{"id":2214,"date":"2018-03-27T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test4.honeycombdesignstudio.com\/?p=2214"},"modified":"2018-10-04T14:50:00","modified_gmt":"2018-10-04T18:50:00","slug":"tips-for-encouraging-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/tips-for-encouraging-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Encourage Independent Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are many different types of homeschooling parents. I have always been the type to enjoy getting in there and learning alongside my kids. But, I also always looked forward to having more independent learners. I used to daydream about all the things I could get done if I had just an hour or two a day when all of my kids were working independently.<\/p>\n

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\nThis post contains affiliate links. See full disclosure policy<\/a> for more details. Email and RSS feed readers may need to visit the blog to access affiliate links.<\/em><\/center><\/div>\n

The daydream has become a reality, y’all. I do sometimes miss the years when I was more involved, but I’m not going to lie. The freedom of homeschooling teens is pretty awesome.<\/p>\n

I’ve updated an older post with some tips on how we got to this point. I left the photos of my sweet babies back in the day purely for the cuteness factor. Because {sniff} I miss those sweet little faces.<\/p>\n

Middle school is when I really like to start really encouraging independent work. In addition to the benefit of more time for the teaching parent, independent learning also allows for a more personalized education for the kids. <\/strong>They can more easily follow their own interests when they’re working on their own at least part of the day.<\/p>\n

So, how do you encourage independent learning?<\/p>\n

1. Spend plenty of time laying the foundation.<\/h2>\n

It’s counter-productive to push independent learning too early. Spending lots of time working one-on-one with your kids when they’re young gives them the confidence and ability to work on their own when they’re older. Making sure kids are strong in basic skills, such as reading, writing, and math computation, sets them up for productive independent learning throughout life.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1339[9]\"<\/div>\n

2. Start simply.<\/h2>\n

Let your kids start out working independently in areas where they’re confident. The first work my kids started doing on their own was their Explode the Code<\/a><\/strong> books. They made a fantastic starting point because all the lesson formats are the same. So the kids were familiar and comfortable with what the lessons.<\/p>\n

After Explode the Code, we’d usually move on to math because once new concepts are explained the review problems are familiar.<\/p>\n

And, then {cue the hallelujah chorus} we discovered Teaching Textbooks<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1344[12]\"<\/div>\n

3. Keep a system of accountability in place.<\/h2>\n

I give my kids assignment\/check sheets. They check off each assignment as they complete it.<\/p>\n

When the kids were younger kids and first started working independently, I would check their work early in the evening. That allowed enough time to sit down and finish it rather than watch a favorite TV show {gasp} if their work didn’t get completed.<\/p>\n

An even worse fate than missing a TV show was having to do their work at the dining room table with me the next day instead of taking it to their rooms or the living room.<\/p>\n

They quickly learned that it was better to get their work done during the school day. (No, I wasn’t a complete ogre. There was always leeway when needed.)<\/p>\n

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4. Provide incentives.<\/h2>\n

Sometimes, in the early stages of learning to work independently, having an incentive program in place can be useful. I used a sticker chart with Brianna. I’d set a timer for a reasonable amount of time. If she finished her math (the subject in which she liked to drag her feet) before the timer went off, she got a sticker.<\/p>\n

She could collect the stickers for a week and turn them in for a small prize or save them for a month for a big prize. It doesn’t work for every kid, but sometimes it’s helpful to show a kid that if they just get busy and do their work, it’s done<\/em>.<\/p>\n

5. Provide resources.<\/h2>\n

Often when a child is just learning to work independently, it’s hard because there’s just so much to remember. Providing tools to help overcome obstacles and get to the business at hand can really go a long way in helping your child learn to work on his own.<\/p>\n

We’ve used math mini-offices<\/strong><\/a>, a writing mini-office<\/strong><\/a>, and learning centers<\/strong><\/a> to accomplish those goals. You might also try your own version of workboxes<\/a>.
\nBrianna used workboxes all the way through high school.<\/p>\n

What tips have you discovered that have helped your kids move toward more independent learning?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You Might Also Like<\/h2>\n
\n

\n\"\" <\/a>Remaining Involved with Independent Learners<\/a><\/div>\n

\n\"\"<\/a>Homeschoolers, It’s Okay to Go Slow<\/a><\/div>\n

\n\"\"<\/a>Study Tips for Middle and High School Students<\/a><\/div>\n
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There are many different types of homeschooling parents. I have always been the type to enjoy getting in there and learning alongside my kids. But, I also always looked forward to having more independent learners. I used to daydream about all the things I could get done if I had just an hour or two…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":41627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[29,41,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-frequently-asked-questions","category-planning-and-organization","category-thoughts-on-education"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":29,"label":"Homeschool Tips and Tricks"},{"value":41,"label":"Planning and Organization"},{"value":46,"label":"Thoughts on Education"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/5-Ways-to-Encourage-Independent-Learning-square.jpg",500,500,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Kris Bales","author_link":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/author\/kris_wuhsmom\/"},"comment_info":12,"category_info":[{"term_id":29,"name":"Homeschool Tips and Tricks","slug":"frequently-asked-questions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":46,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":173,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":29,"category_count":173,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Homeschool Tips and Tricks","category_nicename":"frequently-asked-questions","category_parent":0},{"term_id":41,"name":"Planning and Organization","slug":"planning-and-organization","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":58,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":114,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":41,"category_count":114,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Planning and Organization","category_nicename":"planning-and-organization","category_parent":0},{"term_id":46,"name":"Thoughts on Education","slug":"thoughts-on-education","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":63,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":37,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":46,"category_count":37,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Thoughts on Education","category_nicename":"thoughts-on-education","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/5-Ways-to-Encourage-Independent-Learning-square.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}