How Creating a Lifestyle of Learning Changed Our Homeschool

Cross-posted on the Homeschool Family Legacy blog.

When I first started homeschooling my children over a decade ago, we used a very traditional method that looked similar to what might happen in a school room.  We essentially “did school” around our dining room table. 

However, over the years as our family grew and our lifestyle changed, the traditional methods became less and less effective.  

We began to experiment with new approaches, and I began to see not only how effective other teaching styles were, but how much more my children enjoyed learning. 

This eventually led me to realize that the mode of teaching isn’t as important as the environment that my children learn in.  I began to understand that the real key to effective homeschooling is to develop a love for learning in my children.

Because of that, we moved away from traditional educational methods and instead have now created a lifestyle of learning.   

Lifestyle learning capitalizes on our children’s natural inquisitive energy and fosters an environment where kids are always learning; where there is no separation between school and life – where learning just becomes a lifestyle. 

It allows us the freedom to use any and every learning style available to us without being defined or confined by any of them, and in the meantime, we create an environment where our children love to learn.

This means that...

• We can use any curriculum that we want at any time. Or not.
• We can sprinkle in unstructured, delight-led learning without being confined to a child-dictated structure. 

Our children are individuals and each one learns in a unique way.  Creating a lifestyle of learning empowers us to embrace that.  There is no mold to fit them into…they become the mold.

The Freedom of a Lifestyle of Learning

With traditional homeschooling methods, it can be all too easy to get caught in the traps of finishing curriculum, logging days, and detailed planning that leave little room for flexibility.  There’s no freedom there.  Life revolves around school.  

But with a lifestyle of learning, life is school.  

Learning becomes a natural process that is happening every day, all of the time.  We find that we have the freedom to:

• Make the most of every opportunity (whether that be vacation or just great weather outside) 
• Enjoy our days (there is less stress and more joy) 
• Increase our quality family time (we can schedule around our own family’s needs and desires)

Instead of focusing on the quantity of information your children consume, your sights become set on building the foundation that will set them up well to think intelligently, creatively, and critically for the rest of their lives.  The goal is to maintain and capitalize on the natural, lifelong learning process. 

A Day In The Life

The #1 question that I get asked is “What does a typical homeschooling week look like for your family?”

The answer is that there it changes all of the time, but the things that remain the same are:

• My kids are always learning.  “Off days” aren’t really off because those are the days they’re doing self-directed art projects, creating science experiments, writing books, learning new music on the guitar, or creating worlds with Legos (complete with currency, elections, and more!)
  
  
• My kids enjoy their days.  The coolest part about building a lifestyle of learning is that my children have fun learning.  They pull science kits out from the closet because they want to.  They choose math workbooks in their free time because they want to.  They have a healthy  balance of seated book work and engaging activities that stimulate all areas of their brain…and a lot of it is self-directed.
   
• I don’t worry about their education.  This one took me awhile to fall into.  I like structure, so letting go of a school schedule was challenging for me.  At first, it seemed like my kids weren’t learning anything, so I decided to write down everything they did for a week so I could “fill in the gaps”.  Instead, I was surprised to discover just how much my children were learning each week!  What looked like play translated into real, quantifiable education!
  
  
• My children are independent learners.  This doesn’t mean that I don’t still teach them, use curriculum from time to time, or maintain a routine.  It just means that my kids love learning, so they choose to pursue it on their own.  This is as true for my 7 year old as it is for my graduated 19 year old.  They are becoming life-long learners because learning is something they enjoy doing.

This past week was full with unexpected events that took up a lot of my time and energy.  If we were still doing school the traditional way—with a structured schedule and planned curriculum-based lessons—I would’ve been stressed out by missing the days and falling behind.  

Instead, our days allowed me the flexibility to focus on the events that needed our attention while my children…

• Racked up hours of reading with books they enjoy
• Pulled out engineering kits and built creations that light up using electricity
• Ran self-directed science experiments 
• Wrote letters to friends and family
• Had thought-provoking discussions about faith and about current events while we sat around the dinner table
• Did curriculum-based reading lessons (the youngest two)
• Played a variety of card, dice, and board games
• Created art projects
• Went on field trips with other homeschooling family friends (my oldest two boys)
• Learned new songs on the guitar

Most days in my home, a lifestyle of learning looks like a blend of game schooling, self-directed learning, curriculum-based lessons, unit studies, and engaging discussion. 

The important piece to remember is that it is less about teaching and lesson planning, and more about creating a rich educational environment that inspires our children to learn.

Creating a lifestyle of learning allows us homeschooling parents the freedom to use any and every learning style and tool available to us without being defined or confined by any of them.  In the meantime, we are empowering our kids to build the skills and love for learning that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.