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How to you approach asymmetrical learning? My son is almost four, and has had some trouble communicating ( speech delay, some consonants not coming out in some

How to you approach asymmetrical learning? My son is almost four, and has had some trouble communicating ( speech delay, some consonants not coming out in some words he "learned" earlier ) but he's all-in on bike riding ( pedals since he turned 3, no training wheels ever ) and he loves gardening with us ( can identify most plants in our garden and genuinely helps on good days -- ask him to pick the ( blueberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, borage, chamomile, calendula ) and you'll get what you asked for ). I'm not worried about his development, but I want to brace for school where I'm sure some things will be challenging and others won't challenge him. I know my motivation in school dropped off some when that sense of having to wait for my classmates crept in. How do I keep him engaged on the things that he needs to work on, and celebrate his successes in the things that are easy?

actfrench 4y ago
Wow, this is a biggie. I want to address the last part of your question - " How do I keep him engaged on the things that he needs to work on, and celebrate his successes in the things that are easy?" I would actually encourage you to focus your praise on the times he challenges himself past his comfort level, rather than praising him on the things that come easily to him. When you praise a child for grit - working hard - being creative - being resilient, you're fostering a growth mindset, because you're praising him for things he has control over, his efforts, rather than his character or talent which he has no control over. I'm not a stickler about this - I think it's fine to occasionally say, you're so smart! or wow your hair is pretty! But in general, you are going to help his self-esteem and his autonomy in the world by praising hard work more than achievements. Angela Duckworth has a wonderful book on Grit And Carol Dweck has great writing about Growth Mindset I'm glad you're not concerned about his development and you shouldn't be. By the way, Understood.org has great guides to developmental milestones for every grade and age group. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/developmental-milestones-for-typical-kindergartners?_sp=2874e6b9-c5cd-4299-8570-830685fcc349.1656520915860 https://www.understood.org/en/articles/developmental-milesto... Almost every child I know has strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others. This is more pronounced, obviously in kids that are twice-exceptional and neurodivergent. I was even readinga about something called the Einstein Syndrome where brilliant kids experience late language emergence. https://www.healthline.com/health/einstein-syndrome#:~:text=What%20is%20Einstein%20syndrome%3F,the%20curve%20in%20other%20areas https://www.healthline.com/health/einstein-syndrome#:~:text=.... In one of my opinions one of the biggest problems with traditional school is that all kids are expected to learn at the same rate at the same time in a group setting. This is completely unrealistic as every kid in that classroom is going to speed up and slow down and different points in their learning - and the likelihood of that happening for every kid at the same time is close to none. it's also unrealistic to expect each child to be perfectly well balanced. Don't we need thinkers who are really strong in one area and not in all? This is why mastery learning is so impactful. Kids who learn at their own pace are of course going to learn faster. During Covid, I saw multiple kids go through the entire K-6th grade curriculum in 6 months using apps and working 1-1 tutors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastery_learning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastery_learning You may also want to check out Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory which really celebrates all the wonderful different intelligences kids bring to the world. And keep praising the hard work and creative work!

actfrench 4y ago

Wow, this is a biggie. I want to address the last part of your question - " How do I keep him engaged on the things that he needs to work on, and celebrate his successes in the things that are easy?" I would actually encourage you to focus your praise on the times he challenges himself past his comfort level, rather than praising him on the things that come easily to him. When you praise a child for grit - working hard - being creative - being resilient, you're fostering a growth mindset, because you're praising him for things he has control over, his efforts, rather than his character or talent which he has no control over. I'm not a stickler about this - I think it's fine to occasionally say, you're so smart! or wow your hair is pretty! But in general, you are going to help his self-esteem and his autonomy in the world by praising hard work more than achievements. Angela Duckworth has a wonderful book on Grit And Carol Dweck has great writing about Growth Mindset I'm glad you're not concerned about his development and you shouldn't be. By the way, Understood.org has great guides to developmental milestones for every grade and age group. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/developmental-milestones-for-typical-kindergartners?_sp=2874e6b9-c5cd-4299-8570-830685fcc349.1656520915860 https://www.understood.org/en/articles/developmental-milesto... Almost every child I know has strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others. This is more pronounced, obviously in kids that are twice-exceptional and neurodivergent. I was even readinga about something called the Einstein Syndrome where brilliant kids experience late language emergence. https://www.healthline.com/health/einstein-syndrome#:~:text=What%20is%20Einstein%20syndrome%3F,the%20curve%20in%20other%20areas https://www.healthline.com/health/einstein-syndrome#:~:text=.... In one of my opinions one of the biggest problems with traditional school is that all kids are expected to learn at the same rate at the same time in a group setting. This is completely unrealistic as every kid in that classroom is going to speed up and slow down and different points in their learning - and the likelihood of that happening for every kid at the same time is close to none. it's also unrealistic to expect each child to be perfectly well balanced. Don't we need thinkers who are really strong in one area and not in all? This is why mastery learning is so impactful. Kids who learn at their own pace are of course going to learn faster. During Covid, I saw multiple kids go through the entire K-6th grade curriculum in 6 months using apps and working 1-1 tutors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastery_learning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastery_learning You may also want to check out Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory which really celebrates all the wonderful different intelligences kids bring to the world. And keep praising the hard work and creative work!