Learning Styles

Child Learning Styles
By Mary Joyce

Many homeschool parents ultimately end up designing their own homeschool curriculum for their child. Tailoring the learning process to match the child's learning style. For those who have worked through this process somewhere along the way came to the realization that when it comes to homeschooling one size definitely does not fit all.




But that’s ok! After all in the end, probably the greatest single benefit to homeschooling is the fact that you can tailor the homeschool education to fit the motivational profile of your child. The key concept in the last sentence is the motivational profile. What motivates your child to learn? What is the child's learning style? This is a key concept that you must come to understand in order to insure maximum homeschooling results.

An important aspect to understand about learning styles of the children is that ultimately the learning style of your child is probably more of an eclectic mix of different styles rather than one that you could classify neatly and put in a box. Learning is greatly influenced by motivation. And what motivates can be directly influenced as the mood for the day, and the fatigue level or lack thereof.

There are several identifiable types of child learning styles as identified educational scholars. It is out of the scope of this article to go into each of these categories. However, it is important that you have at least a high level understanding of these different types of learning styles. Knowing of these and having a decent understanding of them will aid greatly in your curriculum decisions as you first begin to understand what type of learner your child is.

A bit of research on the internet will bring you back much information on the different types of child learning styles and how to recognize and tailor a program that best fits the style. The idea is to work to determine how you child learns then fine tune your curriculum to make use of that learning style. Accomplishing this will create an motivation filled environment. And motivation to learn set sails in the right direction.

Mary Joyce is a former educator, successful homeschool parent, and the primary contributor to the Homeschool-Curriculum-4u website. Please visit (http://www.homeschool-curriculum-4u.com/) for a complete list of Mary's articles, resources on homeschool, ideas, and curriculum information. Also tips guides and how-to's to help you successfully teach your child at home.

Homeschool Schedule

Homeschool Schedule
By Mary Joyce

When you are ready to sit down and ponder and map out your home school schedule for the upcoming academic year. A good calendar is an ingredient not to be forgotten as part of your overall homeschool schedule and homeschool lesson plan.

Since you will be homeschooling your child, careful thought needs to be given not only to your home school schedule, but your family schedule will need to be integrated into the mix as well. Also make sure that your lesson plan coincides well with your educational calendar. After taking a high level look at your home school calendar integrated with your family calendar, you may decide that the traditional school year calendar of end of summer through early spring may not be the most advantageous.

Also the homeschool day does not necessarily need to start say at 8am. There is no stringent time schedule that you must adhere to as is the case in public schools.

As with your home school lesson planning, your scheduling should take into careful consideration your child’s learning style and determine what will work best. As a homeschooling family, you have the option of planning trips at other times of the year when for example, air fare is cheaper and the lines are shorter! If vacations aren’t a part of your plans, there are probably other reasons (such as birthdays) for tailor making your own home school calendar. While mapping a home school yearly schedule is an excellent idea, remember to allow for flexibility in the schedule. Any school year, especially since the school year is taking place also centered around your home and your family, will have the need for unforeseen breaks and absences. Not to worry, just as there are unforeseen missed hours and even days in public school so will there be with your at home education. Just remember it may take a while to sand off the rough edges of your home school schedule to where you feel you have best optimized it. As the year goes by, if you have kept good records and used your lesson plan as your guide you will see that your child is indeed learning all along the way.

Mary Joyce is a former educator, successful homeschool parent, and the primary contributor to the Homeschool-Curriculum-4u website. Please visit http://www.homeschool-curriculum-4u.com/ for a complete list of Mary's articles, resources on homeschool, ideas, and curriculum information. Also tips guides and how-to's to help you successfully teach your child at home.

Teaching Children vs Child Learning

Teaching Children vs Child Learning
By Mary Joyce

One of the great benefits to homeschooling is the flexibility that you have as a parent. Each family can literally choose the homeschool curriculum or educational experience that best suits their own family values, philosophy, and schedule. Then this approach can be adjusted as the family’s needs may change.




Probably one of the most interesting dynamics that we discovered when we first began teaching our children at home was the difference between teaching and learning and how children learn best. The word teaching conjures up and image of someone imparting knowledge to someone else who is then readily absorbing such nuggets of wisdom and take on the world. At first, in all honesty this probably best described our approach. So much to do with so little time. I’ll teach you absorb. Not to diminish the vast reservoir of knowledge that we as parents can readily impart to our kids, but do they learn? We discovered that many were the times that said knowledge was not necessarily readily received by our kids.

Genuine learning takes place in children when it is done through discovery. When a child goes through the process of discovery the learning experience immediately becomes part of the world around them and this also makes for much better retention. This is not to say that you would just turn you child lose and say “ok… go learn something.” Rather what you want to take a look at is perhaps seeing yourself less as a ‘teacher’ and more as a …. Well… learning coach or learning agent.

Teach you child from a perspective that you are there to get your child excited about learning and learning how to learn. Not just merely imparting to your child one nugget of wisdom after another.

Encourage you child to discover. And set up environments where discoveries are possible. Explore with your child as the child learns new thing and explores new avenues to learning. Genuine learning breeds motivation and motivation leads to learning.

Think of yourself as your child’s learning and discovery coach, and teaching you child will become much more fruitful.

Mary Joyce is a sucessful homeschool parent and primary contributor to http://www.homeschool-curriculum-4u.com/

Homeschool Socialization

Homeschool Socialization - Developing Your Homeschool Child's Social Skills
By Kristi Hagen

Everyone needs friends, and, as parents, you and I both know we’re responsible for our children’s social lives as well as our own. As homeschoolers, we also know that kids don’t need public school pressure in order to find friends . . . so I’m not going to waste your time with hundreds of statistics to support homeschoolers and socialization. Instead let’s explore the top two ways to find life long friends for our children . . . and ourselves!





Support & Fun All Rolled into One!

The best way to find friends for your family is to research the homeschool groups in your area. Find the one that fits your lifestyle, religious beliefs, and educational views the best and join it! Here are some great sites online that will help you find groups in your area:

Homeschool Central
Learning 4 Life
Teach at Home
Support Groups in USA

After finding the group that's right for you, don't get overwhelmed with all of the activities: remember... homeschool group activities are opportunities, not obligations! A lot of groups are very organized and offer a lot of activities, but you shouldn't feel like it's an all or nothing kind of thing. Choose your activity and only do what you and your kids want to.

Too Much of a Good Thing? Try a Mini-Support Group!

On the other hand, a lot of the groups are very unorganized, and as soon as they find a smart and capable person who looks like they're willing to take control, they'll throw all the organization onto them. Don't let this be you! If your new homeschool group is unorganized, just try to get a list of names of homeschoolers in your area as well as the ages of their children. I would start with one family at a time (whose kids are close in age to my own) and begin calling them; this way, you can put together your own mini-support group! Smaller groups are better for getting to know each other, anyway. Once you've found a family, give them a call:


"Hi! I'm homeschooling my children in the same neighborhood as you. The information I got from the area homeschool group tells me that your two children are the same age as mine. Honestly, my kids and I are just looking for some homeschool friends in the area. I was wondering if there is some time this week that we could meet at the park and have a picnic. You pick the day and I'll bring my famous fruit salad!"

This approach works like a charm - and if the first family you call is uninterested, which is unlikely, call the next. Fear of rejection is not something you should worry about. Remember: you are now solely responsible for your younger children's interaction with new people - so take charge and make the first move! If not for yourself, then do it for them.

When you get together with your new play group, here are some great educational field trip ideas:

Fire station, library, park, beach, zoo, airport, art/history museum, children's museum, governor's office, police station, farm, factory, sporting events, local industry (bottling factory, wood mill, steel mill, coffee farm), parent's work place, seniors' homes, and any kind of outdoor activity (hiking, skiing, etc). The best thing to do is find out what you have in your area and use the resources at hand. You'll be surprised at what's out there!

Soccer & Brownies anyone?

The next best place to find friends is through extra curricular activities. See what's available in your city and talk with your kids. Friends come naturally when your kids are involved in activities with children their own age. Calling the YMCA for ideas is a great place to start. Here are some of our favorites:

Boy scouts, Girls scouts, Brownies, Soccer, Softball, Gymnastics, Martial Arts, Swimming, Summer Camps, Youth Groups, College Classes for homeschoolers, Writing Clubs, 4-H, Choir, Spelling and Geography Bees, Game Days, Volunteering, Drama Clubs, Church Groups, Craft Classes, Book Clubs, Bowling Clubs, Skating, Teen Clubs, and just about anywhere else you can think of!

Stay-At-Home TIPS:

Try to get done with school work at the same time as the local schools. Then your children can play with the neighborhood kids just like everyone else.

If you have other kids in the family close in age, invite them over. My son is best friends with his cousin. We live close by and they are always calling or coming over. My son doesn't have a lot of friends, but he does have his "best friend." So life is good!

Don't forget about yourself! We're so engrossed with our kids that we forget about ourselves. Talk to your homeschool group or fellow soccer moms and plan a "girl's night out" and go to dinner or just get together at someone's house to talk, eat, and have a good time. No Kids Allowed! Schedule your "play time" just like you would for your kids and have fun doing it!

New friendships aren't hard to find as long as you stay open to new people. We just need to get out of the house (past the mailbox) and have adventures. These fun outings will encourage all of our families to naturally meet friends that we all need! Thanks for listening, and I hope some of these ideas will help you and your kids make and keep life-long friends.

Happy Homeschooling!

Kristi Hagen is a homeschooling parent and author of "A Parent's Guide to Homeschool". She's also one of the editors of HomeschoolViews.com, which publishes an informative monthly Homeschool Newsletter.

Homeschool Super Mom

Facing the Homeschool Super Mom
By Laura Bankston

I know this Mom. She homeschools her 5 children, plus she tutors several other children that are dropped off at her house. AND she's a Pastor's wife. AND she's working on fixing up the fixer-upper they just moved into. Whenever I've been in her house, it's been immaculate. Her children all have perfect manners. They all seem to be way ahead of their grade level. She's definitely gotta be a Homeschool Super Mom.

You're probably thinking of someone like this too, right? Someone that made you think, "Man, my son isn't reading as well as hers." or "My house isn't as clean as hers." Or a million other things.

And you probably discovered her when you were new to homeschooling. When you were already feeling uncertain in your new endeavors. You were already putting high expectations on yourself. You were constantly analyzing to be sure you were doing everything right. And as a result, you tend to be a little over-sensitive about what other's are accomplishing around you without giving enough credit to yourself.

So, it's really important that you remember (as a new homeschooler or a seasoned one) these basic principles that we all so easily forget:

"The 4 Basic Principles That Conquer the 'Super-Moms' Syndrome"

Principle #1: We always see other's through glasses that make them larger than life. When I was a teenager, there was this lady in our church. Her hair and makeup was always perfect. She lived in a big, expensive home. She was very stylish and her kids were so cool. I always wanted to grow up and have that.

But I don't anymore.

I'd rather have my house that gets messy 5 minutes after it gets picked up, my hair that falls down into my eyes as I pick up my children, and my face that only gets makeup on Sunday. Why you may ask? Well, here's why. I'm happy. I love my family, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

The lady I had idolized as a teen? She still has her perfect home and impeccable style. But, she has a marriage without love and children who are stuck up adults who ignore her totally.

I had seen her through glasses that made her larger than life. In the end, she's not any bigger or greater than me. In fact, she probably wishes that she had my life!

So, if you start to think about someone else who seems to have the life you want, STOP LOOKING! Instead, sit down and make a list of 100 good things in your life--from the air you breathe, to the heat in your home, to the kisses from your child. I guarantee that you'll feel better about yourself that you ever have before.

Principle #2: Everyone has their own unique gift. Everyone has their own unique ability and we tend to notice in other's the abilities that might be our "weak" ones.

For instance, if you think you're house is always messy, you'll seem to know all these people who have perfectly neat homes.

For an example from my life, I have a son who struggles with speech and it seems like every other parent within a 100 mile radius have children with perfect diction. But you know that's not the way it is. My son might not pronounce every phonic sound correctly--yet!--but he has so many other gifts that hardly make that one seem important.

For instance, no one notices his speech. They always comment, though, how loving he is. Just running up to people and giving them hugs. And he has fun no matter what he does. Can you believe one day I actually heard myself saying, "Ryan. Stop that. Not everything is supposed to be fun." I had to step back and slap myself. Then I said, "Never mind. Mommy was wrong. Have as much fun as you can." And I learned a lesson from that.

So, forget about what the homeschooled Jones' are doing. Discover your child's unique ability and relish in it and develop it and learn from it.

Right now, at the end of your list of 100 things that you're grateful for, list 10 wonderful qualities or abilities for yourself and each of your children. Work on acknowledging, praising, and being thankful for all of your gifts. And don't forget to thank God that you got the greatest kids ever born on this earth.

Principle #3: It doesn't matter what others think. I know, it seems easier said than done. But I guarantee that if you've actually taken the time to write down your list of 100 things that you're grateful for and 10 wonderful qualities of your child, that you won't care what other people think because you will know and appreciate what you have.

And, see, it really doesn't matter what other people think.

What matters is what's important to you. Your core values. Your beliefs. Your ethics. How do you want your children to be as adults? Hey, write it down right now. 5 things you want your child to be as an adult.

Okay, I'll do it right now too for Ryan who is 6 years old--but do yours before you read mine: A loving husband and father An honest, ethical entrepreneur Faithful in service to God Kind, thoughtful, and helpful to those less fortunate Thankful and content for what he can do and what he has Now, I'll bet that you had similar types of things. Not, "makes $1,000,000 by age 30" or "wins he Miss America contest".

Focus on developing and rearing your child to have those 5 qualities, and I'll guarantee that the fact that Mrs. Smith's daughter who is 2 years younger than yours is reading book three times as difficult. Geez, that's a real life skill. You see what I'm getting at?

Principle #4: When you say "yes" to one thing, you are always saying "no" to something else. Have you ever heard that before? I heard that from an owner of a successful multi-million dollar business. That was the simple rule that he used to prioritize his life. When he sat at his desk with phone messages to return, he would literally think, "If I say 'yes' to calling this person, what will I be saying 'no' to?" When someone would asked to do something, he was able to say "no", knowing that if he said "yes" to that project, that he would be saying "no" to extra time with his family.

This principle applies to everyone whether they are conscious of it or not.

Mrs. Smith who is working so hard to have her child advanced in reading is saying "no" to some other educational area. Or, Suzie Homeschool Super Mom up the street who has her immaculate home is saying "no" to time with her kids or family or something else.

The same applies to me. I've said "yes" to this homeschool site, so I've had to say "no" to things like having a perfectly neat house, laundry always done and put away, and a 5 course home-cooked meal on the table by 5:00 every night.

Only say "yes" to the things that are important to you. (See, you don't know it, but I've been gone for 20 minutes. My daughter came downstairs crying, and I stopped to take care of her. And I've also acquired a set of ear muffs made from pipecleaners and pom-poms.) So, as I was saying, say "yes" ONLY to the things that are most important to you. And know ahead of time what you'll be saying "no" to before you say "yes"!

Principle #5: Take advantage of every possible tool. That's right. I don't lift a finger (well, hardly a finger) to clean my home as I have cleaner's come twice a week to take care of that responsibility for me. And to solve my meal preparation dilemma? I purchase items that can be thrown in the oven and get side dishes that are quick and easy.

You can do similar things. I have a homeschooling friend who takes one day a month and cooks all day to makes meals for 30 days that she freezes and uses one at a time. And I thought she cooked from scratch every night!

Having difficulties organizing? Don't fight it. Buy something that organizes your stuff or forget it. It really isn't that important to waste time stressing over!

Use all the tools you can, and leave everything else to collect dust.

So whatever happened to that super mom?

Hopefully by now you've done the exercises or at least skimmed enough here and there to know that there is no super mom except the unrealistic giant you've created in your mind. Instead, you should have a full, realistic view of the gifts and treasures that you possess and a new appreciation for all you get done and how you can enjoy doing what you do a little more! If you've done that, than I wasn't wrong in saying "yes" to this project!

Release your worries and enjoy life!

About The Author
Laura Bankston is author of Internationally selling Cooking with Kids Curriculum: Homeschool Cooking in a Box and the Homeschool Cookbook. She currently home schools her three children, maintains home school support websites, and manages their family-owned service business. For information on her curriculum and free home school support services, please visit http://www.homeschoolcookbook.com

Unschooling

"Unschooling" is a term that can be used with two distinct meanings.
Some use the term "unschooling" to describe methods of education that do not resemble schools, primarily indicating that they do not rely heavily on textbooks or spend much time at desks. The parents actively conduct the children's education, using a variety of resources.



Photo: ncunschoolers.com

The term "unschooling" as coined by John Holt indicates that parents do not authoritatively direct the child's education, but interact with the child following the child's own interests, leaving them free to explore and learn as their interests lead. "Unschooling" does not indicate that the child is not being educated, but that the child is not being "schooled", or educated in a rigid school-type manner.

"Unschooling" is distinct from "deschooling," which may be used to indicate an anti-"institutional school" philosophy, or a period or form of deprogramming for children or parents who have previously been schooled.

Holt asserted that children learn through the experiences of life, and he encouraged parents to live their lives with their child. Also known as interest-led or child-led learning, unschooling attempts to follow opportunities as they arise in real life, through which a child will learn without coercion. An unschooled child may utilize texts or classroom instruction, but these are not considered central to education. Holt asserted that there is no specific body of knowledge that is, or should be, required of a child.

Unschooling advocates believe that children learn best by doing; a child may learn reading to further an interest about history or other cultures, or math skills by operating a small business or sharing in family finances. They may learn animal husbandry keeping dairy goats or meat rabbits, botany tending a kitchen garden, chemistry to understand the operation of firearms or the internal combustion engine, or politics and local history by following a zoning or historical-status dispute. While any type of homeschoolers may also use these methods, the unschooled child initiates these learning activities.

Independent Homeschooling

The short article below is intended as a reality check—and perhaps a ray of sunshine—for independent home schoolers who, though convinced of the nobility of their choice, are a bit out of breath. Relax for a moment, and consider a work-saving alternative.




A Question Of Independence
Many home schoolers, especially the well-seasoned ones, choose to be independent, i.e., they do not enroll in an established program. They spend many hours every year at conventions, book fairs, used book sales, and teacher supply stores, poring over every kind of curriculum. They spend more hours deciding among the myriad of alternatives. They develop daily or weekly lesson plans; assemble or create all their children’s daily work and tests; grade all of it; and design report cards, diplomas, transcripts—and everything else—on their home computer.

Some home schoolers have the desire to be independent. But others have been driven to this kind of effort because they have been led to believe that, unless they home school from scratch, they have somehow fallen short of the ideal.

Nonsense.
Now, mind you, we love independent home schoolers! Many of them select Christian Liberty textbooks and readers! Independent home schoolers who already know and love our books are the kind of people we like to introduce to the CLASS program.

CLASS is an alternative for those who prefer independence but are weary of having to do it all themselves. Why not let CLASS assemble your curriculum from a selection of courses developed over more than 35 years? We offer comprehensive administrative services, yet leave you free to structure your own day, set your own schedule, and turn in your work when you are ready.

We assign the individual courses, but adjustments are available if you need them. The order in which you complete your courses is up to you. You can wait to start history or science until the second semester if you want. There are no rigid schedules for submitting work, and you have an entire year—not just nine or ten months—to complete your assignments. You can even purchase up to three (3) extension quarters if you need more time to complete a grade level.

Another reason for independent home schoolers to consider CLASS is—It’s a great value! For no more, and often far less, than you spend doing it all yourself, you can eliminate the guesswork and drudgery. We take the guesswork out of home schooling by assembling a complete and proven curriculum for your grade level. Then we remove the drudgery by providing administrative services which include grading the tests, sending quarterly report cards, sending transcripts when you need them, granting recognized diplomas at eighth and twelfth grades, and maintaining your student’s cumulative records. Help is just a phone call or email away every business day.
from: http://www.homeschools.org/

Community resources

Homeschoolers often take advantage of educational opportunities at museums, community centers, athletic clubs, after-school programs, churches, science preserves, parks, and other community resources. Secondary school level students may take classes at community colleges, which typically have open admission policies.




Groups of homeschooling families often join together to create Homeschool co-ops. These groups typically meet once a week and provide a classroom environment. These are family-centered support groups whose members seek to pool their talents and resources in a collected effort to broaden the scope of their children's education. They provide a classroom environment where students can do hands-on and group learning such as: performing, science experiments, art projects, spelling bees, discussions, etc. All parents whose children take classes serve in volunteer roles to make the program a success.

Certain states, such as Maine, have laws that permit home schooled families to take advantage of school resources. In such cases, children can be members of sports teams, be members of the school band, can take art classes, and utilize services such as speech therapy all while maintaining their home schooling.