The longer we homeschool, and the older my children get, and the more experience I get ‘under my belt’, the easier it seems to allow my children to pursue their own interests. Don’t get me wrong…sometimes I do still worry and wonder if I’m doing this ‘right.’  I think we all do that on occasion, no matter how long we homeschool or what our homeschooling methods are.  However, I have seen my children learn and grow so much in the areas where I have been able to let go and give them greater control and ownership.

My oldest two children absolutely love drawing!  They are now in their 2nd year of formal art classes, but before that they simply pursued it on their own.  My eldest daughter is an avid photographer.   She has a photography blog and also submits photos to National Geographic Kids-My Shot, and was even chosen as the ‘Photographer to Watch’ one week.  My eldest son pursues writing with a passion. He spends a lot of time planning and writing fiction stories and is considering participating in National Novel Writing Month.

Are you wondering how to facilitate your child’s learning through his interests?  Here are a few ideas for you that I think will help!

Ways Your Child Can Pursue His Interests

• Does your child want to learn to draw? Allow him or her to check out books from the library on ‘How-to Draw_____.’  There is an almost unlimited supply of these books available to teach your child how to draw dinosaurs, cars, cats, dragons, people, faces, birds, buildings, and so much more.  Utilize art classes through a local art studio or via your homeschool co-op.  Perhaps you are an artist and can help your child learn this skill yourself.

• If your child has a strong interest in writing, purchase several special notebooks that he can use just for this.  He may take notes, write shorts stories, create outlines for stories, draw illustrations that he wants to use with some of his stories. He can use these notebooks to help get his ideas out of his head and down on paper to see it!  Using the computer to write is also valid.  This will teach your child how to type, but is also sometimes easier for those kiddos who want to write but have a bit more difficulty with the physical aspect of it.  There are also online venues such as blogs, and sometimes magazines or places such as The Bionicle Wiki, which my own son has utilized in his writing for several years now.

• Maybe your child wants to learn how to take better photographs. You can help her by purchasing a relatively inexpensive camera (maybe for Christmas this year?). She can get to know her camera by reading the instructions and then simply practicing in your own back yard.  She will learn the best times of day to take certain types of pictures, when the wildlife is out and available as subjects, and greatly improve her skill. There are also sometimes classes available, either online or in your town, that will teach how to use a specific type of camera or more general classes that are more of a ‘Photography 101’ kind of course.  One thing we are considering is an apprenticeship.  Is there someone in your area who would be willing to spend some time with your child, teaching her how to take photos, taking her out to find the perfect location to capture wildlife, or showing her how to set up the perfect family photo shoot?  Find out and ask!

• Maybe your children are a bit younger, like some of mine, and you don’t really know what their greatest interests are yet.  That’s okay!  I am allowing my children to experiment with different things.  My younger son is taking an art class this year.  He is learning to draw with markers.  What he has done so far has turned out pretty well, but at this point I don’t see it as being his passion.  He is also taking his first science class.  He is actually loving it, so it could be that he develops an interest there, much like his older sister has. S he loves animals and is always ready to learn new information about them.  If we have a questionabout animals, we ask her first.  I call her our ‘resident animal expert.’  One thing I do see emerging is my son’s interest in comic books and writing comics himself.  That covers several topics of interest at once: writing, drawing, and reading.  His favorite? Calvin and Hobbes, to which he was introduced by his father.

Would you like to learn just a bit more about how my son has pursued his writing?  Read Writing Center Tools for the Relaxed Homeschooler.

There are many other areas where our children seek out their own studies.  They also do have some more ‘formal’ work, though we are very relaxed here.  My hope it that, even if you are very structured and traditional in your homeschooling methods, this post has helped you to see how easy it can be to allow your children to pursue their interests. And the best part?  That counts as school, too!

I hope to see you here next week, when we will reveal our Pumpkin Painting Contest winners.  There is still time to enter, so head on over to see what it’s all about!