Seize the Moment

Spontaneous teaching moments are often the most memorable—and memorable lessons are the very best, because they help the child retain the knowledge and information imparted. Not every teaching moment can be an adventure, but at least a few of them should be.

Also, teaching in the moment integrates learning into daily life. This helps children accept and appreciate that learning is a part of daily life. Learning is so much more than a classroom experience. Encourage your children to look for learning opportunities in their daily activities as well.

I have been ‘teaching in the moment’ since Jack started to talk. It’s the easiest method of teaching for me, since our lives are often so busy and hectic. You can probably guess that our preferred homeschooling method is eclectic, heavily leaning toward unschooling.

Teaching in the moment is easier than it sounds. As a homeschool family, parents are already very aware of what their children are learning (after all, they teach it!). Keep in mind recent lessons, and look for ways to apply them.

For example, my family and I went grocery shopping yesterday. On the way home, my oldest son (Jack) asked if we were going to drive through town or on the freeway. No doubt, he was hoping that we would go through town and conveniently pass his favorite park. I explained that the freeway was a better choice, because the groceries would be tossed around the van by the turns and sudden, frequent stops on the roads that go through town. He remembered a recent lesson on inertia, and we discussed how inertia and Newton’s Laws of Motion apply to daily activities.

There are countless ways to teach in the moment. Future posts will give specific examples on how to seize teaching opportunities at the grocery store, park, and in other unexpected places.

Unlike many other aspects of homeschooling, the benefits of spontaneous teaching are often easy to see. When children learn in a format that is fun and exciting, they are often eager to repeat the experience.

I will never forget Jack’s fourth birthday party, when he started encouraging his friends to throw his toys off of our porch so that he could demonstrate and teach them about gravity. I don’t think any of the kids listened—they were pretty happy just to throw the toys—but I knew by watching that Jack had learned something from our previous lessons.

Using everyday activities to teach also gives parents an opportunity to regularly reinforce that learning. For example, seat belts came up in our discussion about inertia on the way home yesterday. Now, when we get in the van next time, I can ask my children why seat belts are important. If they mention inertia or the Laws of Motion, I’ll know that they’ve retained that information. Every time we get in the van, they will use their seatbelt and get a little reminder about a principle that may not have seemed important when it came from a textbook.