Thursday, July 19, 2007

That Reminds Me of __________ Because . . .

Sometimes, related ideas take time to reveal their connections to me. In early June, I heard about a Go! Chart and the Charlotte Mason Conference and started implementing it immediately. It just hit me this week how the section of the chart in which we talk about what a story reminds us of is interrelated with trying to teach episodic memory ala Relationship Development Intervention.


On Tuesday, we worked with our Go! Chart. Pamela excels at tying a story into real-life situations, but not with other media (other stories, books, movies, songs, poems, etc.). The story was about a bird that fell out of its nest when the branch broke. A boy rescued the bird from a cat, hungering for a tasty morsel.

Sometimes, Pamela makes up real-life situations. In this case, Pamela says it reminds her of St. Cloud: we never saw a bird that fell out of a tree. Her flat face tells me she is inventing this yarn. I pointed toward the window and reminded her of a tree across the street from our house here in Carolina. The branch had broken and fallen to the ground. We found a baby chick and helped it get back on its feet and onto the grass, so it could hide and call for its mother. Notice how her face brightens at that memory! Then, I reminded her of the time a bird got into our house in Pennsylvania, which she remembers--I can tell by her lop-sided smile.

I tried to help her connect to literary memories by hinting about Dr. Seuss. However, she surpassed my expectations by remembering a Tennyson poem called A Cradle Song about a little birdie in a nest! In hindsight sharpened by the video clip, I pushed her to fast in trying to recall the poem. I wonder if it would have come to her had I shown more patience. Then, she remembered the book Are You My Mother? and started to stim, "You must", out of excitement and totally off topic.

3 comments:

Mary said...

Tammy,
All those smiles do tell you she is enjoying remembering...great RDI moments. I'm glad to see you back posting. Mary B.

Anonymous said...

Tammy, I am just discovering your blog. Your daughter is beautiful and gives me hope for my son. I look forward to exploring your teaching methods. Thanks, Alicia

walking said...

Thanks, Alicia. Fortunately, they are not my teaching methods: I stand on the shoulders of giants! I can thank Charlotte Mason, Mildred McGinnis, Steve Gutstein (and his wife Rachelle), Mary Pecci, Jan Olsen, Carol Gray, etc., not to mention all the wonderful homeschoolers who have also taught me and inspired me!