Tag: interest-led learning

Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire of Learning

Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire of Learning

And inspire your child to become a learner for life!

In her book “Teaching from Rest” Sarah Mackenzie references the quote, “Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” She goes on to say “…but we must remember that a fire does indeed need to be lit, and then stoked, or else it will burn out.”

There indeed is a balance between pushing your child too much and not pushing enough, and keeping the fire stoked is part of that balancing act.

In this post, I lay out some practical ways you can stoke the fire.

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Practical Ways to Stoke the Fire

Recognize the spark.

Before you can stoke the fire in your child’s learning, you have to first recognize what sparks their interest. For some children, their interests are much more obvious. If it’s not so obvious, ask yourself: What motivates them? What types of things do they get excited about? If they had loads of free time, how would they spend it? Consider the ways they are “smart”, as that likely could shine a light on what their interests may be. 

Provide resources and opportunities.

The easiest (and cheapest!) way to provide resources is using your local library.  Find books on the topics of their choosing.  Show them youtube videos relating to their interest. Are there classes (online or in-person) they can sign up for that will help them grow and learn more? Are there simple things you can buy (or find for free) that can cultivate their learning? 

Ex: Some kids love taking things apart… You could find old appliances/computers for them to do so.

Provide time.

Allow time in your schedule to give them space to explore, wonder and create. What does your day look like? Is it scheduled to the hilt? If so, consider paring back a little to give margin so they have more breathing room to explore and dive into their interests. More time also allows for more conversations that can cultivate a culture of curiosity and wonder. 

Help them set goals.

Goals give us something to shoot for.  It can move us out of a place of laziness/complacency to action.  Are there goals you can set with your child to help them grow? A goal could be as simple as completing a project related to their interest or taking a class to grow their skills. 

Expose them to a variety of subjects and topics.

I think this point is especially important for those kiddos whose interests aren’t as obvious.  By giving a buffet of learning, we can see what interests stick. During Covid, we started to hike more as a family.  My son, whose previous interest (for YEARS!) was weather, became very interested in maps, hiking, geography, and state parks as a result. 

Tie it into the other subjects when possible.

Now, this is obviously not always possible. But when you can, tie their interests into other subjects.  Are they interested in cooking? Then find out what foods they ate in different periods of history and what they eat in different parts of the world. Minecraft (or any building activity)? Have them create builds related to what they’re learning.  Drawing/art? They can draw pictures related to what they’re learning about history/other topics (Chalkpastel.com is great for this!)

You get the idea.

Give them opportunities to teach others what they know.

In his book, Passion-Driven Education, Connor Boyack refers to this teaching of others as the protégé effect. The protégé effect is an idea introduced by Roman philosopher Seneca.  Seneca said, “While we teach, we learn.”

This could be teaching to younger siblings, or family members, or friends. It could be formal or informal. The point is when you teach something you learn it on a different level. It propels you to a place where you really know and own the information.

Ask what they would like to learn about.

This is simple, but you could just ask your child what they would like to learn about.  Chances are you already know, but you may be surprised! 

Books I recommend related to this topic:

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Motivation: A Necessary Tool for Learning

Motivation.  It’s key.  Necessary for learning AND life.

Have you ever known someone who barely made it through high school, or even college, but then went on to be very successful in their life? I would venture to guess it happens quite often. But why?

motivation tool for learning

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Motivation: A Necessary Tool For Learning.

When one is forced to learn something that they have no interest or aptitude in, there is not going to be much desire to learn. There may be a desire to make the grade (I was this kid!) but the information will not be retained.

When there is freedom in the choice of what/how to study, there is more ownership and motivation. Here, true learning can occur.

I liken it to the motorized walkway at the airport.  Sure, we don’t NEED to take it (unless we’re in a real hurry!), but WOW, does it move us along faster!

I feel this way with my kids much of the time.  When I ride the wave of learning, I (or my kids) don’t have to exert extra energy. Their motivation serves as a tool, or a helper, in their learning.  There are still things I require of them of course, regardless of motivation, but it certainly is helpful to use whatever inspires them, when I can.

Do you ever feel like you’re playing tug of war with your kids?

Do you feel like you’re cattle prodding them to get their work done?  Oh boy, do I!  It does me well to read inspirational quotes or books to remind me of the advantages of homeschooling and having the freedom to let my kids follow their interests.

If you want a great book on this topic I urge you to check out “Passion Driven Education.”

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

It’s not a science, it’s an art.  And what helps me most is taking the time to study and observe my kids.

What makes them tick?

What do they talk about?

Does anything get them excited?

How can I light that fire?

Hitting a Wall in Our Homeschool

Recently, I’ve felt like we’ve hit a bit of a wall with my oldest.  Her newest thing is Minecraft.  As a creative learner, she loves building things and is always thinking up new things to make.  She has expressed wanting to be a marketplace creator (the people who make things to sell in the Minecraft Marketplace).

Since Minecraft is what gets her excited these days, I’ve been looking up ideas to use Minecraft as a tool for learning.  After all, it’s her moving walkway (at least, currently).  Thankfully I’ve found some solutions where we can tie what we’re studying in with Minecraft.  Thank you, GamEd Academy!

Now that isn’t ALL she does, BUT she is very excited when playing Minecraft and I have no doubt when she is building historical landmarks in Minecraft, she is retaining more about those landmarks than me teaching it in other ways.

That’s not to say we won’t utilize other ways of learning too (if you’ve been here long enough, you know living books are one of my favorite ways of learning history), but allowing her some time to show her knowledge by doing a “build” in Minecraft is very gratifying for her.

And with my other kids too, when I tie in things they love and have interest in, there is so much more buy-in for their learning.  Because then the learning itself is motivating to them.  And I’ve played a part in “lighting their fire”.


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Why You Should Embrace Homeschool Gaps

In the UK they have a common phrase that’s heard when people are stepping onto the train platform.  “Mind the gap.”  The “gap” refers to the space between the platform and the train.  And one should be careful to step over it and not into it.  Cuz, yikes, that wouldn’t be good!

homeschool gaps

Gaps are scary.

And not just literal gaps, but figurative gaps, you know like… *ahem* education gaps.  Or let’s get more personal.  HOMESCHOOLING gaps.

As a new homeschooler, one of my main goals was making sure we would NOT have education gaps. In fact, that was THE motivating factor in me buying an all in one boxed curriculum for our first two years. The idea of gaps made me tremble in my boots.

Nevermind that there was very little joy using the boxed curriculum. It was my safety net.  It meant that I was doing things right and we were going to cover all our bases.

I often wish I could go back to my first year of homeschooling, and start a little bit differently, a little bit more gently, listening to the interests of my kiddo more.

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Gaps have continued to haunt me over the years.

And I know I’m not alone! Right?

This past year was really the first year that I’ve begun to accept that gaps are inevitable AND that they are OK, and *GASP* even to be embraced!

homeschool gaps

 

In his book, Passion-Driven Education Connor Boyack states this obvious yet important truth:

“Not every person needs to know the same things, let alone all things.”

Every education includes gaps.

A big “a-ha” moment for me was when I truly considered how all educations have gaps.

Think about this…  Did you learn everything you needed to know for life in school, or have you had to learn things “on the fly”?

Guess what?  When you taught yourself something new, you were filling in a gap!

Public school.  Private school.  Charter school.  Homeschool.

You name it.  There are gaps.

There is beauty in the gaps.

Gaps mean our kiddos are spending a good chunk of time studying their interests, rather than only filling their minds with information the curriculum or standards deem important.  Or worse yet, learning something ONLY because it’s going to be on a standardized test.

Gaps mean our kids are growing in skills that they are excited about, and may possibly pursue a career in someday.

Children are more likely to retain information when they’re curious in a subject matter.

And if we’re so busy dotting all of our i’s and crossing our t’s, we’re missing out on those curious moments, and guess what, those are gaps too!  And in my opinion, those gaps are much more grievous.

If we spend our days trying to “mind the gap” in our kid’s education, there may not be time or energy left for them to dive into their interests.

So rather than “minding the gap”, maybe we should keep in mind our child’s interests in our homeschool environment.

Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire.


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Gardenschooling & the Joy of Learning Together

A Bunch of Brown Thumbs

I have always loved the idea of gardening, and while I certainly enjoy being outside, I am no green thumb!

Can you relate?!

My daughter has been asking for months now to learn more about gardening, so I figured we could all get our hands dirty, and learn together!

gardenschooling

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A couple of things happen as we learn together:

  1. I am modeling that you never stop learning.   This is HUGE.
  2.  We share a unique bonding experience since we’re all in it together.  We are sharing in not only what we are doing, but also what we are learning.

Also, I must point out, this year definitely marks a shift in my perspective of homeschooling, moving from a school at home approach to homeschooling.  They are not the same.

In previous years, I would have viewed something like gardening as extra after the REAL schoolwork was done.

And being a lower capacity person, I was never able to squeeze it in.

Between negotiating with my creative child, and life in general, my energy was usually spent.

gardenschooling

This spring, one of my main goals is to learn how to garden with the kids.  It isn’t an EXTRA thing.  It is one of the main dishes!  🙂

Preparation

We didn’t, nor will we do an extensive unit study on gardening (you know the lapbooks, worksheets, extra activities,etc.)

I have done those things in the past, but find the energy I spend preparing for them is generally not matched by enthusiasm from my kids.

That makes the teacher in me sad at times but is part of the story of how we became outside the box learners.

You gotta do what works.  And frankly, the planting IS the extra activity!

So to prepare us for planting, I gathered some books on gardening for the kids.  That got the “brain juices” flowing…

gardenschooling

Here are the books we explored together:

101 Kid-Friendly Plants

 

 

 

 

Container Gardening for Kids

Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots (this is a great one to OWN!)

Start small

Part of what has kept me from gardening is a false idea that I needed to have our garden all planned out.

Like anything, sometimes you need to just start somewhere.  This is something I have to tell my perfectionist self ALL. THE. TIME.

So, though still in the process of planning out our veggie garden, when the bug hit us this past Monday (while out running errands in the gorgeous weather!)  we decided to stop at the store and just get a few plants that the kids had read about and were excited to plant.

Their plants of choice were Pansies and Marigolds.

gardenschooling

 

 

 

 

Starting small can apply to anything your kids want to try (building something, sewing, computer coding, baking, cooking, etc).  You don’t need to go all out. 

Keep it simple.  Start with watching a video or getting a book on whatever they’re interested in.

A Rich Learning Experience

Although we only spent about an hour doing the planting, the conversations that happened during that time were so rich.

We discussed the parable of the sowers.

We hypothesized what would happen if there were strong winds.

Would they ruin the flowers since they’re still so small and newly planted?

That led us to talk about the importance of being rooted in our faith and God’s Word.

It was truly a beautiful time.

And they were so happy to be planting and so proud of themselves.  Their excitement towards gardening only grew from this relatively small experience.

In fact, when we went back into the house they were reading more from their gardening books and they had a richer context for what they were reading.

Their brains are now more engaged and primed for learning about flowers, plants, and gardening.

gardenschooling

And as we move towards starting our vegetable garden, we ALL have more confidence and excitement!

Sometimes, when you’re treading into waters (or soil… ha!) completely foreign to you, you just need to do something and take a small first step.

What have you been learning alongside your kids?

 

 

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How Letting Our Kid Dive Into His Passion Helped Him Bloom

Inspired by a 60 Minutes Episode

Many years ago, in 2012, I was watching an episode of 60 minutes about a mom whose son had been diagnosed with moderate to severe autism and was therefore put in many therapies.  Seeing him make little to no progress, she opted to pull him from his therapies and instead focus on his strengths and interests in hopes to draw him out of the world in his head.  Her goal was to mainstream him by kindergarten, which she was able to do.

Through allowing him to pursue his interests it became apparent that this kid had an intricate brain and many of the behaviors they were trying to fix in his therapies were symptoms of his brain working in such complex ways. 

**CAVEAT: Now I realize it’s not generally wise to drop all of your kid’s therapies (though in his case it was) and also that his story is a small percentage of autistic kids (I mean hello, he is a savant with an IQ higher than Einstein’s) but I do think it holds true that when you focus on what someone is good at, rather than only trying to strengthen what is weak, they will blossom! 

This 60 Minutes episode would have a deep influence on me, though right then it was just an inspirational story.  (I recently had the chance to read the book about this incredibly moving story called THE SPARK by Kristine Barnett, which I recommend for ANY parent!) 

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Our Story

At the time of watching this episode, I had two beautiful kids ages 1 & 3. Our 1-year-old son was not yet talking but we were waiting for a language explosion just as we had seen in our then 3-year-old.  Delayed talking runs in the family.  I personally didn’t talk until after age 2, and my daughter learned to both walk and talk at 18 months.  We told ourselves, he’s a boy, a 2nd born, it will come soon enough…

Well, when our son neared closer to his 2nd birthday we decided to move forward with an evaluation done by the Birth to 3 program.  We soon found out he was 50% delayed in speech along with a slew of other delays.   Speech therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Developmental Therapy were all recommended.

Early Childhood Program

We proceeded with a year of all the therapies, which thankfully were mostly done in our home.  And at age 3 he qualified for and started school at the Early Childhood program in our district.  Since therapy is automatically included in the program, we thought it would be the best option, instead of doing private therapy and working through insurance.

He still was not talking at this point, so we really had no idea what he thought about school, though he seemed happy to go.  He went for one year.  I was less than thrilled with the Early Childhood experience because 1) I had PLANNED on homeschooling and this felt like the loss of a dream to me and 2) It didn’t seem to help him with the areas he really needed help in (mainly expressive speech.)  He did have a wonderful OT while at school, but he only worked with her for 15 minutes 2x/week, and that was within a group.  It wasn’t anything like the 1:1 attention he had before for 1 hour each week.

However, I was pregnant with my youngest at the time and it was my first year of homeschooling my oldest, so I welcomed the break I received by having him in school each day for a few hours.  I was very tired due to pregnancy and now what I know was undiagnosed thyroid issues.  I look back and see that year of Early Childhood as God’s provision during that time.

Brain Balance and Beyond

Shortly after his 4th birthday, we pulled him out of school and put him in a program called Brain Balance.  Brain Balance is pretty intense and to do that AND school just seemed like too much.

When Brain Balance was over we made the somewhat scary decision to keep him home and put him in private speech and occupational therapy. I say scary because this meant the responsibility of his education rest completely on my shoulders.

While it was certainly “easy” to send him to school, and I felt less of a load because I could say “Hey, he’s in school, getting the services he needs”, the reality is it (school) hadn’t done much to help him and I knew in my gut we could accomplish more at home.  I also had that 60 Minutes episode in the back of my mind which influenced my decision.  And while I was unsure of that decision at the time,  I’m so glad I took the leap of faith to home educate him.

**Another caveat here: Early Childhood can be hugely beneficial for some kids, but it just wasn’t for mine. Every kid is different!  

Passion for Weather

It was around this time, at almost 5 years old, that it became obvious that this little dude was a little bit crazily preoccupied with the weather.   He would talk about it all the time which his therapists referred to as “perseverating”.  This immediately took me back 10 years to my very first year as a classroom teacher when I had differently wired 2E (Twice Exceptional) kid who was OBSESSED with roller coasters.  This was another way God was preparing me for my own kids. 😊

It bothered me that my kid perseverated about the weather.  I thought it necessary to help him NOT be fixated on the weather. So for a short-lived time, I would always re-direct him when he got going about the weather.  However, again, because of that 60 Minutes episode, I had this nagging prompting that this was a passion of his and it was ok and good, and even necessary to let him DIVE DEEPER into this.

So soon we would start buying weather books (that we would read to him) and instead of trying to redirect him to another topic, we allowed him to dive deep into his interest of weather.

And now?  This kid’s almost 9 and this obsession with weather is NOT. GOING. ANYWHERE.  He’s graduated from kid weather books to adult weather books and is an avid reader of fiction, non-fiction… you name it!

I attribute a lot of that to not spending so much time focusing on his weaknesses and rather, letting him lean into his strengths and watching him “grow” from there.

 

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