Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Homeschooling - seeing "every opportunity as a chance to learn"

From the insightful blog Educating the Muslim Child

Although many people may think it strange that people homeschool, I find it is the best way to really allow your child to see the world through their own eyes and to look at every opportunity as a chance to learn something. I have really found this to be true. One day my daughters and I were going to a doctor appointment when the oldest questioned, “How do they make glass?” I told her I really didn’t know the process, but I believed it was made of sand. A few days later, I found a nice video online from a glass manufacturer that provided an online tour that explained the process. I let her watch the video and for the most part I didn’t have to explain to her what was going on. However, there were a few things that I did help explain. After watching the video, she exclaimed, “That’s cool. Now I want to know how heating and air conditioning work in our house.” No, I’m not kidding - still have to show her that video (yes, I actually found one!) Then, yesterday we were at the doctor for an ultrasound for the middle child (looking at her kidneys). Oldest pipes up, “hey, what are kidneys anyway?” Guess I’m on the lookout now for that information. Masha’Allah, she keeps me busy!

One other thing I’d like to mention is our recent trip to a local school supply store. While looking for supplies, I found that they sold a stethascope for $4.00 - I was shocked as I was certain they were more expensive than that. After we got home, we spent the rest of the day listening to each others hearts, listen to our body digest our food, and listening to breathing (not only in our lungs but in the airway). The kids absolutely love it! Sometimes you can really find an inexpensive and easy opportunity to make learning fun.

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