Many children have difficulty getting information from Point A to Point B. There are things inside their little brains that just don’t seem to get expressed coherently or appropriately. Earlier this year, I stumbled upon something that has become a light bulb moment in speaking to this issue.
LOGIC
That’s right…that subject no one teaches anymore. That subject that creates a huge question mark in most homeschool moms’ minds. That subject that is unheard of except in Classical Homeschooling circles.
I was pretty sure one only needed logic if one was planning to be a lawyer, and only then because some Ivy League school told you you needed it. But, since we follow a Classical Homeschooling model (sort of) and many of my catalogs suggested Logic, I decided it was worth looking in to. Never did I expect it to help my child who struggles to express what is in her head. I understand that logic is all about teaching young people to coherently present their knowledge; however, I really thought it was best used for those who are verbally gifted already.
Silly me.
Let me digress for just a moment…
The fact that we school in a predominantly Classical style is due mostly to the fact that that method is one that meshes well with my oldest child’s personality. His next youngest sibling…not so much. She sits in on some of the things we do, but her subjects tend to be highly artsy and much less structured. You can school the artsy child in the Classical method, but you will have to tweak. And tweak we do. (At the moment I am considering “tweaking” myself right out of Classical Homeschooling…that’s another post! lol)
So, when it came to Logic, I purchased Building Thinking Skills with no expectations for anyone except my oldest child. However, Meg found the book and curiosity made her open it. She ended up bringing it along on a road trip we took and spent hours pouring over the pages. I could hear her working over and over again to explain the shapes, using the example as her model. (Describing shapes is something done early on in Level 2 of the Building Thinking Skills series). She would occasionally get frustrated, but for the most part, she just kept working at it. I realized she was explaining things in a way I had never heard her explain them. She is one of those children who if asked mere seconds after having a new concept introduced to her, “What did I just say?” will look at you blankly and reply, “I don’t know.” Frustrating, but true. So, to hear her actually speaking what she was seeing out loud and in a coherent manner was incredible!
It was here the light bulb flipped on…
Logic isn’t just for the verbally gifted child. Logic is for all children. I would even go a bit further and say that Logic is especially helpful for those children who need practice in getting information from their brains into written or spoken word. They get a chance to practice this in a non-threatening, simplistic manner.
Even if you don’t purchase a full-blown logic curriculum, one simple thing you can do for your verbally challenged child is have them work on describing pictures or household items. Show them a picture of something like a flower:
Ask them to give you 3-5 words that would describe the picture. In the beginning, the child who struggles with this kind of thing will possibly balk at having to give you so many words, and once they get started, they are likely to give you some rather interesting descriptions.
When Meg first looked at this she said, “rose.” (Nothing like stating the obvious, huh?) When I asked her to be more specific and tell me more about it, she said things like yellow, thorny, pretty, green, and picture. (once again, stating the obvious! lol)
Prompt your child to move past simply stating the obvious. I asked her if the rose looked soft, what general shape is it, how would the leaves feel if you touched them, etc. This is a crucial step. It teaches the child to express themselves in a deeper way. Children with a disconnect from mind to mouth often find themselves expressing themselves in inappropriate ways. Even the obvious is often difficult for them to explain, but if you help them to explore the world beyond the obvious, you give them a treasure trove of language to help them express themselves more fully and with less over-the-top emotion (which often happens simply because they can’t get their point across to you). It teaches them to verbalize precisely, which is something we all need practice in!
It has been so interesting to watch Megan work at giving more precision to her thoughts. Yes, she still gets terribly frustrated when she can’t fully flesh out her point, but it is getting better as she accumulates more practice at verbalizing in a logical manner. I am so glad I didn’t brush Logic off as a waste of time!
baptisthomeschoolresources says
Very interesting post – something I had never given much thought to before now. I’m going to try this sometime in our schooling!
I am blessed! says
You have an incredible blog and I’ve really enjoyed it! I just passed a blog award on to you.
I am blessed! says
This is very interesting to me. I’ve never thought of Logic as a separate course, but more the natural result of critical thinking skills. I am very logical. I’m a scientist, so I had lots and lots of math. I, too, have a daughter who is not so mathematically inclined, yet I never thought of this side of logic that you describe. Good food for thought.
Fruitful Harvest says
Great post Amy~
We have an unschooling style approach to homeschooling….but your post was something I can relate to.
You know how I have told you your writing just comes to life….you seem to choose such creative words when you write a posts!
My writting on the other hand seems so flat…on occation I can pull off a post like yours but its such a challenge for me and does not come naturally for me.
Hence taking me way to long….more time than I care to spend writting a deep post.
I know the post was geared towards kiddos learning but this momma is challenged in this area! LOL
You on the other hand have a gift…I enjoy reading your blog and do try to learn from the post itself but also your writting style!
Blessings,
Georgiann
Anna says
“That’s right…that subject no one teaches anymore. That subject that creates a huge question mark in most homeschool moms’ minds. That subject that is unheard of except in Classical Homeschooling circles.”
That’s not entirely true anymore. There’s a movement in public schools to apply “critical thinking” to all subjects. They’re failing at it, no surprise, but they’re trying!
Lori R says
I teach in a classical school which molds “classical” to fit Christian, covenantal, and Reformed … so we look pretty different than the typical classical school (and I think that’s a good thing).
My husband teaches the logic course for our 8th graders, and I’m fascinated by how the kids emerge from that year much more capable of analysis, description, and creative thinking.
Precision is so important in communication – thanks for noting this! You’re laying such a great foundation with your kids right now in skills they’ll need throughout life. Being able to express oneself clearly in a few words is a precious gift.
I hope your school year goes well. 🙂 We’re about to close out our 1st quarter. I’m amazed by how quickly the time flies…
Jena says
This really hits home with me right now. At my job I have the chance to educate our high school interns as much as I can about veterinary medicine. One student is proving to be a real challenge for me. Exactly as you said, she is the type to look at me and say “I forgot” quite carelessly when I’ve just spend several minutes teaching her something. Thank you for this post – it has encouraged me not to give up and to try to find other ways to help her learn.
Angela says
This is good information for me to store away in my memory until my kids are a little bit older. Thanks for sharing!
Angela
Angela says
Amy,
I have a blog award for you if you’d like to stop by my blog and pick it up! I enjoy your blog and wanted to direct some of my readers your way!
In Christ,
Angela
Sandra says
My youngest daughter is 12 and she does something my other 4 never did: when doing math, and she comes to a fraction and I’ll say, “How do you multiply a fraction?” She’ll look at me blankly and then answer, “You divide the 4 and the 2.” Or whatever the number is. Then when I tell her we are multiplying, not dividing, she looks puzzled. I will explain it to her and the very next problem she does wrong. This has been an ongoing problem. I need some logic workbooks! Thanks for posting this.