Homeschooling: Learning Styles – What’s the Difference anyway?

I remember reading a Swahili proverb from the book Discover Your Child’s Learning Style that said “The greatest good we can do for others is not just to share our riches with them, but to reveal their riches to themselves.”

From that time forwarded I started not just educating myself on the value of learning styles, but helping other homeschool parents and my children to understand their learning style.

Educate a child about his strengths and weakness – Help or Hindrance?

For example, recognizing a need helps to identify a way to succeed.  Learning styles are very similar.

Learning styles imply refers to a personality, the way a person likes to learn and the subjects he likes to learn.

Cathy Duffy is queen when it comes to helping us to understand learning styles.

Up until the time she coined the terms Perfect Paul, Sociable Sue, Wiggly Willy and Competent Carla, only trained professionals could understand what a concrete sequential learner was versus an abstract thinking learner. Uh? Sometimes they couldn’t understand either. That’s just between us though.

I have a printable or a chart to help you identify your learning style and your child’s a little further down in my post.

First, I want to share 3 things that makes it easier to understand learning styles.

This means that instead of jumping out there and selecting curriculum based only on our learning style, we want to consider our child’s style too.

Sometimes we may feel our teaching style is so clear, easy to follow and the problem is with the child.

In truth, our teaching style may be causing the problems because we chose curriculum based on it.

We may feel our way is how “school” is suppose to be done and are not willing to bend from that method.

Understanding that, like a machine, we have an inborn default setting for our personality and come pre-wired to make choices.

What is the Sign of an Awesome Homeschool Teacher?

When we speak or write, we think we are absolutely clear in the way we communicate because we default to our natural way of learning.  Our natural way of learning becomes our teaching style.

Often times choices in curriculum are based on our pre-wired settings or default setting.

Unlike a machine though, we can appreciate that choices do not always have to be comfortable for us.

As the teacher, it’s important to understand that our children have a way the come pre-wired to learn also.  It is easier for us as adults to move out of our comfort zone or default setting to teach in a way that our child understands.

Our focus is on teaching unique individuals which are our children, not mini versions of ourselves.

{Yes I know not glamorous. We can’t all be toasters…but}

For the most part children want to please us. As moms, we tend to first think that a child is acting up instead of something being wrong with the material or (clear throat here) our way of teaching (i.e. our default setting of learning clashes with child’s default setting).

Thinking like a teacher means that we try to understand what our child cannot articulate, but expresses only through tears or resentment.

If a child is a Competent Carl, we ask questions like: Is the material below their level or do we really need to repeat it over and over?

Is the material too overwhelming with details for a Wiggly Willy or does it not have enough details for a Perfect Paul?

Instead of deciding that one curriculum by one provider meets the needs of all our children, we appreciate that right brain and left brain children can learn together under one roof and that both sides of the brain work together.

Embracing differences motivates us to choose three different math programs, if necessary, and if it meets the needs of each child.

It makes us move out of our comfort zone as a teacher and appreciate the strength and gifts of each child.

 

{Drawings Copyright Eden @ geeden blogspot}

Learning styles are not exact sciences, they are just another tool to help us grow to learn how our children learn.

Being conscientious about not putting labels on our children is important.

However, balance is also needed.  Helping our child to understand why he is strong in some subjects and perhaps weaker in other areas equips him to embrace ways of tackling tough subjects.

It helps us, as educators, to discover the uniqueness of each child and nurture it.

Have you helped your child to discover his riches?

Download the chart here to help you determine your learning style and your child’s too.

Hugs and you know I love ya,