From study group/parenting June 11, 2016

This time we had a further discussion of what Horst Hellmann has given us in his public talk at Jagad Alit last month. The topic of reading and writing came up. “How should we do when a child before age of 7, by his/herself, is asking to write/read? Or further, when a child somehow could read because he/she often see the text that written in the book?”

Off course we won’t say “No, you can not read,” but we have to remember from what Horst has said that :

• From age 3 to 6 the children only have the right hemisphere of the brain working. Around 7 of age then the left hemisphere comes toward.   The right hemisphere is more in pictures and the left hemisphere means the sound. When we look at the younger children they have only sight memory. Then when the left hemisphere comes, children can read maybe very nicely but when they asked to tell what they are reading, the content, they just say the words they are reading not the content. They do not understand in the sense of what is really on the text. Then coming up the bridge between both hemispheres. They develop the nerve system between both hemisphere which make children understand the letter and also the sound.
• Adults start learn something from  their head, then they feel it and do it (we listen to the lecture as our thinking process, then we feel that what was in the lecture is the best for our child, then we do that for our child). But children learn something from doing to thinking, through feeling (they play something, then they feel what they play is very interesting, then they think of how to do that better).

The gesture for “O’ is a large rounding of the arms - photo from pinterest

So when the child has already could read before 7, we as a parent should give them activities to strengthen the will and to nourish the feeling.  Hence it makes sense to develop the alphabet using pictures. Human beings had to write something before they could read it. The child is still interested in fantasy and fairy tale, so we develop a picture alphabet using fairy tale stories.  The playful of living alphabet will speak to the heart of children. This will develop the interest of learning.

Draw a butterfly for "B". Tell the butterfly story. Go outside to see butterflies

At our discussion, we also talked about the indications of reading/first grade readiness. Here are some of  them I’ve got from http://www.waldorfinspiredlearning.com/...

Physical development:

• Change of  teeth – Steiner’s theory was that a child was ready for academic learning, including reading when he was getting his second teeth. Throughout history this has happened around age 7. It seems to be occurring earlier in modern children, so it is not necessarily as good a guide as it used to be. There are various theories about this phenomenon. One is the growth hormones to be found in modern foods, mostly milk, which could speed up certain signs of maturity. Another is light exposure. Few children ever experience true darkness in our culture. Farmers speed up the maturity of poultry and cattle by keeping the lights on continuously, so it is supposed that extended light exposure could also speed up signs of maturity.
• Body proportions – Around age seven, again give or take a year or two, a child’s limbs lengthen and the head becomes smaller in relation to the rest of the body. An infant has a ratio of head to body of 1:4. At around age 7 it becomes 1:6.  As a sign of this change, the child becomes able to reach his arm over his head and completely cover his ear with his hand.
• Visible joints, knuckles and kneecaps instead of dimples
• An observable arch in the foot
• Individualized facial features: enlarged chin and nose, loss of fat on cheeks
• S-curve in spine
• Consistent heartbeat of about 60 beats/minute and respiration once for every four heartbeats

Skills:

• Walk a beam forward, maintaining balance
• Catch and throw a large ball
• Climb stairs, alternating feet with each step
• Tie knots and bows, and zip and button clothing
• Hop on either foot
• Skip
• Hop with both feet together
• Habitually walk by swinging opposite arm when stepping out with one foot
• Shake hands by offering hand with thumb outstretched
• Sew, finger knit, play finger games, etc.
• Have established dominance (handedness), although this may not be firm in some children until age 9, and may be a predictor of late reading.
• Have a conscious goal in drawing or painting a picture.

Well, children have their own time for everything they need!  Late readers are not less intelligent children! If you think about it, it makes sense that a better brain might take longer to develop, and therefore late readers may indeed be more intelligent!