Interest-led Homeschooling

Interested children

Interest-led Homeschooling

While the 3 Rs are absolutely fundamental things to teach, don’t be hesitant to delve into interest-led homeschooling. While you may not give your child a choice of what math they get to do because you know the direction you are taking them, there are times and things that you can, and should, let them choose.

Here’s a scenario for you. Your child needs to do a biographical study of a character that was studied. They pick someone who you don’t want them to write about because ‘everyone else is writing about that individual’. Do you require them to pick someone else or let them choose the same person others have taken an interest in? Stop reading here and think about that for a moment.

Now let me put this question to you. With which do you think they will produce a better product? Take a moment here, too, to consider your answer.

pause

Boy choosing dessertThere are times for you to choose for them. And there are times you need to let your child make decisions so that they can learn to make them, go through the process of figuring out which direction to go, and then stand in their decision. Decisions have consequences, which is part of learning HOW to make decisions, and which ones are better than others. Life is full of decision-making. They are made every day. Learning that process is something to allow your child to learn while they’re growing when the decisions are relatively smaller, so that they have some wisdom when they encounter bigger deals outside your home.

One of the ways to accomplish this is interest-led study of a subject. This is one of the great benefits of homeschooling. You can allow and encourage and help your child to study something they are actually interested in. You may choose to do so after their math is done for the day. You may even find their math is done quicker and more diligently in order to get to the thing they want to study.

I have one child who loves Lego and wants time to research Lego-related things. I would be thrilled to find he is researching wonderful ways to use it. I have found, however, that by research, he really means ‘create a wish list of more kits to buy’. This makes me limit his interest-led study in this, as it doesn’t seem to have changed his creations. The result of his lack of good use of the time means he has less time to do so, which will hopefully help guide him to use his time better for that which would be more beneficial. This does take being attentive on your part to what your child is doing – not just teaching them, but watching them, observing what they’re doing and paying attention. Then you have the opportunity to point out the consequences of their choices and guide them to consider what they would do if given the chance again.

I have another child who loves the outdoors, is very observant in nature, and wants to go exploring and looking for bugs. I let him do so, and when he finds a new insect, we do some research to find out what it is. He remembers these findings and tells me about them the next time we see the same critter.

Eiffel TowerAnother of my children wanted to study Paris. (I think this was inspired by an American Girl movie she watched for her Friday Fun Thing. There’s just no telling where inspiration to study something might originate.) So when we were at the library she took out books on France, Paris and even a beginner French book and learned a few words. Then, when she’d found out a few things, she moved on to the next subject.

As I said, interest-led learning shouldn’t replace your foundational studies, but even some of the bigger subjects can be included in this. Perhaps you are studying Europe for geography. Once you’ve done an overview of the countries, you might let your child choose one particular country to focus on and study. Or maybe you covered the Civil War. They could choose one battle to study – weapons, people, places, the times, clothing, food. The possibilities are endless!

Interest-led homeschooling allows for so much joy in learning, and can help inspire a love of learning. Give them a chance to choose some things in their studies. You’ll be amazed at the results!

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