new homeschooler homeschool organization

Day 15: Discovering Learning Styles

Day 16: Practical Tips for Learning Styles

Day 17: How To Choose Curriculum Other than the “Looks Good” Method

Day 18: Teaching Young Children

Day 19: Guiding Older Children

Day 20: Lesson Plan or Lesson Journal?

Day 21: Time Tested Teaching Tips

What you come to appreciate more about homeschooling is that being a first-rate teacher is not as easy as it may seem and it requires work.  In the beginning, new homeschoolers spend more time choosing curriculum than they do improving their ability to teach. Remembering that you are teaching a child and not a curriculum should motivate  you to  want to understand more about the learning process. Learning tips and tricks of the trade takes time, but you should begin reading about learning how to teach  rather than focusing exclusively on choosing curriculum.

{My curriculum sale last year.}

Too, applying knowledge of what you know now about learning styles will help you to tame the curriculum colossus. Instead of focusing on learning about ALL curriculum this year, you can focus on just what your children need. There will be plenty of time to come up for air and survey other options as you plod along.

Along with tomorrow’s post Day 17: How To Choose Curriculum Other than the “Looks Good” Method, I want to put in a nutshell what I have learned in my 14 years or so of homeschooling and in my 10 years of advising other new homeschoolers. Easy? Absolutely not because each family has different circumstances, but you need a starting point that works.

Between aligning curriculum that fits your child’s learning style and arming yourself with the strengths and weakness of each curriculum, your first year will be less daunting.

Look at the chart below. Determine what your children like and don’t like and then you can see ways to teach that fits their learning style. For example, if you have a child that learns best by hands-on, should you waste your time looking JUST at workbooks? Workbooks have their place, but you are not trying to follow pubic school thinking where some feel that finishing a workbook equals learning. It does not. I finished many work books when I was in elementary public school, but it did not always equal to mastery of the concept because I was lousy in math though I was a good student.

Here is another example if you have a child that is a Competent Carl. If he already excels at math, does he really need a lot of your help? Will purchasing a drill and kill workbook and your over explanations make him enjoy the first years of homeschooling?

On the other hand, if you are busy helping other children and you know that your Sociable Sue prefers one on one time with you, have you allowed time in your schedule to give her or him your undivided attention?

Refer back to these tips on what each personality likes and dislikes. Ask yourself: “Am I the kind of teacher that “I” would want to learn from?”. If not, make improvements. It is a hard pill to swallow to make honest assessments, but homeschooling is for the brave and the humble.

Preparation is key to making sure your children enjoy you as a teacher.

Drum roll please! Are you ready to now learn about curriculum? That is tomorrow.

Do you see some teaching tips you can implement now? I have more specific tips to share with you on Day 21: Time Tested Teaching Tips. Stay tuned.

Hugs