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Chapter 13 is about Discovery Studies and helping your child move into independent learning.
The purpose of Discovery Studies is to provide methods of learning that allow and encourage our children to begin to direct their own learning experiences, to build confidence in gaining knowledge and insight, and to learn the freedom and fulfillment of discovery. pg. 243
Discovery Studies include:
- Creative Arts: music, drama, etc
- Drawing and Coloring
- Science and Nature Studies
- Foreign Language
- Computer
- Audio/Video Production
Allow your children to explore these areas as time and their interests allows. There are many, many suggestions in this chapter for areas to consider and resources to help.
Here are some of the things that we're doing right now in these areas:
- Piano – We have a simple piano lesson book. It's so simple that Jonathan can teach himself in many ways. He pulls it off the shelf whenever he feels like it and uses it with his keyboard.
- Drawing: Jonathan is not a fan of coloring or crayons. We bought him some nicer colored pencils recently and now he loves to draw. Sometimes he draws pictures in reaction to stories that we've read.
- Astronomy: Our science this year is Astronomy, by Jonathan's choice. He loves going out with his telescope {which we got for free off freecycle} to see what he can find in the sky with Daddy.
- Foreign Language: We've been using Hooked on Phonics French. We don't use it regularly, but Jonathan pulls it up on the computer and works through the lessons when he is interested.
- Video: Jonathan isn't quite ready to do any editing himself, but he enjoys being recorded and watching himself. I have a feeling that we'll do more with this as he gets older.
How do you include Discovery Studies in your homeschooling?
