Reading, Reading, Reading!

Haven't been online much this week. We've been in reading mode. DS can't get enough of it and neither can I. Can't help but wonder if DS will be reading soon. He follows the text with his finger and pretends to read. He's also recognizing certain words/sounds.

I finished "Nurtured by Love" by Shinchi Suzuki as part of my preparations for us to start formal violin classes in the fall (we took a six week intro group class where DS learned proper positions and rhythms with games and music). I think this book is a must read for anyone that has or will ever have a small child regardless of plans for enrolling them in Suzuki Violin or Music education. Very encouraging and assuring that all our children have the capacity to be "noble human beings." Also learned, most people completely misunderstand what Suzuki Music Education is all about.

Suzuki devised his program for teaching small children to play the violin after a father came to him with his 4 year old child and asked Suzuki to teach him. He had never taught a child that young and pondered how. He then realized that all children in Japan learn Japanese despite the fact that it is an extremely complex language. He then taught the boy (successfully) approaching it like you would teach a child his mother-tongue, constant repetition in a non-forced way. The other unique thing he did was first teach the parent. The parent and child would come in for lessons but the child wouldn't realize this. He would just watch his parent learn how to play on a small violin. No one would force the violin on the young child. He would inevitably ask to play too. At this point the mother would hand him the violin with the understanding that it would be hard work and take lots of practice to learn how to play. Never did he condone coercing small children to play. He didn't feel this was good or effective for small children. He also, later, extended this to other aspect of education. His goal was never to create great musicians but to create "noble human beings" and setting them up to meet there full potential. Isn't that what we all want? Beautiful!

I was also excited at the end of this week to receive the Enki Foundations Manual. Enki is a homeschool curriculum like no other. There is a lot of fucus on nature and multiculturalism. It is not a cookie cutter curriculum but easily adaptible while providing the tools and information the parents need. The creator pulls in ideas from Waldorf, Montessori, The United Nations International School, as well as Western education, and more. It is really looking like a good fit for us. I'm looking for something to help us create rhythm (that is part of Enki's focus) and create a life long learner. In addition, I find that nature is an important aspect in our lives as well as tolorance and connections with people from all over the world with varied beliefs. Enki is one of the few homeschooling curriculums out there that is not Christian centered. The method is complex and takes lots of time to absorb but seems well worth it. I can't even begin to give a clear picture of what Enki is all about in a few words but you can of course get a bigger taste at their website: http://www.enkieducation.org/. I'll post more as I learn more. I'm probably only about 1/6 of the way through the foundations manual.