Posts Tagged ‘learn from home’
What Grade are you in?
That is a question that always stumped my homeschooled children because we didn’t follow grade levels, we followed their learning level. Many of us have experienced in our lives that different topics have a greater interest, or make more sense to us than others and therefore we may be better at it than something else.
I remember when I was in grade 6 and would participate in my cousin’s grade 9 spelling drills. I always scored higher than he did but when it came to math, I couldn’t keep up with the kids in my class. Unfortunately, since I was in the public school system I was given grade 6 English (in which I excelled and sometimes got bored with) and grade 6 math (which I barely passed). Since I knew that my level of learning differed with each subject I expected the same from my children. Sure enough, one excels in English but not math while the other is completely opposite with math being the stronger subject.
And so, if the child is excelling in English should I stiffle the flow by only allowing him to study at the grade level his age is meant to be at? If he is struggling in math do I keep pushing him forward in that level, or should I lower the level a little to give him a chance to understand. I chose to homeschool so that I could offer my children an education that I felt they deserved. Therefore, I chose not to follow grade levels but instead, to offer them each subject at a level that they could understand and learn from.
By offering lessons geared to the learning level of the child, they are encouraged to learn rather than being frustrated with learning. They are inspired to excel and proud of their accomplishments. They succeed at their own level, which is what is best for them!
A Picture is worth a thousand words
Pictures and photos are great tools to use in lesson plans.
Not only can you incorporate a photography or art lesson, but you can also bring in science, english, history and more. Have the student create a photo mosaic of a field trip or family vacation, this could include, maps, postcards, photos and drawings about the event. Use photos to tell a story, photos can be a great way to inspire creative writing. Cut out pictures from a magazine and write a poem about them. Use pictures to create a historical timeline, this can help create understanding of the flow of events as well as create memory aids to remember the important time period. Use drawings to create a gadget or new invention, then write a description about how it works. Take a photo of a plant and then label it with the various parts. Use photos to make flashcards, a memory game or a scrapbook, familiar pictures will have more meaning to the student and keep their interest level high!
Sequencing, following instructions, creative writing and even math concepts can all incorporate pictures, a personal way to learn and much easier for the visual learner.
What is a unit study?
A unit study is a set of lessons, worksheets and more on a specific topic of interest.
Each topic provides comprehensive, cross0curricular activities to inspire and educate a child in science, social studies, language arts, math, fine arts and more.
They can encompass various learning levels making it useful to teach more than one child at different learning levels. It can work well with different learning styles because it offers a variety of lessons that focus on each learning style – an art lesson for the visual learner, a field trip or science experiment for the kinesthetic learner and a poetry or rhyme section for the audio learner for example. Since each lesson is based on the same topic it can give options on how to study the topic that best suits each child.
Unit studies can be downloadable which saves money, time and the environment since you only print the pages you need. They can provide fun and learning for your child and encompass puzzle sheets to “reward” children for finishing a more challenging exercise.
There are no rules, that is the beauty of homeschooling. Working one-on-one with your child will allow you to determine the best way for them to learn, and then you can teach it appropriately.
If your child does not like to read, offer stories in comic book form, you can get classics, Shakespeare, even the history of the world in this form. Comics break up the words with pictures making reading easier for reluctant readers.
If your child likes hockey bring that into your lesson plan. A unit study on a specific subject that the child likes not only covers the curriculum but also inspires them to learn because they are learning about something they are interested in.
If your child is an auditory learner, work in some audio books, computer games and music to the lessons so that they have the best chance to learn. Likewise, visual learners and kinesthetic learners can be taught to their learning style.
If your child is struggling with a concept, or is not liking a particular subject, tweak it so that the lessons will be more interesting, or easier for them to understand.
With homeschoooling you can take the time to determine how best to teach lessons to your child. You can cater to their interests, their likes and their dislikes. You can make education fun and important to them – that should be the only rule!
Our goal as homeschoolers is to help our children grow to have accomplished lives. The best way to do this is to show them how to live!
Book work in school is something everyone recognizes as education. But books don’t always teach what is important. Make sure your lessons include life lessons. Take a trip to the grocery store to understand nutritional food choices, price comparisons, recipe needs and budgeting. Follow recipes and do cooking and baking at home with your children or show them how to sew ( fixing a button or darning a sock can be a helpful lesson). Have them create goals, schedules, menus and budgets for themselves or for the family. Plan a family vacation together, use maps, travel brochures and such to learn about the place you are visiting. Have them follow a map on the travels, keep a travel diary about their trip so that they can record differences in the area compared to their own. Pretend and play such things as careers and parents to help them understand the responsibilities that go with a job, and a family.
Even discussions can be meaningful and educational. Talk about where garbage goes as you carry it out to the curb, discuss the importance of hygiene as you run a bath, even economics can be taught when negotiating an allowance.
Remember that what ever you do in life, be it housecleaning, grocery shopping, vacationing or a day at the beach, learning can be involved. And learning about life can be the best education a child can receive.
In high school, I took drama class. We acted out plays in front of audiences, memorized soliloquies and learned lighting techniques. As a home schooled student, your child doesn’t have to miss out on drama class!
Of course, a group of kids can get together, dress up and play act, many times they do that anyway. But stories can also be acted out by using puppets. Children can make their own puppets or you can use bought ones. A great way to check for reading comprehension is to have them act out the last part of the story they read using puppets! It is also a great creative source for them to tell their own made up stories.
Puppets are great manipulatives too. For those kinesthetic learners puppets can help with reading, history and more because they can have movement with puppets!
The choice to homeschool your child through high school is not the only choice to be made. Through online and correspondance course, students can take accredited courses that will earn them their high school credits and diploma. Or, you can continue following the homeschool path and give them an equivalent education and then they can write entrance exams to get into post-secondary education. Accredited courses can be costly, and not all courses are offered so optional credits may be harder to obtain, but some families prefer to have the diploma at the end. Continuing on the homeschool path can enrich the students education in courses that they like and prefer. By this time, you are homeschooling pros so you can make your choice as to which one suits your family best!
Giving your homeschool class!
Although a homeschool environment is different from a classroom it is important to have a separate place designated for learning in your home. A specific room or place in the house helps children feel the separation of home and school. A quiet area away from tv, video games, toys and other distractions will create a learning environment that children can concentrate in.
A separate workspace for each child helps them learn that their work is important. Decorate the walls with their artwork, learning posters and other inspiring decorations. A bookshelf to keep all their resources on is also good, so that they are kept separate and accessible. It is important that a homeschool setting creates a learning environment that benefits the child!