"The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to ignite." Plutarch
I was talking to my older brother about how surprised we were that my lil 5 y/o boy learned how to read on his own in three weeks' time with our erratic schedule at school. I remember spending barely 3 weeks with him, 30 minutes a day, just orally reciting the alphabets and their corresponding sounds and in no time he started reading phonetically and with good comprehension.
Happy for what he has heard, my brother said, "that's quantum leap learning..." What's that again? quantum leap learning? I kept repeating those words to myself a few more times. I was reminded of the 80's TV series that my siblings and I used to watch which starred Scott Bacula. But that's a totally different story.
I googled a bit about quantum leap learning and here's what the internet says it is:
"quantum leap, a noun, an abrupt change, sudden increase, or dramatic advance" Thanks! Merriam Webster!
My brother explains, "that should be quantum leap learning because he learned how to read in no time without having to go through the different stages or levels of reading." At that point, I tried enumerating what I thought we did as parents to prepare him for reading:
Happy for what he has heard, my brother said, "that's quantum leap learning..." What's that again? quantum leap learning? I kept repeating those words to myself a few more times. I was reminded of the 80's TV series that my siblings and I used to watch which starred Scott Bacula. But that's a totally different story.
I googled a bit about quantum leap learning and here's what the internet says it is:
"quantum leap, a noun, an abrupt change, sudden increase, or dramatic advance" Thanks! Merriam Webster!
My brother explains, "that should be quantum leap learning because he learned how to read in no time without having to go through the different stages or levels of reading." At that point, I tried enumerating what I thought we did as parents to prepare him for reading:
- two years ago, right after he turned 3 y/o, we purchased a pre-kinder reading curriculum that had a music CD of the alphabet in it, a few activity books and some alphabet flashcards
- we stuck all the alphabet flashcards on our kitchen wall and had lil boy sing-along with the music CD from time to time, we didn't care if it made our kitchen wall look ugly
- we'd let the alphabet music CD play the whole day while we go about our household chores
- a year later, lil boy decided he doesn't want to listen to this CD anymore, but instead, he would just sing it a capella whenever he's in the mood
- plus there were books, a lot of books that we purchased from the thrift store, here in the Philippines, we call it BOOKSALE, so, we were able to set up this mini library for our kids where they could just grab any book they want to read according to their many interests
- we weren't subscribed to cable TV, so that their source of entertainment would be from watching "pre-approved by us" DVD's
- there would be a lot of animated reading time with Dad and Mom, at bedtime, at wake up time before we start our day; and because Mom had always been around with her two young learners, QUANTITY time has proven to be an advantage over QUALITY time
- All these must have contributed to my lil boy's quantum leap learning. Or perhaps, for whatever my husband and I have unknowingly inputted at our lil boy's journey on learning how to read, we must have done the right thing.
We're now very close to the end of another homeschool year. The next year of January 2012 marks our 7th year in the business of home-educating our own kids and counting. Thank God for this milestone that every member of this lil household is already reading and by His grace far from being ignoramus (smiles for over-reacting).