How Conversations Can Lead Learning Naturally
Bella
We are in our second year of home educating and it’s been a journey of ups and downs, but the improvements have definitely made it all worth it.
My son is 9 years old and has a lot of learning trauma amongst other issues which has made learning interesting for us but this hasn’t stopped him from learning, we have just had to get creative.
There are so many moments I could share with you to help showcase his learning achievements or the ways we learn that may be considered untraditional.
He wanted me to share with you all about his community library.
He had no interest in books as he saw these as learning, and wouldn’t go near them but he loves using tools and working with his hands.
I showed him some pictures of community libraries and asked if he would like to try to make one.
We had lots of discussions about them, what they are, what purpose they hold, and what’s involved in making and running one, And he was off!
A lot of his learning is done or begins just by having a conversation.
We began searching market place for the perfect doll house to go with his design, we made a post on our community page to ask for free book donations, we included what he was working on and he had a massive response with encouraging comments that helped boost up his confidence.
Off he was in Bunnings looking for the paints he needed and worked hard in the garage sanding, gluing and painting.
Behind the scenes, it was a lot of Google research; the best ways to waterproof a doll house, materials to use, and asking people for tips or advice.
Unable to read or write just yet, I would sit with him writing and reading out loud for him.
He would also use google maps as he would direct me to collect all the books he was donated, a few wrong turns here and there but we always made it to our destination.
I’ve never seen him so excited to be around books.
He spread himself on the floor going through every book to separate them into categories as he had planned on having three sections, kids, teens and in his words, old people.
It’s now up and running and he is super proud of his work.
I’m happy that he decided to share this particular story as it showcases so many challenges for him.
He doesn’t like to leave the house, this helped to get him out to collect the books.
He has social anxieties, but the people donating the books wanted to chat with him telling him how awesome he was for doing this for the community.
He did so much research in so many areas and learned through trial and error, learning!
And he was finally happy to visit the local library.
Otherways 177 August 2023
