homeschool

Learning Styles and Multisensory Learning

August 6, 2019 by Megan

What kind of learner is your child?

I remember being asked that question as a first-time homeschool mom when I was attending a homeschool convention. It was a moment of panic as I realized that I didn’t have an answer. But surely after a few weeks of homeschooling, I will know, I thought. But I didn’t. Fast forward several years, and I still don’t have a neat answer. I know my children better than anyone else, but I’ve found that learning styles aren’t as big of a deal as some people think.

Defining Learning Styles

What exactly are learning styles? According to educational experts, the four basic learning styles are: auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and read/write. (They’re sometimes referred to by the acronym VARK).

Visual Learners: Visual learners need to see pictures. If your child is a visual learner, use plenty of pictures, graphic organizers, maps, and so on to help him or her grasp new information.

Auditory Learners: If your child is an auditory learner, he or she will learn best by listening to someone (through a lecture, audiobook, video with sound, etc.). In order to remember information, these learners often repeat it out loud, set it to music, or perhaps even make up a short poem about it.

Read/Write Learners: Some people learn best by reading information or copying it down. If your child is a read/write learner, provide lots of books and encourage taking notes.

Kinesthetic Learners: Kinesthetic learners are tactile learners. They need to touch, and they need to move. Hands-on activities and experiments are great for learners of this type.

The Limitations of Learning Styles

I’ve found that even though it’s helpful to know your child’s preferred learning style, it isn’t essential. What you should be aware of, however, is that most children don’t fit neatly into a single category. For example, one of my daughters seems to use three of the four learning styles at different times. She does great with hands-on activities and moves almost constantly, but she also learns well when she can see pictures, when someone asks her questions out loud, or when information is set to music.

To further complicate things, often a child’s learning style will change over time. Most young children need a lot of hands-on learning, but as they mature and their brains develop, they may do better with another learning style.

The Strengths of Multisensory Learning

So what does all this mean for the homeschool mom? Homeschooling is all about being able to give your child the individual instruction that he or she needs to excel. So pay attention. When your child struggles to grasp a concept, try a different approach. But instead of trying to tailor all your teaching to a specific learning style (and exhausting yourself in the process), consider using a multisensory approach instead.

A multisensory approach, as the name implies, incorporates multiple senses into the learning process. Experts believe that children taught with a multisensory approach retain information better because they have more opportunities to connect with what they are absorbing.

Examples of Multisensory Learning

This multisensory approach to learning is one of the strengths of the BJU Press curriculum. It isn’t designed for only one type of learner—it’s a curriculum for all types of learners. I’ve taught three (very different!) children with the BJU Press curriculum, and it has fit each of them

For example, this year my kindergartner is using the K5 Math digital learning program from BJU Press. The first lesson was about identifying a circle. The teacher showed examples of circles (visual), described what a circle looked like (auditory), and invited students to finger-trace circles (touch). This multisensory lesson was exactly what my daughter needed.

BJU Press also recognizes that multisensory teaching is particularly helpful when teaching reading to young children. At this age children still think on a very concrete level, so getting their senses involved will help them better understand what they are reading.

For example, last year, when I was teaching Reading 2 to one of my daughters, I noticed that she was struggling with a particular selection titled “Philip and His Pets” because she had no experience with some of the types of pets mentioned in the story. So we went to the pet store and observed all those animals. It was an extremely helpful experience that increased both her understanding of the story and her appreciation of it.

If you’re interested in more examples of multisensory learning in math, science, and history, be sure to check out some of our previous blog posts.

Encouraging Silent Reading

July 2, 2019 by Guest Writer

We are thrilled to announce that Reading 2, a new Distance Learning course taught by Mrs. Walker, is now available! Mrs. Walker has also recorded a few online support videos to give you tips on guiding your child’s reading. Find out what she has to say about silent reading in the videos below.

Why Is Silent Reading Important?

A primary focus of your child’s elementary homeschool education needs to be his ability to read silently. Reading silently is something that all of us do every single day. Imagine how tedious it would be if we were required to read every product tag, highway sign, blog post, and book out loud! But what is the value in teaching your child to read silently? Why is it worth it for him to learn it?

Practicing silent reading skills will enhance your child’s speed, comprehension, and focus in reading. It will activate his imagination and allow him to visualize what he is reading in his own mind. Reading silently will also enable him to engage with what he’s reading. If he has engaged with the content, he will be better able to discerning the author’s level of skill in writing and to discover the author’s intended message. Then he can ask meaningful questions and work to understand the material at a depth he can discuss with you instead of merely repeating back to you what he has read. Finally, reading silently will clear away distractions for your student and help him fully focus on what he’s reading. The more he is able to focus, the more he will get out of what he reads, and the more obvious the applications for his life will be.

In an age when the volume of information is constantly increasing, your child needs to be able to fully understand the content in front of him so that he can evaluate it from a biblical worldview. Training your child to read silently will empower him to work through the large amounts of information he encounters on a daily basis.

What Is Sustained Silent Reading?

Sustained silent reading involves giving your student large blocks of time to dedicate to reading silently. Scheduling times of the day for your child to do nothing but read will clear away the distractions and help your child engage with the content in a meaningful way. Sustained silent reading will also lengthen your child’s attention span, which will enable him to process large amounts of text into applicable truths for his life.

So how can you get your child ready for sustained silent reading? First, be intentional with what you put in front of him. Give him a selection to read that he will find both easy to understand and interesting. Also, make sure you’re available to help him with any difficult words and answer any questions he has. You can also include topics in the selection that cater to your child’s specific interests. Maybe he has specific genres he prefers or certain topics he likes to explore. Giving him things to read in those areas will encourage him to learn more about the things he already loves. Finally, you could set aside a designated spot in your home for him to read, such as a reading nook or a special chair. This way, your child will always know that any reading done there will be both peaceful and focused.

While advertisements and social media typically give us shorter messages, your child can definitely expect to encounter larger amounts of writing in everyday life. Creating long periods of time for your student to read silently will enable him to handle and process larger chunks of information.

How Do You Assess It?

Every skill your child is learning should be measured so that you know how he is growing. But silent reading can be a difficult skill to measure. So how can you evaluate it?

BJU Press Homeschool has provided numerous tools for assessing how well your student is doing with silent reading. Each worksheet contains several components to help you get a feel for your child’s strengths and weaknesses in reading. They provide a goal for your child’s reading—which will help him read both proactively and reactively. The worksheets contain a series of comprehensive questions to make sure your child is thoroughly understanding what he reads. Finally, the worksheets will build up to more difficult questions to stretch your student’s critical-thinking skills, appropriate to his reading level. The ability to measure where your child is with reading silently will help determine where your student needs to grow and encourage him in areas where he already excels.

Hopefully these videos have made it clear why silent reading is such an important practice for your student! And be sure to check out the new Reading 2 course and its exciting amusement park theme. If you purchase the online course, you will have access to it immediately; if you choose DVDs, you can expect your order to ship by August 1. Happy reading!

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Matt recently graduated with an MA in communication studies and currently works as a freelance writer. He attributes the wild variety in his current opportunities to the exploration his parents gave him through the homeschooling experience. He enjoys theater, the gym, and choral music and will rarely say no to a cold glass of sweet tea.

STEM Activities and Real-World Learning

June 25, 2019 by Jenna

Have you ever considered how no single career your child could pursue leads back to just one subject? An artist draws on knowledge gained in both math and literature classes, a historian uses skills learned in science class as well as in heritage studies classes, and an astronomer needs strong foundations in both math and science to be successful. Even as a writer, I find myself drawing on skills from all subject areas to do my job well. That’s why interdisciplinary studies—studies covering several subjects—are so important in education. And STEM in particular is a big deal for parents and teachers alike. Let’s take a closer look at the world of STEM learning and what your children get from these activities.

What Is STEM?

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. You might also hear it called STEAM, which simply adds Art (or the arts) into the mix. But STEM and STEAM aren’t all that different because design is an inherent part in every such activity. STEM activities require students to use their knowledge in each area to complete a task or to solve a problem. For example, consider this activity for building a better thermos. Designed for high school students, the exercise is similar to an insulation experiment in Science 5. To complete it, students need to know something about heat and energy, they need to use technology resources to craft their container, they need to understand principles of engineering and design to make their container practical and functional, and they need math skills to measure the components and test the container.

Why Include STEM Activities?

STEM activities are a chance for your kids to apply otherwise isolated skills to real-world situations. In other words, it’s the reason your students have been learning all those weird math formulas and science facts. It’s one thing to learn how to calculate the surface area of an object in math and to understand how different materials and sound waves interact in science. It’s quite another to apply that knowledge to designing something to amplify sound coming from a small speaker. But doing STEM activities goes beyond simply applying skills.

STEM activities also help your children to understand what they can do. As Christians, we are called to be responsible caretakers of God’s creation. How can we take hold of that responsibility? What can we do for the world? The simple act of creating something that is useful and serves a purpose can help children to understand what they are capable of doing as human beings created in God’s image. God didn’t create some people to be geniuses who solve all of the problems and the rest of us to muddle through as best we can. God has given each of us tools to accomplish His will—whether in caring for His flock or His creation. STEM activities help your children to see how—through study and a bit of hard work—they can do some pretty cool things.

Does this mean that now you have to go and find a whole bunch of STEM activities to add to your lesson plans? Not at all. Chances are, many of your science and math activities already include elements of STEM, even if they’re not labeled as STEM activities. Just take the time with each activity to let your students learn everything they need to.

Using Family History to Spark Interest

May 28, 2019 by Jenna

History can be fascinating. Narratives about battles, discoveries, tensions, and alliances inspire many children to embrace learning. But I was never one of those children. Unless it was an area of history I wanted to know about—ancient Egypt, medieval Britain, or Edo period Japan—I wasn’t interested. Many children need to feel connected to the stories of history in order to embrace it. Your children may not be as picky about history as I was, but you’re probably familiar with the struggle to get them invested in it. One way to inspire interest is to make a personal connection to historical events. And what could be more personal than their own family history?

The Power of Stories

In college, I took a storytelling class. One of the things my teacher impressed on us was the power of family stories. In fact, she encouraged us to start a journal to record stories our parents had already told us plus any new stories they told. It’s often easier for children to remember the stories we tell than the dates in their history textbooks. You may not think of significant events from your lifetime as being part of history, but for your children, they are.

Many of us remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when we first heard about the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center. You’ve probably shared those memories with your children on the anniversary of the attacks. Similarly, your parents or grandparents may remember the assassination of President Kennedy or the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Our lives are full of these stories—moments that become significant for the next generation. Taking the time to share these accounts from your family history gives your children a personal connection to historical events. And, if your parents or grandparents can share their stories themselves, it gives your children an opportunity to build stronger relationships with them and create lifelong memories.

Researching Family History

Family stories can create connections that reach back to the twentieth century, but what about earlier? Researching family lineages is a recent trend that you might find useful in encouraging historical interest. Everybody hopes to find that they’re the descendant of a king or famous person. Though records are available publicly, online databases such as Ancestry.com make researching much easier. The system automatically makes connections to public records and existing family trees. The system will require a subscription fee, but you may not have to do all the work yourself. Many find that distant cousins have started the research already.

Going back generation by generation can ignite your children’s curiosity about history. What would your children want to know if they learned their fifth great grandfather was a Confederate prisoner of war during the Civil War? Would they see the colonies differently if they knew that their tenth great grandfather was among the first to settle in Germantown, Pennsylvania? You may not be related to someone famous, but even an unknown Confederate soldier can inspire learning.

You might also get a chance to look at scans of historical documents—such as census forms and marriage indexes. These records are primary sources, which are vital for the successful study of history. They’re not the Constitution, but they still show your children what their ancestors did, where they lived, and much more. Everything that you uncover is another glimpse into history and how our country has changed.

It’s impossible to learn about where we came from without also learning how history affected our ancestors. So if you’re struggling to inspire your children’s interest in history, remind them that the events they’re learning about in their history textbooks changed the lives of their ancestors.

Accreditation in Your Homeschool

April 30, 2019 by Jenna

I hear a lot of questions about accreditation from homeschooling parents who want to know that their children are getting the highest quality education possible. You might even hear—or read—other parents talking about choosing an accredited curriculum for their children. But for homeschool families, accreditation doesn’t usually apply directly. So what’s accreditation all about, and how does it relate to your homeschool?

What Is Accreditation?

There are actually lots of types of accreditation—for food safety, for healthcare, and even for translation. An organization, group, or individual is considered accredited after it has passed an inspection by a group of qualified experts.

In other words, accreditation just means quality assurance. The type of accreditation most of us are familiar with is educational accreditation for schools at the college or high school level and below. For a school to become accredited, it pays an accreditation agency to do a review. You can find a lot of information about educational accreditation, including a list of accrediting agencies, on the Department of Education website.

So when you hear someone talking about educational accreditation, what they’re referring to is a brick-and-mortar institution. In some cases, they might be referring to an online learning program that is part of a school. Accreditation agencies don’t review textbooks specifically.

How Can You Get Homeschool Accreditation?

As I said earlier, for homeschoolers accreditation doesn’t usually apply directly. When a school requests a review, that agency will assess teacher qualifications, program quality, and current standards. So you can see how it doesn’t directly apply to a homeschool situation—unless you wanted to pay for a review. But that can amount to several thousand dollars.

However, there are some circumstances when it can apply to homeschool families. For instance, if you join an accredited homeschool academy, such as Bridgeway Academy or an umbrella school in your area, then your homeschooler can earn a diploma from an accredited organization.

If, on the other hand, you’re homeschooling independently, then your homeschool won’t be considered accredited. The textbooks you’re using have nothing to do with it. It depends completely on the group that issues your child’s diploma.

Is It Worth It?

Depending on the direction your child is going, accreditation can be an important piece of the puzzle. Being a member of an accredited organization while you’re homeschooling means that you have someone else backing you up. While some may require you to use a specific curriculum, others let you choose from a list of approved materials, meaning that you can still use your choice of textbooks. Additionally, the organization will take care of all your reporting and transcript needs. And if your student is college-bound, accreditation may be something he or she needs for admission to the college of choice.

On the other hand, going for homeschool accreditation might be like buying brand-name merchandise instead of choosing an off-brand product. Sure, the packaging on the one is prettier, but all the ingredients are just the same, so why pay more for the well-known name? Of course, we’re talking about your child’s education, not your grocery list. So aside from the price, what else should you know about accredited organizations? To begin with, joining an organization can mean giving up many of the freedoms that you cherish as an independent homeschooling family. Not all accredited organizations will let you have your choice of textbooks. Depending on the regulations of the organization, you might not even be able to set your own daily schedule.