Nurturing Natural Curiosity

The ultimate goal of all educators is to teach. Anyone who invests their time teaching wants to know that their students are going to take something away from each discussion and lesson. Homeschooling parents are no different.

However, homeschooling is a unique scenario that balances teaching and parenting. Sometimes, the busy parents in us can squash the natural curiosity right out of a child without even realizing it. After all, how many times can any person be asked “Why?” without exploding?

The most important fundamental of any educational environment must be to nurture that basic curiosity that all children possess. Children are born wanting to learn, but most children learn somewhere along the way to hate learning. Why?

Most of us have heard at least one teacher say, “There is no such thing as a stupid question.” Children must be able to believe that. Once they’ve been shamed for asking a question, they may become discouraged from asking more. Repeated shaming or negative responses can kill the desire to ask any more questions.

One of the benefits of homeschooling is not being forced to adhere to a strict curriculum. If you deviate for a day, hour or week to discuss something you hadn’t planned to cover, things are still going to be okay. Nurturing that curiosity, especially at a young age, is more important than racing through other “more important” material.  

Learning must be fun. It must be interesting. If we are going to instill a lifelong love of learning, and not just the basic knowledge needed to survive, our children must have a reason to love learning. At a young age, they naturally do. This is the perfect time to nurture and encourage that love.

Children are also more likely to retain and remember information that they wanted to know.

I have been asked hundreds of questions at inconvenient times, and I will admit that I am not perfect at putting this philosophy into practice. Nevertheless, I know that it is extremely important and I try to make answering questions a priority. If I am unable to answer immediately, I write the question down and promise to answer it later.

If your children have stopped asking questions like “Why” and “How” and seem to have lost their natural curiosity, it does not mean that all hope is lost. Reignite their curiosity by asking them questions. Trust me –there’s nothing more fun than bugging a child with persistently asking “Why” after everything they say (I’m sure it’s not because it feels like revenge or anything. =D). Ask “Why” and “How” until they reach the end of their knowledge and start guessing. Then, seize that opportunity to teach them something new.

Mission Statements

Every home school family should define a mission statement, either for the entire family or for each specific child that is being homeschooled. These mission statements provide guidance and should include one or more goals.

Some contend that effective mission statements include clear deadlines and are regularly reviewed. While this is certainly a good idea, it is also a matter of personal preference. I have one broad mission statement for the entire family with smaller individual goals for each child. It is on those individual goals that I set deadlines.

Answer the basic questions in the mission statement—who, what, when, where, how and why. Who does the mission statement apply to? The whole Smith family, or just Jane? What are you hoping to accomplish? By when? Where will this occur? How are you going to accomplish your goals? Why is accomplishing those goals so important? Why are you homeschooling? These questions don’t have to be answered in this particular order.

Our mission statement looks something like this:

This year, the Thelin family will work together to develop each individual’s knowledge, creativity and unique talents. We will use structured time and materials to learn the fundamentals of reading, writing, and some math at home. We will focus on our interests and explore science, geography and other subjects as opportunities of interest arise. At least once a month, we will visit a place of educational interest in our community, such as the science center, zoo, aquarium, children’s museum, etc. We will also look for educational opportunities in our daily life and in spontaneous family activities, such as going on errands, visiting family members, or going to the beach. We believe that learning is a fundamental part of living and that everyone should learn something new every day.

To break it down, we answered:

Who (The Thelin family)
What (develop each other’s knowledge, creativity and unique talents)
When (This year)
Where (at home and in our community)
How (through structured time and materials, field trips, and family activities)
Why (learning is a fundamental part of living)

Every family will have different focuses. I place great emphasis on developing and encouraging the talents and interests of my children. This is partially because, as a public school student, I was repeatedly told that I could never succeed as a writer. (Oh, how I would love to go back and show those teachers how well I’ve done as a professional writer!) My ego and personal issues aside, however, I never want anyone to discourage my children from pursuing the subjects and talents that genuinely interest them. 

As long as learning is the goal, there is no right or wrong mission statement. However, putting the homeschool mission into writing solidifies it for everyone. Consider framing it in a prominent location where most of the learning takes place.