I THINK in words.......

I think in words. What does that mean? Well.... if I have something to remember, a short list for example, I think of the first letter of each item and remember those. (That would be thinking in letters but stick with me here.) My Mom would remember the same list in picture form.

I love mnemonic devices. I remember the planets in order with a sentence and the Great Lakes with a word. I make them up for other things I have to remember. Bekah HATES them. They make no sense to her and she refuses to use them.

When I have friends with the same name and I think of them.. I don't picture their faces... I picture the spelling of their names. In high school I had two friends Ann. (Ann and Anne) In college, there were four girls named Christy. (Kristi, Kristy, Christi, Christy)

If I am struggling with something and I am thinking about it I usually write a letter in my head. If I get an idea to blog about.. I think through the words first.

I don't know if this is "normal" or unusual. I do know that I am increasingly intrigued with the many ways that it seems people process information. I know that my children all "think" differently. They are raised in the same house with the same parents and teacher. They all process differently. I think this is HUGE. I know that they talked about the different learning styles in school... but not enough. I think there are MANY different ways that we process information.

In addition to thinking in words I am also a visual learner. I have to see to truly process. Bekah has an amazing memory. If she reads something... she can spit it out often word for word. (Not all vocabulary words.. but concepts definitely.) This same girl has difficulty with addition, yet she has memorized all of her multiplication facts!! (It took me a while to figure out that skill and ability and retention in READING does not necessarily transmit to math.) Noah is very quick with mental math and can add large columns of numbers in his head... yet doesn't have his multiplication facts as quickly at his ready as I would like.??? WHY... How can they absorb without trying some information and struggle with other parts?

Does anyone else find it amazing that math and reading are processed differently?? Has anyone else encountered this?

How do you think?? Pictures?? Colors??

I also have this thing with colors... I put everything in color order... rainbow order. My closet for example. I didn't know until I was teaching that everyone didn't do this. My crayons.. my inks.. my paper... I don't remember Mom doing this, but I assumed everyone did, until I was discussing this with some other teachers and they turned to look at me like I had three heads.

Guess what? My older brother organizes his closet this way too. Guess what... Brian won't let me do his half that way. (I have let it go) I also struggled a great deal when the girls were little because I couldn't stand the play-dough to be mixed... I have overcome that obstacle. Those of you who know me well know that it isn't because I can't stand the mess... I just hated the colors to be mixed (in globs). If I could combine the colors completely to make a new color that was okay.

All right, enough rambling here. Weigh in. How do you think?? Let me know.
And here is a special shout out to a few friends who read but don't comment. =)
More soon.