Reformation Thought: Manipulatives
Neither my wife, nor I, ever planned to be educators. Certainly, parenting has an inherent requirement involving education as we ‘train up our children,’ but homeschooling was not our expectation when we began some six or more years ago. During that time-frame I think we have learned more about education and how to educate than we ever expected. If anything, we are the ones getting an education.
One interesting concept I had never considered was the developmental thought process of a child, particularly in the area of math. In the earliest stages of mental development and awareness, a child can only deal with concrete items. Abstract concepts are so foreign that they cannot process or grasp them.
An example is how children are taught to count. Universally, parents use concrete items like fingers, blocks, Cheerios, etc. Just look in any kindergarten classroom and see the plethora of toys that are designed to engage the child on a concrete level. They can manipulate these items and through the physical, begin to grasp principles that will later enable and enhance their abstract thinking skills.
A couple of our boys struggled with math, so we chose a program called Math-U-See to help in learning the basic skills using manipulatives. The interactive nature of the concrete objects helped and continues to help them in understanding concepts, even as they mature into adolescents capable of abstract thought.
About a month ago, during our celebration of Hanukkah, it dawned on me that Yahweh (God) knew exactly what He was doing when Continue reading
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