January 2010 Archives

We are grateful to Krista English for writing this amazing testimonial regarding our learning style programs for home schoolers. Thank you, Krista!

Here is her email to her Home Education Community in Santa Barbara. We thank her for giving permission to reprint:

Email to Home Education Community in SB:
I'm so glad you're bringing this topic up because for me the many variables of learning style, or taking into consideration the whole child, makes for a MUCH easier path. This makes not only our homeschooling experience go more smoothly, but all of our family relationships. It can also save you a lot of money in the long run because when you know the way your child receives information best, you can apply that to each subject area and eliminate much of the overwhelming amount of curricula choices out there.

I've been passing this idea on in a general way when the topic comes up regarding curriculum recommendations. Usually someone will ask what others think of a curriculum before purchasing. It's what I used to do as well. What happens is a handful of families respond that they love the curriculum. Sometimes I can see a pattern of favorable responses from similar families (meaning common family components like 2 daughters or a daughter and a very young son and a cat and...well you get the idea). Sometimes it's the mom who LOVES the program, but they haven't used it very long and actually the child doesn't share the enthusiasm and eventually, Mom feels like it was working, but things change and we need to try something new. I've been there and have done that too.

So I love to mention that the learning style is really the key and that choosing curriculum based on popular reviews will end up costing you at best lots of money at worst lost confidence in your ability to homeschool. When I mention this in my response I usually mention The Learning Success Institute of Ventura...this is a treasure we have here in our own backyard which the founder has been offering for 20 years. Mariaemma is amazing. She is so kind and really knows her stuff (but she'd never make you feel like you should know this or that she is somehow better than you just because she's an expert in this area.)

A lot of what your research I learned from Mariaemma through getting a profile for each of us...the kids as well as the parents! Knowing how you tick is eye-opening as well because what you'll find is that your teaching style is often the way you would learn best, but not necessarily the way your child thinks. You may have frustrations all along the way and you think it's this child. He or she just doesn't get it. Or you might be considering testing for a learning disability or disorder. Mariaemma has her masters in special education and got into the field of learning styles and the environment of learning, etc. when she realized that there were so many kids labeled LD who when she applied these principles, the light turned on and they were actually very capable students.

That's the idea behind "Learning Success" as she terms it - it is not what the world thinks for instance you'll hear a very competitive tone among educators thinking we need to be #1, parents who think their child needs to be #1 in class (I know someone who held their child back a year just so he could remain #1 since he'd fallen behind that position that year. Ugh!), getting into the "best" school, etc. But in her view learning success is unlocking that delight in learning. Finding out what makes them tick in all the different variables so they can get the most out of their learning experience and focus on the way God made them to be. So if you have an artistic child who is not good at math, don't be giving 3 hours a day to math drill thinking you're going to improve that child so dramatically that they are going to suddenly become math whizzes. If you have an inventor-type child, don't just give him workbooks and try to teach him yourself all the time. This child will butt heads with you all day until you understand him and let him figure things out on his own more. Though it may seem more difficult a way to learn, he will delight in figuring it out without being told how! I like that the Learning Success Institute helps with career exploration beginning in first grade - I think that's great because it will help children to see all the possibilities out there besides the basics, helping them to narrow in and focus by the time they are in high school getting ready for college. The success comes when they go to the right college suited just for them, for example an artist going to a great art school vs. Harvard, Stanford, etc. The success comes from the confidence they have in knowing their purpose in life and going for it, not from being a child with the highest test scores, highest IQ, best grades or who can afford all the classes there are out there to take.

Knowing the ends and the outs of how my kids think, take in information, how they communicate best, likes and dislikes, strengths and gifts, their need for food (or not), background music or silence, favorite colors, (environmental variables) has really helped me not feel guilty at all for skipping certain field trips, not joining certain clubs. It's helped me jump off the busy-ness cycle where I was trying to offer my kids the world in an attempt to figure out what works and what doesn't for each child. It's also eliminated the temptation to run out and buy new curriculum every time I hear a "rave" trend toward a particular curriculum or even a book.

I tell you this because with Mariaemma's help it can be fairly simple to figure out. Her profile which you'd take is as good as it gets. I've taken others, but hers is the most dynamic since it does deal with the different variables and takes into consideration the whole child. She offers different levels of service depending on your needs. For me buying her book just wasn't enough for me to get how to incorporate the information I learned into my homeschool/lifestyle. That's just me though...I learn better by talking about it aloud with someone else. Another level of service is her online profile. You can purchase it online and receive the results right away. You could do this without purchasing the book (the book includes a profile assessment). She also can do a consultation which includes the profile. The consultation is an hour and a half with you and your child. (We loved our consultation! She's fantastic and I can tell you more about it on the phone if you'd like.) I am pretty sure you receive a Learning Plan with this, but not sure if that's with the next level of service or not. Can find out quickly if you need to know or just ask Mariaemma by phone.

For me, I knew I'd benefit from her next level of service which is once-a-month coaching. I'm signed up under her ISP (Independent Study Program) which means Oct. 1-15 she is filling out a Private School Affadavit and I'm not. After our consultation we learned a lot and put together a Learning Plan...my kids were involved with that as well as myself and Mariaemma was guiding us along the way. She is a wealth of information with a myriad of ideas for each learning style. Some curriculum/games/ideas she has at her finger tips to show you others she can give you info on for websites etc. She won't change anything that is working great for the child and you, but what doesn't work for the child she will suggest a better way to teach it - for instance, my son has wanted to learn Japanese for 2 years now and I tried with what I could find was available based on product reviews...workbooks which teach drawing symbols first to learn the Kana and Hirigana. Well, let me tell you that did not work for us! Finding out that he's very visual and likes to learn by watching as well as listening, Mariaemma asked me if I'd heard of the Learnables - sure I've heard of it, but thought they only have Spanish, French & German. She knew that they'd recently come out with Japanese and it's not too expensive. I had no idea! We've since purchased that and he's loving learning Japanese!

Also, what doesn't work for YOU she will suggest creative solutions that work so your child can still enjoy that and you are less burdened (for instance, my husband is willing to do a weekly experiment with the kids (he likes that) which frees me up b/c I don't enjoy that at all).

I was at my wit's end before I finally called her for help, and I'm so glad I finally did or I might have had to give up homeschooling because I had lost a lot of confidence in my ability to do a good job...we were all fairly miserable, lost the spark, the curiosity, the love for learning, the focus - it was terrible! I didn't think we could ever get it back, thinking the pressures to compete were too much, maybe their ages have thrown me and surely it will only get harder. But no, we were able to get it back the moment we started back with our new focus, new outlook and considering each child in all their fascinating ways. The profile also helped my kids learn about each other in a way I never expected. Now when my inventor kid is not listening to my relating/thinking kid and my relating kid gets frustrated and wants to yell at the inventor kid, I remind him of who Mr. Inventor is and that it's not personal, he just has to come at it in a way Mr. Inventor will hear him better. So the relating kid stops trying to control him and is more thoughtful about how to communicate with him in a way he'll be able to receive it. Wish I learned this when I was a young person!

Anyway, sorry this has become a booklet. I just get so excited to pass on this kind of information which could really save a family a lot of frustration, heartbreak and even money!

Check out Mariaemma's website at www.learningsuccessinstitu

This is a pretty simple law. In order to be successful one has to experience success.

But what does this really mean?  It sounds somewhat like: you can't work in this field until you have experience, but if you can't get a job how will you ever get the experience!

Actually, children experience many, many successes by the time they get to be school age. So they already have a whole history of wanting to do something, trying it, "failing," trying again, getting it, becoming an expert...(for example, walking, talking, using a fork, maybe drawing or building or playing ball).

Then they go to school. This is where so many experience failure after failure and make the decision that they are not capable, smart, valuable...Suddenly they are no longer experiencing successes and they conclude that academically, anyway, they cannot succeed. Often this belief seeps into other aspects of their lives - so many grow up to be adults that do not believe they can succeed at anything!

This is where this law comes in. We need to provide academic situations that facilitate success for EVERY student. It is our job as parents and teachers to help them discover where they shine - whether it be reading or flying a kite, drawing or identifying stars, sports or working with animals.

When we put our efforts into finding out our children's learning styles - how each child learns best - we will be able to provide the learning materials and methods that will lead to success.

Then magic happens! The kids start to thrive! Their spirits fill up with excitement and motivation, a sense of accomplishment and confidence in themselves. And then...they begin reaching out to try new things - things they would not have attempted before - because they have felt what it's like to succeed.

This law applies to us all - classroom teachers, parents, homeschoolers, as well as those who work with adults. It doesn't matter how old a person is - without success there can be no success!

copyright 2009 by Willis & Hodson, Reflective Educational Perspectives LLC

At one of our LearningSuccess classes, all of a sudden a mom that was attending blurted out: I get it - learning doesn't have to hurt!

Wow, what a terrific insight! We asked her if we could borrow that phrase and she said yes. It has become Law #1 of our three LearningSuccess Laws.

Why do people think that learning has to hurt? No pain, no gain? Baloney! Learning happens at its best when it is enjoyable and fun and exciting!

Notice:  We are not saying that it doesn't take work - we are saying that it doesn't have to hurt.

And guess what...when it is enjoyable and fun and exciting, a person will put his/her whole heart and soul into it and work his/her tail off!

So, how does learning become enjoyable, fun and exciting? Any ideas? Join the conversation!

copyright 2009 by Willis & Hodson, Reflective Educational Perspectives, LLC

 

This is one of the Dispositions (the other one is Inventing) that often gets labeled ADD (or if combined with Performing the label is ADHD). This is also the Disposition that is sometimes referred to as withdrawn, shy, moody, or "spacy." These students are often hands-on and/or whole body learners.

 

What is the genius of the Thinking/Creating person? This student brings creativity, openness, and a new way of looking at things to the learning situation. Often this student's comments seem to be coming out of nowhere, or out of "left field" - in other words, completely unrelated to the topic at hand. It is then assumed that the student can't focus, doesn't pay attention, etc. What is actually happening is that this student hears or reads something...which triggers other thoughts...which triggers this imaginative and creative brain to come up with something imaginative and creative! This is how this student learns best.

 

These students tend to lose track of time because they can get so focused on the project at hand that they forget about everything else.

 

This is the disposition of great philosophers, mathematicians, scientists, poets, writers, artists, musicians, designers, etc.

 

This student is often passionate about (and talented in) theoretical math and science, music, art, cooking, building, or a combination of these. In general, this student learns best when involved in activities that allow him/her to be freely creative. The most important thing to this student is ideas: getting ideas, trying out new ideas, contributing new ideas. While Inventing people are going for an end product that will usually solve some problem, Thinking/Creating people are happy to just come up with the ideas. They don't necessarily follow through to completion, because they move on to another new idea!

 

When planning a school program for the Thinking/Creating student, you can integrate the learning style needs with the various subjects. These students learn best when the teaching materials and techniques allow for time alone and involve the arts and/or the creative process. They thrive in atmospheres that allow for unscheduled time to think and create. If the student is in a traditional school setting, you can ask the teachers to encourage hands-on assignments, drawing and doodling during study and "listening" times, experiential projects, and creative expression in the classroom. If the student is homeschooling, give plenty of opportunity to wonder, think, and express himself/herself imaginatively.

Copyright 2009 Reflective Educational Perspectives, LLC