Home Schooling Lends Itself to Experiential Learning
By Mimi Rothschild
In a public school environment, experiential learning, or learning through hands-on activity, cannot be practiced very often. In the home school environment, however, experiential learning has become a regular part of the curriculum. Home schooling parents know that learning through teamwork, public service, community involvement, and problem solving through physical activities can be extremely beneficial for students.
What are the benefits of experiential learning? For one thing, it puts home school students out into the world, allowing them to learn firsthand about the communities in which they will soon be an integral part. Teaching your home school children about housing and employment problems within a city, county, or state will allow them to memorize facts, but having them volunteer to help feed or clothe the homeless will drive the point home in a very tangible way.
Home school children not only learn about their communities through experiential learning, they can also learn about teamwork and problem-solving. Though it is important for home school children to study subjects such as math and reading, it is equally important for them to learn deductive reasoning and problem-solving skills through real-life situations. Groups of home school children, through a coordinated home school field trip, can tackle outdoor projects together. Home schooling parents can plan these projects so that there is a specific activity that has an end goal. It is at this point that the parents need to sit back and watch their children develop skills in teamwork, deductive reasoning, and problem solving.
With experiential learning, memorizing a lesson is a given – there is no reason to study or be tested. Home schooling parents and children can, however, sit down and have discussions after an experiential learning experience. Without being too specific, parents can gently guide conversation so that their home school children can discuss among themselves how teamwork helped them reach a specific goal, and how they came up with unique ways to overcome obstacles. This type of discussion will serve to reinforce the valuable lessons that the children learn through experiential learning.
There is no reason why home schooling parents need to always stand back and let the children do all the activities. Parents can participate in the experiential learning activities with their children, although it is better for them to let the children take the lead whenever possible. Home schooling parents could take their children out hiking one day, for example, and let the children plan the hike from beginning to end. Though parents should be prepared for any emergency, they should still let their children experience the consequences of poor planning or enjoy the rewards of careful planning.
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