Episode 17: Interest-led learning and homeschooling with Jen Lumanlan.
Host: Cindy Hovington, Ph.D. and Founder of Curious Neuron (@curious_neuron)
Guest: Jen Lumanlan
Jen Lumanlan holds an M.S. in Psychology (Child Development) and an M.Ed., and hosts the Your Parenting Mojo podcast which is a reference guide for parents of toddlers and preschoolers based on scientific researchers and the principles of respectful parenting. In each episode she examines a topic related to parenting and child development from all sides to help parents understand how to make decisions about raising their children. She lives in California with her husband and daughter.
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In today’s episode, I chat with Jen about homeschooling. Many of us have been homeschooling our children because of Covid. We might have the idea that homeschooling means sitting at a desk for hours and hours on end. We might feel that a child doesn’t socialize enough if they are homeschooling. Jen and I chat about some of these misconceptions around homeschooling and we dive into interest-led learning.
Key Messages:
Many parents are homeschooling these days given the Covid-19 pandemic. Some students are attending “Zoom school” as well. It is an entirely new world when it comes to education.
You can still socialize when you homeschool. Although we might think that a child should socialize with other children their age, one of the benefits go homeschooling is that your child can find other children with similar interests to play with, regardless of their age.
When we homeschool, we can focus on teaching our children what they are interested in and supporting them in doing this. This is what drives internal motivation.
Motivating our children to learn can be difficult. It is beneficial to allow a child to lead us such that we teach them what they want to learn.
A learning space isn’t necessarily a desk and chair. A child should feel comfortable enough to learn and to think. They might not need a hard chair. They might prefer a bean bag for instance. Create a space that allows them to relax and focus.
Take the time to observe your child and see what they are interested in.
When they ask you a question, it is ok not to know the answer. You can also say “Hmm, I wonder why that is”. Take the time to search for an answer with them. It isn’t the answer that is the most important, the path to the answer is!
A picture of Jen’s backyard when her daughter began creating with items from around the home and from their neighbours!
Resources:
Article on the 6 Cs: https://yourparentingmojo.com/sixskillsforsuccess/
The Ben Hewitt article in Outside magazine: https://www.outsideonline.com/1928266/we-dont-need-no-education
Book - Home Grown: Adventures in Parenting off the Beaten Path, Unschooling, and Reconnecting with the Natural World by Ben Hewitt : https://www.amazon.com/Home-Grown-Adventures-Unschooling-Reconnecting/dp/1611801699
Your Parenting Mojo episode on socialization in schools: https://www.yourparentingmojo.com/schoolsocialization
Parenting Mojo Membership for parents who need some guidance with homeschooling
https://yourparentingmojo.com/membership/
