"Dad, can I Puh-Leez have this video game for Christmas?" My thirteen year old son plaintively begged his Dad for the millionth time. Over the last merge of years, my son had well developed an affinity for video games.
If my memory is correct, my son was ten years old when he was introduced to electronic games at a friend's house. Before we purchased his first game system, we discussed the pros and cons; my husband and I are so old that we remember playing the old Atari game ideas twenty years ago, and we all the time had fun playing with friends. We agreed to limit his playing time and monitor the content. We started with games that were rated E which meant the article was favorable for everyone, and as he matured we allowed T or teen games.
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His first real passion was fueled by Nintendo GameCube. I cannot tell you how many times over the years he played and mastered The Legend of Zelda and Super Smash Brothers; I have heard the theme music so often that I can recall it in my sleep! Next, he became absorbed in Microsoft Xbox games like Star Wars Battlefront Ii and Knights of the Old Republic.
Recently, my son began to yearn for games that imitated battles like Call of Duty Iii which is a T game that is based on World War Ii battles in France. We were concerned about the possibility of realistic battle scenes, but my husband came up with a creative way to capitalize on my son's passion for the game by incorporating some learning in history and science.
Since most of the battles take place in a real geographical place and revolve colse to real battles, my husband decided to use my son's interest in the game to progress his knowledge and insight of soldiery and political history. Periodically, he has my son investigate one of the historical events like the battle of Normandy, write an essay, and then discuss it. Hereafter plans include some physical scientific study by assigning some of the weapons and munitions for investigate and discussion. By watching my son play the video game, my husband knows what battles he is currently re-enacting so he can make timely and appropriate assignments.
Why is this formula so sufficient for both my son and husband?
Well, my very astute husband has chosen to teach what my son is already passionate about: war and weapons! Instead of reading a dry, boring textbook on World War Ii, my son gets to choose many texts from which to learn (by the way, even at 13, he chooses books from the library or bookshelf with lots of slippery photos!) My husband also benefits from this teaching formula because he gets to draw from his own wide interest in the branch and teach something he knows a lot about. He doesn't have to spend a lot of his free time on researching the branch so this type of teaching doesn't cramp his work schedule. What a win-win situation for both my boys!
How can you use similar teaching techniques in your home school?
First, pay close attentiveness to your children's interests. How do they spend their free time? Does your daughter like to write or cook or derive earthworms in her spare time? Does your son derive baseball cards, build with lego blocks, or meticulously paint car and airplane models? Make a short list of their interests, abilities, and blossoming gifts.
Next, make a short list of what interests, gifts, and abilities you and your husband have. You may be an avid chef while your husband may be an scholar at construction models. Find the intersections of your children's interests and your interests, then use those strengths as beginning points for launching studies. Craft a learning plan that is tailored to both child and parent, and be flexible with the type of content. Vary the materials: use books, photos, and Dvds for the initial research, and be sure to merge lots of hands-on feel so that the child begins to well scholar the branch matter.
When both parents are complicated with home schooling, the burden is shared, and learning will be fun for the entire family!
Tailor Home School learning to Child and Parent (Or How to Effectively Involve Your Husband!)
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