One of the most beneficial things I have discovered about homeschooling is the ability to differentiate and discern various learning styles. Why would I find this beneficial? Well, for one – when you homeschool you have a much better chance of understanding how your child learns if you have this information. Knowing my children’s learning styles has helped me tremendously with my approach to teaching. I no longer have to drop my head on the table out of frustration because I think my child is simply not getting it. The reality is - it was me who was not teaching it in a manner that would help my children ‘get it’. When I run into the proverbial brick wall I have to back up and ask myself what approach am I taking in my efforts to explain something?
There are basically three different types of learning styles – visual, auditory and kinesthetic. I have two daughters who each have very different learning styles. One is visual - like me, the other auditory – like her father. Which one would you think would be harder to teach? Well, if you were me – it would be the auditory learner. Why? Because I am a visual learner myself. Teaching another visual learner comes naturally for me. Teaching an auditory learner is more of a challenge for me, but I can learn.
I’m sharing this information with you because I’m convinced that having this information will help you tremendously in your homeschool. There are many good books out there on learning styles, but I can personlly recommend Discover Your Child’s Learning Style- by Mariaemma Ms Willis and The Way They Learn – by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias. Both books offer insight on the various learning styles and can help you discern which category your child most likely fits. Just for fun you can visit this website and take the Learning Style Quiz like I did. Here are my results:
you answered A-8 B-6 C-2
based on this info you are probably
a Visual
learner.
Thanks for taking the learning styles inventory!
Look at the numbers – more A’s means Visual
more B’s means Auditory
more C’s means Kinesthetic
7 Comments
December 23, 2007 at 12:14 am
I just took the test, and I was overwhelmingly an Auditory learner. (A-4, B-11, C-1) Not much surprise there, but a number of questions I know I do all of the choices and found it hard to pick. I’m going to observe my kids and see if I can figure out what they’d answer for those questions! See what I’m guessing is right or not ;o)
February 15, 2008 at 10:13 am
[...] child who likes to write? How about a reluctant writer? There are so many different experiences and learning styles that fall under this umbrella, I won’t attempt to advise on them all. What I can share though, [...]
February 21, 2008 at 11:48 am
[...] approach to reading, using Phonics Pathways: by Delores Hiskes. This book works well with both learning styles as it can be both very auditory and very visual. Words are introduced by first learning sounds of [...]
March 21, 2008 at 9:41 am
[...] Make an effort to discover your child’s learning style. Most of us are made up of a little bit of each – but almost always, there is an inborn preference [...]
August 29, 2008 at 1:05 pm
[...] child who likes to write? How about a reluctant writer? There are so many different experiences and learning styles that fall under this umbrella, I won’t attempt to advise on them all. What I can share though, [...]
December 29, 2008 at 6:56 pm
[...] child who likes to write? How about a reluctant writer? There are so many different experiences and learning styles that fall under this umbrella, I won’t attempt to advise on them all. What I can share though, [...]
February 15, 2009 at 10:01 pm
[...] But before I do, let me recap for you. You can click on the links below to read the previous “perks”. Unfortunately, Homeschool Perk #8 seems to have disappeared forever into cyberspace, sadly these things sometimes happen, but if you would like to read more about various learning styles, you can read from one of my older posts here. [...]