LAYING A FOUNDATION

by Terri L. White

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:24,25)  

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:24,25)

The house that sits on wobbly cinder blocks or rotting timbers shudders at the thought of a storm, and tornadoes that swoop annually through north central Texas eagerly gobble up those types of structures. Similarly, laying a solid foundation on which your child can build for the rest of his life, is the most important aspect of your child’s education. Studies in science, history, literature, and vocational preparation all require a springboard that enables your child to rise to the challenges that growing up brings in life. Hence, we have those early years of preschool and primary education.

Dr. Raymond Moore, a leading educator, has done extensive research in early childhood development. Instead of frantically shoveling truck loads of academics in children younger that age 7, he recommends that preschoolers be given the freedom to be at home for play, simple chores with the parents, plenty of reading to the child, and a life of gentle routines that builds security and good health. These early years of exploring the world around them will give meaning to future "book learning." But why age 7? In truth, age 7 is not the "magic" age for academic readiness, but it offers a general age category; some children are not ready until ages 8 or 10 and others are ready earlier. Joseph Halliwell, in his Reviewing of Reviews on School Entrance Age and School Success, revealed that early entrance to first grade results in lower achievement. Those who begin their academic pursuit at their readiness level excel in achievement, adjustment, leadership, social-emotional development, and motivation. Several factors feed into this discovery.

The cognitive (mental/reasoning) skills required to think abstractly take time to develop. As the brain grows in structure it becomes more adequate in function. This process should not be rushed. Many researchers have found that a child needs a simple environment with few distractions, involving relatively few people ( adults or children) for healthy cognitive development to occur. With the home most obviously fitting this description, a child’s potential can unfold naturally like a rose instead of being forced open by a too-early introduction to academics. A small child might be able to recognize simple words now and then, perhaps even at two years of age or younger. Yet if he is required to read or write or use numbers consistently and is not ready to follow through on a rational basis -- with cognitive maturity -- he will often become frustrated and may turn aside altogether from skills requiring such reasoning. So by schooling early, we often create learning disabilities.

Young children are basically distant-visioned people. In a study by Carter and McGinnis, it was established that the visual mechanism at age six is unstable and many children have difficulty in fixating at definite points and in keeping their place in reading. Although the eyes may seem mature and the child may be reading well, young eyes are not developed enough to accommodate near objects in a consistent way. As early academics have become the norm in the United States, the percentage of nearsightedness in young children has also increased. Young children need to be able to "rest" their eyes by spending plenty of time outdoors for distance-vision.

Learning to read also depends heavily on auditory skills. In some children the ability to retain and recall speech sounds is not well developed until the age of nine. Auditory discrimination and auditory memory skills improve with age.

These three factors -- cognitive, visual, and auditory development -- are the key ingredients to the academic readiness of your child. (Social-emotional factors fit in heavily for those sending their children to a formal school outside of the home; however, since we are considering only home schooling in this article, we will not include that in our discussion.) Since most of us have been sent to preschools at early ages and trooped faithfully through conventional school systems, it is often difficult to comprehend what seems to be "holding our child back." If we remember, though, that we are not holding our child back from learning, but holding him back from possible learning disabilities or future burn-out, patience will win out as we wait for our child’s readiness level. When your child is ready, he will normally beg you to teach him to read. Your sensitivity to your child’s individual development will guide you, also.

Once your child is ready to pursue academics, you will have the joy of watching him eagerly master his studies with zeal. Unfortunately, it is at this time that you will have to watch out for another pitfall. Conventional schools not only school too early, but they also attempt to stuff too many "peripheral" subjects into the minds of their young students. At your child’s readiness level, the most important goals are to be able to read, to understand basic arithmetic concepts, and to master penmanship. Anything beyond these three basics is overload.

Reading, once thought to be a simple task, actually involves a number of complex mental processes. These are (1) word recognition, (2) decoding (i.e., reading letters that stand for sounds), (3) sound articulation (i.e., differentiating between the various sounds of a given vowel), (4) sequential analysis (i.e., sequence of letters and sounds), and (5) perception of various thoughts and ideas. This process takes time. Once the student grasps the phonics behind reading (yes! phonics is the best way to teach reading), he needs practice, practice, practice -- practice in reading out loud and practice in silent reading. Practice cements the skill of reading and builds a foundation that can never be taken away and one that will enable him to read virtually anything as he matures.

Penmanship goes hand-in-hand with learning to read. As your student learns his alphabet, he can practice printing each letter in the upper and lower cases. This skill requires hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity. Boys generally loathe penmanship, but if you are careful not to push, your boy can excel as well as a girl. Again, this skill necessitates daily practice and perseverance.

An abstract skill like arithmetic can (and should) be first taught using manipulatives. Beans, raisins, or toothpicks work just as well as expensive equipment in flashy colors. Texts that only use a paper and pencil approach should be avoided because in order to understand the abstract concept of any of the math skills, one needs to work with it in his hands. For example, when you are learning to count to ten, you can see what "ten" actually means if you have ten apples. If you proceed to eat one of the apples and only have nine left, you have just learned subtraction. ( A hands-on approach is useful in any math/algebra skill no matter how old the student or how sophisticated the material.) Once the concept is understood, then paper and pencil problems and flashcards can be used for drill in order to cement the concept. Again, practice, practice, practice.

This stage of your child’s education is very labor-intensive for the parent because you have to be there every minute. Your child is not an independent learner at this stage, and he requires constant supervision. It is so vital that he master these basic skills that the parent must be very disciplined to provide consistent practice on a regular basis. When our children were at this stage, we pursued our academics three days a week. During those three days, we worked on one subject until we finished a goal and then took a play break outside. Plenty of fresh air and exercise interspersed throughout studies stimulates the brain and revives the will! Our studies never lasted longer than one and a half or two hours. Mornings are children’s best hours, so we reserved afternoons for storytime ( Mom reading a stack of books), playtime, chores, and errands. On the fourth day of the week we all helped clean the house, and the fifth day was reserved for outings with friends. Week-ends were (and still are) set aside for worship with other believers and family times.

While your student is mastering his foundational skills, his mind is so intent on learning these basics that any other academic input will take away from the time he needs for practice in these skills. Perhaps you may think that only two hours a day in studies leaves the child plenty of time for other subjects, but your young student needs space away from books to subconsciously sort through all the new information that his brain is receiving. While he is playing he may be counting to one hundred or singing his ABC’s or reading a label on a toy. This "space" contributes significantly to his mastery of his basic skills; to steal that time from your child is to instead offer him a flimsy foundation. However, there are some excellent ways to casually introduce history or science: read simple biographies of famous people during your storytimes, subscribe to a child’s science magazine, go for nature hikes and observe God’s wondrous creation, and find books on your child’s reading level that tell about the people/events of history and the world around us (not textbooks -- they are usually dry and void of life; make use of your library). This relaxed approach provides rich diversity in your child’s life without the unnecessary pressures of being required to study the peripheral subjects.

Because he is being introduced to the skills that will determine his success for the rest of his life, this is an exciting time in your child’s life. Upon this foundation, he will build a worldview from his Biblical and academic studies. He will have the tools to explore the world around him and to simply carry out basic life skills necessary in day-to-day living. You are giving you child a gift when you take the time to lay down a solid foundation in his life -- a gift that enables him to make intelligent choices about his future.

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