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ann@home
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| Posted: May 09 2007 at 6:28pm | IP Logged
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I want my kids to love learning. I want my kids to love books. I want my kids to research a subject in depth that they find interesting. I want them to think critically. I want them to have fun!
I feel like I know what the "big picture" is supposed to look like and that trickles down to a fun, relaxed, child led (to some extent) learning experience.
But how does the nitty gritty of math, grammar, and writing skills mesh into this seamlessly? I don't see how it can....
There seems to be a point where we have to sit down for an hour and teach some math, review some phonics, and practice basic writing skills. No matter how I spin it, this is not "fun."
I do games, and read alouds, and discuss things of interest and I love this type of learning. But I'm just not cut out for the unschooling lifestyle and that would be put my DH over the top 
I'm reading Real Learning currently and feel a bit inadequate as to how to make this work....
of course, a 2 yr old in the mix makes it all the more challenging 
Guess, I just needed to hear some success stories from others to motivate me!
thanks for listening/reading 
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Ann, Full-time Mama of a 10yr old Lego master, 7yr old DIVA, 4yr old King of the Mountain and one more in June '09!
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LLMom
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| Posted: May 09 2007 at 6:53pm | IP Logged
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I think that is the beauty of the real learning lifestyle. YOu can do the fun stuff but the basics also. I am all for doing those fun things, but I don't think everything we learn must be fun. Life isn't like that. In fact, a lot of it is just plain hard. So, don't try to make everything seem fun to them. I think we can make a mistake by letting them believe that all learning is fun and nothing is hard or boring. Its a good chance to "offer up" those things that are difficult or boring. In fact, the saints often sought out these types of things so they could merit more grace.
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Lisa
For veteran & former homeschool moms
homeschooling ideas
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Leonie
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| Posted: May 09 2007 at 7:08pm | IP Logged
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I thnk that you can also incorporate the basics into the projects - for example, we have worked on phonics related to a child's narration or copywork on our topic, after I have written down a child's narration. Studied grammar related to copywork or journal work. Same with spelling. Worked recently on maths facts while doing chocolate maths in our chocolate unit study. 
Valerie Bendt in "Creating You Own Unit Study" talks about basic skills weeks ( you focus on basic skills) and unit study weeks - alternating as your schedule allows.
And doing a bit of concentrated seatwork daily or or otherwise does not necessarily kill or bore , so many homeschooles do just that - either first thing in the morning, or a few days a week, or after lunch during quiet time..
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: May 09 2007 at 7:59pm | IP Logged
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A lot of these ideas were discussed in the designing curriculum thread, so you may want to check that out.
I think the trick is really finding what makes your kids tick. Though I can relate to the sentiment, I don't happen to agree that since life is hard, school should be also. With the right motivation, even traditionally dry subjects like math and phonics can become pleasant, even fun. But I don't really think it is completely our responsibility to always make it so, either. Some of that has to come from our kids!
You seem to have hit on a one of the best ways to make learning pleasant. You said you use "games,read-alouds and discuss things of interest." That really does not have to change. As your children get older, you may want to add in more independant work, but it doesn't have to be worksheets or textbooks. There are excellent living books to address just about any subject you can think of. DVD's are another way to encounter a subject, as are projects, computer games and websites, and field trips.
Try to think outside that curriculum box whenever possible, but don't worry if you need to reinforce with a practice sheet or two now and again. That is a good skill to learn as well!
Above all, my advice is to keep your own outlook lighthearted and positive. Mom's attitude is so very important and influences the kids immensely. Sounds like you already have that down pat!
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Theresa
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Meredith
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| Posted: May 10 2007 at 8:57am | IP Logged
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LLMom wrote:
| I think that is the beauty of the real learning lifestyle. YOu can do the fun stuff but the basics also. I am all for doing those fun things, but I don't think everything we learn must be fun. Life isn't like that. In fact, a lot of it is just plain hard. So, don't try to make everything seem fun to them. I think we can make a mistake by letting them believe that all learning is fun and nothing is hard or boring. Its a good chance to "offer up" those things that are difficult or boring. In fact, the saints often sought out these types of things so they could merit more grace. |
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WOW!! I second, and third what everyone else has already said and Janet boy did you nail it!! Thank you for this reminder, I'll be giving a little speech just like this today right before Math
Blesings!
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Meredith
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Willa
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| Posted: May 10 2007 at 10:03am | IP Logged
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I like this CS Lewis quote:
Quote:
| An enjoyment of Greek poetry is certainly a proper, and not a mercenary, reward for learning Greek; but only those who have reached the stage of enjoying Greek poetry can tell from their own experience that this is so. The schoolboy beginning Greek grammar cannot look forward to his adult enjoyment of Sophocles as a lover looks forward to marriage or a general to victory. He has to begin by working for marks, or to escape punishment, or to please his parents, or, at best, in the hope of a future good which he cannot at present imagine or desire. His position, therefore, bears a certain resemblance to that of the mercenary; the reward he is going to get will, in actual fact, be a natural or proper reward, but he will not know that till he has got it. Of course, he gets it gradually; enjoyment creeps in upon the mere drudgery, and nobody could point to a day or an hour when the one ceased and the other began. But it is just insofar as he approaches the reward that he becomes able to desire it for its own sake; indeed, the power of so desiring it is itself a preliminary reward. |
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Most of the things that my children do educationally, that they do by my request and not because they LOVE to, fall into this category.
My children generally don't like "taught" subjects as much as the free exploration type. For example, math and Latin and grammar are not as enjoyable for them as reading or drawing. But basic arithmetic and those types of things LEAD to enjoyment (I tell them). They didn't always enjoy phonics and decoding, but once they were fluently literate, reading became a great pleasure, and the phonics were second nature. A lot of things are that way.
I think it's probably possible to just let the kid wait till he needs to know math or spelling and then let him acquire it by way of trying to learn something else. I learned a lot this way through life. And for example, I hardly ever teach formal spelling because I find that my kids naturally improve as they read more and more.
But I think it can be a good thing to learn to get comfortable with a more sequential, teacher-intensive approach, as long as that's not the bulk of the educational process. I try to balance it out. The balance is different for every kid. To some extent you have to start where they are. If a child absolutely hated doing formal math I might move to more open-ended math learning for a while, or let him "earn" himself a respite by finishing up to a certain point.
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Willa
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: May 10 2007 at 11:32am | IP Logged
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Very interesting, Willa!
It's sort of like the chicken and egg thing: which comes first, the motivation or the reward? Could go either way.
I think it could easily be a cycle. Reward leads to motivation, which leads to more reward, which leads to... etc, etc.
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Theresa
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Willa
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| Posted: May 10 2007 at 2:23pm | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
| It's sort of like the chicken and egg thing: which comes first, the motivation or the reward? Could go either way.I think it could easily be a cycle. Reward leads to motivation, which leads to more reward, which leads to... etc, etc. |
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I bet you are right!
That is interesting... something to ponder.
Your son probably is rewarded for learning skills by learning them in the context of something that is meaningful to him. And with the basic "skill" subjects that you do, he knows that getting them done will open up the doors to the rest of the day.
I was thinking that my kids tolerate the "not so fun" subjects better because we use "short lessons". I just had a grammar lesson with my son that lasted 10-15 minutes. But that was enough.
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Willa
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: May 10 2007 at 4:26pm | IP Logged
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WJFR wrote:
Your son probably is rewarded for learning skills by learning them in the context of something that is meaningful to him. And with the basic "skill" subjects that you do, he knows that getting them done will open up the doors to the rest of the day.
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Yes, that is it, exactly!
WJFR wrote:
I was thinking that my kids tolerate the "not so fun" subjects better because we use "short lessons". I just had a grammar lesson with my son that lasted 10-15 minutes. But that was enough.
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Same here. Short and sweet.
Ex: Today ds was doing some mad-libs type game on the computer and asked me what "past-tense" meant. I told him, and that was that. Lesson learned. With a smile!
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Theresa
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| Posted: May 14 2007 at 10:44am | IP Logged
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WJFR wrote:
The balance is different for every kid. To some extent you have to start where they are. If a child absolutely hated doing formal math I might move to more open-ended math learning for a while, or let him "earn" himself a respite by finishing up to a certain point. |
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I actually let my daughter skip around in her phonics and math workbooks and materials. That way she is choosing her own work -- and perhaps choosing either to challenge herself or to review concepts [hopefully a wee bit of Montessori here].
I think that for some children the skipping around can work -- if they don't need [and don't want] everything to be taught sequentially. I do insist, however, that she do language arts [she usually chooses phonics] and math every day.
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ann@home
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| Posted: May 16 2007 at 1:11pm | IP Logged
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Thank you all. We are in our 2nd yr of homeschooling and I think I just haven't found our "groove" yet
Just when I think I found what works best for my 8 yr old son, my 5 yr old DD is begging to start reading, etc and her style is very different from my son so I have to switch gears.
My son and I have been loving many read alouds lately but my DD is very visual and the lack of pictures causes her to loose interest and wants me to read something else. It's always a balancing act! (and w/ a 2 yr old to boot!)
I feel like Real Learning is really helping me focus our time better and my kids are thrilled with our tea parties They have been wonderful educational momements with no effort at all!
I just have to try soooo hard to keep some of the routines to make things run smoother for us.
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Ann, Full-time Mama of a 10yr old Lego master, 7yr old DIVA, 4yr old King of the Mountain and one more in June '09!
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Big picture vs learning basic stuff
