How Understanding Learning Styles Can Help Your Children

We all know that individuals learn differently -- some remember best the material that they hear, while others remember what they see better. Some people need to experience something hands on in order to do it, while others need to just read the directions. These needs within us are shaped both by our experiences and our biological make up. Learning styles go beyond memory style and learning preference, though. In fact, there are a LOT of things that go into making the learning environment around your child (or yourself) as successful as possible! An article published in California Journal of Science Education, Survey of Research on Learning Styles, says that learning styles are "as individual as a signature" and that understanding them can give us the ability to set up a learning environment designed exactly as a student needs. You can read the article (and the Journal it's from, which is pretty interesting!) at http://marric.us/files/CSTA_learnjournal.pdf#page=76

According to these authors, here are the things that make up a child's learning style:

1.  Right or Left Brain Hemisphere Dominance. This information will give you an idea about the structure, independence, group/individual needs, background noise/activity, if they'll be motivated by peers or adults, and even optimal lighting for the learning environment.
2. Age and Gender. Considering these things will help you figure out lighting, mobility needs, and sound needs. For instance, the need for sound is stronger for younger children, who also need less light (the need for light increases with age). And as I'm sure you already figured, boys need to move while learning more than girls do!
3. Perceptual Preferences. According to the Institute of Learning, "Perceptual learning styles are the means by which learners extract information from their surroundings through the use of their five senses."  The different preferences (with links so you can learn more) are: 

   Print - refers to seeing printed or written words. Aural - refers to listening.  Haptic - refers to the sense of touch or grasp. Interactive - refers to verbalization.

   Kinesthetic - refers to whole body movement. Olfactory - refers to sense of smell and taste. Visual - refers to seeing visual depictions such as pictures and graphs.

   
   Studies have shown that in order to score the highest on evaluations of learning, the child should first be presented with the material in his or her perceptual preference, then that material should be reinforced by their secondary or tertiary preference (. So for example, my son is very visual. I might show him a video of a Magic School bus episode or a picture book about germs first, then I might reinforce that lesson by doing a hands on germ experiment (to meet his secondary preference for kinesthetic), and end by him listening to a song about germs (aural).
4. Social Preference. In general, small groups are best for young students (as opposed to them doing work on their own without teacher involvement), heavy social learning in Jr. High, and then tapering off to do work independently and without as much teacher involvement in High School. This can all be affected by the student, though, so remember that your child is an individual and watch (and ask) to see how he or she learns best among peers and with/without a teacher!
5. Time of Day. Is your child a morning, afternoon, or evening person? IOWA achievement test scores were significantly higher in the research when children were administered the test during the time of day that matched them best! I can vouch for this personally as I know my daughter does best with her most challenging subjects (her reading to me) in the morning, but then listens the best in the evening (if I'm reading to her).
6. Mobility Needs. (I'm going to paraphrase from the article here). A bunch of kids were sent to psychologists for hyperactivity assessments. What did the psychologists say? That the kids were just "normal kids" with higher mobility needs--they were not actually hyperactive. Furthermore, the research found that the typical classroom environment was actually HURTING the education of the high mobility needs of (mainly) boys. Yikes! So instead of running to medication or discipline, consider the possibility that your boy might just be a boy and might just need to run around. 
   

Put it all together, and you'll have a really clear picture of what your child needs in order to learn and succeed the best! Learning styles are more than just being partial to sight, sound, or hands on. How do you think you learn best, and how do you think your kids learn best after reading this post?

Free Printables For Your Home Management Binder

Here is everything you need for the contents of your Home Management Binder! Feel free to customize it to fit your family and needs, and watch it change as you get the hang of what you really want and don't want in it. I've divided everything into the categories I use, and it should be easy for you to download and print the forms that I have found to be the best out there. Also check out my last post that goes right along with this one: Tips for Creating Your Home Management Binder. Enjoy!

Schedules

• Daily and Weekly Chores (blank)
• Girl's and Boy's Chore/Goal Charts
• To Do List with Time Schedule (daily)
• Monthly Zones Chore List
• Auto Maintenance Schedule
• Seasonal Home Maintenance Schedule (copy and paste these to print, then write dates next to each one)
• Running To-Do List

Finances

• HSA/HRA Qualified Medical Expenses List
• Dave Ramsey's Budgets (Quick-Start, Monthly Cash Flow Plan, and Irregular Income Budget)
• Dave Ramsey's Seven Baby Steps (how to get out of debt)
• Gift List (I buy gifts throughout the year when they are on sale, so this helps me keep a running list of what I have and what I still need for the next birthday or Christmas!)

Medical

• Living Will/Health Care Proxy DIY (by state)
• Vaccination Schedules (look through and choose the appropriate one(s) for your family) or Vaccination Refusal if you are not able to vaccinate your children (search for the form if your state requires one)
• Family Health Information (have yet to find a good printable for this. Should include: Names, DOB, Allergies, Past Medical History, Insurance, Medications, Dr. & Contact info, immunizations, as well as general family history including if and who in the family tree has things like cancer, diabetes, etc.

Food

• The Food Keeper (food storage guidelines)
• Freezer Inventory
• Pantry and Freezer Inventory
• Weekly Meal Planner (two options)
• Frugal Pantry List
• Emergency Substitutions Chart (copy and paste then make the font size larger if needed)
• Measurement Equivalent Chart

Safety

• Babysitter Information Sheet (I searched high and low for one that would meet the basic criteria in an emergency situation--this is it, use this one!)
• Emergency Information 
• Home Inventory Form (I suggest putting the date and price purchased in the description/notes section)

Entertainment

• Folder with local restaurant menus/contact information (I have mine tucked in a page protector)
• Business hours and information for local movie theaters, mini-golf courses, Science Centers, museums, etc.
• Story Hour, MOPS, and other age appropriate social group information.

Information

• Birthday/Anniversary List (that's right; I write a chronological list. No template.)
• Business Cards (buy some business card holder pages for easy organizing!)
• Training Children To Be Independent
• Chore List By Age
• Breastmilk Home Remedies
• CDC Developmental Milestones (print the age appropriate one you need)
• Spreadsheet print out of all of your accounts with the Name, Login Name, Password, Account #, Website Address, Phone Number, and Due Date of account if $ is involved.
• Pet Information Sheet

As Needed

• Search online for "free printables" to help you stay organized when preparing for camping, shopping, a particular holiday, traveling, hosting a party, holding a yard sale, and more!
• Devotional lists.

PS- photo at the top of this post came from http://romanceonadime.com and it is hers, not mine. :)

Barefoot Books 30% off + Free Shipping (Collaberative Order)

I'm putting together a collaborative Barefoot Books order so that everyone interested can get a big discount and FREE shipping! I just recently learned of their beautiful books and educational materials and am so very excited. These look like fabulous products for both the home and school---and I'm thinking will make perfect gifts for Christmas, upcoming birthdays, and baby showers in the next year!

Here are the details:

1) Check out the store by clicking the banner above. DO NOT ORDER THROUGH THE STORE. If you order through the store, you won't get the discount.

2) Make a list of everything you want with the item names, prices, and quantity.

3) Fill out this form here to get more information and order: CLICK HERE

Our order must be placed on December 1st, so please pass the word about this so that we can get enough orders to get the discount and free shipping in time for Christmas!

How To Homeschool

These are the three easy steps involved in officially home schooling a child. Please note that this is a guideline for my home state of NY. I have no idea what other state laws mandate as far as enrollment, documentation, and testing go, but I imagine that it falls along these lines. Please also be aware that a person "graduating" from a home school program won't necessarily have an official diploma unless you follow steps beyond what's listed here.

1) Submit a letter of intent to your school district's superintendent. It should include the names and ages of the children whom you are going to home school and the years for which the schooling will take place. A new letter must be submitted prior to the start of each school year. You do not need to submit the first letter until the school year during which your child will be turning six-years-old (though it wouldn't hurt to make it official with the school district if you choose to begin Kindergarten before the age of 6). After your child has turned 16-years-old, you do not need to submit any more letters (though it also wouldn't hurt to keep everything recorded until graduation).

2) Choose your method of madness: i.e. what textbooks and curriculum's will you be using? One should really begin to think about this and explore options well before the beginning of the school year. I would suggest the following: 1) Order a paper homeschooling catalogue from http://www.christianbook.com/ or go online where you can see a variety of different options all in the same place. 2) Find other HS families in your area and ask them what they use (churches, libraries, and the Internet are great ways to find local groups). 3) Attend a used curriculum fair. There's a 2-day one about 20-minutes from where I live now and it's a huge event! Larger cities usually hold them annually.

3) Submit a quarterly report to the school district. It should include the child's name, address, dates for beginning and ending the quarter, and the child's grade level. List each subject by name, and then include highlights of what you've done as well as a letter grade. For example:

Math: Jenny completed units 1-9 of Scott Forseman Math, Grade 2; included were the concepts of basic addition and subtraction through numeral and word problems. Grade: A-

Helpful Links:
http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/ Find out about laws, regulations, and resources by STATE in the US
http://donnayoung.org/index.htm Schooling and education ideas and resources
http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/default.aspx Reviews of almost every home school curriculum out there!
http://www.christianbook.com/homeschool Allows you to view and purchase different curriculum's (note: though owned by a "Christian" company, the educational materials provided are not necessarily "Christian")

Homeschooling: my experience

Home schoolers often face a lot of negative, incorrect assumptions from the general public. The most common ones being that 1) you will not know how to function socially, 2) you will be sheltered from every good and bad thing in this world (because, of course, you never leave your home), and 3) you wear funny clothes and have a billion siblings. Interestingly, when people got to know me in my high school years, they were always surprised to find that I was indeed home schooled--I guess I wasn't what they were expecting.

I was home schooled (commonly referred to as a "homie" by home schoolers) for my entire K-12 career, as were (and still are), my seven sisters. Yes, I said 7 sisters--that makes 8 of us altogether. It wasn't until I entered college that I stepped foot into a public classroom both as a student at our local community college and also as a substitute teacher in the local grade school system. The real world came as such a shock to me that I immediately threw out my ankle length dresses, cut myself a set of bangs, and practiced saying the word "sex" out loud because I had only ever read it before (and only then in the context of the Bible). Oh wait, none of that actually happened.

Being home schooled is not a restraining education system. In fact, it is the most liberating that you could have if you do it right. The only other educational model that I hold in as much esteem is a true Montessorian modality, and that is harder to come by than a solid home education. So what exactly does it mean to be "home schooled?" People often ask me who "taught" me, where I sat to do my school, and if I ever left home. These questions show me that people misinterpret being home schooled as just a different way of schooling, not a different way of educating. To really understand what goes on in the home school system, you must first stop thinking of it as traditional schooling.

To further illustrate this point, I will explain the answer to the three questions above:

1) Who "teaches" you when you're home schooled?

Answer: Many people and many things. During the early grades, there will be much 1:1 instruction similar to a traditional teacher role. Most of the education in home schooled families is done by the mother during the morning and early part of the day (you will find that homies are able to complete the same amount of coursework much faster than their non-homie counterparts). As the student progresses in grades, the traditional teacher role will become more of a mentor role as the student takes on a strong self learner ability. Think about it--do you need a teacher to read the text book to you in High School?

It is generally a parent who will oversee and correct your work, though home schooled students are often expected to self-correct where possible. For instance, I would compare my math question answers to that in the teacher's manual for my math curriculum. If I couldn't correct any mistakes I'd made, I would then ask a parent who would re-explain the concept to me until I understood it. This brings up the issue of cheating from traditionally schooled people, and I must admit that cheating isn't a problem. There's no need for cheating since you're already the top of your class and the point of school is to learn, not to merely fill up time.

Many education options are available to home schoolers. Most use a variety of different curriculums including even developing their own. There are textbook, video, Internet, workbook, and project based curriculums on the market right now. You can also use hands on experiences for schooling though, such as gardening (botany, anyone?), ice skating (P.E.), and volunteering to maintain a shelf at your local library (alphabetizing). If you are interested in a "classroom" option, there are home schooled groups all over the country that meet on a regular basis for specialized classroom instruction, usually in something like art, music, or a foreign language. A little unknown fact, too, is that in most places, home schoolers can opt to take as many or as few classes at their local public school as they wish.

2) Where do you sit to do school?

Answer: anywhere, and most of the time, I'm not sitting. This again goes back to the idea of education vs. schooling. Research on learning shows that we learn best when provided with a multi-sensory approach that allows us to experience something rather than learn about something. Many students struggle in a traditional classroom not because they're unable to learn, but because the teaching style doesn't meet that student's learning style (learning styles: auditory, visual, kinesthetic, musical, etc.). Research also shows that a child's best learning environment is one that is free from basic distractions (hunger, cold, etc.) and is comfortable. I used to lay outside under the sun while completing an English assignment, sit on the floor while piling math manipulatives, and curl up on my bed with a calculator for math. Handwriting, though, was always done at the dining room table. ;-) If you were home, would you want to sit in the same spot all day?

3) Do you ever leave home?

Answer: I suppose that maybe somewhere, home schoolers stay at home all day. I have never met them, though. Because home schooling allows you to complete your schooling in a shorter time frame every day, you have a lot more time to devote to other things. My sisters and I were/are constantly involved in volunteering (libraries, fire departments, etc.), sports (*gasp* even joining the public school's ski club!), music (lessons, choirs, bands), hanging out with friends, and pursuing the things that were interesting to us--I was even able to start and run my own business while still in high school!

With all of this said, home schooling requires discipline and creativity. Done correctly, it will provide your children with a very well rounded and strong academic experience while providing them with even more new experiences during their young years than a non-home schooled child typically will. Done incorrectly, your child will not be academically prepared for college and may not understand all of the "social" rules of his or her peer group. For me, the home school experience was a brilliant one. I was able to pursue things I wouldn't have had time for otherwise, academically learned more than my public and private schooled friends, was well prepared for college (3.98 GPA at a Junior Ivy-League 4 year college--all while double majoring and working full time), and have had a very satisfying social experience for as long as I can remember. Home schooling, in my experience and opinion, is like Mark Harris' song that says "so let my love give you roots and help you find your wings." It is the opportunity to learn.