I haven't had the kids do any tests. I mostly watch how they play. My daughter reads a lot and even before she read was always looking at books. She also has a lot of patience, spends a lot of time observing, and loves long discussions. So with her I go with things like Philosophy for Kids (philosophy, thinking skills) and Writing Tales that have lots of discussion and Life of Fred and Aleks math that are self-directed. My son moves a LOT and is always building things and telling stories so with him it's more hands-on stuff like Miquon math and lots of singing. He also has a great memory so lots of quizes and fun drills. Just sit back and watch them and take their lead.
thats actually what I did too, to figure mine out. My dd reads a lot and absorbes the information she reads like a sponge... When It ry teaching her with lectures she gets lost in thougths.....or is bored. My ds learns best with color and hands on things.. if he can make something with the informatiion given he learns the best it seems. Though he also loves to read about his lessons.... I tried taking the test to see if what I scored at just for fun but I dont like having to do email stuff just to get a score .
Yes i tired the email thing before but it did not help. i forgot about it. i am just not sure how to tell even by observing them. ugggg
I just pay attention to the kids.. and I don't go with any one "style" anyway. We go with the flow.. some days Garrett will be able to sit and read for hours and pull tons of info from it, the next day he needs to be moving and doing something hands on.. It kind of goes along with my thoughts of not labeling a child I guess.
That's a great point. Even though I've noticed there are some generalities with how my kids learn it's nothing written in stone and can change day by day. I should also mention that there's a LOT of trial and error involved. I've tried at least as much stuff that failed as succeeded. Even having a good idea of how they learn doesn't guarantee a certain fit with a curriculum or approach that's supposed to be tailored for a style. And sometimes what works is just the opposite of what you'd expect. I suspect most people learn things in all ways, just with some prefferences. If you're having trouble observing your kids try keeping a journal. Record the activities they seem to get really engaged with, the ones they get lost in or that lead them into other activities. Just keep doing that for several weeks or more and read over it after to see if any patterns emerge.
Echoing what the other ladies said. You can just watch your child and figure out their learning style. My kids are very hands on and literal like me.
Okay in Colleg they made us observe a child during a couple of hours of play... so Isuggest using that approach. Have some things out on the table, things that are colorful, things that have lots of words in black and white, and a cd player with a story on it. Allow your child/ren to come to the table and choose. See what things they enjoy doing the most, and ask them questions about why. IF they LOOK fun, and if the things they watch or listen to are what they learned the most from... then order stuff like that... audio visual learning stuff... someone once told me they were one or the other but I think these days with the internet and tvs nd cd, dvd etc Ipods even we get the best of both styles there audio and visual. Well rounnded teaching cant hurt!
There are so many different theories about learning styles, even what learning styles are out there. It isn't like asking...what blood type is my child. It can change as they mature, they can get hung up on one thing that doesn't work and then it effects other parts. I think presenting information in as many ways as possible and seeing what works for your child (today) and being ready to change it up as needed.
We had to watch the children for a day of play, etc, learning activities. We had a clip board with some suggested things to check off, plus we litterally journaled thier day,, then went back and shared what our child did, I found out my ds was grasping things faster than some other kids thhat way and it was good tohelp me know how to teach him. He likes to talk and see things at the same time as he is learning, you know ask questions and touch at the same time? thus he is auditory and sensory as they call it. If you do this a few days while watching them, you can see what they learn by. Or rather how they enjoy learning? Some people, lik emy dd can pick up a book no matter how boring or drole and read the whole thing ....
I have found over the years that my ability to observe and adapt to their learning styles and needs is so important. Dgs was crying constantly over his math. We use A beka, which is an excellent system, but for him the math was frustrating. So I used Teaching Textbooks with him last year, which he thought was a game and it filled in the gaps and ended his crying. We have gradually moved back into the math book and he doesn't feel overwhelmed. This year I will use our A beka math book and will use TT if I need to, but I am going to teach him to keep an interactive notebook. Whatever it takes. I researched learning styles and also realized that watching them play and listening to their questions taught me how to teach them.
