Understanding homeschool learning styles can mean the different between head butting or propelling ahead in your homeschool. Here at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus, I have many tips to help you determine what is your child’s learning style.
Over 20 years ago, I not only started educating myself on the value of learning styles but helped other homeschool parents and my children to understand their learning style.
I remember reading a Swahili proverb 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.”
For example, recognizing a need helps to identify a way to succeed.
Learning styles are similar.
Educate a child about his strengths and weakness
When a child has a talent, we are quick to expand on that?
However, when a child has a weakness, we can equally be eager to help him understand tips in how to deal with his weaknesses.
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.
Also, much has been said about using the right or left side of our brain as the dominant side.
Why Your Child’s Learning Personality is Important
Because teaching styles are only part of choosing curriculum easily, I’ve included a link to my online course Identifying Your Homeschooled Childs Learning Personality.
YOU WILL LEARN:
- How to understand the way your child prefers to learn so that you can teach him in a way that he enjoys learning;
- How to pinpoint your child’s learning personality;
- A starting point in understanding (barring any special learning challenges or disabilities) and accepting your child’s preferred way of taking in information;
- Understanding when the learning personality emerges; and
- Teaching tips for each learning personality to stop the head-butting.
Too, much has been written about encouraging children to use both sides of their brain in a balanced way.
However, while I believe we should encourage use of both the analytical and creative sides, I also know we’re born with natural bents.
These natural bents are our personality or learning style.
Like a default setting, we can’t always reset it.
However, as homeschool educators we want to teach a child to use his strengths and to understand why he may struggle in other subjects.
How Homeschool Approaches Can be Aligned to Learning Styles
Too, we know there are many homeschool approaches in the homeschool world.
I’ve learned through my many years of homeschooling that approaches can be matched to learning styles.
But first, it’s important to determine what is your learning style and your child’s learning style.
How to Match Curriculum With Learning Style
Then, one of the most important reasons to understand learning styles is to help you make better choices when choosing curriculum.
Furthermore, the workbook, worktext, approach matches a learning style that normally does well in an academic setting.
This is very informative & helpful! Thanks for linking up at the Thoughtful Spot!
Samantha @Stir the Wonder recently posted…Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop #90
Thanks Samantha and always for hosting such a great party!
I love how you addressed our teaching style as well as children’s learning styles.
Often times when I’ve read posts about learning styles, I have felt that teaching styles get left by the wayside. I feel it’s super important for us, as teachers to understand how we teach. I agree with you when you said we can basically conform our teaching style to our kids learning styles better than them conforming. By learning both our kids learning styles and our own teaching style it helps us to understand why sometimes when we are teaching a certain way and when they are not “getting it” why and how we can change it.
Brandy @ Our Thrifty Home recently posted…File Folder Games & a Giveaway!
So glad it resonates with you too Brandy.
The thing is that kids can’t articulate what is wrong. So it’s up to us as teachers to look beyond what is the obvious and find the problem. As kids grow older they understand more about their learning style if we help them to discover it. That way we are not coddling them to high school.
Great post! Knowing your child’s learning style can make a world of difference!
Erin @ Nourishing My Scholar recently posted…Our Day at the Park
Thanks Erin.
I agree, it has helped me make progress instead of meeting with resistance!!
Thanks for scooting by today and for being here.