Accepting Nontraditional Learning

Many of us are new to homeschool. We grew up in a traditional school, doing the same old thing and relied heavily on completed curricula (texts and workbooks) homework and of course tests! It is hard for us to accept nontraditional ways our children learn.

This is so uncomfortable for many of us! While we chose to homeschool to be different than the traditional school, we aren’t completely comfortable with that different that we yearn for. We are so attached to the traditional methods of evaluation.

We stress over if our children are learning and if our methods are correct. If our kids finish school quickly we are stressed about them not being challenged or not taking it seriously. We worry that if we don’t cover enough pages in our math book or enough chapters in science or history.

Breathe! Our kids are learning and learning properly every step of the way. When they were babies we didn’t stress over if they were learning to crawl the proper way. We didn’t time out a 3 hours a day for them to work on crawling. We played, we had fun with them and they learned like little sponges.

They learn through our conversations at the dinner table, trips through the neighborhood, observing nature, reading stories, playing games and even watching movies. The learn from watching us and asking us tons of questions. All of these things really does help teach our children and form their values.

Of course, you are still going to use the workbooks and curricula, we spent a fortune on it and they do work! They are even sometimes fun! However, you should know that there is no reason to stress, the systems do work. Instead focus on the joy, enthusiasm and love in your family.

Follow your child’s lead. Make learning fun and real, that means at times it will be messy and chaotic. Don’t be afraid to talk about big things like politics and finances. Take the time to bake a cake with your child while exploring writing (how to write a recipe or a how-to piece) or explore math (measuring and fractions), if they show interest in how you pay the bills, show them how you balance your budget. You don’t even need to extend on these activities with writing or math, they are fine all on their own!

Involve your kids in life, they will learn a ton.