Our House

How I 'Teach' and They Learn
I have been actively, or should I say consciously, teaching my children for almost three years. I say consciously because before the age of 5 we automatically teach our children manners etc and how to speak (sometimes in more than one language), walk, use the toilet etc without much thought or effort. But somehow, because of traditions, family pressures and perceived norms, it all seems to get a bit messy after the age of 5!

Anyway, for over two of these years I floundered about between learning styles and had come to realise that I was not disciplined enough to have planned, scheduled lessons every day and yet far too controlling to fully adopt an unschooling approach. Nothing seemed to be working and I was beginning to feel demoralised and felt I was letting the children down. I was still on my quest to find a middle road when a dear friend and sister, showed me some Dinah Zike books that she’d bought. This was my introduction to Lap Books and the hands on approach to learning.

I immediately scoured through the books that she had and fell completely in love with the system of learning straight away. This new approach seemed just the ticket for our family! So with renewed vigour and a raised eyebrow or two from the rest of the family off we went. The kids loved it and we haven’t looked back since.

A Typical Day!
A typical day for us starts with breakfast when everyone decides to get up, then it’s off to get cleaned up and dressed (or not – we have been known to lounge about in our PJ’s all day too!). We usually go to friend (Allah bless her for her patience) two mornings a week where the children and I all learn Arabic and do some recitation and memorisation of the Holy Quran. On the days when we are not at 'madressah' I try to get the children to practice their recitation for at least 5-10 minutes each day.

We used to be very relaxed about our edcuation and would just wait and see what the day had to bring; but now that the children are getting older they have asked for a more structured way of learning. So, much to my dismay, we now have a timetable that covers literacy, science (practical and theory), arts & crafts, maths, PE, reading, Geography/History, ICT, Project Work and Islamic Studies. We aim to start each morning with a short Arabic and Quran lesson and then move on to the other subjects scheduled for that day. I keep an expanding wallet in which I file our daily lessons and if we miss something it gets moved into the pocket for next day that that subject is scheduled for. The project work (usually a lapbook affair) will incorporate the whole spectrum of subjects but if the kids don’t want to work on their project I don’t push it, instead we may do some reading or watch a DVD on that particular subject. We always have some stories or factual reading during the day, either I read to them or vice versa, and I do try to introduce a new ‘sound’ to the ones that are starting to read. Having said all this however, it should be said that the whole timetable can be abandoned and/or adapted on a daily basis if necessary if something more interesting comes up i.e. a field trip, home schooling group days, extra family time (expecially if someone is feeling poorly or down in the dumps), if we would rather go run in the park or if the kids just want to continue with a subject that has captured their interest. As much as I hate to say it I do find that when these distractions are over the timetable brings us straight back on track and it has been a great benefit.

Final Thoughts!
I feel that talking and reading to your child goes a long, long way! If you can reinforce your conversations with an activity - all the better. This is where the Lap Books™ really help, and the children seem to look on them as a craft activity rather than ‘work’. Although not all of our work is done in a Lap Book™, sometimes we have a scrap book that we add things to i.e. our science experiments (much more fun than writing them up in an exercise book!) or a book where they can add pictures and write about what they are interested in i.e. Lego models they have built, or rocks (or anything else) they have found etc. We did also have, at one point, a diary time every evening where the children would each have some time with mum to complete a diary of what they did during the day. They would write, draw or print off pictures etc to use in the ‘diary’, they had complete control over what they entered and how it was entered I just facilitated their needs. This went down really well but they naturally grew out of doing this after a few months. For us this semi-structured, project based approach works best. In fact, literature about home educating and learning styles has shown that regardless of academic or social background, families usually end up teaching in a semi-structured style. It certainly seems to make home educating easier and more enjoyable! The main thing is that you all enjoy each other and things remain calm and relaxed - if you and the kids are screaming at one an other then stand back and re-evaluate things. Is little Karim showing off because he doesn't understand algebra in the way it's being taught or does his work need to be set at a higher/lower level? Does teaching this way put too much pressure on mum/dad? If the answer to any of these questions is 'yes' then try and figure out a different approach that keeps everyone happy - believe it or not there usually are alternatives out there we just need to pray and do a bit of digging! There is nothing better we can do for our children than teach them at home, so just relax and enjoy the short time we have with them.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Sharon Dogan
Revised: April 2007
URL: http://www.stimuluslearning.co.uk