Tuesday's Tip for Teaching - Be Practical

Children learn best in relationship. When teaching, I always try to relate ideas to one another. In the early years, we forge a foundational hook on which we hang ideas and deepen concepts down the road. This is practical, no nonsense homeschooling.

Examples of Practical Teaching

Counting favorite toys

Teaching fractions while dividing a pizza

Using measuring cups and spoons in the sink or bathtub (Use metric too!)

Writing letters to grandma, pen pals, friends to develop communication skills

Keeping a blog to develop language skills

Helping a child understand that math is a word problem in real life

Purchasing items from a store

Making change

Read biographies to teach history

Life skills (Laundry, cooking, cleaning, checkbook, budgeting, financial responsibility)

Bible (Right thinking, following the Holy Spirit, discerning error)

How to learn (using the library, reference skills, study skills)

Another aspect of practical education is interest based learning. When a child is interested, learning comes more naturally. One interest will always lead to another. I've learned to pique my child's curiosity and gently guide him or her through the process of learning.

When my oldest child was ten years old, he had no obvious interests, but one day he decided he wanted to learn about archery while we were reading aloud The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. So he went to the library, learned the Dewey Decimal System, and found the books he wanted. From there he convinced his grandfather to purchase a bow and arrows and he began to practice. That led to more interest and study in the outdoors, biology (both animals/agriculture) and survival skills. He's now almost seventeen and is interested in exploring a career in wildlife/agricultural conservation. He desires to participate in a month long working trip in the west, with the Student Conservation Association in his senior year. He will likely major in some branch of this field when he attends college.

My next oldest child (almost fifteen years old) had a deep desire to learn the guitar when he was little. We encouraged music education at church and at home. When he was twelve he took a few lessons and really took off! He's an awesome guitar player, has led youth worship and is interested in luthiering (building guitars). He's also interested in carpentry, and is a practicing web designer. He has an entrepreneurial spirit and I'm sure that the Lord will pull all of these interests into a nice little package!

I've learned to pay attention, to create interest, and to draw my children into the learning process. Providing opportunity, asking questions, talking a lot about everything, digging deeply into my children's hearts and listening prayerfully to what I find there, has led us through relationship, into a very practical homeschooling journey.

So grateful for grace,

©2008 Y.M.F.