Day one: The Joys of Working at our Own Pace.
Day two: Miss Natalie and her support
Today we are talking about the Joys of Studying what you want. I have to tell you how much the lad love this.
He has choices.
1. If a curriculum isn't working... we change it. That doesn't mean that whining pointlessly about a program gets him out of doing the work, but seriously.. if a program or a way of doing things isn't working... It's a reason to talk about it and see what we can do to change it up. If that means using another program or changing HOW the program is used, why not eh? Doing schoolwork shouldn't be the cause of stress in the household.
2. If he wants to study something... we do it (this past year his love has been astronomy).
For instance we are using Canada this year. We aren't working through our Canada History book quickly as we keep getting sidetracked by videos, and art, and research projects. :) We delight in doing mapping to for actual Canadian journeys, learning about totems from our own First Nations people, and so much more. It's good to learn about our own people eh?
4. If he wants to choose what he wants to do for a research project..he can do that.
He's gotten hooked on Cacti at the moment, and Carnivorous plants (like the venous fly trap). So he's doing all sorts of research on them. He's also working hard on a pictorial tutorial of doing minecraft papercraft.
Today my lad and I were doing some gardening today. After supper my lad came and asked "Mom, do you have more gardening that will need to be done? If you do, can I help please? I like doing that today." So I'm thinking later in the week, rather then doing the rest of the gardening myself, that I'll have my boy lend a hand and we'll talk plants and why we grow them. :)
It's good you know, to be able to make things work, to watch a boy all excited about the things that he is learning, and giving him the freedom to pursue those passions. His passion for his cacti and his other research projects pushes him to complete his schoolwork all the faster.
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Great thoughts on how we should incorporate the individual needs of our children. This joy to study what works and what is interesting is a big advantage and really, it prepares our students for real life and focusing deeply on their area of interest. (even if that does change from day to day) - Lori
ReplyDeleteIt certainly makes the learning more enjoyable doesnt it?
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