HEM’s Questions & Answers – November-December 2009
Please give me some suggestions. It takes more time than I expected to teach my twins. Right now it seems like I spend a lot of my day explaining their assignments and going over their work. I know it will get easier once they can read but right now I need ideas for helping them learn more independently. -Shari, ID
About HEM’s Questions & Answers
Tags: independent learning, reading, twins
Explaining assignments and going over work need not be confused with teaching. Until they can read, read to them. Instead of reading textbooks or worksheet instructions, read real books. The magic school bus books are packed with information about Science that kids can take in (because it’s in context) and understand without touching a single worksheet.
If you’re not having fun, chances are your kids aren’t either. Worksheets don’t help kids learn. Do you ever wonder exactly what they’re learning by drawing a line from point A to point B?
My favorite quote about learning is “Children learn by asking questions, not by answering them.”
Immerse them in the fascinating world of zoos, museums, playgrounds, fiction and nonfiction, banks, libraries, farmer’s markets and other places that give them things to think about, questions to ask.
One of the biggest failures of institutionalized education is the preoccupation with measuring results and evaluating the affects of learning. learning is fun. every toddler knows that. Worksheets are not fun. When was the last time you learned anything with a worksheet? When adults want to learn something, they research or ask someone else. Children can learn the same way, faster and without stress.