Monday, September 30, 2013

Teachable Moments

Finding Time for Learning

I was talking with friend of mine about finding opportunities for teaching our kids.  Many times, school doesn't look like the typical day of sitting at a desk with a textbook open and a teacher lecturing while the students try desperately not to fall asleep.  Sometimes our school day involves a whole day of reading or exploring our lake for changes during the four seasons or rotating stations I've set up to give them a varied day of learning. 
(C) capmembers.org
Two of my children are involved in Civil Air Patrol, so their schooling also involves aerospace education and leadership skills.  Two of my children are very motivated to complete assigned work, so I am challenged to find other activities of learning for them to fill their days.  All in all, finding time for learning can be relatively simple once you throw out the idea of typical classroom learning.
Ideas for outside the box learning:
  • study the wildlife at a nearby lake (science)
  • have a middle school or high school student make dinner 2-3 times a week (home economics)
  • Play games like Yahtzee or Monopoly (math) 
  • Watch movies such as The Diary of Anne Frank, Letters from Iwo Jima or Flags of Our Fathers (history)
  • estimate lowest price and total grocery bill (math)
  • Bring pizza to a local fire station (hospitality/character development) 
Don't be afraid to step outside of the normal look of education!  When it comes to teaching our kids, we want to show them how to be self-motivated, lifelong learners and servants of Jesus!

Blessings!

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