Genius in 28 Steps- Fundamental Skills (3)

I know it has been a long time since I last reviewed this book. I finished reading it before Abid's birth so to write this review I need to read it again. Actually last month I had the opportunity to meet the author but the event was canceled. I also found out that we actually went to the same secondary school in Seremban.

The other 2 fundamental skills are writing and independence.

Writing

Of course it is an important skill. Benefits? to a young child?- he will be able to express himself, take pride in his work and build his confidence. Also writing can improve memory, concentration and attention to detail--if you remember, this will help him in acquiring the first skill, FOCUS.

Exercise:
1. Copy a passage from a book
2. Write about his hobbies / interest
3. Write shopping list
4. Write letters or cards
5. Write about holidays / major events

I remember my parents got us siblings to write essays after every holiday when we were still very young. Frankly , it is quite difficult to get Adam to write what I want or make him copy a passage from the book. But he loves writing cards. I guess because he sense that there is a purpose to it, rather than just copying passages. I think I will try him songs next. Just bought a lined notebook for him because his writing keeps on getting bigger and bigger.

Ammar? He still conteng-conteng.

Independence

To be honest, I don't know how to summarize this topic with my own words. I had to reread it many times. But the gist is that for the child to be independent, he has to be self-motivated. It is a long process, but vital. Some ways that the author suggested:

1. Give your child his own free time which he can choose to do whatever activity he wants to (ni macam terlebih je bagi kat Adam- "mainlah apa nak, mama nak masak")
2. To instill self-motivation : try put him with other children that do well in their studies to motivate him to work harder.
3. Slowly delegate tasks to him- increase his responsibility of a task over time.
4. Give him a clear goal- this will motivate him to work towards the goal.
5. Give him hints, instead of guiding him to full solution.

Now is the summer school holiday. 6 weeks Adam will be at home all the time. So I made him a timetable, just a simple daily activities and aims- no specific time or duration for any activities. But surprisingly he is quite motivated to follow the timetable, and wants me to fill up the blank boxes of his achievements (eg. Monday 3/8/09 - read Little Red Riding Hood, Jawi-page 8 Muqaddam).

The next part of the book is teaching techniques. Till then!