Sometimes I drive myself crazy wondering if any of our homeschooling lessons are actually going to stick. Will my kids really remember the scientific method or this history lesson by the time next week rolls around? Will they even remember any of it tomorrow?!
I think it is safe to say that I am not the only homeschooling parent that has struggled with these thoughts at one time or another. As a home educator, one of my goals is to make learning both interesting and memorable for my boys. The struggle, however, is turning these goals into reality.
Yes, I do realize that my children will not remember everything that they’ve been taught and that I shouldn’t stress out over it. I also know that learning is a process, a journey, a bucket… Oh wait, the mind is a bucket to be filled (or something like that)… building blocks, one step at a time, instill the love of learning… you and I both get the drift. Regardless of all that, I DO want them to remember SOME of their learning!
The good news is that it doesn’t take a grand production or hours of meticulous planning to make a lasting impression! When it comes to learning, a little thing can go a very long way.
For example, we are currently learning about a family’s journey on a wagon train to settle a frontier town. Consequently, we’re talking about a prairie schooner, as opposed to the boat kind of schooner. Schooner, schooner, schooner… This word is definitely not in our normal vocabulary, but it is fun to say (or is it just me and my nerdiness rearing its ugly head?) and makes quite a positive impression on the “outside” world.
An interesting fact about prairie schooners is that they were only 4′ x 12′. At first my boys thought it was plenty of room for the 2,000 mile journey on the Oregon Trail (with half of that going through mountains). But then we taped it off in the driveway…
Whoa schooner! It’s not quite as big as they thought it would be, especially if you have to make room for supplies*. Talk about making me thankful for my big house (and cars and electricity and running water and my bed and my bathtub)!
It only took a few minutes to tape off that schooner in the driveway. Those well spent minutes helped to cement the information in my children’s minds and also opened up their imaginations to a time and place in history.
One of the things that I love most about homeschooling is being able to seize these opportunities to make history (or any subject) real, applicable and memorable for my kids!
Quite frankly, most of my “good” ideas are completely swiped from my clever friends. Is there anything that you have recently learned in your homeschool that has really stuck with you or your kids? Did you incorporate something that helped to concrete the information or idea in your child’s mind? Share your great ideas with us in the comments section! Speaking of comments, we now have the ability to reply to each other’s comments in the comments section– perfect for interactive discussions!
*If you or your adventurous children are interested in exploring the topic, I highly recommend the book “Going West!” by Carol Johmann and Elizabeth Rieth. This history book is filled with facts, stories, illustrations and hands-on activities that are actually do-able.
Marsha is proud to be the Mrs. to David for over 12 years. They have been homeschooling their rowdy boys in the Lone Star State for over 5 years. When she’s feeling like a slacker, you can find her drinking coffee, reading a book and writing at her blog — and sometimes all at the same time! You can find Marsha at Our Homeschool and Other Such Happenings.
Love those real life, awesome moments. What a fun mom you are! I want to learn like that.
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Marsha Reply:
March 27th, 2009 at 11:21 am
YOU are the fun one with your block printing and real live baby chicks!
Marsha’s last blog post..A Little Goes a Long Way
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Marsha, I love your article! It’s so true that the little things are really the teachable things. Plus, learning can and should be fun!
Your boys are adorable and so are you!!
Love ya – Julie
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Great post Marsha and what a good idea to tape off the size of a schooner! Fun times at the Drews!
Nancy’s last blog post..Preparing for Adult Life
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I always thought I was dumb because I did so poorly on tests. It turns out that I’m more of a practical learner. I’m not good at memorizing information from a book, but if you show me how to do something and then test me on it, I do better. I loved your article.
Those schooners were pretty small huh?
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I’m too tired to think of a suggestion – it’s after midnight – but wanted to say I love your idea of taping the driveway to help your boys realize the size of the wagon. That’s my kind of learning and teaching, too!
Lori (Freely Educate)’s last blog post..Sponsored Offer: $10 Coupon Savings Book from General Mills
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About that “mind is a bucket” thing… No, Marshie, no, no. No bucket. “Education is NOT the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” (William Butler Yeats) That has been SUCH a helpful quote to me throughout my years of homeschooling.
I love your driveway schoooner! Way to light that fire!
(And I’m jealous that your kids are wearing shorts.)
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Marsha Reply:
March 27th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Yup, you’re right about the quote, Bethany! I knew it was something like that.
Being “book smart” only gets you so far, especially when you pass grade 12 and aren’t forced to learn more– a lifelong love of learning? Well, that just goes on and on and on.
Marsha’s last blog post..A Little Goes a Long Way
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Great article! My 11-year-old is a real hands-on learner, whether it’s letting a millipede climb his hand or swinging a bucket of water around with his arm. I let the boys choose books that interest them. Right now he’s reading up on Communism.
Lisa V.’s last blog post..Word-Filled Wednesday – Flower
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So true & what a great idea!
Sometimes I feel like NONE of my lessons stick! LOL
Nikowa@KHA’s last blog post..Have you heard about A Woman Inspired yet?
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What a great idea! We’re just beginning this period in history, so I’ll have to tuck that in my back pocket and hopefully remember to pull it out soon.
I definitely agree that when you can see what you learn, it cements it in your mind.
We’ve enjoyed using Jeannie Fulbright’s Exploring Creation series. To be able to study Botany and then go outside and find examples of what we learned about is so cool. Same with Flying Creatures. To read about birds and then watch them in action in our yard is great reinforcement. Long after we finish the book, we’ll still be learning about birds! Last weekend we watched parts of the Planet Earth program on Discovery, and it was so cool to get to see some of the things we’ve read about in action. It was like, “Hey, we learned about that!” And to hear comments like, “They must be precocial,” while watching ducklings fall from their nest is encouraging that they really are remembering those vocab words!
With History, some of the best times of reinforcing what we’ve learned has come through Bible study. There was much discussion of how proud and foolish General Braddock was while reading through the book of Proverbs. I don’t do well with unit studies, but in discussions like these where you can weave a couple of subjects together, I really do see the value of that way of learning! The more they overlap, the more reinforcement the kids are getting, and the more it makes sense and seems relevant.
Overall, it’s all about creating a lifestyle of learning where the learning spills over into life and isn’t self-contained in those 30 minute blocks of time which end once the book is closed. Hey, maybe I should blog about this myself?
EEEEMommy’s last blog post..On My Calendar
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Marsha Reply:
March 27th, 2009 at 11:24 am
I hope you do blog about it! I’m hoping to do Jeannie’s Astronomy this summer. I wish I had her books when I was in school.
Marsha’s last blog post..A Little Goes a Long Way
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Okay, I wish I had this post 1 month ago when we were out West.
I love the tape thing.
One of the things I do is stop our reading when something significant stands out to me and we discuss it. These improptu discussions always seem to make more connections within our learning.
Currently, we are reading a bio on Theodore Roosevelt and it made me realize that one person’s life can have so many valuable lessons. I think that is what homeschool mom’s do best. They see the “lesson” within the lesson and bring that out too. I love the lessons like this that are not planned but sometimes have the most meaning.
Beth’s last blog post..King Tut, the Field Trip of the Year
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You are truly lighting their fire. And that is the beauty of home schooling. It’s the little things that are the BIG things.
Jen@ Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s last blog post..Designer wardrobe on a frugal budget
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Marsha, you are such an inspiration!!!
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