Understanding How Your Children Learn - Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences

I spent a week taking care of five very different children and learned a lot of things in practice that I only learned in theory during my education classes in college. It was particularly interesting watching my two oldest nephews throughout the week. They were raised in the same home by the same parents, but have completely different personalities and ways of communicating and expressing themselves. It was interesting for me to interact with them individually and collectively and try to help them with the problems and stressful situations that naturally occur in a busy household. I realized very quickly that the way I encouraged and helped one of them did not yield the same results with the other.

Take this experience and then imagine the dilemma of an educator in a typical classroom trying to teach the same information to 30 different students who come from very different backgrounds and who learn and communicate in different ways. Crazy.

One of the greatest and most useful tools I learned in my education classes is Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Basically, Gardner's research showed that we all have different gifts or "intelligences". He identified several intelligences initially and added others as his study continued. I like the graphic below that shows several of the common intelligences. If you read through the summary of Gardner's research in the link above, you will probably identify pretty quickly which intelligences you possess. And you could probably likewise identify what types of teaching styles and learning activities best facilitate your learning and ability to apply new information.

Image from www.connectionsacademy.com

The idea, then, is that someone with visual/spatial intelligence will probably be able to learn a new concept better if it is presented visually. As teachers, we are encouraged to incorporate all of the learning styles into our lesson plans to try and ensure that each child has a chance to learn the material in ways that make sense to them. Hopefully, gone are the days when lessons were only read or recited or written down.

Perusing the many blogs and education websites dedicated to learning and lesson plans, I think that there are a lot of pre-k and elementary-age parents and educators that do a really good job of this-- but they don't necessarily take the time to explain why their lesson for the letter S involves sensory bins, do-a-dot paints, a craft, a nature walk, a game that requires standing up and sitting down, and music time. It may seem like overkill, but the more ways you can find to present a concept, the better. It doesn't have to be overwhelming. It can be as simple as this: when you are teaching your little girl about the letter Q, don't just give her a Q to glue on a piece of paper. Give her the oval part of the Q and then the tail part and talk about the shapes and what they look like.Say the sounds that Q make out loud and have them say the sounds too. Then sing a little song about how the letter Q says what it says. That covers tactile, visual, music, auditory, etc.

More than anything, take the time to interact with your child in learning situations and figure out how they learn best. For me, somehow I retain information better when I write it down. One of my nephews responded really well when things were communicated verbally. The other nephew responded much better when some type of kinesthetic or tactile activity was involved. Understanding your "intelligences" and your children's "intelligences" and the different ways you and your children learn and communicate best will change your life.

Thick, Creamy, Delicious Oatmeal

I can clearly remember the time I first had delicious oatmeal. It was one summer during college when my boss took me out to breakfast. I imagine she peer-pressured me into getting the oatmeal because I never would have ordered it on my own.

Oh. My. Goodness. It was delectable. Sweet, creamy, utterly delicious oatmeal. Oatmeal. I mean, we all know that porridge is what people used to eat for breakfast before they invented real breakfast cereal. You know, the kind that comes in a box with marshmallows? We moved on; civilization progressed to something more delicious. Yet here I was, eating a hearty, healthy bowl of oatmeal, and I loved it.

Yet years went by without a repeat of that experience. Oh sure, I ate the stuff every now and again. Elin would buy the cinnamon roll oatmeal packets from BYU creamery on ninth, and they made a bearable bowl of microwaved mush. I tried Trader Joe's something-sugary-pecan oatmeal, and it wasn't bad. But none of the instant oatmeal packets quite did it for me.

So I went beyond the convenient packets and tried a variety of other methods. Old fashioned on the stove, overnight oatmeal in the fridge, slow-cooker oatmeal, oatmeal with cream, butter, and sugar, oatmeal with yogurt and berries... nothing ever had staying power. I just didn't like it very much. Yet oatmeal is something I wanted to like! It's a warm, whole-grain, minimally processed food full of protein and fiber. I saw mothers who fed their children oatmeal every morning and wanted to be just like them.

So eventually, I went to the source. Meet Natalie, my inexhaustible sister-in-law. Natalie is the kind of mom that inspires us all. She gets up at the crack of dawn, exercises, dresses her daughters in cute matching outfits, braids their hair, and, of course, feeds them oatmeal. I sampled some of her oatmeal once at the in-laws, and it brought back memories of that first time I liked the stuff. So I asked the expert for her secrets.

The answer maybe should have been obvious: steel-cut oats, my friends. It improves the texture and taste three times over. With steel-cut oats, you don't have to dump in a ton of cream, butter, and sugar to make it palatable (and ruin your "healthy breakfast"). Instead, all you need is steal-cut oats cooked in a little milk with fruit and a touch of brown sugar.

Why isn't everyone doing this??? Well, these lovely oats take much longer to cook, up to a half-hour, in fact. There are some shortcuts around this. Sister Natalie orders Coach's Oats, which apparently maintain the marvelous texture of steel cut but cook in 5 minutes. There are also 3-minute Steel Cut Oats one can buy at the store. I actually bought them on accident (and was mad.) Yet after trying them out, I find they are, for me, a cut above rolled or instant oats.

But my favorite remains regular steel cut. To be fair, my oatmeal guru also likes the old fashioned oats, but she always cooks them on the stove rather than microwave. Let me tell you what, though: pressure cooking is the way to go! Love my new pressure cooker.

With me so far? Mathematically speaking...

Steel cut>Old Fashioned>Instant

Pressure cooker>stove top>microwave

How to Make Delicious Oatmeal

Step one: Buy steel cut oats. Many stores stock it in canisters with the old fashioned or instant oats. Others keep them with the bulk bins and let you scoop out your own.

Step two: Buy a pressure cooker. Just kidding! But seriously. You can just throw in 1 cup oats, 2 cups water, and 1 cup milk, cook on manual for 3 minutes, and then go get ready for 20 minutes. (It takes about that long when you include the pressure buildup and natural release.) The result is perfect every time.

However, assuming most don't have a pressure cooker. bring 2 cups milk and 2 cups water to boil in a medium saucepan on the stove (you can adjust the milk-water ratio). Stir in 1 cup oats and reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will make about 4 servings.

Step three: Mixins! Again, from Natalie: frozen blueberries are an awesome mix-in. They're easy to have on hand and can quickly cool your piping hot porridge to an eatable temperature (such a perk when feeding them to kids, amiright?) As long as you don't mind purple oatmeal, that is! I like to add blueberries, canned peaches, and a spoon of brown sugar.

I'm sure there are lots of great combinations out there, and I intend to try some more. Yet this is a great staple: simple, sweet, healthy, and so delicious. It also keeps pretty well in the fridge to re-heat the next day in the microwave. Happy eating!

"You Can Do This" Doll Bed for 18" Dolls

After seeing the "closet into dollhouse" conversion I did, a friend tagged me and posted this bed on Facebook:




Of course, I fell in love and immediately went to the site. It is a project person's dream! So many cute ideas, and she shares purchasing lists for materials needed, cutting guides, diagrams, and building instructions. (I'm so excited that Elin has bought a house so that I can build her all kinds of things she probably doesn't want or need.)

I had been piling up reasons to purchase a drop saw, and this cute bed tipped the balance. You could make it using a hand saw, but having this tool made it so much faster and easier:

If you are interested in making this bed, here is the link to her instructions:

http://ana-white.com/2010/11/doll-farmhouse-bed

Because I had wood scraps available, I used what I had--including pieces of molding that were left over from framing out my bathroom mirrors. I used them as the inset panels in the head and foot boards:

Some of my scrap pieces where pretty rough, even after sanding, and mine doesn't look nearly as "finished" as hers. We'll call it a "Rustic" Farmhouse Bed:

Sweet Dreams!

Decorating With Canvas Drop Cloths

Recently, I have gotten excited about canvas drop cloths. They are heavy-duty, inexpensive, come in a variety of sizes, have a wonderful, organic texture, and they are readily available at both Lowes and Home Depot. (There are some quirky down sides to the cloths which I will cover below.) I have seen them used in magazines, mostly in outdoor settings. But I have brought them inside--into our master bedroom.

Our room has a couple of nooks and crannies. One of them is a step-up area with a large archway. I didn't want to block the light that comes through the windows up there, but I also liked the idea of being able to temporarily shut off the space when I want to. (Our ugly exercise equipment is up there, yuck, and I also wanted it to be a fun, hide-away/sleeping area while our grandchildren were here for Christmas.) So I measured the opening, put up a sturdy curtain rod (on the inside of the arch so it is hidden from the rest of the room), and purchased curtain hooks with clips for ease in hanging:

One of the potential down-sides of the large drop cloths is that they have a seam running through them, Fortunately, on the ones I purchased, whomever designed them decided to use french seams, so there are no raw edges. And, frankly, I kind of like the rustic look. As I mentioned, these cloths are heavy, so be sure to anchor your curtain rods in the studs or use toggle bolts. The drywall mounts and screws I used were not sturdy enough.

I was also ready to change out my dark and dated bedding and curtains. So I sewed two drop cloths together and created a bedspread. (Another drawback to the heaviness of this fabric is that it is awkward to sew. Use a heavy duty needle.) I inherited some hand-blocked cotton bedspreads that my family purchased and used while were living in Iran in the early 60's. They show their age a bit, but I think that they make perfect curtains for the window in the upper part of the room:

Another heirloom from Iran, a hand-blocked, cotton tablecloth, adds pattern and color to the bottom of the bed. Again, you can see the seams in the bedspread, but they don't bother me:

I call the look Bedouin shabby chic :)

Quiet Book of Wonder

Alright friends: As you may recall, we three sisters and our mother engaged in a quiet book page swap last Christmas. The idea was that it’s easier to make 3 of a few pages to share rather than create 10 unique pages all by oneself. And yes, it took me several months to actually sew and bind mine together. Still, I learned to sew buttonholes in the process! Hooray! One more new sewing machine skill I can chalk up, right? But I digress...

There are some amazingly cute quiet books out there, aren’t there? Some are so beautiful! And time-intensive… and even kind of expensive. Our particular venture was not to be that kind of book. We wanted something fun and cute but also something simple that wouldn't break the bank. So without further ado:

The Cute, Quick, Inexpensive Quiet Book of Wonder

Elin's Armor of God Page

Mom's Magnet Board

Mom's Tic-Tac-Toe and Gumball Pages

Mom's Mr. Potato Head

Mom's Stoplight and Laurel's Baseball Glove

Laurel's Clock Page