I was recently invited to review two audio workshops given by Susan Evans.
Making Literature Fun
From Susan’s website…
“This one-hour audio workshop, delivered by a former English literature teacher, will give you seven practical ideas for making literature come to life in your homeschool. 39 classic works of literature are mentioned specifically, along with many hands-on ideas on how to bring these specific works of literature to life. As a result, you will be able to apply those hands-on ideas to any work of literature. Included are tips on how to accelerate your children’s reading skills, how to get your children to sit still for reading, and how to get your children to love reading on their own.”
If you have teaching experience, especially in the language arts area, the seven mains tips will not be new news to you. They are great tips but nothing earth shattering. The most valuable part of this workshop were the specific works she lists as they pertain to subjects such as history and science. I will reference it often for classic literature recommendations. She does not have a problem using rewards as motivation so if you’re super-sensitive to things that resemble bribery, some of the tips will not be for you.
Many of her suggestions for incorporating movement into learning and dealing with squirmy children lacked a good explanation for why they worked. If you want to dig deeper into these topics, try searching for books on brain integration/balancing and sensory processing disorder, respectively.
Overall I was inspired to re-evaluate how hands-on our curriculum is. She seems great at immersing her entire family in a unit. If you’re inclined to unit studies, you will definitely find her material valuable.
To start making literature fun for your kids, click here.
Overcoming Math Frustration
From Susan’s website…
“Does your child spend all morning daydreaming away his time until you want to rip your hair out? Well then, this one-hour audio workshop is for you! Having learned these things the hard way, I would love to share with you how to get your children to be more diligent with their math. This workshop includes:
- 11 ways to overcome math frustration. (God brought these to mind, and they are personal experiences with my children. Each of these has worked at different times, and surprisingly, some of the answers are spiritual.)
- A comparison of 4 popular math programs, with their pros and cons. Sometimes frustration results from matching a child with a program that doesn’t match their way of processing information, or their learning modality.
- Hands-on ideas to get kids more excited about math.
You’ve wasted too much time already. Why wait longer? For the price of a latte, your child’s math frustration can be resolved!”
During this workshop Susan seemed as frustrated with math as her children. If you do not consider yourself a math person, her tips may really resonate with you. As a math-minded, left-brained engineer, I found this workshop to be less valuable to me than the literature one. That being said, she touched on a big point that has nothing to do with math that many homeschool moms need to hear–connecting with your child on his terms will translate to increased willingness in the academic arena.
To start overcoming math frustration in your house, click here.