We started informally homeschooling our son, Vito, this September. It’s nothing structured, nor do I have lesson plans or anything written in a schedule. We basically play, explore, ask questions, converse, and repeat the process. Every time I observe my son learning something new these days (or gaining new insight from a previous experience), I am amazed and grateful that he is a curious, always-inquisitive little boy.
These past few months, my son has been enamored with animals. Today’s “lesson” involved making animal words using play dough. We made out words like “lion”, “cow”, “tiger” and more using red, green, purple and brown play dough. If I were to document today’s experience, I would say we focused on developing his fine motor skills, vocabulary and spelling, as well as a handful of other concepts, such as colors, matching, left-to-right order, etc. Pretty neat, huh?
(Tomorrow, it’s likely to run the same way, but perhaps I need to get out my encyclopedia so that I don’t run out of animal names to spell out. I don’t mind; I’m just glad as long as he’s engaged, excited and eager.)
I like to think I’m a lot like a preschooler in the way I process my learning, or even look at “school”. I have always been the kind of person who believes that learning should happen naturally, organically. I have always learned best when an idea is not forced upon me. I have to fall in love with an idea, a thought, or a piece of knowledge, before I find myself looking deeper into it. It was like this for me with writing: I never felt pressured to do any sort of writing, and so I naturally took to it. I eventually interned at a small publishing company, where I learned reportage writing and editorial skills; I became an English tutor, and even conducted workshops on creative writing.
“Life learning is about trusting kids to learn what they need to know and about helping them to learn and grow in their own ways. It is about respecting the everyday experiences that enable children to understand and interact with the world and their culture.” ~ Wendy Priesnitz
This organic, natural process of interest-based, even “child-led” learning is not a new concept to me, but it is a stark contrast to the culture of education here in the Philippines. Here, your alma mater is considered indicative of the kind of person you will be post-graduation; test scores, honors and educational accolades play a big role here in our so-called “diploma mill” society.
Naturally, the subculture of the “big school” took some getting used to when my family and I first moved back to the Philippines. Growing up away from our native land, my brothers and I attended progressive, international schools where many other expatriate children were enrolled. Here, the learning environment wasn’t as “grade-oriented”; rather, it emphasized global awareness, an empathy for the planet, and a respect for the privilege of education. I remember enjoying my school days, and never had a sour memory regarding homework or exams. (Of course, there were some teachers who left me less than inspired, but just a handful.) Sports and the arts were given equal importance as academics. Best of all, we were given ample space to explore our interests, no matter what they were.
In this place, education wasn’t a matter of simply completing a curriculum. It was a matter of being completely in love with the ability to learn as freely as possible.
So, tomorrow’s lessons in our homeschool (or, as I like to say, our “life school”) will probably be the same as yesterday’s thematically. Maybe we’ll have a repeat of play dough spelling, or go to bookstore to buy more animal books. His favorite books these days are the Little Golden Book versions of “The Animal Orchestra” and “The Jolly Barnyard”. We’ll likely read them all over again tomorrow, as Vito is still at a stage where he needs repeated confirmation for his tasks. He gets more inquisitive by the day, but I’m learning to accept it (just as I’m learning to accept that it takes around three rounds of a book for him to feel like I’ve done a good job!) I’ve got to keep at it, because these early days are setting the foundation for his future learning path.
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. ” – Albert Einstein
I hope to be an extension of this kind of learning for my child. I want him to learn beyond books, to continue to be curious, even if I know it will drive me crazy at times! Because in the end, school is what we make it. And I hope that I will never allow a flawed concept of learning crush my child’s ability to learn, to question, to posit solutions, and to marvel at the big world before him.
How has your concept of learning changed since you had your kids?
This is an original post for the World Moms Blog by Martine de Luna. You may find her blogging about mom-bliss at Dainty Mom, or connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
Photo credit to the author.
The Philippines education systems sounds a lot like the one here in Kenya – a premium on testing and rote memorization. Of course I think kids learn best organically and lessons seep in deeper when there is a desire and inquisitiveness about learning, and not when lessons are rammed down their throats. But…. living here there’s a part of me that likes the discipline instilled in the Kenyan education system – that sometimes you’re not going to be an inspired by this lesson, but you have to summon the will and the perseverance to learn it anyway. Maybe a little of both is best? What do you think?
Hi, Mama Mzungu. Yes, the public school system and many of the traditional schools here operate in the same manner. I’m a believer in finding the education method that is best for the learning style of a child. I’m open to the fact that my son might want to go to a traditional school, and if he does flourish in that setting, then well and good. I believe in the “little bit of both,” provided that the discipline is age-appropriate, is is the curriculum and the concepts. 🙂
We are also homeschooling so I think about education a lot the time. My girls are so young that everything we do is play based and they love it. If I try something that they are not into we drop it. I want to keep that up as long as we can but I do think that as they get older we will also have to balance that with making sure they complete certain elements of a curriculum and I’m guessing there will be things that they are not all that interested in no matter what I try to do to make it fun. I think my education philosophy will probably change as we go. At this early stage a love of learning is my primary goal but when they are older I think, as Kim stated above, that we may also have to learn how to persevere through some topics that aren’t a favorite.
Yes, very true. I think it’s too early for me to tell what my son will be like when he’s at that “school-ready” stage. Right now, my concern is in making sure he is always curious and is motivated to explore/question and form his own opinions, even at his young age. Some days, he even says, “Let’s go to school,” which means go to Gymboree or something similar where he sees classrooms, a group of kids his age, etc. As he gets older, he may prefer a certain level of order to his studies, and that will be OK with me. We’re all evolving with our kids, as moms, and I believe we will learn to accept the changes in their learning styles as they get older.
I can totally relate to this: “I have to fall in love with an idea, a thought, or a piece of knowledge, before I find myself looking deeper into it.” Yes!
I’m so similar in my thinking. A lot of what we do outside of school is trying to figure out what motivates my girls the most, and helping them to find new ways to explore their interests.
Best of luck on your homeschooling adventure, Martine!
Jen 🙂
Hi, Jen! Thanks for the well-wishes. Yes, there certainly is a need to foster a child’s innate love for learning, outside of academics. I believe in all the academic disciplines, of course, but I’m also a firm believer in multiple intelligences, and that each child has a right to thrive in their particular intelligence. I suppose that’s why as a child I enjoyed extracurriculars so much!
One of the reasons I have been determined (OK, stubborn) about remaining home with our kids prior to school is so that I can ‘homeschool’ during the early years – I take more of an oral language approach than doing any formal work.
This is also why we sought out the education system that best matches natural maturation – while I didn’t want to homeschool beyond six, I did want our boys in a system that worked with them rather than trying to shape them into clones.
I enjoyed your post. 🙂
Karyn, that’s EXACTLY what we’re doing. I’ve consulted with friends in early education, and for some of us, preschool really is optional, a supplement to the formation that is naturally happening in a family. I don’t know what we’ll do after Vito turns six or seven, but we’re taking things a year at a time. I truly believe that young children should not be rushed into formal academics, at least not until natural maturation or readiness for formal schooling (which, from what I’ve read, occurs between the ages of eight and ten). Of course, if my son shows a natural curiosity for formal school, I’ll support that.
This reminded me a great deal of the “curriculum” at my youngest’s pre-school. They call it DAP (Developmentally Appropriate Practice) and it meets the children where they are at in terms of interest and their development.
I enjoyed reading your post Martine…wishing you all the best with your student 🙂
I used to work in a preschool, so I am familiar with DAP. I guess that’s why I feel so strongly about this method of learning! Of course, each student is different, and I’m hoping that I will be a good student of my child as his needs grow and diversify.