"Looking for Something Different in Math?"
is the subject line of the e-mail accompanying and sponsoring this newsletter.

     If you are looking for something different in math, be sure to read
Paul Ziegler's explaination of the difference between Spiral Math
and Systematic Mathematics.  http://www.systemath.com
_______________________________________________________________

Please Forward this newsletter to other home-school families or
Sign Up for free newsletters at http://www.TeachingHome.com/SignUp.
_______________________________________________________________

                 Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement
    From a Distinctively Christian Perspective of Home Education
Cindy Short and Sue Welch, Co-Editors   /   http://www.TeachingHome.com
_______________________________________________________________

Table of Contents
     August Conventions
Learning Styles
1.  Know Your Students:
     Identify Their Personal Learning Styles
2.  Five Models of Learning Styles
3.  Five Children: Five Personalities
Recommended Resources
     Rhea's Entrepreneur Days
     Sing 'n Learn: Auditory Products
     Teaching Home Magazine Back Issues
Sunnyside Up: Humorous Anecdote

Greetings,

     The overview of learning styles in this issue can serve as
an introduction to how children learn, and thus can give you
valuable ideas about how to teach your individual children.
     However, we all need to be very careful not to permanently
"pigeon-hole" anyone based on our impressions at any one time.
People grow and change and respond or react to many factors we
may not be aware of.
     Therefore, we should use information like that in this issue
to expand, rather than narrow, our teaching methods. This will
benefit children of all learning styles as they receive
information both in ways they find easy and in other ways they
find difficult to grasp. This will facilitate both learning and
growth.
     As Joy Marie Dunlap put it in her article, "Five Children: Five
Personalities":

          "A wise teacher will strike a careful balance
     between accommodating her children's individual
     learning styles and, at the same time, shoring up
     their weak points and training each and every one
     in Christian character."
 

Please Help Us Spread the Word!
     We would appreciate help in getting the announcement below
to as many home-school families as possible.  Please forward it
by e-mail and/or print it in your home-school publication.
     We want to be sure our previous subscribers send us current
addresses, as the magazine cannot be forwarded, and we do not
want anyone to miss the first issue when we resume publication.
Thank you for your help!

     Announcement
          The Teaching Home publishers plan to resume
     the publication of their print magazine this fall, by the
     grace of God.  For complete information see
     http://www.TeachingHome.com/custserve.

     May the Lord bless you and your family for His glory.

Cordially,
The Pat Welch Family, Publishers
Pat, Sue, Heather, Holly, and Brian
The Teaching Home is a home-school, family-run business
operated in our home since 1980.

________________________________________________________

Dads Are Coming Home To Work.
Teens Are Starting Businesses.
     Learn how you can do it too! Plus, hear Sharon Lechter,
co-author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad!" Get your copy of "How
To Motivate Kids" here:  http://www.EntrepreneurDays.com

________________________________________________________

August Conventions

State Home-School Conventions
Texas Home School Coalition
     August 11-13  http://www.thsc.org
Oregon Christian Home Education Association Network
     August 19-20  http://www.oceanetwork.org

Answers in Genesis Conferences
     See a list of events to be held in the United States as well
as other countries at http://www.AnswersInGenesis.org/events.
Select by country (on sidebar) or "Show All Events" at the bottom
of the page.

________________________________________________________

Know Your Students:
Identify Their Personal Learning Styles

by Inge P. Cannon
Adapted from the Education PLUS Training Syllabus and reprinted
from the March/April 1989 issue of The Teaching Home.

     Educators have many ways of defining and describing the way
people process information including learning personalities,
modalities, and styles.  The simplest to understand and apply
involves three categories: lookers, listeners, and movers.
     Lookers (technically termed visual/spatial learners) process
information best when they see it.
     Listeners (called auditory learners) are most efficient when
they can hear information.
     Movers (kinesthetic or tactile learners) function best when
they can physically interact with information in a hands-on way.
     It is helpful for a teaching parent to know his own learning
style as well as the preferred learning style of each child in
the family for several reasons.

1.  Teacher's vs. Student's Style
     A teacher will tend to choose curriculum that appeals to his
own best way to learn because that's what makes the most sense
to him.
     If the children's styles are different, the materials may
not make as much sense to them.

2.  Students' Differing Styles
     It is common for curriculum (e.g., a phonics or math
program) to work extremely well for one child, and therefore, the
parent thinks that subsequent children should do even better
since he now knows how to teach the material.
     Than comes the shock!  Child number 2 or number 3 is wired
completely differently and thus needs a different approach.

3.  Enhanced Communications
     Effectiveness of communication (even between spouses) is
enhanced when we present new or complicated information in the
manner the receiver uses best.

     The entire population of the world is not divided into three
learning groups, however.  Thus, some children do very well with
two of the three styles.  Occasionally a child is equally adept
at all three.
     Sometimes people need to get certain kinds of information
one way and other kinds of information in a different way.
     Furthermore, there is no such thing as one "right" kind of
material for a given learning style.
     However, there are more and less efficient ways to use what
you have.  If your child is not learning what you want him to
learn one way, try another method.  Feel free to adapt the
materials you have to the methods that will help you travel past
the roadblocks in your child's mind.
     The following check list will help you identify the
tendencies of learners in each group.
     Remember that one child will not demonstrate all the
characteristics within a category.  If you check off most of the
characteristics in one category, you will, however, have
confidence that your child probably does best in that area at
this time.

          Your goal as a teacher should be to make
     your children eventually comfortable with all
     three means of getting information.

     After you have presented a new idea through your child's
preferred style, review the material with some of the other
methods to increase your child's flexibility.

Visual/Spatial Learners
(Lookers)

 •  Tend to be quiet and often need to be coaxed into answering
     questions.
 •  Are excellent "copycats," functioning best when they "see"
     what is expected of them.
 •  Are especially observant of details and can frequently find
     items lost by others.
 •  Will take copious notes, even when the teacher promises to
     provide handouts.
 •  Are visually organized, easily remember where things are, and
     need to have everything in its place.
 •  Can assemble most things without help from printed or
     pictured instructions.
 •  Will catch your typographical errors and recognize if they
     have worked on or seen a page of material before.
 •  Make it a priority to look neat and be color-coordinated.
 •  Are very aware of spatial relationships and thus able to
     create well-spaced drawings, diagrams, and graphs.
 •  Doodle on note paper when talking.
 •  Tend to have a vivid imagination.
 •  Will have a large reading vocabulary at an early age.
 •  Given a choice, would most like to watch television or read
     a book in their spare time.
 •  Are easily distracted by visual stimuli (e.g., a new bulletin
     board or a bird outside the window).
 •  Respond favorably to visible rewards.

Visual/Spatial Learners Flourish When:
 •  Taught with books and pictures.
 •  Allowed to work challenging puzzles.
 •  The teacher demonstrates the skill to be learned (model it)
     -- "show me."
 •  Shown the word before hearing what it is.
 •  Shown a picture of the actual object.
 •  The position of tongue and lips is demonstrated when new
     words are presented.
     Note: If you can't have the visual learner observe the
     concept or skill you are teaching, help him visualize it
     in his mind.
 •  Taught with the following aids:
     Flashcards
     Matching Games and Puzzles (of Every Kind)
     Dictionaries
     "How-To" Books with Diagrams
     Workbooks
     Charts, Maps, Timelines, Pictures, and Graphs
     Written directions
     Wall Strips and Desk Tapes
     Well-Defined Assignments

Visual/Spatial Learners Tend To Struggle with:
 •  Creative writing.
 •  Reading beyond the literal meaning.
 •  Applying arithmetic to word problems.
 •  Forming a hypothesis and testing it with experiments.
 

Auditory Learners
(Listeners)

 •  Love to communicate and can generally "talk your ear off."
 •  Remember jingles, poems, and television commercials
     effortlessly.
 •  Continually keep a rhythmic pattern going by tapping for
     making sounds.
 •  Usually sing beautifully and have excellent pitch memory.
 •  Generally remember names of people they've met or heard
     about.
 •  Find it easy to express themselves verbally.
 •  Tend to read out loud or subvocalize while reading.
 •  Often sound older than their chronological age (as a result
     of their ability to process language patterns with
     "tape-recorder accuracy").
 •  Tend to sort out their problems by talking about them.
 •  Sound out words and are, therefore, usually phonetic
     spellers.
 •  Tend to be poor test takers because they can't sort out
     visual material fast enough.
 •  Enjoy listening to a radio, tapes, or CDs in their spare
     time.
 •  Respond well to phonetic reading programs, usually
     demonstrating excellent word attack skills.
 •  Find it easy to follow oral directions.
 •  Are easily distracted by background noises.
 •  Respond favorably to verbal praise.

Auditory Learners Flourish When:
 •  Told every step of the skill to be learned.
 •  Allowed to move their lips or subvocalize to increase reading
     comprehension.
 •  Neurological impressions are combined in reading: read orally
     to student while he points to the word being read.
 •  Memorizing rules, plays, poetry, etc.
 •  Taught with the following aids:
     Audiocassettes and CDs
     Music
     Rhymes
     Clapping, Keeping a Beat, and Rhythm Instruments
     Echo Games (Singing and Rhythm)
     Creating Conversation for Puppets
     Field Trips with Interview Focus
     Integrated Content (Interdisciplinary)

Auditory Learners Tend To Struggle with:
 •  Reading technical or nonfiction writing.
 •  Rewriting and editing written work.
 •  Properly researching footnotes.
 •  Paying attention to detail for accuracy in math, science,
     and history.
 

Kinesthetic/Tactile Learners
(Movers)

 •  Relate to others more comfortably in action and body than in
     words.
 •  Tend to live in perpetual motion, rarely sitting still --
     often called "hyperactive."
 •  Try to touch everything they see or walk past.
 •  Use lots of gestures and facial expressions when talking.
 •  Tend to show anger physically (e.g., by stomping feet and
     slamming doors).
 •  Prefer to try things out by touching and feeling, even as
     they get older.
 •  Often make paper airplanes and fans out of their papers.
 •  Prefer to be playing, jumping, running, or wrestling in their
     spare time.
 •  Have excellent muscle coordination in sports which require
     skills in balancing.
 •  Can successfully maintain balance while blindfolded.
 •  Are most distracted when they must be still or things get
     "too quiet."
 •  Tend to dislike long-range goal setting and complicated
     projects.
 •  Are excellent at taking gadgets apart and can put them back
     together again.
 •  Find listening a difficult challenge.
 •  Respond more favorably to a "pat on the back" than to "stars"
     or a favorable comment.

Kinesthetic/Tactile Learners Flourish When:
 •  Their learning experiences allow as many opportunities as
     possible to do or feel (touch).
 •  They can demonstrate or model a task for other students.
 •  Taught through role playing or pantomime.  They love short,
     dynamic presentations.
 •  Pointing with fingers to follow or anchor words in early
     reading.
 •  They are kept moving with appropriate activities.  They love
     construction.
 •  Taught with the following aids:
     Finger Plays and Puppet Theater
     Tracing motions (in the air, on paper, on the wall or floor)
     Tactile Experiences with Sandpaper, Sand, Clay, Water, etc.
     Travel and Field Trips
     Felt Pens (Texture)
     Math Manipulatives (Blocks, Rods, Chips, Play Money)
     Plays and Dramatic Interpretations
     Conducting Motions in Music
     Time Lines and Maps that he makes himself
     The key is variety in methods with lots of hands-on
activities.

Kinesthetic/Tactile Learners Tend To Struggle with:
 •  Concentrating on phonics, grammar, and math rules.
 •  Reading for information.
 •  Doing analytical work.
 •  Proofreading their work.
 •  Doing research-related writing.
 •  Completing long-term projects in science and history.
 •  Understanding the relevance of their work to other academic
     goals.

For More Information
     Dr. Ronald and Inge Cannon operate Education PLUS, a
speaking and publishing ministry for home-school families.
http://www.edplus.com
     Inge's workshop, "Learning Styles," is available on
audiocassette for $6 at http://www.edplus.com/ShopNow.asp
(select "Shop for Audiocassette Workshops").
     The Cannon's unique curriculum is designed for the entire family
to work together in an interdisciplinary way around the core of
Scripture and is cross-referenced into most of the Bob Jones
University Press textbooks.  http://www.edplus.com/Curric.asp

________________________________________________________

More than 700 Auditory Products in 76 Categories!

     If you have an auditory learner in your home, you have found
a gold mine of products that will meet your needs.  Look no more!
     Learning is enjoyable and easy when  you use music to teach
reading, math, Bible, grammar, history, science, geography -- and many
other subjects.  Also: story tapes/CDs, audio books, and videos/DVDs.
 •  Save 20% on Award Winning Story Tapes by Jim Weiss thru 8/21/05.
 •  Save 10% on Jim Weiss CDs thru 8/21/05 (while supply lasts).
Call 1-800-460-1973 or visit http://singnlearn.com.

________________________________________________________

Five Models of Learning Styles

by Mary E. Askew
Reprinted from the March/April 1989 issue of The Teaching Home.

          Understanding our children's preferred learning
     styles can help us to establish learning environments
     that foster readiness and produce more effective
     learning.

     The term leaning style has been described in various ways as
follows:
 •  A learning style is based on biological, emotional,
     sociological, physiological, and psychological
     characteristics.
 •  A learning style is everything that controls how we take in,
     concentrate on, understand, process, store, remember, and
     use new information.
 •  A learning style is the combination of preferences that a
     student has for ways of thinking, learning tools, relating
     to others, or various learning experiences.
 •  A learning style is one's natural learning strengths,
     individual gifts, and bents.
 •  A learning style is the way each child perceives the world
     differently.
     In summery, a child's learning style develops from different
factors and represents his most natural style of learning.

1.  Information Processing
     One factor involved in learning styles is information
processing. Information processing styles refer to the way in
which the child concentrates, absorbs, and retains information.
 •  Analytic learners prefer details; step-by-step approaches;
     fact-by-fact modes; focused approaches; consistency; and
     logical, objective, and organized presentations of facts.
 •  Global learners prefer seeing the broad view (the big
     picture), using intuition, seeing the interrelationships
     between things, doing group activities, and completing
     multiple tasks.

2.  Perceptual Ability
     The next learning is perceptual ability. Perceptual is the
method we use to take in information to observe our world.
Perceptual characteristic is an important learning-style factor.
 •  Auditory individuals learn as a result of hearing,
     verbalizing, and listening.
 •  Visual children input information by reading, seeing, and
     watching.
 •  Tactual learners acquire knowledge using feeling, touching,
     handling, or manipulation.
 •  Kinesthetic learning comes by motion, experience, and
     involvement.

3.  Cognitive Processes
     A third learning style model deals with the processes of
knowing or cognitive abilities.

     Perceptual Process.  The Perceptual Process deals with
the way we view our environment.
 •  Concrete learners record information received from their
     senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. They view
     things in a tangible, factual, and literal way.
 •  Abstract learners prefer studying relationships and unseen
     ideas. They use intuition and imagination.

     Ordering Abilities.  After being perceived, new information
is processed, understood, used, and stored in one of two ordering
styles.
 •  Sequential learners organize information in a step-by-step
     manner. They like logical and linear thinking.
 •  Random learners are spontaneous.

     The relationship between the perceptual and the ordering
abilities results in four combinations: Concrete/Sequential,
Abstract/Sequential, Concrete/Random, and Abstract/Random.

4.  Multiple Intelligences
     A fourth learning model deals with multiple kinds of
intelligence. At least seven have been identified.  They describe
an individual's areas of strength.
      •  Linguistic
      •  Spatial
      •  Musical
      •  Bodily-Kinesthetic
      •  Logical-Mathematical
      •  Interpersonal
      •  Intrapersonal

5.  Areas of Need
     Four additional learning factors are related to the
     learner's needs in four areas.
 •  The Learning Environment produces effects on the learner
     by changes in sound, light, temperature, and setting.
 •  Emotional Preferences include the child's motivation,
     persistence, focusing, responsibility, conformity,
     independence, and response to structure.
 •  Social Needs reflect the child's desire to be alone, with
     a peer, in a group, or with an adult.
 •  Physiological Needs are comprised of food needs, the need
     to move around, and the best time of day to work.

________________________________________________________

Read "How To Energize Yourself for Teaching This Fall"
http://www.TeachingHome.com/custserve/back_issues_copy.cfm

Never Out of Date:
Teaching Home Magazine
Back Issues
 

     Find information, inspiration, and support from 51 back issues
of The Teaching Home.
http://www.goemerchant1.com/index.cgi?ST=&Merchant=theTeachingHomen
Use the search box at the top of the page or the index below.

Topical Index of Back Issues
http://www.TeachingHome.com/custserve/bindex.cfm

________________________________________________________

Five Children: Five Personalities

by Joy Marie Dunlap
Reprinted from the March/April 1989 issue of The Teaching Home.

     Every child is a totally unique creation, relating to
information in the world around him in a different way.
     I have found that recognizing, understanding, and
accommodating each child's unique learning style makes a huge
difference in the child's attitude toward learning and how much
knowledge he is able to absorb and retain.
   Many models have been used to define different learning styles
based on generalized personality types. All of these are helpful,
but none are exhaustive, since there are literally billions of
personalities on the earth today, each somewhat different than
all the others.

Sensory Styles
     One model involves recognizing which of the five senses a
child relates to best. This is probably one of the first
personality factors you are likely to recognize in your children.
Each of our five babies showed clear differences in the way he
related to the world around him.

1. The Visual Learner
     Joshua was a visual baby. He had to have interesting things
going on that he could see or he became fussy. He hated to be
placed face down on a blanket on the floor. He hated the
sling-type baby carrier, because he could not see well from
inside it.
     Josh grew into a visual learner. For him, to see is to
understand. He enjoys reading and loves to learn from maps,
graphs, charts, and diagrams, which he memorizes readily from
sight.

2. The Auditory Learner
     Justin was an auditory baby. It really did not seem to
matter what he could or could not see. The important thing was
whether he could hear my voice.
     The sling-type baby carrier which Josh had so vehemently
rejected did not seem to bother Justin as long as he could hear
interesting sounds around him.
     In the early grades, Justin liked to learn through stories
and conversation. I taught him arithmetic using story problems.

3. The Kinesthetic Learner
     Judah is a kinesthetic learner. He learns best by doing,
touching, feeling, and experiencing. As a baby, Judah was
constantly in motion.
     Kinesthetics can be a major challenge to teach, as books
just aren't their thing -- at least not until later on down the
road.
     Judah has a short attention span and finds it hard to sit
still for very long.
     If you have a child with kinesthetic tendencies, do not
automatically assume that he is hyperactive or ADD.
     It is a mistake to fail to train a kinesthetic child in
character like any other child. Kinesthetic children need extra
time and patience, because it is challenging for them to learn to
control their impulses. But kinesthetic learners can learn
self-control waiting their turn to speak, lengthening their
attention span (gradually), and learning to sit still when
necessary.
     I planned Judah's courses to include extra physical
activities such as nature walks and hands-on experiences in
science, period crafts in history, all kinds of manipulatives in
math, and plastic letters in language arts. I also used a large
number of library books, since the full-color illustrations held
Judah's attention and helped him concentrate on what I was
saying.
     At first Judah could pay attention for only about 15 minutes
at a time, so I presented factual material through picture books
for that long and followed the lesson with an additional 10 to 15
minutes of feedback on his part in the form of retelling what he
had learned or drawing it on paper.

Personality Types

1. The Social Personality
     Jennaya is socially oriented. She enjoys school best when we
are doing things together. And she loves to do well to please
those she is with and is accountable to, so she tries hard even
when completing independent assignments in her room.
     Jennaya is most motivated by a smile, a hug, or a smiley
face on her paper.

2. The Achievement-Oriented Personality
     The achievement-oriented personality loves to reach new
goals for their own sake. All I have to do to get Joshua to learn
something is to express it as a goal, and he will not rest until
he has met the challenge. I have to be careful what I say. If I
suggest a challenge he is not ready for, he may get frustrated.
     The achievement-oriented personality can be competitive,
perfectionist, and self-critical. These children readily learn
independently and are motivated self-starters. They don't
naturally accept authority, but can be trained to (as all
children should). They love to be given goals to meet on their
own initiative, but you still need to check up on them like any
other child.
     These children are also planners. Josh likes his whole day
all planned out as soon as he gets up and is especially
frustrated by the need to be flexible and deal with unexpected
changes in plans. Josh now plans his entire week of schooling
ahead of time and then brings it to me for approval. This saves
me a tremendous amount of time and is very satisfying to Joshua.

3. The Scientist Personality
     Josh is also a scientist-type personality. This type can't
stand open-ended assignments. He likes a predictable world, where
certain rules are always followed. He enjoys answering factual
questions and actually loves to memorize facts of all kinds, but
shuns subjective questions which are "candy" to the creative-type
learner.
     Josh is both artistic and musical, and he likes to write
stories. Be he likes music to follow careful rules, his drawings
are realistic, and he only likes to write about what could be
proven as fact.

4. The Creative Personality
     In contrast, Justin, the creative type, loves to explore new
possibilities. The creative type loves open-ended, subjective
questions, including those which ask him to express his opinion
or compare and contrast two different things or speculate as to
why something might have occurred.
     The creative learner loves to write, create, and tinker. He
tends to be an undisciplined daydreamer and may need help staying
focused on assignments, especially those for which he must
memorize facts.
     Justin is most motivated to learn facts if I give him a how
or why puzzle which requires the facts in order to solve it.

A Balanced Approach
     In choosing your curriculum, keep your child's individual
personality in mind. We want to get to know our children's unique
personalities, appreciate them, and teach difficult facts or
concepts in the learning mode they relate to best.
     Still, every child should be solidly trained in
self-discipline and Christian character, and every child should
be given facts to master, philosophical questions to answer, and
hands-on activities to do. Every child needs a balanced
education.

          A wise teacher will strike a careful balance
     between accommodating her children's individual
     learning styles and, at the same time, shoring up
     their weak points and training each and every one
     in Christian character.

     What a delight to have the opportunity to watch each one of
our children blossom and grow through the years into a unique and
very special person!

     James and Joy Marie Dunlap offer resources for home educators.
http://www.lighthome.net/index.html

________________________________________________________

Please Thank and Support
Our Sponsoring Advertisers!
     These free newsletters are made possible financially by the
fine suppliers who advertise in them and in the accompanying
e-mail.  Please consider those that advertised in our last issue
(below) as well as the ones in this issue.

Online Christian Worldview Course
     http://www.WorldviewTraining.com
Rhea's Entrepreneur Days
     http://www.EntrepreneurDays.com
Little Touch of Elegance: Women's and Girls' Clothing
     http://www.elegancenew.com
Speedy Spanish / Christian Light Education and Rod & Staff
     http://www.Speedy-Spanish.com
Unit Studies Made Easy by Valerie Bendt
     http://www.ValerieBendt.com
Henty Books on Tape /  Unabridged Recordings
     http://www.HentyBooksOnTape.com
Praiseworthy Books: A Guide to Newbery Medal Winners
     http://praiseworthybooks.com

________________________________________________________

Sunnyside Up
     While visiting my parents earlier in the year, my father was
feeding a digestive biscuit to our youngest, then about 18 months
old.  Thinking that he might get weary standing and holding the
biscuit, I told him that Braden could hold the cookie.
     Our 4-year-old then piped up, "Yes, Grandpa, he's got hands,
see?"
     Submitted by A. Fockens, Ontario, Canada

________________________________________________________

God Loves You.
     Because we have been separated from God by sin, Jesus
Christ died in our place, then rose to life again.  If we trust
Him as our Savior and Lord, He will give us eternal life.
     "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of
works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
http://www.TeachingHome.com/about/Salvation.cfm

________________________________________________________

     To Unsubscribe.  Please reply to this message and type
"Unsubscribe" in the subject line.
     Change of E-Mail Address.  Please send your name,
old e-mail address, and new e-mail address.
     For Information on Advertising in this newsletter, see
http://www.TeachingHome.com/resources/howto.cfm.
     E-Mail Newsletter Reprint Policy. This newsletter is
copyright 2005 by The Teaching Home.  Permission is given to
forward or to print and distribute this e-mail in its entirety.
Individual articles from this E-Mail Newsletter may also be
reprinted unedited in their entirety.  Please include "by Cindy
Short and Sue Welch" and print the following at the end of the
article(s):  "Copyright 2005 by The Teaching Home,
www.TeachingHome.com.  Reprinted by permission."
     Please Note: We do not give permission to post articles on
a website.
     Reprints from The Teaching Home Magazine. Fill out
a Request Form and note the reprint policies.
http://www.TeachingHome.com/groups/reprint_form.cfm