Archive for September, 2009
Keep in Touch with Modern Teaching Tools
As the parent of a home-schooled child, it’s important to stay on the cutting edge of educational technology. Out of the many unfair claims that are constantly hurled at home educators, the idea that they are “out of touch” might be one of the most damaging. Public school systems are often woefully out-of-date in the technology department. Budgetary complications alone generally keep small school systems from being able to afford nice, new computers for their entire student body.
Home-schooled kids have an obvious advantage in that they don’t have to wait their turn to use a computer. Nor do they have to add their names to waiting lists before finally getting access to educational DVDs for children. Just as one-on-one instruction does a wealth of good for a young student, so does easy access to critical learning materials. In the 21st century, DVD players and computers are the bread and butter of study aids – in addition to books, of course.
What happens when the homeschool parent/teacher is not in the mood to teach one day? Fatigue, illness or whatever complaint can keep a parent/teacher out of the classroom but it is their responsibility as a homeschooler to give the kids a good educaton.
This is a great time to assign a project. Create a powerpoint presentation, write a story, create a comic book. All these ideas are creative and can be done individually by the child. Or, provide them with a learning video and let them learn from a different teacher that day. There are many ways a child can be educated and there is nothing wrong with them working alone sometimes. This gives them some independence and encourages them to look up things on their own.
Structure in any learning environment is important. Having a place to teach and learn is key to creating a structured learning environment. A day planner is a good way to keep track of all the lessons for each child for each day. Plus, knowing how much needs to be done each day will help children learn about deadlines and keep their work on track.
On days when sitting down to learn is a problem, spend time on life skills, observation games and reading. A trip to the grocery store can incorporate math skills, comparing, money and more. A visit to the doctor can be a time to learn about the body, health and so on. Even a long drive can be a place to allow for observations, or reading signs, or just looking for letters on license plates. Structure in homeschooling means making learning a integral part of life!
Many of us have done arts and crafts with our preschool child. It helps them learn coordination skills, cutting skills and more. But it is not just for the little ones, arts and crafts can be incorporated into lessons for older children, helping them have fun while they learn!
Many websites offer craft ideas for children of all ages. These can be utilized in a theme unit or lesson plan for a specific subject. For example, a study on Egypt could lead to a diorama of King Tut’s tomb. Also, there are many arts and crafts ideas that can complement a learning skill. For example a colour wheel can show how colours blend together to form other colours. Math concepts can become clearer with pictures or models. The student can make a paper pizza and then use it to learn about fractions. Art does not have to be just one class, it can be carried through each subject and add fun and education to your child’s day!
You’re probably aware by now that the public schools routinely make a mockery of our kids’ education. Underpaid teachers are expected to do the best job possible with inferior materials and ill-considered curricula. It’s an experiment that was destined to fail from the beginning, but nowhere is that more obvious than in the realm of mathematics. Math skills remain applicable for our whole lives; engineers, physicists and many other folks with noble vocations rely on them each and every day.
For that reason, it’s up to parents to take matters into their own hands. In order to guarantee that your child gets the best, most well-rounded education possible, you’ll need to teach him some educational math games. Kids are generally computer savvy, so they might be able to get the CD ROM games up and running easier than you can. Don’t feel embarrassed – it’s absolutely essential that children are well versed in computers as well as math. Their futures depend on it.
Home educators have the ability to allow their children to learn each subject at their own pace. There is no need for specific grade levels across the board. Let’s face it, some subjects are harder for us than others and therefore may take more time to learn, or will be learned at a higher or lower level.
Students who struggle in Math may be advanced in English. Or, someone who enjoys Science may excel at it but not do so well in Geography. These variances in learning levels can be taught through unit studies. A unit study takes a topic of study and offers activities and worksheets across the curriculum. Many unit studies incorporate different levels of learning so that it can be used for various grade levels, or learning levels. They also offer a variety of lesson ideas to expand a child’s knowledge on the subject and a chance to study it further on their own.
The trend these days is to go green – reduce, reuse and recycle. This is a great lesson to teach children so that it becomes a habit that they don’t have to think twice about doing. One of the best ways to teach this lesson is by example.
Using green school supplies such as paper made from recyclable materials is one step. Having downloadable workbooks is another. By downloading the ebook you only print the pages you need, the ones suited to the lesson and learning style of the student. This greatly reduces the problem of half finished workbooks and saves how much paper needs to be used!
An auditory learner is one that learns better with hearing. The more sounds that can be brought into the lesson, the better this learner will understand.
Sounds can be from reading aloud, books on tape, movies on DVD or video, computer games and more. Music is also a strong teacher for auditory learners which means rhyming, rhythm and beats can help enforce lessons. Singing multiplication tables, rhyming poems about history or stomping out spelling words are all great learning devices for auditory learners.
Understanding learning styles can create a more effective learning environment. A child will learn better when his/her learning style is addressed. This is especially helpful for subjects where they are struggling.
A visual learner learns by seeing. One of the best methods to teach visual learners is through video, DVD or other movie type media. There are many different educational videos that span all subjects. Using visual media throughout a lesson will help increase their ability to learn. Picture books, posters, maps, flash cards and other types of visual materials will also help this type of learner.