by Sarah Major, M.Ed
I grew up in a time when we were supposed to sit in our desks and face forward and pay attention, so when I started to teach, I arranged my desks in rows, and expected my students to sit, face forward, and pay attention.
One of my first graders taught me that while this arrangement might be convenient for the teacher, it was not workable for him. My new first grade class was a real challenge with lots of learning issues, behavior issues, and more. One boy I will call Z seemed pretty defiant to me. He was constantly out of his seat, and the more I insisted that he SIT DOWN, the more unmanageable and contrary he became.
I negotiated with Z one day. I told him I would let him stand up all day if he wanted to, but the conditions for this freedom were that he was to get his work done, and he was to not disturb anyone else. He was good with these stipulations, so I moved Z's stuff to an outside seat so that as he stood he would not be in anyone's line of vision and distract them.
Eureka! I had a totally different child! For the rest of the year, and during his second grade when I looped up with my class, Z was a pretty cooperative child, and best of all, his learning skyrocketed.
So how does this apply to homeschooling our children? We tend to use a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to our kids and their learning. We try something new, and then try to apply it to all our children. Children learn in many different ways; they have greatly varying needs when it comes to how they perform best in the schoolroom. While Z was able to focus when I gave him the freedom to stand and lean over his desk to do his work, my other students, A through Y, would have considered standing during class a punishment and would NOT have been able to focus.
It doesn't have to cost a lot of money to meet the learning needs of our children. We can find out by observation if they do better sitting in a desk on a hard chair, or sitting on a soft surface, or standing, or lying on their tummies. Children, even very young ones, have the ability to become their own best friends by learning what helps them the most and by asking themselves the question: "What helps me focus the best?"
We can provide a few lost cost pillows, some inexpensive whiteboards to use as mobile desks, and give our children the option during school time to choose the situation that will allow them to focus the best.
Simple Ground Rules:
1- The spot you choose for working must allow you to work BETTER.
2- Once you are there, you will not have the option of moving somewhere else.
3- You must not distract or disturb siblings.
4- If we note that you are LESS able to get your work done where you have chosen to do your work, you will return to your desk.
I taught a boy (named M) in Kindergarten who found it nearly impossible to focus on his own work for watching any movement that occurred within the range of his vision. In discussing our goal for focus together, we determined that M needed to sit and work in a place where he would not be able to see the movements the other children made while learning. M bought in to this decision enthusiastically.
Fast forward to his 1st grade year. M's father went to M's first grade classroom to volunteer. When he entered the classroom, he saw M sitting at a lone desk facing the wall. Naturally, Dad assumed M had been placed there by the teacher possibly for being naughty. When he questioned the teacher about why M was sitting alone facing the wall, the puzzled teacher shared with M's father that M himself had requested to sit there, telling the teacher he needed to focus!
Sarah Major, CEO of Child1st Publications, grew up on the mission field with her four siblings, all of whom her mother homeschooled. As an adult, Sarah has homeschooled a small group of children in collaboration with their parents, and has taught from preschool age to adult. Sarah has been the Title 1 director and program developer for grades K-7, an ESOL teacher, and a classroom teacher. As an undergraduate student, Sarah attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. and then received her M.Ed. from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. In 2006 Sarah resigned from fulltime teaching in order to devote more time to Child1st, publisher of the best-selling SnapWords™ stylized sight word cards. In her spare time Sarah enjoys gardening, cooking, pottery, quilting, and spending time with her family.
Child1st Publications, LLC
www.child1st.com
800-881-0912
PO Box 150226
Grand Rapids, MI 49515
I grew up in a time when we were supposed to sit in our desks and face forward and pay attention, so when I started to teach, I arranged my desks in rows, and expected my students to sit, face forward, and pay attention.
One of my first graders taught me that while this arrangement might be convenient for the teacher, it was not workable for him. My new first grade class was a real challenge with lots of learning issues, behavior issues, and more. One boy I will call Z seemed pretty defiant to me. He was constantly out of his seat, and the more I insisted that he SIT DOWN, the more unmanageable and contrary he became.
I negotiated with Z one day. I told him I would let him stand up all day if he wanted to, but the conditions for this freedom were that he was to get his work done, and he was to not disturb anyone else. He was good with these stipulations, so I moved Z's stuff to an outside seat so that as he stood he would not be in anyone's line of vision and distract them.
Eureka! I had a totally different child! For the rest of the year, and during his second grade when I looped up with my class, Z was a pretty cooperative child, and best of all, his learning skyrocketed.
So how does this apply to homeschooling our children? We tend to use a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to our kids and their learning. We try something new, and then try to apply it to all our children. Children learn in many different ways; they have greatly varying needs when it comes to how they perform best in the schoolroom. While Z was able to focus when I gave him the freedom to stand and lean over his desk to do his work, my other students, A through Y, would have considered standing during class a punishment and would NOT have been able to focus.
It doesn't have to cost a lot of money to meet the learning needs of our children. We can find out by observation if they do better sitting in a desk on a hard chair, or sitting on a soft surface, or standing, or lying on their tummies. Children, even very young ones, have the ability to become their own best friends by learning what helps them the most and by asking themselves the question: "What helps me focus the best?"
We can provide a few lost cost pillows, some inexpensive whiteboards to use as mobile desks, and give our children the option during school time to choose the situation that will allow them to focus the best.
Simple Ground Rules:
1- The spot you choose for working must allow you to work BETTER.
2- Once you are there, you will not have the option of moving somewhere else.
3- You must not distract or disturb siblings.
4- If we note that you are LESS able to get your work done where you have chosen to do your work, you will return to your desk.
I taught a boy (named M) in Kindergarten who found it nearly impossible to focus on his own work for watching any movement that occurred within the range of his vision. In discussing our goal for focus together, we determined that M needed to sit and work in a place where he would not be able to see the movements the other children made while learning. M bought in to this decision enthusiastically.
Fast forward to his 1st grade year. M's father went to M's first grade classroom to volunteer. When he entered the classroom, he saw M sitting at a lone desk facing the wall. Naturally, Dad assumed M had been placed there by the teacher possibly for being naughty. When he questioned the teacher about why M was sitting alone facing the wall, the puzzled teacher shared with M's father that M himself had requested to sit there, telling the teacher he needed to focus!
Sarah Major, CEO of Child1st Publications, grew up on the mission field with her four siblings, all of whom her mother homeschooled. As an adult, Sarah has homeschooled a small group of children in collaboration with their parents, and has taught from preschool age to adult. Sarah has been the Title 1 director and program developer for grades K-7, an ESOL teacher, and a classroom teacher. As an undergraduate student, Sarah attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. and then received her M.Ed. from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. In 2006 Sarah resigned from fulltime teaching in order to devote more time to Child1st, publisher of the best-selling SnapWords™ stylized sight word cards. In her spare time Sarah enjoys gardening, cooking, pottery, quilting, and spending time with her family.
Child1st Publications, LLC
www.child1st.com
800-881-0912
PO Box 150226
Grand Rapids, MI 49515
