Teaching and learning occur all the time on the home front. There are many considerations for parents to address!
FAMILY COMES FIRST
Focus—really focus—on family, including everyone’s individual needs, priorities, and interests.
“A strong family circle is comprised of people who convey appreciation for one another, stay connected, and are respectful of variations in interests, personal attributes, and capabilities.”
~ ABCs of Raising Smarter Kids – p. 21.
While incorporating a family focus, here are three essential points:
- Devise learning initiatives that align with each child’s interests, and areas of strength and weakness.
- Co-set reasonable expectations—ones that are attainable with time and effort, and that coordinate well with family members’ commitments and schedules.
- Co-create options by being openminded and looking for possibilities for learning anywhere and everywhere, in communities near and far. Offer choice, so everyone can grow in different directions.
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
What else should be top-of-mind for those who want to embrace home-based learning?
- Creativity is empowering. Ensure that there’s ample time and opportunity for kids to indulge in creative expression, inquiry-driven learning, spontaneity, and resourcefulness. (Check out Ignite Your Ideas for more on this.) Creativity is important for adults, too!
- Offer encouragement and reinforcement. Try to provide feedback in a manner that’s timely, direct, and constructive. When conveying praise, it’s best to be genuine.
- Promote family cohesiveness. Develop activities that enable siblings and family members to collaborate, engage in give and take, and learn together.
- Pay attention to children’s learning needs in different subject areas. Heed what instructional processes kids prefer, what works well, and how to make activities meaningful and fun.
- Remember that quiet and leisure time can be restorative and calming. Ensure there are interludes for re-energizing, relaxing, reading, and nurturing composure and optimism.
- Play time is not a frill. Play is a valuable part of the day (whether structured or unstructured), and it affords many learning opportunities.
- Families can work together on “life lessons.” For example, strengthen values such as gratitude, kindness, honesty, integrity, reliability, forgiveness, respect, and compassion. There are many ways to contribute to the community and the greater good!
- Aim for flexible pacing. Move forward in ways that are suitable—not too fast or intense, and not too slow or boring. Take into account individual needs, fluctuating energy levels, and also contextual issues.
LAST WORDS
“The objective is to find a good match between the learning needs of the child and the range of learning opportunities that are available, thinking as broadly as possible.”
Discover what works for your family, including what fuels your children’s passions, what fortifies their well-being, and how to help them discover and navigate learning experiences. Encourage children’s curiosity. Heed and respect each family members’ feelings and concerns. Be patient, especially during times of challenge or change. Proficiency is developed, not given, so be available, provide support, and help kids appreciate the value of effort, enthusiasm, and determination in learning processes—at home, or wherever they may be.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
To learn more about homeschooling—including logistics, benefits, concerns, tips, and various options for stretching the boundaries of children’s learning—see Chapter 7 in Being Smart about Gifted Learning, 3rd Edition.
