam," written by Debbie Harbeson, is full of humorous stories based on her family's early homeschooling experiences. You will laugh at their antics when suddenly it hits you: your own family is very similar. This is a great book to read and re-read every time you feel the need to relax. But the best part about this book is that you can get it for FREE! The book is available as a downloadable pdf file at the following website: http://www.timeforbedlam.com " Is your child interested in examining different career options? Check out our pages at http://www.triggermemorysystem.com/chef.html and http://www.triggermemorysystem.com/detective.html Don't forget to check us out at www.TimesTales.com to learn more about our mnemonic multiplication system. Coming soon: New products including adorable magnetic letter sets depicting consonants and both long and short vowel sounds. Real Life Adventure unit studies to correspond with various career/lifestyle options. Currently in the works are homemaker, detective and chef. These five day studies will be very "hands on" and will focus on critical thinking and research skills. Also in the works, is Map Tales, which will make learning the states a blast. Happy Learning!! Feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends. Subscribe at www.timestales.com or CreativeHomeschooling.com |