No Workbooks Allowed!
- Sparrow Home School
- Oct 19, 2017
- 4 min read
My eldest son enjoys history. Always has. I don't really recall him learning much about history up until the age of 7 when he attended formal education at a Montessori school, other than going to an excursion to a Pompeii exhibition.
However, I can tell you, he had an interest, that interest just had not yet been discovered by others.
Our first Term of home schooling back in 2011, I had decided as a starting point, that I would set up a project book for him. He could decide on what his projects would be about, then I would look at helping him build some research skills.
He decided his first project would be about Pompeii. He really enjoyed the exhibition from the previous year and had great recollection on what he saw. We went to the library and he searched for books about his chosen topic. I looked through those books and settled on 20 questions I knew he could answer using those books. I asked that he include some illustrations to support his answers.
The first thing he asked was, "How many words do I have to write to answer the questions?" I took huge delight in telling him he could write as many words as needed to answer the question, no matter how many or how few. His then 7 year old eyes shot open wide at the disbelief at not having to be forced at writing what he felt were excess words to answer a question he could possibly do in less. That said, because he got to choose his topic, he had great interest and ownership of it and so he would often write more than I thought he would.
Over time, those projects turned into lap books. He was quite fascinated by Ancient Times, particularly Egypt and made the most amazing lap book on Ancient Egypt. He made musical instruments using coathangers, wool and washers, made his own papyrus using reeds, canopic jars out of clay, attended exhibitions and the list goes on. He asked how long he could have to learn about Ancient Egypt and I happily told him there was no limit, he could learn about it for as long as he wanted. He spent nearly a year.
How my eldest learns about history now (and for the last few years) is through reading. He reads a few chapters from Story of the World then sits me down to discuss what he has read including his personal thoughts on the people from that time. He looks at other books we have on our shelves, books from the library and seeks other information from documentaries and You Tube.
Another big way he has learnt about history is via the BBC series (shown on ABC here in Australia) is Horrible Histories. His grandparents ended up buying him the entire series on DVD so he could watch them as much as he liked and he did (you can also see it on You Tube). He knows all the answers to the questions, sings the songs, likes to tell you ahead what's going to happen and like his reading, enjoys telling me his thoughts of the people from those times. Excursions take place as they become available.
If an activity, craft or piece of art is undertaken, it's by his choice. I'm not going to force him to do anything about his learning of history, I believe I have no right to make his enjoyment of history into a chore.
Chats with other home schooling mums can often include questions like "But how do you know what he's learnt"?, "How do you keep record if there are no workbooks"? and so on. My discussions with my son about what he's been reading and watching along with my observations of him more than tell me what he is learning about. I can easily write those observations down come reporting time.
Learning happens easily when there is personal interest, passion and curiosity. We are born with a natural, innate want to learn. Give anyone, child and adult alike, time and space to learn what they want to and in a way they need to, and learning will take place. Making education all about workbooks does not = learning. Think of a seminar or workshop you may have to do at your workplaces request. Let's say it's not something you are particularly keen about. How boring is it to you? Does that 2 hour seminar feel like you sat there for 11 years? Did most of it go in one ear and out the other? Same for a child who is learning about something they potentially don't get excited about or, importantly, are being taught about in a way that does not work for them.
We all learn in different ways. See my link about some ideals here (Different Learning Styles, Persona Grata Personality Profiles and Multiple Intelligences): https://sparrowhomeschool.wixsite.com/sparrowhomeschool/different-learning-styles
So, we shall continue to learn about history, Australian Studies and a few other topics and subjects in just this way. It works for my kids and at the end of the day, that's all that really matters.
Follow your passions and do it your way. Learning to follow your dreams, your way and make yourself a happy, fulfilled life, is what it's all about.
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