Real Learning and How it Works

Parents, do you ever worry that you are not “a teacher?” Recently, I spoke with a new homeschooling parent with a 5-year-old boy. He was a young five too. We talked about learning letters and sounds using materials that were high-interaction and low-prep since she was new to homeschooling and there were younger siblings. We also talked about early math skills and some interactive ways to teach them with math manipulatives. Then we discussed science and social studies; she lived in a state where those subjects were also required. But did she need a curriculum? At five, science is exploratory. My suggestion: get him curious about the world around him! I used the example of looking at ants on the sidewalk, and that is where the lesson on learning to teach happened. To me, this sort of thing is intuitive. But it was a good reminder that “how to teach” is not always obvious. The secret is to make connections at every step. Connect new information to existing knowledge. Connections equal retention. Retention equals learning. You may have to think about the process at first, but it will become natural, and you will turn everything into a learning opportunity.

Explore – experience, observe

• Watch the ants on the sidewalk. Encourage questions. It may sound something like this: How many do you see? I wonder where they are going. Where do YOU think they are going? Do they look hungry? What do ants eat? Do ants have Moms and Dads? Are there different kinds of ants like there are different kinds of dogs? Look, there’s a big one! They are so small. I must look like a giant to an ant! I wonder what it’s like to be so small. We connected feeling and situations familiar to the child – family, food, dogs.

Expand – read, research

• Go to the library, look in an encyclopedia, or go online and read aloud together about ants. You are trying to answer some of the questions from point 1 and see if there are interesting facts you didn’t think to ask. This task might lead you on a rabbit trail, and what fun that is! Go with the flow! We connected our existing questions to new answers.
• Draw – Provide your child with blank paper and crayons. Practice drawing three circles as the ant’s body. What would it look like if you made three triangles instead? Do ants have tails? Do ants have teeth? Do ants have hair? Do ants take baths? We are connecting recently learned knowledge with other subjects – shapes, hygiene.

Write – practice, vocabulary

• On handwriting paper, let’s learn to write some new words we have learned such as insect, ant hill, nest, work, group, jaw, feeler, head, farmer, strong, queen, colony. This is a big list, so you could ask your child what words he would like to learn to write! You can write the words first and have your child model them in their neatest handwriting. Seeing the words again (from the books) and choosing 3 to write are connections to a previous experience. In deciding which words to write, they are automatically invested in those words, which results in high retention. They made a decision. It was their idea. Boom.

Create – project, product, essay

• An ant farm is fascinating to watch. Yes, it is a little creepy to invite ants into your home. Maybe you keep the ant farm outside in the shade. It helps the 5-year-old child picture where ants go when they disappear down the ant hill. How interesting! You can collect ants from the wild together! This can lead to a discussion about where other insects live, where zoo animals come from, or even how to create a habitat for a pet in your home. And you are teaching that little one about science along the way. An older child might write an essay about ant colonies and how they work together. Maybe you make a balloon/papier-mache ant model to display.

Reflect – this is for you, the parent

• Pat yourself on the back. You have created a lesson around a simple thing like watching an ant on the sidewalk. Be open to learning opportunities. Think about making connections to recent lessons. Real learning is all about making those connections.   ~ Sara