A kinesthetic learner learns by doing. Kinesthetic is active. If you have been following my blogs, I advised you to take a learning style assessment online. Sigh. I know you haven’t been reading all of the blogs because the stats are proof. Please go back and read How to Personalize Your Child’s Learning Experience, but in the meantime here is a link to the learning style assessment that I recommend https://www.webtools.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/.
Do not worry that it is from a university and you have a 1st grader. Anyone can take this questionnaire. You can ask your child the questions while you fill in the blanks.
If you do not know what type of learner your child is, honestly, from a doctor of education with over 20 years in education across the spectrum from daycare to primary/secondary schools to college–you may as well have left your child in public school. I say that with all the love and passion I have for education. Learning style is unique to the learner and very important to the learner’s success. This is why I say, generalized education has duped us all. Your child is supposed to have lessons tailored to your child.
In my last blog, I said I would give you lesson plan ideas for each learning style in the upcoming blogs. This will be hard because most people fall along the spectrum but I will generalize.
Today’s blog features the kinesthetic learner.
The kinesthetic learner is that fun kid, the one who runs everywhere you go. The kid who touches everything. BTW, stop telling your child to not touch it, he/she is learning. This learning style wants to take things apart and put them back together, he/she wants to go place and do activities.
Do not make activities the reward, make them the lesson.
Okay, mom, I am done beating you up. Imagine how many times I beat myself up. I still cry over the years lost of my son’s education.
Let’s go. Below are some suggestions for great at home lessons for an active learner.
How do you teach reading to someone who doesn’t want to sit still? You can do many things.
Take it on the road. There are loads of signs, directions, business names to read while driving. Depending on the age, you can make it a game and say to your child, “let’s see how many street signs you can read as I drive through the neighborhood.”
When you go to the park, have your child read the park sign and instructions before playing. With younger learners, you read it and have them repeat after you. Point out sight words and have them write it down. List the names of the things at the playground.
Keep a notebook and pencil in the car.
The grocery store or other shopping trips are awesome opportunities for reading, writing, and math. There are so many signs, lists of items in the isles. You can do scavenger hunts in the grocery store that require reading and math. Counting the fruit and adding and subtracting fruit is perfect and fun. You can teach lbs as well by having your child weigh the fruit and veggies. Tell them to please make sure these grapes are less than 2 lbs.
Okay, so I kinda slipped into math at the grocery store. You can also do math at the playground and the park. How many ducks are there? How many children were playing? Were there more children than ducks? How many more children than ducks?
I don’t know a better way to teach fractions than with real pizza. Especially if you make the pizza at home. You can have your child count ingredients, add and subtract them (eat some). Tell them, please add an even amount of pepperoni and an odd amount of mushrooms. Or whatever you like. I like pepperoni and mushrooms.
Sandwiches are another great way to learn and practice math. For older children, it is time to start making purchases. You will be there to make sure you do not get cheated. Have your child calculate the estimated value of items in the cart. He/she could be recording them as you pick them off the shelf. I tell my daughter to make sure she chooses the cheapest one. This causes her to have to look at all the prices and determine which one is the lowest cost but she also knows I only like certain brands so that presents a challenge.
So, now do you see where I am going with this? I hope so because science can be a blast for a kinesthetic learner. Oh, the possibilities.
Go to the park, the science museum or just the back yard. I hope you are not afraid of earthworms. Start a garden, plant seeds, pick flowers, count flowers, multiply and divide flowers by color.
Go to the planetarium. Look at the stars and planets, write the names of the planets. Draw constellations. Tell stories about how the earth got started. Start with the oceans and life in the oceans. Go to the aquarium or the beach or to a pet store that sells fish and reptiles. Count the animals, add and subtract, and multiply them. Talk about what value they bring to the planet. Infuse geography into your science lessons. Always have your child write the names of plants, planets, animals, oceans or anything else you learn that day. Depending on age and ability, you can have them write a sentence or paragraph about the animals or the day’s learning activities.
You are starting to catch on now. With an active learner, you have to get up, get out and take learning on the road. Soon, you will get to a point where you can think of a lesson for just about everything you do with your child.
By now, you must be like, this sounds good but what can I show as proof of lessons and learning progress in accordance with my state’s homeschool requirements?
Here’s how you do it. You will keep the log of daily and weekly activities. You will begin to think of them along with your daily routine plans. ‘How can I turn breakfast into a lesson?’ BTW, pancakes are an awesome and yummy lesson. You can add while you are cooking them, divide by putting amounts on the plates, do fractions while cutting them and subtract when eating them.
Okay, I can’t seem to stop. My mind is just popping with active lesson ideas. Soon yours will be too.
So keep your log and list the daily activities. Have your child keep a notebook or two or three. One in the house, one in the car and well, just keep notebooks. Because you are infusing lessons you do not have to label them reading, math spelling etc…
Date the log and date the activities your child completed in the notebooks. You have the lesson and the proof of learning. In the evening you can grade the work if you want and record progress. Trust me, with active learning there will be a lot of progress and smiles and excitement as your child experiences learning. You may want to video some of the lessons.
I cannot give you everything in one blog but I wanted to get your mind ignited to ideas that you can do with your active learner. If you need me, I am here for you.
I am a curriculum consultant for homeschoolers. If you just cannot get started, I can help you get started and pop in for certain task when needed.
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