Less is More?

The curriculum that we are using this year really fits our family. The kids look forward to school and I feel that they are learning quite a bit. I learn more all the time that too much information just bogs the kids down. I feel that if I give them a shorter lesson, they are much more likely to remember the information and file it away in their minds somewhere. Who would think that less is more?

On the note of filing information, during one of the SETHSA conference talks in Houston, Texas that I went to this summer, l realized something that really clicked with me. When you are teaching your children, you need to make sure that they have a "peg" or a "hook" on which to hang the knowledge. For example, if you are talking about a new topic, such as a science principle, make sure some kind of base knowledge is there. If you are teaching about liquids turning into gasses, make sure your kids know what liquid is. If you are teaching about something they have never heard of before, such as simple machines. They are thinking engines, and you are talking about fulcrums, tie it immediately into a see-saw. That is your peg to hang the knowledge on. For kindergarten, this is basic but can be easily overlooked.