education - Outside the Box Learners

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of starting a blog, at least for me, is all the ideas of possible posts that come to you and then having to decide what to write about next. Well… that and the logistics of creating a website! But to think I originally thought I might not have enough to write about! Ha! This has been a fun adventure for me. Re-discovering the joy I experience while writing has been amazing, and the fact that I get to fuse it with my everyday job of homeschooling my kids makes it even better!

My blog is still very young at this point. Before I write any more posts, I wanted to address why I named my blog ‘Outside the Box Learners’. It actually was my first choice for a website name and was thrilled it was available!

Defining ‘Outside the Box’

Let’s start with a definition of ‘outside the box‘. When I hear those words I think of anything that is not conventional, or anything different from the norm. Not mainstream.

According to Dictionary.com, ‘outside the box’ is an idiom that means:

“in an innovative or unconventional manner; with a fresh perspective”

What is an ‘Outside the Box Learner’

This might more appropriately be stated who is an outside the box learner? People are who’s, not what’s, after all! Unless maybe you are a character in a Dr. Seuss book. 😉

Since we’ve already covered what ‘outside the box’ means, it should be clear what an ‘outside the box learner’ is, because we’re just tagging learner to our definition. And thus we get: A learner who learns in an innovative or unconventional manner or a learner with a fresh perspective.

When I first got the bug to start a blog, I knew I wanted to write about my homeschooling experiences both of my son with dyspraxia and also my daughter who is gifted, especially in the creativity arena. From the little research I did about ‘outside the box’ students, it was my guess that my daughter more readily fit the stereotype usually thought of when one hears the words ‘outside the box‘.

Outside the Box Learners Learn in Unconventional Ways

Being the analytical person I am, I really thought about those words ‘outside the box’, specifically how they mean unconventional and outside the norm. I use unconventional methods to homeschool both my 8 and 10-year-old.

For my son, I frequently make modifications to help him succeed, specifically with handwriting, which is very hard for him. He is very asynchronous in that his reading capabilities and handwriting capabilities are lightyears apart. If he was in a regular classroom, he would not be your typical student. I LOVE that I am able to meet him where he’s at and he doesn’t have to feel like he’s “less than” or just “can’t keep up” due to his difficulties with handwriting. And he is able to maintain a love for learning!

My daughter is my creative child who definitely approaches things with a fresh perspective. She is inventive and always thinking of something new to try (as I write this she’s making sushi, which she’s done before, but this time experimenting with new ingredients!). She is in her happiest and most peace-filled state when she is creating something new. Her mind is in a constant state of motion. She hates worksheets and anything conventional really and learns by doing and teaching. In my opinion, she is a poster child for an “outside the box learner”.

Emphasis On Learners

Since I knew I would be writing a lot about my kids and our homeschool, I wanted to emphasize learners in my website name. And really the whole reason I’ve come around to homeschooling the way I do is to meet their needs, which I talk about in this post: How We Became Outside the Box Learners.

They learn in unconventional ways, so I’ve come around to teaching in unconventional ways.

If you’re a homeschooler, you have most likely heard of the term “Living Books”. You may be thinking, “What are they?”

Living Books are to homeschooling as Apple Pie is to America.

I first heard this term about 5 years ago, when I was a new homeschool mom. To me, the term was simply synonymous with “good” books as opposed to “fluff” books(ahem…Babysitters club).

However, as I began to dig deeper, I went to good ol’ Google and found that they are described many different ways…….

“Living books breathe life into a subject.”

“They tell a story behind the history.”

“They promote noble and good thoughts.”

“… are written by a person who has a passion for that particular subject about which they write.”

I decided to do some research for myself.

This post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

What Are They?

The term “Living Books” was created by Charlotte Mason, a classical English educator from the late 19^th century. At a time in England’s history when most children had no rights whatsoever, Mason had the revolutionary belief that children should be treated as whole persons.

From Karen Andreola’s book, A Charlotte Mason Companion:

“Living books, unlike the compressed compilations of textbooks, are laced with emotion, saturated with ideas, and they convey information as well.”

Also:

“If we want the mind of a child come alive, we feed him living ideas. Ideas reside in living books, which I think has something to do with the intermingling of story, fact and author’s opinion or viewpoint.”

As you can see, these books are many different things. In a nutshell living books engage and ignite the heart and mind of the reader.

Why Living Books?

The characters in these books come to life and cause us to think and feel more deeply, which helps cement the facts in our brains. This contrasts with textbooks which tend to be drier and contain just the facts and information. They also inspire us to think about what is good, noble, and lovely. In our home, living books have prompted many good discussions and we find this to be an extremely engaging and enriching way of learning history.