Hands on Home – Schooling
I have been homeschooling my kids for over 2 decades now and I’ve learned so much over these years. In fact, I would say that I’ve learned just as much as my kids have learned… just maybe in different areas.
Each of my children has different personalities, sure, but they all have different learning styles as well. My youngest, for instance, more than anything else wants and needs ‘hands-on’ everything. Now… this has been pretty clear for years due to the fact that he can’t keep his hands off of anything! Most of the time, when he was younger, my most often used phrases were “hands off” or “don’t touch”.
These days I take a different approach. I am convinced that Mason, my 12-year-old, can learn absolutely anything at all if he can just touch it! Therefore, I look for any way possible to teach him in a hands-on fashion.
Home Architecture in Homeschool
This past year, we have been working on a remodel and new addition to our home. I love that my kids get to have a part in all of these projects because they teach so many terrific life skills. They have been learning construction, electrical design, roofing, and of course their favorite – demolition!
The Dilemma – Vision
I handled most of the design of the addition myself, working things out with my husband along the way. Mason is not really one that sees what something can be. He needs more concrete, tangible proof – factual evidence; a hands on approach. Every time I tried to explain it to him, he would tell me (while my eyes were rolling to the back of my head), “Mom, that’s not gonna work. It’s gonna look dumb”. For my sanity, and to keep myself out of jail, I decided to bring Mason fully into this project.
The Process – Touch
When I felt like we had a pretty good working plan, Mason and I set out to put together a scale model of our design so that we could have a real-world look at it. I explained the process to him, as I have done quite a few of these over the years, and he took off with it. He put it together like a champ.
We took all of our measurements and brought them down to scale. We cut the exterior wall and roof sections from foam core board and used tape to stick them together. This gave us a terrific 3-dimensional look at our build.
To be honest, the model helped all of us. We have a difficult new roofline (to say the least) and having the model in 3D really helps to envision the potential issues as well as make good plans for strategy.
After building the model, Mason had a much better idea of what it was that we were trying to accomplish with our new build. It has given him more of a feeling of being a part of it as well. Seeing –and feeling–is believing.
Conclusion – Seeing–and Feeling–is Believing
As a homeschool mom and more importantly–his mom, I think I can honestly say that Mason doesn’t even realize that he currently lacks the ability to see what something can be. However, he more than makes up for it with his ability to learn with his hands on his projects. That fact makes me incredibly happy as well as gives me a roadmap of what I need to do to sculpt his learning.
When we, as homeschooling parents, can find that one piece of the puzzle that will help unlock their learning potential, then we can give our children exactly what they need to reach an unlimited field of possibilities.
Never Miss a Thing!
You may also like to have a look at some of our other homeschooling related content; such as Socialization-the 1 ‘S’ word I hate, or Critical Thinking and Reasoning.
MORE WAYS TO CONNECT
We also, as a homesteading family, have three additional blogs that might interest you.Two Oaks Farm Talkconcerns the more technical side of homesteading. We discuss subjects like gardening, food prep, and farm building and construction with lots of tutorials!
Farm Raised Familyis basically a hub for everything under the Two Oaks Farmstead umbrella. You can learn a great deal about all parts of the farmstead there. TheFarm Raised Family blogfocuses on financial matters such as budgeting, saving, and more and on current events affecting families.
You can also have a more in depth look at all that we do by visiting ourTwo Oaks Farmstead YouTube Channeland be sure to subscribe so that you don’t miss a thing!
Farm Life and Freedomis the new podcast we are in the process of launching! It is going to be so much fun!
Two Oaks Farmsteadis the farm store… the one that holds the umbrella! Check us all out and join us, not only on our blogs andFarm Life and Freedom podcastbut come join the fun on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter… wherever you get social!
