by Elaine Sigal
People learn differently! Not only do parents who are home schooling need to be concerned with the material they teach, but they also need to pay attention to how they teach it. Boys and girls learn differently. Some children are visual learners while others need auditory lessons. Most students will learn using a tactile approach. What is a parent to do?
First, understand that a lesson that works for one child may not work for another. Remember, one of the reasons you chose to home school is that you can differentiate and individualize learning for your child(ren). Here is a little test that you can do: Play a song – it doesn’t matter if it is on a CD or if you sing it. Be sure that it is a song the child has not heard before this. Then ask the child to sing it back to you. Then, hand the child the words and let him read the words. Then ask to have the song repeated. You should be able to determine if the child is an auditory or visual learner. You may need to do this a few times. The child who is auditory will be able to repeat the song better from having heard it, while the visual learner will need to see it to “get” the words. Tactile learners will not be happy until they hear it and see the words, but can also write the words down themselves.
As a person who is “language challenged”, I can tell you that the only way I learned any French was to hear the teacher, see the words on paper (board) AND to write them down 10 times each. This used to be used as a punishment in school, but it works for the tactile learner. I only wish that when I was in school, they allowed us to use math blocks! Maybe then I would not still be counting by tapping my fingers on a table. Parents, again, what works for one child may not work for another. Let your child(ren) be allowed to be multi-sensory learners. Tip: Plug your ears with your fingers. If you whisper aloud and never allow your vocal chords to vibrate, with your ears plugged, you will hear yourself! It is a way to read aloud to yourself using sight, hearing and speaking. The more senses you use in learning, the more easily it is to learn. This technique allowed me to get through Western Civilization in college. I could read on the bus or in a noisy room and never disturb others.
Girls and boys also learn differently and at different times in their lives. Girls are much more concerned about pleasing the person in charge than boys; ergo, the girls are usually neater in their penmanship. Girls are nervous about math; ergo boys tend to excel more than girls in this subject. Girls tend to mature faster than boys; thus, they attack problems differently and at a different pace. Girls tend to use different sides of their brains as well – the right brain/left brain phenomena. Understand that when a child says, “I don’t understand this,” they might be right and it may not be their fault. Always be able to approach whatever you are teaching your child in multiple ways.
Home schooled students are lucky in many ways: they can learn fractions by baking a pie, they can learn chemistry by being in the kitchen cooking, and they can learn languages by claiming the lead in every home production and speaking in different “tongues.” Let them tell you how they learn best. Ask the right questions and you will be able to help your child(ren) learn to the best oftheir ability.
Elaine received her BA from The College of New Jersey and her MA in English from Villanova University. She is licensed to teach English, Speech and Theater in two states. Elaine founded and ran a classroom based 'brick and mortar' educational company from 1995 - 2009. Elaine has significant experience matching learners to the appropriate educators and has a large available network in the educational arena. Elaine also taught English on the university level, created adult education courses, managed a credit recovery program, managed all areas of supplemental development, and established a 501c3. She has over 35 years of experience in the education field.
STIZZiL.com - is an online educational resource offering individual and group lessons tailored to any student’s needs at his/her convenience and safety, taught by experienced U.S. licensed teachers through state-of-the-art interactive web tools, such as live web video. STIZZiL will match the best teacher to the right student based on an in-depth survey filled out by the student. Teachers undergo a rigorous background inquiry with only the best chosen to join the STIZZiL staff. All sessions are recorded and archived for student review and quality assurance.
People learn differently! Not only do parents who are home schooling need to be concerned with the material they teach, but they also need to pay attention to how they teach it. Boys and girls learn differently. Some children are visual learners while others need auditory lessons. Most students will learn using a tactile approach. What is a parent to do?
First, understand that a lesson that works for one child may not work for another. Remember, one of the reasons you chose to home school is that you can differentiate and individualize learning for your child(ren). Here is a little test that you can do: Play a song – it doesn’t matter if it is on a CD or if you sing it. Be sure that it is a song the child has not heard before this. Then ask the child to sing it back to you. Then, hand the child the words and let him read the words. Then ask to have the song repeated. You should be able to determine if the child is an auditory or visual learner. You may need to do this a few times. The child who is auditory will be able to repeat the song better from having heard it, while the visual learner will need to see it to “get” the words. Tactile learners will not be happy until they hear it and see the words, but can also write the words down themselves.
As a person who is “language challenged”, I can tell you that the only way I learned any French was to hear the teacher, see the words on paper (board) AND to write them down 10 times each. This used to be used as a punishment in school, but it works for the tactile learner. I only wish that when I was in school, they allowed us to use math blocks! Maybe then I would not still be counting by tapping my fingers on a table. Parents, again, what works for one child may not work for another. Let your child(ren) be allowed to be multi-sensory learners. Tip: Plug your ears with your fingers. If you whisper aloud and never allow your vocal chords to vibrate, with your ears plugged, you will hear yourself! It is a way to read aloud to yourself using sight, hearing and speaking. The more senses you use in learning, the more easily it is to learn. This technique allowed me to get through Western Civilization in college. I could read on the bus or in a noisy room and never disturb others.
Girls and boys also learn differently and at different times in their lives. Girls are much more concerned about pleasing the person in charge than boys; ergo, the girls are usually neater in their penmanship. Girls are nervous about math; ergo boys tend to excel more than girls in this subject. Girls tend to mature faster than boys; thus, they attack problems differently and at a different pace. Girls tend to use different sides of their brains as well – the right brain/left brain phenomena. Understand that when a child says, “I don’t understand this,” they might be right and it may not be their fault. Always be able to approach whatever you are teaching your child in multiple ways.
Home schooled students are lucky in many ways: they can learn fractions by baking a pie, they can learn chemistry by being in the kitchen cooking, and they can learn languages by claiming the lead in every home production and speaking in different “tongues.” Let them tell you how they learn best. Ask the right questions and you will be able to help your child(ren) learn to the best oftheir ability.
Elaine received her BA from The College of New Jersey and her MA in English from Villanova University. She is licensed to teach English, Speech and Theater in two states. Elaine founded and ran a classroom based 'brick and mortar' educational company from 1995 - 2009. Elaine has significant experience matching learners to the appropriate educators and has a large available network in the educational arena. Elaine also taught English on the university level, created adult education courses, managed a credit recovery program, managed all areas of supplemental development, and established a 501c3. She has over 35 years of experience in the education field.
STIZZiL.com - is an online educational resource offering individual and group lessons tailored to any student’s needs at his/her convenience and safety, taught by experienced U.S. licensed teachers through state-of-the-art interactive web tools, such as live web video. STIZZiL will match the best teacher to the right student based on an in-depth survey filled out by the student. Teachers undergo a rigorous background inquiry with only the best chosen to join the STIZZiL staff. All sessions are recorded and archived for student review and quality assurance.
