This post is the second post in a 3 part series.
As you embark on your journey of home education, your first concern may be selecting a curriculum. However, if you take a step back and focus on sparking your child's love of learning, you will give your child a great blessing. They will retain more of what they learn, and home education will run more smoothly for everyone involved.
When children, or adults, love learning, their curiosity and desire to know more can help them overcome the challenges that learning sometimes presents. Often, those who love learning find as much joy in the process of learning, as they do in the knowledge they gain. Here are five ways to nurture love for learning in the elementary years.
5 Ways to Spark Their Love of Learning...
1. Speech
Children will find more joy in writing if they develop their verbal skills first. Strong verbal development comes from the back-and-forth of conversation in the home. Children need the opportunity to formulate and articulate their ideas. Engaging conversations show children that their thoughts matter.
When my children were young, I took time to explain my thinking. This way they were prepared to learn how to reason. Sometimes, with a funny outcome. Once, I asked my oldest toddler, "Why did you do that?' His response, "For a reason." Ok. it takes time to learn to think and reason.
Charlotte Mason was a master educator who lived in England. She capitalized on how children naturally learn by using recitation, narration, and picture painting. Miss Mason had children recite things that delighted them and that they wanted to remember. Children were asked to narrate back stories she told them. Children learned to listen, pay attention to detail, and in narrating, they learned the timing of sequence in their retelling. Picture Painting took place on nature walks. The children would marshal their descriptive vocabulary to describe what they saw.
- Recitation helps build vocabulary and comprehension. Especially if you take time to explore the meaning of what is being recited. Reciting is more than just saying the words in order, it includes the rhythm or the words, and conveying meaning through how your voice is used and how you present yourself. Are you reciting a sad poem, but look joyful?
- Narration, the act of retelling a story in their own words, is a natural form of oral pre-composition. Children love to tell what they saw, what they did, or what happened to them. Give them the opportunity to both narrate and listen to others narrate.
- Picture painting with words, is where a child describes a scene in detail. Learning to describe things without exaggeration and without minimizing important details not only prepares for writing, but also builds the practice of honesty.
The richer their opportunities to express themselves orally, the stronger their foundation for written composition. So, in my home we had a Family Recital night and mom and dad led the way.
Many children are not ready to write full compositions until the later elementary years. Many struggle with writing because they simply do not know what to say. Allowing them time to develop their oral skills first, will help them view writing as an extension of thinking, making the process of learning to write more enjoyable.
2. Parents
Parents are children's primary role models. Children learn what it means to be an adult by watching their parents, and most children are eager to grow up. Nothing can be more inspiring than a parent engaged in learning, loving learning, and sharing what they are learning.
Parents are accountable and model accountability when they live the example of how they want their children to be. Also, parents are accountable when they are available, when they check on how the children are doing, when they give children encouragement, and follow through on commitments to them.
3. Atmosphere
Create a family atmosphere that invites learning by providing access, example, resources, and time to engage in learning. More important than a homeschool room would be a well-stocked home library, or at least a cozy reading corner, with a comfortable chair, good lighting, and a bookshelf of books. If a bookshelf of good books is not obtainable, a basket of library books will help kindle the imagination. Next, the example of parents using that comfortable place to learn sets the tone for the family. As parents memorize and recite, children often follow.
Parents pursuing their continued education set the example and are part of the atmosphere of the home, setting a growth mindset. Parents pursuing the development of their talents and having tools and resources available in the home for the children, also are part of the atmosphere of the family.
Attending concerts, visiting museums, exploring art galleries, and spending time outdoors all contribute to a learning-rich atmosphere. These experiences show children that learning is valuable and extends beyond books and lessons.
4. Relationships
Relationships are important in sparking a child's love of learning. The relationship between parent and child is vital. The parent is a parent, not an adversary. When parents find themselves in battle with their child, they are more likely to engender a hate of learning, rather than a love of learning. Sometimes, it helps to step back, reassess the situation, and choose another activity for a time. Then return to the task when feelings are cooled, and the child is fresh. Force usually results in a stress response, which is fight, flight, or freeze. This is survival mode and is not conducive to loving learning.
Sometimes, a child simply isn't ready developmentally. They may need more time to mature—perhaps days, weeks, months, or even years—before they are prepared for a particular skill. While they wait, they can continue learning in other areas. Then return again to this as they mature, and try again. Giving children the space to develop at their own pace fosters a positive relationship with learning.
Sibling relationships also play a role in sparking a love of learning. Teaching personal habits—such as putting things away after use and respecting others' belongings—can reduce friction and foster cooperation. Family work builds teamwork and a sense of responsibility, which strengthens sibling bonds. When older children are viewed as leaders and helpers rather than rivals, a supportive learning environment emerges. I actually included sibling relationships in our homeschool, through kid school and rotations.
5. Kid-School
Kid School is a concept of the mom teaching the children what she knows. This is engaging learning, not simply pencil-pushing through workbooks. It is a sharing of knowledge. Most moms have had over a decade of education, can read, write, and do math and know a lot about the world. So, most moms are equipped for kid school!
I created Power of an Hour as a structured yet flexible curriculum for Kid School. It’s a grab-and-go, all-in-one program designed to teach multiple children together. The Power of an Hour covers core subjects—Math, Science, History, Literature, Language Arts (Spelling, Grammar, and Roots), Geography, Art, Music, and Poetry—in about an hour a da
The Power of an Hour is divided into short, attention-span-friendly segments of 15-20 minutes each. I rotate through a scripture story, a classic read-aloud, and daily learning gateways with my children. These rotations introduce them to heroic figures in scripture, expand their vocabulary and understanding of human nature through classic literature, and expose them to a broad range of subjects.
Before teaching a new concept, I ask my children what they already know about the topic. This serves two purposes:
- Older children get the opportunity to share their knowledge, rather than feeling like they are just reviewing.
- Younger children pay closer attention because they want to participate like their older siblings.
After group learning, we move into individualized rotations:
- One -on-one with me to learn skills. I focus on whatever the child needs. For younger children, below elementary age, this might be reading to them, building a fort, singing to them, orplaying with them. With older children this could include teaching basic skills, and mentoring.
- Time for independent self-selected, interest-led projects to hone skills, as they pursue their interests. It is in these self-selected, independent studies that true joy in learning emerges. When children have the time and freedom to pursue their interests, their love of learning grows naturally.
- Sibling Recess.. This is a boon to moms, younger children, and older children alike. Mom can be freed to work with an older child. An older child gets a break to play. The younger children are blessed to have someone to play with them.
During the first rotation, the youngest child is with me and everyone else is in independent learning. Then we go through rotations of one child one-on-one with me (whatever they need), one child is in independent study, and another child is with the toddler doing recess. During these rotations, the children move through three stations. They each receive one session of one-on-one with me, one recess, and two segments of self-directed learning. Each child gets the proper balance of one-on-one to self-directed learning. This takes about an hour!
As you consider the SPARK of speech, parents, atmosphere, relationships, and kid school, may you SPARK their love of learning!
How do you spark a love of learning?
Enjoy the journey!
First in the series: Is Your Child Getting the EDGE They Need
- For Parents of Children Below Compulsory age in Your State.