"Real Life" Learners in the logic stage - anyone have one?

[Wee Pip]

Anyone have a logic stage "real life" learner, or "just give me what I need to know that has a real life valid purpose so I can go on with life"? How do you teach them? I have a dd(11) that is one of these, and I've always struggled to teach her. She tends to fall "behind" developmentally until she finds some significance in knowing something, and then she takes off with it. She is rather sedentary (not a big mover). She is rather logical (not driven by a need to be creative). She can "do" academics, and can memorize facts very well, but it doesn't drive her. She is not motivated by a good grade, increasing knowledge, emotions, praise, or a need to be creative, LOL. It's been really hard finding what motivates her:) She was a very difficult toddler for this very reason (very stubborn)! Christmas gift shopping is a nightmare (was never big on toys, even when younger). She's the kind of person that will organize your life, your calendar, cook your dinner, and play with your little ones:) As she's come into the logic stage, she's been very helpful. I'm just not sure how to effectively teach her. She will never have that "love of learning" that everyone talks about - she has no insatiable need to "know more" about anything that might come from a book. She enjoys reading, but it must be her own choice (she'd never enjoy working thru an assigned booklist). I'm just wondering if anyone else has a real life learner and what your school might look like:)

[Rosyl]

I don't think I have a real life learner, but i bumped hoping others could answer this.

 

when I was little I would have liked to see how everything fit into the big picture. I am making connections while teaching my kids that sound alot like "oh, the teachers were telling me this(parts of the picture), because it fits into the big picture this way." My kids like the whole and then the part vs part then whole.

[Susie in CA]

I do have one like this!

 

This can be very frustrating. However, I think the most important thing to do is change your attitude about what learning is. And I don't mean to be offensive. What I have learned (and constantly re-learn) is that just because ds doesn't want to learn what's on my list doesn't mean that he doesn't want to learn. He has to have a reason for learning it! I think this is a good thing in the long run. Clearly he thinks about things; maybe your daughter does too. You said she learns quickly when she decided she needed it. That's a good thing. Embrace it! Yes, some things need to be learned regardless of interest. I make my ds do some math and some writing every day. The rest of our 'curriculum is a lot more flexible. I find that he is interested in lots of things if I work hard on keeping his motives in mind.

 

I guess, what I am saying is this:

 

Be patient

Require a certain minimum

Find her motives for the rest and use them to your advantage as best you can

 

 

Could Luck!

[elegantlion]

My ds is like this. He has to have real world application for any subject. I've started just talking about how this skill will apply in real life. For instance, he likes logic, we discuss advertisements, we discuss how will interact with people who don't agree with him. We discuss how knowing how to communicate properly will be useful.

 

Math? Well my ds likes science, he tolerates math. So we discuss what math is needed in science. We discuss how math is necessary in every job, every day.

 

Writing? This is struggle for us, but I tell him that writing is a form of communication. He's a talker and a great negotiator :svengo: , but I remind him that he's going to need to use writing to persuade at some point.

 

Shakespearean sonnets? I remind that someday he might want to recite Shakespeare to a girl. She might be impressed. We rewrote sonnets, a dirty jobs version and a redneck version. Made it relevant to today.

 

My ds is not a big fan of school overall. I tell him that is okay, but it's his job right now. I've confessed multiple times I was not a fan of school either, I wasn't. I also get his input on what he wants to study, within reason. Last year we did Asian history, this year we're doing Japanese.

 

I remind him what is non negotiable, but give him so freedom to chose how we approach that subject. He also gets to pick at least one subject.

 

We have lots of long talks. At 11 he couldn't quite articulate his reasonings for liking/disliking some things. He just turned 14 and I'm getting very detailed preferences now. I listen, take notes, and then jump on here and aske questions about how to approach that.

 

:grouphug: Sometimes it's just hard to know which direction to take.

[Wee Pip]

This can be very frustrating. However, I think the most important thing to do is change your attitude about what learning is. And I don't mean to be offensive.

 

You are right on! I envision "love of learning" to mean "hey, I'd love to know more about igneous rocks" and then reading about it. Her "love of learning" involves just jumping in and doing something (fixing something around the house, cooking, sewing), or reading those endless Babysitter Club books, ugh (but her vocab is growing, lol!) If she's curious about igneous rocks, she's happy to have a brief, shallow understanding of it ("ahh, so that's what it is. Ok. moving on..." LOL)

 

I guess, what I am saying is this:

 

Be patient

Require a certain minimum

Find her motives for the rest and use them to your advantage as best you can

 

Excellent advice

[Mommyfaithe]

Most of my kids are "real life" learners. I have finally come to terms with this...I require...Math, Language Arts (which includes grammar, spelling or vocabulary, copywork, dictation and narrations) and reading instruction (or literature study) When those 3 biggies are done....then they can get on with "real Life" My real life requires me to do certain unsavory things....like washing bathrooms and stinky soccer socks. I think they come off with the better side of the deal:D

 

My kids also love me to read to them.....so, I pick the books:D LOL. I work my way through our history cycle reading aloud from library books, my own library, articles, etc. I try to spike the interest, provide tools, books, and teach them how to find out what they want to know. Funny thing is...if we are studying the American Revolution,, oneof them will go off on an Ancient Egypt tangent because "It was just soooooo much fun when we studied Egypt!!" :glare: serious???? Then, when we get back to Egypt....smarty pants wants to know about Ben Franklin....:001_huh:

 

OY,

Faithe

[Wee Pip]

My ds is like this. He has to have real world application for any subject. I've started just talking about how this skill will apply in real life. For instance, he likes logic, we discuss advertisements, we discuss how will interact with people who don't agree with him. We discuss how knowing how to communicate properly will be useful.

 

Math? Well my ds likes science, he tolerates math. So we discuss what math is needed in science. We discuss how math is necessary in every job, every day.

 

Writing? This is struggle for us, but I tell him that writing is a form of communication. He's a talker and a great negotiator :svengo: , but I remind him that he's going to need to use writing to persuade at some point.

 

Shakespearean sonnets? I remind that someday he might want to recite Shakespeare to a girl. She might be impressed. We rewrote sonnets, a dirty jobs version and a redneck version. Made it relevant to today.

 

My ds is not a big fan of school overall. I tell him that is okay, but it's his job right now. I've confessed multiple times I was not a fan of school either, I wasn't. I also get his input on what he wants to study, within reason. Last year we did Asian history, this year we're doing Japanese.

 

I remind him what is non negotiable, but give him so freedom to chose how we approach that subject. He also gets to pick at least one subject.

 

We have lots of long talks. At 11 he couldn't quite articulate his reasonings for liking/disliking some things. He just turned 14 and I'm getting very detailed preferences now. I listen, take notes, and then jump on here and aske questions about how to approach that.

 

:grouphug: Sometimes it's just hard to know which direction to take.

 

Thanks, EL. I'd love to see what your son was like at age 11:) My dd seems to like science, but none of the ways *I* teach it, lol. She doesn't like to discuss things, either. I'm hoping she grows out of that! Example, one day, I'm outside and she calls my cell phone to ask: "we're having a debate here, which king was greater? Tutankhamon or Hatshepsut". And I (who likes to really think things thru and discuss things) launch into "well...it's not really a fair question because both kings had a different challenge to deal with." I start to explain the religious upheaval in Tut's time, versus dealing with restless neighbors during Hat's time. But I didn't get far because she ended with, "I just wanted to know which one." Click. Sigh. I suppose I should rejoice that she knew enough to even ask that question, lol. If she'd given me time to talk about it, I could've given her a sufficient answer (Hat was greater!), but I needed to hash it out a bit. I think it is a big collision of the learning styles going on, here. I'm confused unless I can really talk things out or mull things over; she needs a straight black/white, yes/no answer, and would be happy with either.

[rwjx2khsmj]

My dd12 often asks me how this (grammar, algebra, science, etc.) pertains to her life. My answer is usually, "Well, unless you plan to stay 12 forever, there will be things you'll need to know later that you don't know now. My job is to get you ready for later.

[redsquirrel]

Have you listened to SWB's lecture "homeschooling the real child"? She had one of those kids and discusses her approach. It is one of many things discussed, but you might find it useful.

[Guest cheopie]

Well, I was checking in here today just to figure out a new angle for teaching my daughter vocabulary, but this thread is the essence of my dilemma. My dd12 is just so obviously uninterested in learning roots, and I admit that the only reason I've been able to give her is that way down the road she wants to go to college and she needs to have strong vocabulary skills to do well on the SAT. Really hard for a kid to think 5 years down the road.....

 

Like others have said, my daughter does not have that "love of learning", which is one reason we went back to homeschooling over a year ago. But looking back, she didn't have it when she was homeschooled at a younger age either! This is really an epiphany for me. I guess I was hoping to "change her". I do have one very inquisitive kid who loves to read and is game for quizzing math knowledge around the dinner table and loved to jump into the encyclopedia set with me when he was younger. That is not my other two!

 

I use TWTM less rigidly than I did when we started, because it was just too dry for her, and the days too long for all of us. We sit down now at the start of the year and set goals. I pretty much tell my "real life learner" in which areas she needs to set goals and together we come up with a plan we can both live with. When she becomes unmotivated, we go back and take a look at the goals and decide if it was unrealistic or if we can keep on track. We usually tweak the plan a bit. I do the same with my dd8, but she has a little less say in her goals.

 

That having been said, if anyone has advice on how to teach vocabulary to such a child, let me know, please! We've been using Vocabulary From Classical Roots for a few months now, and it is bombing.

[Wee Pip]

That having been said, if anyone has advice on how to teach vocabulary to such a child, let me know, please! We've been using Vocabulary From Classical Roots for a few months now, and it is bombing.

 

Well...my 11yo would say to read Babysitter's Club books, and watch lots of movies with subtitles turned on. She would say that Garfield 1 and 2 were especially good vocab prep for the IOWA test. :lol:

What about that vocab cartoons book? Or, let your dd find words on Dictionary.com and learn the meaning, use it in sentences thruout the day and make a game of it - have other family members try to guess what the word means. Ok, that's all I've got. My dd seems happier to learn something if she can make a game out of it.