Self-Directed Learning

[EngOZ]

Is it possible for a 6yo to become a self directed learner? Is the age of 6 too young for this?

 

I currently use MUS and MM.

Edited July 16, 2016 by EngOZ

[waa510]

I think a 6 yo would need support and a lot of guidance but I think it could be done. Different people mean different things when they say self-directed learning sometimes so I hesitate to get too detailed in recs. A book that I read lately that really helped me in understanding how to even support learning like this was: Project-Based Homeschooling: Mentoring Self-Directed Learners by Lori McWilliam Pickert

 

She had sections detailing how to facilitate and support self-directed learning with a multitude of age groups. I highly recommend checking it out for some nitty-gritty details on how to make it work. Also, a classical education board may not be the best place to find unschool-y homeschooling help. ;) (Don't flame me, Hive!)

 

I'd recommend the secular homeschoolers forum or an unschooling forum. They'd be a big help, I'm sure. 

 

Good luck! 

[regentrude]

Children are naturally self directed learners and will remain so if their curiosity is not squashed.

This said, being a self directed learner is not the same thing as a student who works independently through a curriculum chosen by a parent. You mention curricula, so I suspect you may mean the latter rather than the former. I do not believe a 6 y/o is capable of working independently on assigned work from a curriculum without parental guidance. I do believe a 6 y/o can be perfectly capable of being a self directed learner and learning the things he finds interesting; that is why unschooling works.

Edited July 17, 2016 by regentrude

[OneStepAtATime]

Children are naturally self directed learners and will remain so if their curiosity is not squashed.

This said, being a self directed learner is not the same thing as a student who works independently through a curriculum chosen by a parent. You mention curricula, so I suspect you may mean the latter rather than the former. I do not believe a 6 y/o is capable of working independently on assigned work from a curriculum without parental guidance. I do believe a 6 y/o can be perfectly capable of being a self directed learner and learning the things he finds interesting; that is why unschooling works.

This.

 

Six year olds are usually naturally curious and fired up to learn...about things that interest them.  That is definitely not the same thing as handing them a curriculum chosen by a parent and expecting them to learn on their own without frequent interaction with a parent/teacher.  

 

It would also be an awfully lonely way to learn.  Most kids that age want/need interaction, spontaneous conversations, encouragement, help with access to materials/information/activities for rabbit trails, etc.  Learning is organic and needs to be nurtured.  That usually means giving a child that age a lot of opportunities to learn but learn with the support of someone else, not in a vacuum.