  |
| Learning about Pythagoras and math's relationship to music |
 |
| Denver's fascination with Clone Wars has led him to want to read the books. |
One of the many beauties of homeschooling is also one of the most humbling. . . Learning doesn't always require a teacher.
In graduate school, there was a lot of lipservice paid to the idea of "teacher as facilitator." I loved the idea of assisting students in their own learning, but I never had the opportunity to actually practice that idea until I began homeschooling.
The boys seem to learn nearly non-stop, and much more easily and happily than I'd ever imagined. The key . . . and this is a hard lesson for a teacher to grasp . . . the key is letting the boys lead the way. My job is not standing in front of them asking questions, but strewing lovely learning opportunities in their path and then getting out of the way until they have a question for me. I am their support staff.
For instance, last week I checked out a math dvd called Donald in Mathmagic Land. It introduced many intriguing and complex ideas about math-- fibonacci numbers, golden rectangles, square roots, the ideas of Pythagoras. In a typically teacherish way, I decided that whether they liked it or not, they were going to sit down and watch this video because it would be good for them.
In graduate school, there was a lot of lipservice paid to the idea of "teacher as facilitator." I loved the idea of assisting students in their own learning, but I never had the opportunity to actually practice that idea until I began homeschooling.
The boys seem to learn nearly non-stop, and much more easily and happily than I'd ever imagined. The key . . . and this is a hard lesson for a teacher to grasp . . . the key is letting the boys lead the way. My job is not standing in front of them asking questions, but strewing lovely learning opportunities in their path and then getting out of the way until they have a question for me. I am their support staff.
For instance, last week I checked out a math dvd called Donald in Mathmagic Land. It introduced many intriguing and complex ideas about math-- fibonacci numbers, golden rectangles, square roots, the ideas of Pythagoras. In a typically teacherish way, I decided that whether they liked it or not, they were going to sit down and watch this video because it would be good for them.
 |
| Denver loves to discuss the Civil War and the different strategies each side used. |
"Oh, I love that one!," Denver exclaimed.
"What?," I asked. "You've already seen it?"
"Yes, it's great. I watched it a couple of days ago when you were gone," Denver replied. "Let's watch it again."
So we all sat there and watched the dvd that they had watched for fun and that I had been planning to use as a math vitamin (because it's good for you). To my delight, the boys talked about the different ideas-- what they understood and what they didn't. I didn't interfere.
Why did I feel I had to force that on them? Isn't it wonderful that to them it was like eating candy?
Similarly, the boys explore history by playing Civil War. Spencer and John Robert have read and listened to many books on the topic, and Denver pays close attention.
 |
| Spencer, Denver, and friend discuss the Civil War. |
They explore futuristic ideas through Star Wars the Clone Wars books and videos. Denver found Clone Wars books and said he really wants to learn to read like his brothers so he can read those books. Meanwhile, they learn in their own ways.
No comments:
Post a Comment