D is for DELIGHT-DIRECTED learning! Review and GIVE-AWAY {ended}

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. THE WINNERS ARE:

SET 1: Dad Time Homeschooling; Do it Yourself Cooking Tips and Ideas and How to Homeschool -DEBBIE ROGERS

SET 2: Teach Your Child to Read, Write and Spell 100 Easy Bible Verses, Life Love and Dyslexia, Favorite Things to Color and How to Homeschool - CHASING SLOW

Please email me your mailing address at rodandmegs@yahoo.com so I can mail these out as soon as possible! Congratulations! CHECK OUT MY OTHER GIVEAWAY {Palace Pet, Rapunzel doll and Coloring Book} HERE. Ends Monday.

This is week 4 of Blogging Through the Alphabet - D is for Delight-Directed learning.

What exactly is delight-directed learning?

My favorite definition comes from Home Hearts:

 

Delight-directed learning takes advantage of the natural motivation in our children toward a passionate interest. Under mentoring, support, and guidance, the child is given the time and space to investigate and explore his interests. By providing the materials and applying the educational tools of learning (reading, writing, arithmetic, reason) to the subject matter, the child can learn to acquire knowledge for himself.

In delight-directed learning, there is no scope and sequence in which to learn “the facts.” Rather, the facts are acquired as a subject is developed from our child’s interests.

 

This will look different in each homeschool. And that's fine! Every homeschool family is different; every homeschool approach is different; and every homeschool family will homeschool differently with every homeschool approach. {Wow, that was a mouthful.}

 

We have just started our journey into delight-directed learning, but I am going to share how it looks in our family so far.
 

We take trips to the library at least once a week; normally, it's two or three trips weekly. The kids are allowed to select books on any subject that interests them. I do require one science, one history, one biography or geography book. Sometimes, they know what they want to explore. Other times, they pick books that look interesting. I usually throw in a book or two that I think they will enjoy. {And they always do!}

 

We use these journals from the Thinking Tree. There are a variety of pages in these journals like Reading Time; Creative Writing; Screen Time; Math Time; Spelling Time; World News Events; Meal Planning; and so many more! Each day, the kids have 1 hour of Reading Time. They choose four of their books and read each one for 15 minutes. Then, they use the squares on the Reading Time page to write a few interesting sentences or draw a picture or diagram. There are also Draw Anything pages in the journals, and I encourage them to draw a chart or diagram or something they can label on that page. {Doesn't always happen...but I do allow plenty of creativity!}

 

For screen time, they watch a tutorial or educational video and write and draw about it. I allow them to choose any topic they want - they have watched anything from a video on how the Titanic sunk to how to French braid hair, from science experiments with balloons to how to build a working Lego gun, from how to pet a bird to Native American homes. I enjoy seeing the diversity in their interests!

I will occasionally branch out on a topic {especially for Mercie, my 2nd grader}. When she was interested in Pocahontas, we watched movies on Indians, made some Indian crafts, and played Indians! When I could tell she was tiring of these activities, we stopped. Eli and Mikaela can branch out on their own, as they are in 5th and 7th grade, although they may need a push. Eli was reading books on how to pitch a baseball and practiced everyday in the yard. He can tell you exactly how to throw a curve ball or a split ball. Mikaela loves horses, and she has read books on horses, drawn horses, and call tell you what kind of horse it is by looking at it. We read a book on air, and the three littles and I did lots of experiments with air!

I am going to start a Pinterest board for each of them. They will be allowed to check their boards, pick an activity or two, read an article, and  branch out from there! This will allow them freedom to explore what peaks their curiosity, and I will be happy to have them learning more!

The biggest thing I have learned from delight-directed learning is to relax. I have to stop worrying that they will not learn the "appropriate" things and appreciate the diversity of their personalities and interests. I have to watch them learn, not force them to learn. {And don't we all know, you can't force a child to learn! Not that I have ever tried...No.}

 

We have used several boxed curriculums {curricula?} before, and I have written my own curriculum for the kids to use. What I have found is that they retain so little when homeschool this way. School is boring to them, something to dread rather than to anticipate. For me, too. Who wants to teach kids that obviously don't want to learn what you're teaching? How discouraging is it when our kids don't remember anything we have read to them? I know it has made me want to quit homeschooling before! Why bother when they don't want to learn? 

 

Our homeschool attitudes have done a 180 since we started delight-directed learning! They are interested in the books they are reading, therefore they retain so much! They get excited to read something they didn't know or learn an interesting fact they want to share with me. They don't complain about having to "do school". They want to work in their journals! They have been so motivated, that it motivates me.

 

We still use math and grammar workbooks. I am looking to do more hands-on math; more games and activities for the younger ones. I have yet to find a grammar program I love. I make the kids do math, grammar, and cursive first in the mornings, so they don't feel rushed through their journals, through their books, through their learning.

 

These journals are a wonderful resource for anyone using the Delight-Directed method of homeschooling. There is just enough structure that you can feel confident your kids are "doing enough schoolwork", but there is enough wiggle room for creativity and independence that your kids will feel in charge of their own education! This is not a multiple choice, fill in the blanks workbook. Look at these sample pages:

 

 

 

Sarah Janisse Brown has graciously sent me enough journals and books to have TWO giveaways! I am so excited for this.

The first set include the Dad-Time Homeschooling Journal, the Do It Yourself Cooking Tips and Ideas {my daughters love this one!}, and the purse-sized How to Homeschool book.

The second set includes Teach Your Child to Read, Write and Spell 100 Easy Bible Verses, "Life, Love and Dyslexia", Favorite Things to Color, and the purse-sized How to Homeschool book.

All you have to do to enter is this:
1.) Leave a comment {1 entry}.
2.) Follow me on Pinterest {1 entry}.
3.) Follow me on Google {1 entry}.

In your comment, please tell me if you start or if you already follow me on Pinterest or Google so I can know how many entries to give you. If you don't, you will only get one entry! You will be entered to win both sets, but you can only win one.  The winners will be chosen on Friday, November 27, 2015 at 8:00 am {yes, Black Friday}.

Check out Dyslexia Games on Facebook or here. Sarah has an amazing variety of journals and books on Amazon, so check that out, too!
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Linking up with Adventures with Jude and Through the Calm and Through the Storm for Blogging Through the Alphabet!