You Can Use Different Learning Styles to Meet Your Family's Homeschooling Needs. Here are Some Steps to Get Started.
Here's what you'll learn in this article:
- Learning isn't one-size-fits-all, so it makes sense to use the varied ways we learn to have a great homeschooling experience that meets your children's needs.
- Four steps to make sense of the various learning styles and help your children get the most out of homeschooling.
- Answers to common questions about different learning styles.
- Key takeaways to tailor your home school experience to meet your children's learning needs.
- Where to learn more about continuing to craft the home school experience you want.
Use Different Learning Styles to Give Your Children a Tailored Home School Experience
How do you learn? Chances are you learn best with a variety of learning styles, but we are often given limited ways of learning or told that we learn one way. This lack of openness in education can be deflating.
The good news is that with homeschooling you can embrace openness to learning and tailor the experience to what suits your children. That freedom to explore how you learn and pursue what works best for you is a benefit of home school.
4 Steps to Get the Most Out of Home School with Varied Learning Styles
Embracing the freedom to use different styles of learning in home school does take extra observation and experimenting. Here are four strategies to help you get started:
1. Explore Common Learning Styles and Start Trying Them Out
While there are a lot of ways to learn, there are common styles such as:
- Auditory learning by hearing material in lectures or audiobooks
- Visual learning through graphics, charts, and videos
- Reading/writing with textbooks and research
- Kinesthetic learning through hands-on activities, experimenting, and moving
Considering whether your child prefers learning with a group or independently is also important when you are working on finding a learning style that fits each of your children's needs.
Keeping these overarching styles in mind can help you experiment with different approaches in your home school day. Over time, this will allow you to find what works best for your children.
2. Try Different Learning Styles for Different Subjects
Your children probably won't prefer learning one way all the time. It is more likely that their preferred learning styles will vary by subject. For example, one of your children might be more of an auditory learner for the social sciences, but more kinesthetic for math. This means one curriculum for all subjects or a single approach to lessons isn't going to be as effective.
With this in mind, take the opportunity to offer a variety of ways to engage with materials during home school so your children can experiment with different learning styles and start to discover what works for them. Even as they age, keep varied options available--especially if a subject becomes more difficult over time.
3. Talk to Your Children About How They Like to Learn
When you home school, you have time to pause and talk to your children about their needs. If you are trying to recalibrate after traditional school or need to reconnect with your children to help them feel inspired about learning, set aside some time to talk about this with them, either together or one-on-one (or both).
If your child is too young to talk about his or her preferences, try setting up a space that has different activities for a given subject. Each of the activities should involve a different learning style. See what your child gravitates toward. You can try this approach with different subjects and observe your child. If your child is older, then you can talk with them about different options and get their input on what resonates--and then you can try those approaches. Use this information to tailor your family's future home school experiences.
4. Keep Using Varied Learning Styles, Even as Your Children's Preferences Become Clear
Even if your children have preferred learning styles, keep it varied. There are a lot of benefits to being exposed to material in different ways at different times. If you know your child prefers a lecture, then let that take the lead, but don't hesitate to also incorporate a field trip that is more kinesthetic or a documentary that adds a visual element to their learning.
Allowing for variety will keep learning interesting and prevent your children from feeling burned out. It will also expose them to different ways of doing things, which will help them in adulthood.
FAQs: Understanding and Adapting to Your Children's Preferred Learning Styles
What if my child's preferred learning isn't what I expected?
You have hopes and aspirations for your child, and it can be difficult when you realize that those aren't their hopes and aspirations, too. However, you can give them the support they need to be the people that they are. Homeschooling gives the space to explore your children's interests and experiment with different options before they are adults and the expectations are different.
How do I accommodate different learning styles?
It can feel overwhelming to sort through differently styled learning activities for each subject. Start slowly. You don't need to focus on all the subjects at once. It might be helpful to start by trying different approaches with your child's favorite subject so they can go deeper in that area. You also might find it helpful to experiment with different styles with your child's less-preferred (or disliked) subjects to find an approach that allows them to enjoy learning.
Key Takeaways
- There is more than one way to learn. From auditory learning to reading and writing, and from visual learning to kinesthetic learning, there are many ways to learn.
- Be open to experimenting. Homeschooling your children gives you the opportunity to explore varied styles of learning.
- Follow your child. Observe your child and give them ways to experiment with different learning styles based on their preferences and how they learn best.
- Be flexible. As you work with your child, be flexible about adapting your plans to their learning needs. If one learning style isn't working in a particular subject, try another one.
Where to Learn More
If you would like more information about building home school lessons and experiences that are custom-tailored to your children's needs, consider becoming a member of Crush Home School. With our membership plan, you get monthly guidance delivered to your inbox with downloadable resources and much more. Learn more about becoming a Crush Home School member.