Homeschool Help: What Does a “Lifestyle of Learning” Look Like?

 

Again, the Boyer's advise on homeschooling our talented children have been very helpful.   My very adventurous girl will do her homework in the great outdoors and actually do it!  she is one of those who would hate to have to sit and be stuck indoors, rain or shine.

Here is Marilyn again  (here is the last post about A Life style of learning)

We must remember that the school classroom functions as it does NOT because that has been found to be the superior method of education, but because that is the only option for mass-producing students. It contradicts, in fact, the evidence that children learn best in a realistic, life-like setting, with hands-on experience.

As John Taylor Gatto reminds:

“It is absurd and anti-life to move from cell to cell at the sound of a gong for every day of your natural youth in an institution that allows you no privacy and even follows you into the sanctuary of your home demanding that you do its ‘homework.’

‘How will they learn to read?’…When children are given whole lives instead of age-graded ones in cellblocks they learn to read, write, and do arithmetic with ease if those things make sense in the kind of life that unfolds around them.”  From Why Schools Don’t Educate

So, what does a “lifestyle of learning” look like from day to day? Different for every family. But, upon many requests, I thought I’d offer some practical ways to encourage your child to utilize his curiosity about his world. The ideas are really endless. I’d love to hear YOURS!

• Simply expose them. To books, to conversation, to places, to people, to animals, to cooking, to building, to nature. We simply cannot underestimate a child’s ability to take in, process and store information–something inherent at birth. This begins at birth and the fewer distractions like TV or phones, the better for motivating them to learn about their world.

 

• Listen and watch. A child learns things best in the context of what interests him. Find out what that is, give him experiences around his interests and then look to see the learning opportunities. For example, my 8-year-old son loves building things and he loves large machines. And by “love” I mean he’s obsessed. We have let him build a playhouse (with a little help from Sis), supervising his use of the saw and nail gun. It has taken quite a bit of thought about measurements and angles and my husband has been able to really show him the importance of “squaring” the frame, etc. It’s an excellent exercise in problem-solving. That geometry makes sense to him whereas if I handed him a geometry worksheet right now he wouldn’t have a clue.

• Bait the house with books. This is my favorite. I leave books on art, science, animals and other subjects lying around and sometimes an older child will pick it up and become absorbed and even begin to read and explain it to a younger one. Or when someone crawls up beside me, I open it and start reading. I just ordered a set of “Nature Friend” magazines from Ebay and I’m excited to see how they like those too.

• Let them learn from other people. Do you have friends or family who have a particular trade or skill? Would they mind some of your children hanging out to observe? If that isn’t an option, there are great videos that teach different skills for children who show interest.

• Build vocabulary naturally. Being intentional about the words we use with our children is the best way to build their vocabulary. Random words on a worksheet are much harder to memorize than if they learn the word in context of life and language. Conversation is the best way to improve communication skills. Something, in our technologically-filled lives, that takes deliberate attention.

• Focus on the traits that matter. Any time you research for “most important qualities of a successful person” or “qualities employers look for”, or something similar, the results that turn up always focus on character and NEVER include test scores or degrees. Do we take that to heart and intentionally teach and train character? Communication skills, problem-solving, and integrity rank at the top of almost every list.

LIVE. That’s the way to a superior education. Here is part of our check list, academically speaking:

1. Can they write well, speak well and convey their thoughts well? What are some activities that will facilitate these?


2. Are they numerate? Do they know how to handle numbers, do they understand fractions and how to work out number problems? As they get older, do they know how money works, do they understand debt and interest and budgeting? Very important.


3. Can they type?


4. Do they have a good grasp of history and the workings of the government? We especially want them to read biographies from great men and women of the past.


5. Are they exposed to art in a variety of forms, and music? (If they show giftedness/interest, are we doing what we can to help them excel?)


6. Do they have a heavy dose of common sense?

Charge ahead with confidence!

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A Different Way To Homeschool: A LifeStyle Of Learning

I have a daughter who loves to learn just about anything.  Here she is flying an airplane in this plane simulator.  Life is so interesting to her except when she is sitting down on a desk and asked to do some copywork.  Well, when you're 7 or 8 years old, who wants to do that, when you can be out on a beautiful day learning about how a goat births her kids?  I went to Government schools where I was very good at sitting down and doing everything my teachers said.  Now, I have had to unlearn that this is the way you learn things.  Not so, most children are naturally explorers and are given to us with a natural love for learning.  We must be careful to not spoil it by purchasing all these expensive homeschool curriculums and expecting they follow the rigid schedule and not miss a day because they might not learn or be at the same academic level as public school kids.  Take a big breath.  Aaaahhhh, teaching has never been so much fun with my older daughter as I dropped continuous assignments.  Every year I got more and more flexible with the homeschool schedule that I don't even have it scheduled. 

Our homeschool rule is:  If there is nothing more exciting or interesting going on, then we'll sit down and do some school work.  Well, this is hardly the case.  There seems to always be something more educational going on like, attending to our vegetable garden, picking up two little birds that fell from their nest, watching the goat birth twin kids, talking to visitors, walking to a creek, building a little boat, doing art, selling craigslist items, acting out Bible stories, writing letters to Christians in Prison, cooking, excavating for dinasour fossils, singing, playing piano, helping Dad, working on our family business.....When we are not doing this, my kids favorite time indoors with Mom is to read real living books about historical biographies, God's creation, inspirational stories and of course The Scriptures.

Here is an excellent guide by the Boyer family who have gone before us and from whom I have learned a lot:

(Guest post by Marilyn Boyer of Character Concepts)

One thing I have learned?from one of my struggling learners is that unless some children?want?to learn, they just won’t apply themselves to do it. Unless they?have a desire to learn something, it’s extremely hard for some of them to be able to concentrate and focus.

Some kids are motivated and know what they have to do, set their own goals and get it done.?Other children, however, need to understand why learning is important in order to apply themselves.

If you have a child like this, train yourself to study him and see what matters to to him the most. Then, look for a way to apply what you are trying to teach him to something that he cares about.

For instance, if you are trying to teach handwriting skills and your child just doesn’t care if he writes neatly, let him write something that’s important, like a letter to the editor of the newspaper.

Letters to the editor are one of the most highly read sections of the newspaper, and we found editors love to publish letters written by kids, because it’s so unusual to have a child care enough to write.

Have your child read about an issue and write a letter to be read by thousands of people he can potentially influence. Suddenly, he will care about handwriting, grammar, spelling and communication skills.

If he struggles with math, find a use for that skill you are trying to teach. For example, if you are teaching percentages, go to a sale, let him figure out how much off you are getting on deals, or let him bake a pie and cut it up to learn fractions.

For a boy who loves to build, buy him some wood and let him use measurements to build a bookcase or birdhouse. If your child is interested in airplanes, but not in geometry, let them see the plans the Wright Bros. drew up to make their first glider. These examples are examples of projects I have actually done with my kids.

Find creative ways to apply what you teach, by connecting learning with your kids’ passions, and see if that doesn’t make a huge difference in how they learn.

If you are teaching skills for writing a paper, let your child choose the topic, whether it is about the Tuskegee Airmen or hunting white-tailed deer.

Let your children make bread and sell it, raise chickens, sell the eggs and learn about accounting and small business.

This is the beauty of home education- being able to customize your teaching to your unique child!?I admit, it takes some reprogramming on the part of you, the mom, because we do things the way we’ve seen them done, the way they were taught to us in school. But remember, if there is a better way for your child to learn, climb out of the box and train yourself to enjoy learning with your children!

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Discipline Diligently

A third grade boy is in public school and as I'm told by a classmate, he is constantly getting into trouble with the teacher.  As I remember being in grade school, I had various kinds of teachers.  In Mexico, one teacher would take out his belt and hit his fifth grade students.  At other times he would lift them up with a fist from the children's shirts.  Of course that doesn't happen anymore, I hope.   But in other forms, children are being disciplined at school through various unbiblical methods and parents have no idea what is going on with their kid at school. 

Do we truly believe that between the hours of 8:00 am through 2:30 pm, our children are very obedient and respectful and choose a Christ-like character when bullied?  I do expect that from my children, but I am aware as they're being trained to that they fall short almost everyday.  God commands parents to discipline our children diligently.  I am thankful to be right by when something happens with my kids.  What is happening in their hearts that I need to address?  I want to speak to them with love, instruct them in the Word and discipline with the rod if necessary.  Consistency or diligence in child training is a key in discipline.  How would I be able to do that if they were away?  Not only away to school, but really anywhere.

It seems to me that parents are totally comfortable to let others be responsible for disciplining their children.  What kind of discipline?  Some new pop-psychology method?  Besides, other people will never truly be responsible for others' children.  I have never seen or heard of a regular public school teacher discipline with love or really take the time to instruct the child into righteousness.  No way!  Teachers are there to teach their subject.  When children misbehave, it's a bother and a burden to them.  How can parents be at peace to let their kids be a bother and a burden to others instead of a blessed joy?

Many may disagree, but where I live I can't really leave my children alone.  One reason is because they're still small and in need of diligent instruction and correction.  Second, because there is hardly anyone I can trust to carry out my Biblical convictions about disciplining them.  Thus, I believe children need to be with me or Dad all the time.

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