Home Schooling Teaching Techniques

One of the joys of home schooling from the perspective of parents is the discovery of teaching techniques that work well with our children. All children are different, so there's no technique that can be singled out as best for all children, and herein lies the challenge and joy of discovery.

The joy of home schooling from the perspective of children is the flexibility and freedom that this format gives them. They don't have to spend hours in silence while waiting for something interesting to happen. They can direct the teaching themselves, especially if their parents are good at picking up signals.

Having invested a few Euros in an online home schooling package, my wife and I have gotten hold of the perfect tool. We don't need to read up on what the curriculum is, we don't need to buy books, and there's no worry that we might be missing something. However, it's not immediately clear how this tool can best be used for the particular needs and talents of our child. There are lessons and exercises, but no directions as to how best to use these resources.

Our experience so far is that our child functions best when teaching sessions are short. He is also better at doing exercises when let to himself. In fact, letting our child work things out on his own has made him positively excited about learning. The joy of discovery is something he shares with his parents. He loves to figure things out on his own.

This has led me to the following conclusions as to how to direct our teaching: To keep things short, we separate lessons and tests by a day. Not going directly from lessons to tests allows the material to be properly digested, and motivation to build for doing the tests.

Tests are then done with a minimum of help from us. He can call on us to help interpret texts and the like, but is otherwise encouraged to figure things out for himself. This has led him to discover unorthodox ways to solve problems, which is exiting in two ways. It teaches him that there are many ways to solve puzzles, and it teaches him that his intellect is capable of discovering this unaided by adults.

The result from this is that we have a highly motivated learner in our family. He is no longer showing immediate sign of fatigue and boredom in face of challenges. Knowing that the teaching session is short, and the tests are for a separate day gives him the energy to pay attention. Having discovered the joy of discovery has also made him motivated for tests, with him sometimes calling on us simply out of pride.

Done correctly, learning is a joy, and very little time is required to absorb knowledge and information when properly motivated.

Fireside Education

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