How have you instilled the love of learning in your children?

[sagira]

Simplifying not so simple

 

I guess it's because I have invested the past three years in studying and reading up about homeschooling. I have read numerous books, including Charlotte Mason's whole series except the Ourselves book (go figure ;)), and have spent countless hours online. I want to get going!

 

Yet all my reading, plus the wise words of a homeschooling mother I know, tell me to relax. He's still little. Right now it's about instilling the love of learning, not inundating him with facts and books and boring him out of his mind?

 

I have a plan for this year:

 

Daily:

 

Calendar (5 min)

Math (10 min)

Poetry (5 min)

Penmanship (5-10 min)

Literature (15 min)

Phonics (10 min)

Reading (5 min)

 

If my calculations are right, this will only take about an hour to an hour and a half each day.

 

Then weekly:

 

Science (30 minutes or more, depending on interest)

Religion (15 minutes)

Music, Piano (10 min., then practice 5 min daily)

Art (30 min. or longer, depending on interest)

 

Sooo.. does this sound feasible for a five-year-old? Or enjoyable? :tongue_smilie:

 

Please share ideas on how have you instilled the love of learning in your children?

 

Curb my enthusiasm! :D

[Jen500]

Well, I love to learn. I think when kids grow up in a house or are around other people who love to learn it sets the stage for enjoying learning.

[WTMindy]

I would say my kids (9 & 11) still love to learn. Note that this does not mean that they love doing math problems or every grammar assignment, but they do like to learn. Here are a few things we have done to help this.

 

• very little tv and if we do watch it is usually Planet Earth or something like that
  
• both dh and I model learning new things by doing it ourselves
  
• we read a lot
  
• we read outloud to the kids a lot-I do it during the day and dh does it in the evenings. I usually have something fiction going and he usually has a biography going.
  
• we take them to museums and historical sites and actually have them read the signs (or read to them)
  
• we school year round (albeit lighter in the summer) to show that learning doesn't really ever stop
  

 

 

I think it really helps to start these things as early as possible, because I think there is a window of opportunity. The closer my kids get to being teens, the more work it is to help them find entertainment in learning new things as opposed to finding entertainment in mindless activities.

[Trivium Academy]

What Mindy said, plus...view your child's lessons through their eyes. Play with your child, show him you can be fun and learn at the same time. Everything you planned sounds great, I think you'll be fine. All kids want is time with us, they want our attention and love. That's it. Do everything with love.

[WTMindy]

What Mindy said, plus...view your child's lessons through their eyes. Play with your child, show him you can be fun and learn at the same time. Everything you planned sounds great, I think you'll be fine. All kids want is time with us, they want our attention and love. That's it. Do everything with love.

 

Yes, I want to add onto what Jessica said. Play with them and you can make your games be educational. My dh is so good about this. We had a map up at eye level when our kids were preschoolers and he taught them to identify so many countries by playing a little game with it. I couldn't believe how many they knew when they were just 2-4 years old. We would do the same with letter flashcards. So, we were homeschooling long before we knew we were going to homeschool, but it was all in the context of spending fun, silly time together.

[WTMindy]

For some reason, I can't edit my post right now, so I'll add another one. It isn't important to me that my kids enjoy each one of their lessons. For example, I don't try to make every math assignment fun for them. I tell them that some things we just have to do because they are important to know. But, the things we CAN make fun, I try to do that. We do lots of great reading and projects with history. We (and by we, I usually mean dh) does science experiments with the kids. We learn by singing and memorizing poetry. So, I do think that a work ethic has to be taught alongside the fun. Otherwise, when the work gets harder, the joy peters out.

[Hebrews3:13]

Last year with my 5 year old I was REALLY basic and I can see such a difference between he and my oldest.

 

With him we READ, READ, READ. We went to the library once a week and absolutely anything he was interested in we got a book on. I picked many and let him pick some too.

 

He did some handwriting, we did a lot of phonics, bible with Daddy and basic math games with me. That was it. Now, we read books about all sorts of topics, but that was it and he LOVES school.

 

With my oldest I always pushed until I finally figured out I had royally messed up and by then it was too late. She does her school work and well, but not happily and she hates MOST subjects. I really messed up, so learn from my mistake PLEASE.

 

She is very bright and after having went to preschool I thought basic K-5 would be too easy, so we "tried' to do a lot of work each day and it was a disaster! So, have fun and take it easy.

 

What you have looks great though. If anything seems like too much at this age, by all means back off. Make sure to do some crafty stuff too- kids this age LOVE that.

 

HTH,

Laurie

[Lydia]

talk to them. Listen to what they say. Have dinners as a family and discuss interesting things.

 

And turn off the TV so they can read and use their free time to come up with all kinds of creative things (which also usually happen to be quite educational) themselves.

 

And show that you love learning by your interest and enthusiasm and open mind.

 

Best wishes,

Lydia

[Haiku]

My main piece of advice would be to learn with them. I expect no independent work from my kids (5 and 6), and I don't expect to any time in the next several years.

 

I guess one place where I differ from TWTM is that I don't necessarily see the grammar stage is mainly about skills and less about content. I see it as more about content and less about skills. I think that a skill that requires hours of practice as a 5 or 6 year old that could be be picked up quickly at 9 or 10 should probably be touched on very lightly at 5 or 6. My kids spend 5 minutes on handwriting and 10 minutes on reading each day. We do math only twice a week (and they LOVE math and ask for more, but I'm happy with the pace we're going at).

 

I'm stuffing them full of history stories, myths, legends, fairy stories, fiction, biography, etc. They love love love it, and as this is the first year we have ever done anything even remotely resembling formal school, I can see that my "scads of fun content" approach has worked. My kids LOVE learning and know so much more than I ever could have "planned" to teach them.

 

Tara

[MandJsMama]

Yes, my children LOVE learning. Both of my children (6 year old boy and 3 year old girl) love books. My 6 year old loves history and all kinds of science. He loves words and playing with our language. He loves fractions and percentages. I haven't done *anything* formally with him until, um, this past Monday. Yet, he knows all of these things - he learned to read (I know that every child has their own path to reading), tell time, the calendar, addition and subtraction, etc. from living life with us. And, our house if filled with books. We have a TV but don't watch it much and both of my children would choose to play a game with me or be read to over TV (the TV is there because sometimes I need them to watch it!).

 

As we begin to add more formal work for the 6 year old, I am very, very careful to keep his love of learning intact. I try to see it all through his eyes and do-away with my notions of what learning is suppose to look like (this is a challenging journey for me.) Thankfully, my 3 year old w is a constant reminder of that. She learns so many math concepts by playing with unit blocks and legos (and I mean self-directed, not parent-directed playing) and her language blossoms through pretend play and books, books, books.

 

I think a 4 year old ONLY needs to play, be played with, and have books a-plenty! It is a very big world for a 4 year old that it is impossible for them NOT to learn.

[Guest 4boys]

What you have listed is similar to what I did last year with my oldest for Kindergarten. We always devoted Fridays to crafts and projects, which he loved, and we did tons of reading. One way that I try to instill a love of learning is trying to answer all his questions (he is a very curious child) no matter how weird or silly, or look them up if I don't know! And also getting him books about things he is really interested in. If they are naturally interested in a subject, they will love learning about it.

[Homeschooling6]

I get so excited about their books, readers etc. and lots of times I'm learning things too and it's exciting. I think the kiddos see it. We also let them know that in order to do God's work in the future they need to learn their math, spelling etc. We do everything for the Lord including our studies is what I tell my dc.

 

Blessings,

[keptwoman]

I don't think we need to instill a love of learning in children. It's inate, they are born with it. I need to make sure I don't kill it, that's my aim.

 

I think schools kill a love for learning by taking all the joy and self-initiative out of it. Children can't follow rabbit trails or spend time on what interests them because there is a timetable and curriculum to follow. I'm sorry if you are loving doing that painting, it's time to pack up and do writing now.

 

So basically what I want to do is the polar opposite of school. At least for the next few years. I don't expect to do much formally until DD is 7 at the earliest, she is just a little information sponge right now, I don't need to feed her learning, she is soaking it up all by herself.

 

So I pretty much let her go at her own pace, follow her rabbit trails, do a maths sheet if she want's to, play, read, play, examine, investigate...just have fun basically.

[Plaid Dad]

I don't think we need to instill a love of learning in children. It's inate, they are born with it. I need to make sure I don't kill it, that's my aim.

 

:iagree:

[PeterPan]

They will like anything you have enthusiasm for. At that age, my dd liked EVERYTHING, meaning you really don't need to sweat it. Now when 4th grade hits and they suddenly don't like anything they used to like (I don't like grated carrots, I don't like green, I don't like...), that's a different story, lol. I no longer care what she likes; it's my job to make her do what she needs to do.

 

You're going to be fine. Do things YOU like to do, things that fit your family's interests and style, and it's going to be fine. As you're enthusiastic and having fun, they're going to have fun. This age (3-6 yrs) is really the fun, fun stage, so just enjoy it, have fun together. You're not going to do too much or bore him out of his mind, because you're going to use your common sense. If he asks for more, you'll do more. If his eyes glaze over, you'll back off. If he wants construction, not instruction, you'll do that. You're going to be FINE. :)

[angela in ohio]

I'll copy a post from my blog about this, as it sums up my thoughts on "love of learning":

 

"In no particular order, thoughts on creating lifelong learners and/or children who love to learn:

 

1. Fill your home with books. Good books that your children are allowed to sleep with, play with, wear out, etc. (get them cheap if this will make your wallet hurt.) Oh, and *good* art supplies that they are allowed to use whenever. And good music.

 

2. Show your children that you value education by how you spend your own free time. Research shows a high correlation between boys' fathers' reading and their own, for example. They need to see that you don't just make them learn, you have a passion for it, too. Get rid of your TV, read classic books, spend your free time learning....

 

3. Spend family time learning. Play games, visit museums, discuss things. Show them by example how delightful learning can be. Plan vacations around historical landmarks and learn enough about them ahead to be an interesting guide to them.

 

4. Show them through your money and time that you value their interests. If they are interested in something, buy them what they need, take them where they need to go, listen when they talk about it. If they don't have an interest/passion, throw some at them until one sticks, and then guide them through it until they learn to do it on their own.

 

5. (Controversial one, LOL...) Start "school" with them really young. A few minutes a day for the first few years, gradually building up (my goal is an hour in K) so that they never have the shock of, "Okay, now you are 5 1/2 and you have to sit and do this." Make it a treat/reward to sit at the table with the big kids, if they are a little sibling.

 

6. Seek out others who love topics and let your children see them in action. Praise these people in front of your children, showing them that this is a trait to be admired.

 

7. Give them the tools and uninterrupted hours needed. To get in hours of uninterrupted free study time and a rigorous school schedule, you might have to cut out other things. Do it.

 

8. Even when they are older, still treat "school time" as a privilege to be desired. Explain it as you taking your valuable time to teach them something you, in your more advanced years, are pretty sure they will need in life.

 

9. Don't make them do dumb stuff for school time. They can smell twaddle, busy work, whatever you call it. (Charlotte Mason is great on this topic.) Focus on things that are important and tell them frequently why they are important.

 

10. Success in something breeds a desire to do it. Give them the basic skills they need to learn, so that they may feel successful. Use a good, solid phonics/reading program and math program, so that they have the building blocks to even be able to pursue topics that interest them later. Spend the early years on this and character formation instead of trying to cover every little topic under the sun."

 

Specific to your 4 yo, I would say, yes, do relax, as far as formal book work goes. Don't relax as far as the amount of information you put in front of him goes. You won't inundate him with facts, a 4 yo loves information, you just need to present it correctly (informally.)

 

Sometimes people focus on the wrong things at the preschool level. For example, you want to give him a good start in reading, but the best way to do that is to spend a lot of time (1.) reading to him, and (2.) giving him life experiences that will enable him to comprehend what he reads later. One of the most important factors in successful readers as they get older is the knowledge they bring to the passage they read. Couple these two things with some beginning phonics (letter sounds, etc.,) and you have a recipe for success.

 

Another important thing to work on in preschool is school discipline. A lot of people just focus on making everything they do fun and entertaining. But it is important to start gradually requiring attention, focus, and discipline. Each year from toddlerhood, I start requiring a longer amount of time spent doing a task I require at the table. By kindergarten this is about an hour. I don't ahve children who cry over school work, because they never had that jolt of "okay, this is serious now." :) Instead, I have to tell my 10 and 12 yo to stop making up math problems for each other, as school time is OVER (after aout 6 hours of work,) and go outside. It does work.

 

This is how I would schedule the things you want to do: Four days a week or so, we would sit down and do math, penmanship/phonics/reading, poetry, and religion. I would start the year at 20-30 minutes and aim to work up to 45 minutes, or even an hour. Then we would do an art project every day (building those fine motor skills which will merge with the penmanship practice,) either right then, or after a break. I would cover the calendar work in the morning when we were getting breakfast, with a calendar on the kitchen wall. At a separate time, we would read good literature (more than 15 minutes, but not requiring him to sit still the whole time.) At another time of the day, we would do music.

 

That's my advice. I wouldn't curb your enthusiasm, I would just say to work to make sure you transfer it to your children. :)

[sagira]

Wow, thank you, Mamas! I have gotten some amazing answers! Very thoughtful.. and informative. I have a lot to think about :grouphug:

 

I do have a passion for learning and we own oodles of books, and dh reads books (mostly business books), so I think we're on the right track. As far as fun is concerned, we do lots of trips, museums, pool, nature walks, biking, and whenever we travel we travel with the kids.

 

We've read to him since birth and he's really catching on to reading :)

 

Thank you so much for all your really helpful answers. Now I'm off to give that child of mine a hug! :001_smile: