Growing Independent Learners

In parenting, it seems like you almost immediately begin working yourself out of a job.
First there is potty training, independent eating, and simple chores.  Then, soon enough, your child is bathing on his own, making sandwiches, and completing helpful tasks around the house.  Each of these successfully learned lessons leads to increased responsibility and independence for your child. 

It is the goal.  Each child needs to become responsible and independent of you, because eventually your child will be launched into adulthood.

The same can be said of homeschooling.

From the first few months of homeschooling onward, you are working yourself out of a job. 

• Teaching a child to read and comprehend leads to individual pursuits of books and processing of ideas.
• Teaching a child to add and subtract leads to life skills necessary for budgeting, handling money, and business.
• Teaching a child how to write letters and words leads to creating reports, resumes, business letters, and essays.

So, why, when it comes to homeschooling, do many of us cringe at the idea of giving our children more responsibility for their own education?  Is it the regulations which clearly outline what has to be done and sometimes when?  Is it our own educational backgrounds which deemed the teacher responsible until graduation?  Is it fear of failure on our child's part?

Moving Children Toward Independent Learning

Teacher Led or Directed Learning -  In the very early stages of education, all learning is teacher led or directed.  You provide the lessons, materials, time, or experiences for your child to learn.  Maybe your child has some say over when he does math, or which books you read to him, but ultimately, you are still in charge of all his learning.  Lower elementary grades are filled with a lot of this type of learning. 

Teacher Facilitated Learning - After the child matures and learns to read, the teacher's role, while still important, lessens slightly.  The child is now able to read and understand increasingly harder works.  However, the child still needs you to facilitate his path.  You are still in charge of all his learning, but he is beginning to work on some of it by himself.  Maybe he reads a few of his lessons on his own and you help him through the troublesome areas.  You, his teacher, are facilitating his lessons, making sure he remains on task, and helping him progress.  Typically, the upper elementary grades are when a child starts to slowly take more responsibility for his own learning.

Student Led and Teacher Supported Learning - Once the student is able to begin directing his own learning, he should start.  He will still need guidance and accountability.  There will still be times when he has questions and needs taught.  You are not giving up your role as teacher.  You are simply allowing him to navigate through his lessons with your support.  Middle school is a perfect time to start transferring responsibility to your child.  Perhaps your child will begin using a syllabus for a course.  He begins to check his own listing daily, instead of relying on you to lay out his work.  Maybe he will transfer to weekly assignments where he must decide what is done on a specific day to meet these weekly deadlines.  Maybe instead of walking him through every step of a research paper, you simply assign the paper with a due date.  There are many different ways your child can begin to take the lead in his own learning.  However, your role is still vital.  You will need to hold him accountable, and when necessary help him get back on track. 

Independent Student - Eventually, this is the goal for all individuals.  An independent student is able to look over an assignment or course, break it down into smaller tasks, schedule the tasks, and complete them.  He can study for a test on his own.  He can research the answers to his own questions, checking various sources, navigating through propaganda, and discerning author's intentions and motives.  He can analyze statistics and studies, recognize when a publication is simply promoting an agenda, and realize which sources are dependable.



These stages of independent learning can be progressed through at different paces depending on the student, style of learning, method of homeschooling, etc.  Regardless of when or how your child becomes an independent student, who is able to learn on their own, it should be the goal of every homeschooling parent.  Someday, they will no longer be in your school.  Someday, they will need to teach themselves.  Helping them learn to become independent students now, while in your homeschool, will help them greatly.

Time Management Helps for Homeschool Students

Does your child seem to take forever to finish a day of school?  Does he/she get frustrated looking at a pile of work to be done each morning?  Instead of stacking the books beside or on the table, why not try a few of these organizational helps.

~ OR ~

Are you having a hard time keeping track of the work accomplished each day?  Does your state require you to journal each day, recording specifically what was accomplished when?  Perhaps one of these systems would help you.

1. Folder System or Box System - The work for each subject of the day is divided into separate folders or boxes.  The child progresses through them one at a time until all the folders or boxes are completed.  This works well for younger children and those children who are motivated by seeing a box or folder emptied.

2. Assignment Books or Check Lists - Older students may prefer a planning book of their own which lists what assignments are to be worked on each day.  The child can simply cross off what work they complete.  These work wonderfully for older elementary to middle school aged students.

3. Weekly Schedules or Monthly Schedules - Depending on your homeschool method or style, a weekly or monthly calendar may suffice for your student.  We have used these for chores, family events, field trips, and co-op days.

4. Syllabus - Sometimes, a semester or full year can be outlined in a syllabus form.  This is similar to a check list, but is for specific class.  Our oldest child uses a syllabus for his science co-op class.  It works wonderfully to guide him.  With it, he easily keeps up to date with his work.  A syllabus can be a great guide for middle school aged to high school students.

5. Time Records - For those homeschoolers who must know exactly how much time was spent on which subject, a time record is an easy way to keep this vital information.  Some people work within a spread sheet, listing the date, subject, what was accomplished, and time spent doing the work.  Other people use a planner and write the times within the individual blocks. 


What time management or organizational tools do you use in your homeschool?

Preschool Creativity with Less Mess

It takes a long time.
The end result isn't always nice.
It makes a HUGE mess.

To all these statements, I agree.  Yes, it does.  Allowing a preschooler time and supplies to be creative can take a long time, the end result isn't always frame worthy, and it almost always makes a huge mess.

The independence your child can have is a direct result of you willingness to take the time, accept the less than perfect results, and clean up countless messes.  However, sometimes, it can be nice not to have as many messes to clean up while they are learning.

 

Learning to work with arts and craft supplies is a lesson for life which preschoolers can learn now.

A few ideas for helping preschoolers express their creativity with less mess...

The Skill of Cutting with Scissors:

• Teach your little one how to properly hold and carry scissors, and how to cut away from themselves.
• Allow them to cut paper into small pieces.  These pieces can be used for paper mosaic crafts later.  Or, better yet, give them the papers you need shredded and let them cut, and cut, and cut.

The Ability to Use Glue:

• Glue sticks and glue dots are less messy, but don't automatically ban the liquid glue.
• Teach your little one how to open and close the tops of the liquid glue.
• Show them how to use liquid glue in moderation.
• Teach them how to clean up glue messes, and how to rub their hands together to remove excess glue.
• Let them coat an entire page of paper and use those paper mosaic squares to create a design.

Sticking Stickers:

• Does your child cover the furniture, walls, or floors with stickers?  You could teach them not to, and give them paper or a sticker book for their favorite stickers.  Or you could hang a large piece of paper on the wall or door, and allow him to display his favorite stickers for all to see.  For the ambitious, create a frame about the sticker page with markers or a mat.   

Sculpting:

• Clay, Play-doh, or homemade dough messes can be immense.  Cover your table with a plastic table cloth before, or take it outside.

Building with K'nex or Lego pieces:

• Use a tray or cookie sheet with edges to contain the small pieces.  

Painting:

• Looking for a less messy alternative?  What about purchasing bath tub paints?  Or using water to paint outside?  Fill a can with water and use the brushes to paint any surface without fear of damage.

Do you have additional ideas?  Perhaps even a whole post?  If so, then please share your ideas or links in our comment section.   

Five Life Skills Every Homeschooler Can Learn NOW

One benefit my family has noticed since we moved home for school is how much my children can contribute to and learn about the running of our house and business.  Our youngest was only three at the time, and she has been able to learn and experience so much more in the areas of "basic life skills" than our older two children simply because she has never spent her days away at school.

Here are some great examples of essential and confidence-building skills your homeschooler can learn, no matter how young they are:

1) Sweep the kitchen

You can show your child how to begin at one end of the room and sweep toward a central location.  My kids still want to be the one who 'gets' to sweep because they love using the dustpan.

2)  Make a sandwich

Younger children may need the ingredients laid out for them ahead of time.  It can be fun to make a "sandwich buffet" for lunch one day, laying out many different ingredient choices and letting each person build their own meal.

3)  Fold laundry

Our routine began with younger children folding napkins, facecloths and hand towels.  Now each person folds and puts away their own clothing and we all work on the community pile (the same towels and napkins!) together.

4)  Make a phone call

Whether you have a home phone or are cell-phone only, your children can dial up a relative.  It's such a pleasure for them to repeat the numbers back as they press the buttons, or follow the directions to scroll through a menu.

5)  Wipe down surfaces

Sinks, furniture, mirrors, windows, countertops...The list is longer than my arm.  It can be such fun to get a cloth (especially if it is one you folded and put away yourself!), wet and squeeze it out, then wipe away a visible mess.

These skills become especially handy to your children and incredibly helpful to their mother once they get closer to double-digits.  Parenting a homeschooler creates endless opportunities for learning; take advantage of this and give your kids a head start on the nuts and bolts caring for themselves and their things.


What skill have you been surprised by one of your very young children performing?

The Gift of Time

One of the heaviest burdens and greatest rewards of homeschooling is the knowledge that you are independently and willingly taking 100% of the responsibility for educating your child. It can be like the first time you are alone at home with your baby - awe-inspiring at the same time as making your pits bead up with sweat.

One of the strange and lovely side-effects of this, for my family, is the desire to seize any learning opportunity that presents itself. Gone are the days when there were "too many questions" of any kind. "I don't have time" has been nearly eliminated from my vocabulary when it comes to learning, showing or explaining something. I never wonder what they learn at school - I know exactly what they are learning! And if they want to learn something before grade level they can just go right on ahead and do so, thank you very much.

The picture at the beginning of this post is my son in second grade. The project he is working on was not a part of our lesson plans. He designed and performed the experiment himself; charting the growth of the plants each day.

The first weeks (at the end of a school year) when we brought the kids home included finding the chrysalis of a silk moth, watching it 'hatch' out, releasing it and dissecting the cocoon. I took it as a good sign that homeschooling was the right choice for us!

My daughter planted, tended and harvested her own crop of sunflowers over the hottest months last summer. She saved the seeds and replanted them again this year.

When my children ask my husband "how does this work?" he takes the time to make sure they understand his answers. When they ask me "how do you make that?" I take the time to involve them in the process. My sons know how to knit and crochet.

The bottom line is: Some of the best lessons to be had are not outlined in your curriculum. Enjoy your children and watching them learn.

Creating an Independent Problem Solver

Last week, I planned to work with Abigail on a 45-piece alphabet puzzle as part of our language arts work.  We have done this puzzle once before, about two months ago.  At that time, she needed a lot of help and I had to tell her where to put most of the pieces.  I expected this time to be similar, but I was wrong.  I opened up the puzzle and began laying out the pieces (I always lay all on the pieces on the side of the table, facing the correct direction, before we begin).  Before I finished putting all of the pieces on the table, Abigail started picking them up and putting them together.  I stepped back and watched her.  It was amazing!  I could almost see the wheels turning in her little head as she figured out where the pieces went.  She did not start with the edge pieces (as I would have done), but instead just looked for pieces that fit together.  I really wanted to stop Abigail and tell her how to do it my way.  Just as I was about to do that, though, I realized that she was thinking outside the box; she was problem solving and figuring out a way to do the puzzle on her own.  So, I stopped myself and continued watching.  Twenty minutes later, she had completed the entire puzzle with almost no assistance from me (she needed a little help with one or two pieces when she got frustrated).  As she put the last piece into the puzzle, Abigail got the biggest grin on her face.  She was so proud of herself.  I am so glad that I stopped myself from "helping" her; she learned so much more by doing it on her own!


We are excited that our blog now has over 100 followers!  Thank you to everyone who reads and follows us!  To celebrate, we will be hosting a giveaway this week.  The winner will receive a $30 gift card for Amazon that can be used to purchase a few small items for homeschooling.  To enter, please leave a comment on this post by Thursday evening and tell us how you will spend the gift certificate.  The winner will be announced in this Friday's Seeds of Wisdom post.