Jun 04 2009
Leave learning until later! Teaching reading, writing and spelling
One of the reasons I like the idea of homeschooling is that I think we put children in a formal education environment FAR too early in this country (normally a child will be in pre-school soon after they are 3). I will write more about the UK system later, but I just wanted to share a few points from an article I read called “Teaching our children to read, write and spell: a developmental approach”, by Susan R. Johnson MD, FAAP.
Her argument is that children should not be taught to read, write or spell until their “neurological pathways” for reading, writing and spelling have fully formed. It is very important to have a sense of where your body is in the space around it (proprioception). This ability is developed by lots of physical activities, and then translates into an ability to track lines and curves with your eyes, and remember abstract letters and numbers.
Signs that the proprioceptive system is not yet fully developed include:
- the child is ‘fidgety’ and unable to sit still in a chair
- they can’t balance on one foot with their eyes closed
- drawings of people are stick-like and lack hands and feet
- night-waking, unable to settle back to sleep by themselves
Children also need both left and right hemispheres of the brain developed before learning to read, but before the age of about seven (girls a little earlier, boys maybe a bit later) only the right hemisphere is developed. The right side enables ‘reading by sight’ (looking at the first and last letters and length of the word, and often making a guess). The left side is where you match sounds to letters and sound out words (phonics).
The trouble with learning to read when only your “sight” ability is enabled is that it takes a) a lot of guess work, so you may not pick out mis-spelled words, and b) a lot of mental effort, as your brain is working hard trying to recognise each word, and so is not able to comprehend as much of what it is actually reading.
In her conclusion, Ms Johnson calls for “Activities like imaginary play, climbing, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, walking the balance beam, playing circle games, singing, playing catch, doing meaningful chores, painting, coloring, playing hand clapping games, doing string games, and fingerknitting [which] will strengthen their minds for learning. Children need these healthy, harmonious, rhythmic, and non-competitive movements to develop their brains. For it is the movements of their body and their love for learning that create the pathways in their mind for reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, and creative thinking.”
Food for thought!
