I Spy Letters with My Little Eye

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Not too long ago when I was out looking for a present for one of my friends’ children, I came across an aisle full of “I Spy” and “Where’s Waldo” books in one of the local bookstores. I couldn’t help but browse through them and reminisce about the times I myself played “I Spy” games, especially when my family and I took long car rides.  At that time, however, what we spied were clouds that looked like animals and the like.  In hindsight, I realize how much fun those games were!  It got me to thinking maybe the games we played back then were really not just for entertainment after all, but that they paved the way for lifelong learning.

A few days later, I came across an article from a teacher who talked about alternative ways of teaching the alphabet, and she called it The Alphabet Project. It was so cute! Her project involved looking for hidden letters in nature and other objects in her environment. From shells to leaves, and even lamp posts and street corners, she was able to spot letters from all around.

Apparently the teacher who wrote the article was diagnosed with a mild form of dyslexia, a reading problem, as a child and her mother tried to find alternative and fun ways for her daughter to learn the alphabet. Through her mom’s encouragement and involvement, she was able to overcome her reading difficulties and in the end, became a preschool teacher herself.

It was inspirational to see how parents can really make a big difference in a child’s learning process. It made me realize the importance of creativity, patience and persevering though difficult tasks. More so, I was reminded even more of one of our most important responsibilities in rearing children: educating them. We shouldn’t just leave this as the responsibility of the school system or teachers who come their way. Rather, we should be active participants in the process.

I’m sure that many homeschooling parents (although I think this also applies to all parents as we all have the same goal in mind for our children, right?) have also tried their very best to find the most suitable learning environments for their learners, but allow me to share some insights that I picked up from the article.

• Flexibility is key. Sometimes we tend to get stuck with meeting the demands of a curriculum, or “structuring” learning because it is what many of us grew up with, right? However by reading the article I was reminded about the importance of adjusting to the needs of each child as we see fit. This includes using alternative assessments and at times, creative tools for teaching concepts.

• Classrooms have no boundaries! Learning indeed happens everywhere. From shores of beaches where one can pick up little corals in the shape of an alphabet or in the park where fallen leaves are abundant, all of these venues can provide unique learning opportunities that are sure to tap into each individual learner’s abilities.

• Meet Teacher Earth. One of the most exciting challenges I am inspired to do is to participate in my own version of the Alphabet Project. The article inspired me to think about how wonderfully magical nature is and how, by carefully looking at things, you can see so many hidden things that are simply amazing. I guess this is also the premise of the popular Disney’s Hidden Mickey game wherein people search for objects that resemble the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head, right? Nature Walks and car rides, for example, can become a new and exciting game for children. You’ll be amazed at how tree trunks hold hidden letters and shapes, as would fruits, vegetables and so on and so forth. Give it a shot, I’m sure you’ll have fun too!

• There’s always more to see than meets the eye. As mentioned in the point above, you’ll be amazed at what you’ll find hidden in nature if you look beyond just what’s there. This is also true for lots of things around us. A seemingly random drop of paint, for example, can hold so many hidden shapes and figures to discover.

• Learning can indeed be fun. Last but not the least the article reminded me that learning can be fun. In fact, the more fun it is the better! I personally think that through fun activities learning can be more meaningful, thus, kids can appreciate it better.

Like I said, maybe some of these are not new to you homeschooling parents, but every once in a while it’s nice to be reminded, yes? I hope you are as inspired as I am to try new things to make learning more fun and exciting for your children!

Marina is homeschooling Mom and the owner of website – http://www.1001wallclocks.com/