Tidbit #2: Motivation for Learning

#1 · August 10, 2003, 5:11 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on August 10, 2003, 5:11 pm
Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOPE CHEST HOME SCHOOL NEWS

Tidbit #2: Motivation for Learning

August 10, 2003

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello Hope Chest friends!

I'm glad to say that our first week back to "school" has been very encouraging to me. Yes, we've had our usual share of noise, mess, and bickering. BUT it's been good to see that my children are motivated to learn this year. That's often been a struggle in the past, but this week I haven't had to nag anyone to do their school work.  I have truly been marveling in surprise at this, especially since it doesn't seem to be a transient beginning-of-the-school-year thing!   I thought about what could possibly be motivating them, and after talking to them and observing them, this is what I've come up with:

Ownership: They see that this education is their own, and want to take responsibility for getting it. It is not something that is done TO them, but something they seek out for themselves.  They chose most of their own curriculum and educational activities, and they know they have some freedom to make reasonable changes along the way if something isn't working out. As they look to the future, they realize that the choices they make now about how to do schoolwork will have consequences later.   I don't think I've been lecturing them on this, but somehow it has just clicked in them one by one.

Love of learning: With a great sense of natural curiosity, they like to find out new things! Education can be such an adventure if you have a good attitude. We have lots of great books, videos, software and magazines around to entice them, and they have notebooks to fill with their new knowledge.

Focus: I've been trying to reduce the distractions. This is much easier now that our TV antenna has been disconnected, and our set can only be used for videos. In my own schedule, I'm also trying not to be doing things other than school in the morning and early afternoon hours. I need to be constantly available to the children when they need help.

Example of others: If one is doing well, they others don't want to be left behind. They feel a healthy need to prove themselves.  My teenagers, who will be taking some classes outside the home, also want to do well among their peers. They see their dad and I continuing to learn, too.  This week, I've been studying human anatomy, Latin vocabulary, and African geography along with the children, as well as pursuing my own interests.

God: This was the simple answer of one of the girls, who used to be so hard to prod along, when I asked her what was motivating her to do her school work so eagerly. (She has already finished over 50 lessons of math in the past few weeks, and I'm finding it hard to keep up with the grading...) Another has commented that the Lord designed us for work and productivity; I know she wants to fulfill her God-given potential.   I do see God's grace in instilling this desire in my children when I don't have the energy in me to nag anymore. To him be the glory!

And now, for some nitty gritty...

Most of you know that we are studying Africa right now.   Just for fun, a few days ago I started quizzing Andrew (6) about African animals. For example, "What animal runs faster than any other animal on earth?" (It's the cheetah.) I soon ran out of animals, but he wasn't ready to quit, so I had to think of other categories.   Micah (4) and Naomi (2) wanted questions to answer too, so I was stretching my brain cells pretty hard. Of course, Naomi's questions were easy, like, "What animals says MEOW?"   They all kept begging for more, but I finally had to put them to bed. The next morning, when I was barely even awake, Andrew was at my bedside asking for MORE questions to answer. He follows me around the house as I do laundry, fix dinner, and eat breakfast. One quiz I've been doing a lot with him lately is classifying animals by type: mammal, reptile, insect, etc. "What kind of animal is a bumble bee?" or "Name five kinds of reptiles." He has to know the distinguishing characteristics, such as that mammals have hair or fur, give birth to live babies, and nurse their young. He knows that whales, porpoises, dolphins and manatees are marine mammals that must come to the surface to breathe. At dinner the other day he asked me what dolphins eat. I answered, "Fish." He wanted to know, "What kind of fish?" I said, "Whatever, they can find, I guess." Shocked, he replied, "Dolphins eat sharks?" Nah, I don't think so!

I haven't done much "read aloud literature" with my middle children in quite a while, so I was delighted when Joanna (10) and Lydia (8) said they would listen to me read Patricia St. John's novel Star of Light, which is set in Morocco. Over two days, we did nine chapters, and then they both snuck off and read the rest of the book by themselves. It wasn't that they were tired of me reading, but they were just eager to find out what happened! Ah, the power of literature!

Speaking of that, Mary (16) was originally going to do World Literature at home this year, but decided to take Freshman Composition at Valencia Community College instead. I had just about scrapped plans for World Lit, but then decided to tuck in the college course as the writing section of that credit.   We're compiling her reading list now, starting with Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, which I had originally checked out for Rachel. Mary will also read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, The Odyssey by Homer, and several other classic world lit books. (Got any great ideas, ladies?) Our core text is supposedly A Beka World Literature.   I don't know how much of that she will actually read with so many good "whole books" out there, but then again she has confessed to sneaking off with Julia's American Literature text!

Rachel (12) finished up the Safe Sitter (www.SafeSitter.org) babysitting course on Thursday. After two full days in a classroom setting, she says she's glad she doesn't have to go to public school. She likes having the freedom to move around and choose what to do next, and not sit in one place all day.

Last night, Julia (14) and I had the privilege of going to Deluge, a meeting at our church (Metro Life www.metrolife.org) for high school students and their parents. About a dozen of the teenagers got up to share what they had learned on Mission:X trips to Bolivia, Cuba, Miami, Sarasota and Tallahassee this summer. I was so struck by their humility, joy, yieldedness and zeal! I could see how motivating these testimonies were to the other teens, not just to go on a mission trip, but to seek to be used by God wherever they are. It was motivating to me, as a parent, to instill that passion for Christ in my own children. I'm grateful that I can do so in the context of a local church where such spirited examples abound.

Well, I'm coming to the end of this tidbit. There are risks inherent in writing these things. I know so many of you struggle -- mightily! -- with motivating your children, and you might think you'll never "match up" to what I've shared. That is not my intention at all! I don't want to set us up on a pedestal, nor do my children want to be there. There are so many areas where we are weak. (Housework comes immediately to mind!) This area of educational motivation is one where I've seen the mercy of God so far this week, and I pray that the momentum will carry us through the whole school year. The most important pieces of advice I can give you are to seek God's wisdom and power, love your children unconditionally and affectionately, help them grab onto a vision for lifelong learning, and give it all you've got!

In His Sovereign Grace,

Virginia Knowles

~*~*~

I love to hear your ideas, so send them in! Here's a tip from Hope Chest reader Cynthia Spratley:

I am sure you are familiar with the Miller Family" books by Mildred Martin from Rod and Staff. Our family has all five or six and we love them. They are almost always being loaned out to other homeschoolers to look at before they eventually have to order their own copies.  Missionary Stories and the Millers is a little advanced for the younger ones (as is Voice of the Martyrs), but the others are extremely helpful in character training and Bible discussions.    There is actually one book, Wisdom and the Millers, that deals with the Proverbs as the basis for each story. The Mennonite background is not too plain and the morals and values are strong! My five children ages 5-12 still love me to read them aloud at bedtime or in devotions. Just thought I would throw this in because so many mothers don't know they exist and I am so glad I have read them over and over along with the appropriate scriptures to my children!   Loving Him, Cynthia Spratley, York SC

[Virginia's note: We love these books, too! They are dog-eared from constant use!]

~*~*~

Next week, instead of writing something new, I'm going to include an excerpt called "A Word to Mother" from The Dewdrop, an 1877 Scottish book that I found at a local used bookstore.

~*~*~

HOPE CHEST CONTACT INFORMATION

The Hope Chest Home School News is a free e-mail newsletter with encouragement and practical teaching tips. The editor is Virginia Knowles, wife of Thad, mother of nine children, and author of Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade, and The Real Life Home School Mom.

Web: www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html

Resource info: www.hopechest.homestead.com/resourceorders.html

E-mail: [email protected]

Subscription: [email protected]

Unsubscription: [email protected]

Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOPE CHEST HOME SCHOOL NEWS

Tidbit #2: Motivation for Learning

August 10, 2003

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello Hope Chest friends!

I'm glad to say that our first week back to "school" has been very encouraging to me. Yes, we've had our usual share of noise, mess, and bickering. BUT it's been good to see that my children are motivated to learn this year. That's often been a struggle in the past, but this week I haven't had to nag anyone to do their school work. I have truly been marveling in surprise at this, especially since it doesn't seem to be a transient beginning-of-the-school-year thing! I thought about what could possibly be motivating them, and after talking to them and observing them, this is what I've come up with:

Ownership: They see that this education is their own, and want to take responsibility for getting it. It is not something that is done TO them, but something they seek out for themselves. They chose most of their own curriculum and educational activities, and they know they have some freedom to make reasonable changes along the way if something isn't working out. As they look to the future, they realize that the choices they make now about how to do schoolwork will have consequences later. I don't think I've been lecturing them on this, but somehow it has just clicked in them one by one.
Love of learning: With a great sense of natural curiosity, they like to find out new things! Education can be such an adventure if you have a good attitude. We have lots of great books, videos, software and magazines around to entice them, and they have notebooks to fill with their new knowledge.
Focus: I've been trying to reduce the distractions. This is much easier now that our TV antenna has been disconnected, and our set can only be used for videos. In my own schedule, I'm also trying not to be doing things other than school in the morning and early afternoon hours. I need to be constantly available to the children when they need help.
Example of others: If one is doing well, they others don't want to be left behind. They feel a healthy need to prove themselves. My teenagers, who will be taking some classes outside the home, also want to do well among their peers. They see their dad and I continuing to learn, too. This week, I've been studying human anatomy, Latin vocabulary, and African geography along with the children, as well as pursuing my own interests.
God: This was the simple answer of one of the girls, who used to be so hard to prod along, when I asked her what was motivating her to do her school work so eagerly. (She has already finished over 50 lessons of math in the past few weeks, and I'm finding it hard to keep up with the grading...) Another has commented that the Lord designed us for work and productivity; I know she wants to fulfill her God-given potential. I do see God's grace in instilling this desire in my children when I don't have the energy in me to nag anymore. To him be the glory!

And now, for some nitty gritty...

Most of you know that we are studying Africa right now. Just for fun, a few days ago I started quizzing Andrew (6) about African animals. For example, "What animal runs faster than any other animal on earth?" (It's the cheetah.) I soon ran out of animals, but he wasn't ready to quit, so I had to think of other categories. Micah (4) and Naomi (2) wanted questions to answer too, so I was stretching my brain cells pretty hard. Of course, Naomi's questions were easy, like, "What animals says MEOW?" They all kept begging for more, but I finally had to put them to bed. The next morning, when I was barely even awake, Andrew was at my bedside asking for MORE questions to answer. He follows me around the house as I do laundry, fix dinner, and eat breakfast. One quiz I've been doing a lot with him lately is classifying animals by type: mammal, reptile, insect, etc. "What kind of animal is a bumble bee?" or "Name five kinds of reptiles." He has to know the distinguishing characteristics, such as that mammals have hair or fur, give birth to live babies, and nurse their young. He knows that whales, porpoises, dolphins and manatees are marine mammals that must come to the surface to breathe. At dinner the other day he asked me what dolphins eat. I answered, "Fish." He wanted to know, "What kind of fish?" I said, "Whatever, they can find, I guess." Shocked, he replied, "Dolphins eat sharks?" Nah, I don't think so!

I haven't done much "read aloud literature" with my middle children in quite a while, so I was delighted when Joanna (10) and Lydia (8) said they would listen to me read Patricia St. John's novel Star of Light, which is set in Morocco. Over two days, we did nine chapters, and then they both snuck off and read the rest of the book by themselves. It wasn't that they were tired of me reading, but they were just eager to find out what happened! Ah, the power of literature!

Speaking of that, Mary (16) was originally going to do World Literature at home this year, but decided to take Freshman Composition at Valencia Community College instead. I had just about scrapped plans for World Lit, but then decided to tuck in the college course as the writing section of that credit. We're compiling her reading list now, starting with Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, which I had originally checked out for Rachel. Mary will also read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, The Odyssey by Homer, and several other classic world lit books. (Got any great ideas, ladies?) Our core text is supposedly A Beka World Literature. I don't know how much of that she will actually read with so many good "whole books" out there, but then again she has confessed to sneaking off with Julia's American Literature text!

Rachel (12) finished up the Safe Sitter (http://www.SafeSitter.org) babysitting course on Thursday. After two full days in a classroom setting, she says she's glad she doesn't have to go to public school. She likes having the freedom to move around and choose what to do next, and not sit in one place all day.

Last night, Julia (14) and I had the privilege of going to Deluge, a meeting at our church (Metro Life http://www.metrolife.org) for high school students and their parents. About a dozen of the teenagers got up to share what they had learned on Mission:X trips to Bolivia, Cuba, Miami, Sarasota and Tallahassee this summer. I was so struck by their humility, joy, yieldedness and zeal! I could see how motivating these testimonies were to the other teens, not just to go on a mission trip, but to seek to be used by God wherever they are. It was motivating to me, as a parent, to instill that passion for Christ in my own children. I'm grateful that I can do so in the context of a local church where such spirited examples abound.

Well, I'm coming to the end of this tidbit. There are risks inherent in writing these things. I know so many of you struggle -- mightily! -- with motivating your children, and you might think you'll never "match up" to what I've shared. That is not my intention at all! I don't want to set us up on a pedestal, nor do my children want to be there. There are so many areas where we are weak. (Housework comes immediately to mind!) This area of educational motivation is one where I've seen the mercy of God so far this week, and I pray that the momentum will carry us through the whole school year. The most important pieces of advice I can give you are to seek God's wisdom and power, love your children unconditionally and affectionately, help them grab onto a vision for lifelong learning, and give it all you've got!

In His Sovereign Grace,

Virginia Knowles

~*~*~

I love to hear your ideas, so send them in! Here's a tip from Hope Chest reader Cynthia Spratley:

I am sure you are familiar with the Miller Family" books by Mildred Martin from Rod and Staff. Our family has all five or six and we love them. They are almost always being loaned out to other homeschoolers to look at before they eventually have to order their own copies. Missionary Stories and the Millers is a little advanced for the younger ones (as is Voice of the Martyrs), but the others are extremely helpful in character training and Bible discussions. There is actually one book, Wisdom and the Millers, that deals with the Proverbs as the basis for each story. The Mennonite background is not too plain and the morals and values are strong! My five children ages 5-12 still love me to read them aloud at bedtime or in devotions. Just thought I would throw this in because so many mothers don't know they exist and I am so glad I have read them over and over along with the appropriate scriptures to my children! Loving Him, Cynthia Spratley, York SC

[Virginia's note: We love these books, too! They are dog-eared from constant use!]

~*~*~

Next week, instead of writing something new, I'm going to include an excerpt called "A Word to Mother" from The Dewdrop, an 1877 Scottish book that I found at a local used bookstore.

~*~*~

HOPE CHEST CONTACT INFORMATION

The Hope Chest Home School News is a free e-mail newsletter with encouragement and practical teaching tips. The editor is Virginia Knowles, wife of Thad, mother of nine children, and author of Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade, and The Real Life Home School Mom.

Web: http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html

Resource info: http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/resourceorders.html

E-mail: [email protected]

Subscription: [email protected]

Unsubscription: [email protected]