Introduction to Home Education		National and State Support Groups		Yearly Planner, Diary & Report		Beverley's Original Home Ed Manual		Series of How To Parent Workbooks

Support Groups: National SA VIC NSW QLD TAS ACT NT
Registration Guides: VIC NSW QLD SA WA TAS ACT NT

Looking for support, reassurance and information?
Join Beverley's The Educating Parents Homeschooling and Unschooling Facebook online group.

© Beverley Paine

This question recently came my way... "Do you think a more structured programme suits reluctant or self motivated learners?"

I think this goes to the heart of the issue concerning unschooling or homeschooling methods - we all need to find resources and approaches that suit our individual learners, regardless of whatever style or approach of teaching/learning suits us as home educating parents.

I'd start by looking at the multiple intelligences and learning style theories. A google search will bring up hours of reading, mostly from the guys that developed these theories in the first place. Pigeon-holing a child into a 'style' or 'intelligence type' will help you understand that child's learning needs right now - I say that because a child grows and develops and if we're addressing the child's immediate needs then the learning style should change and the tendency to lean in one direction will gradually become more balanced.

I believe that all children are initially motivated to learn - it's natural to want to learn. Forcing children to learn things out of context to their lives - when there is no meaning that they can grasp or make for themselves, such as teaching algebra for the sake of it because it's a step on the way to calculus which isn't needed to solve a task now, but may be in five years or ten years time... Much better to introduce algebra as a tool for working out mental arithmetic problems while shopping. That's natural learning, or unschooling. But it requires that the parent learns as much, if not more, or already has the knowledge, to 'lead' the child when such excellent learning opportunities present themselves.

Children who aren't motivated to learn are usually children who aren't capitalising on their learning style - they are using an approach that doesn't gel with them. This may have been happening for so long they appear to be totally turned off from learning. Left alone they will eventually find the confidence to become motivated learners again, but it's frustrating and heartbreaking for us parents to watch our children waffle through endless days of boredom, and for teenagers the risk of depression settling in is very real. We intervene because we lack the confidence or knowledge of the best way to support our youngsters. Working out how they learn best is a constructive step. From there it is simply a matter of presenting information and skill building activities in a way that helps learning occur spontaneously, as it did when they were little.

This never precludes the use of school or text books or curricula written by others - not in a natural learning or unschooling setting or any other. These are valid learning tools. It would be impossible to learn the word of God without reading the Bible, for example. Books, television, film, radio, tapes, mentors, tutors, classes... excellent learning tools. What we need to do, as home educators, is set aside our personal preferences and find the tools that best suit our individual child. If we personally can't work with those particular tools with our child then perhaps we need to find someone that can - the other parent, a relative, close friend, homeschooling tutor, learning club...

I found, especially in the early years when my confidence in my children's ability to learn without intervention was practically non-existent, that working with school books in grammar, spelling and maths suited both me and my children. My youngest struggled the most with this approach and by and large we abandoned books until he had developed the skills to use them through other means. His ability to work with texts was not damaged by his limited experience with them during these formative years: at the age of 14 he worked his way through a maths text book and then began a correspondence course in electronic engineering. I didn't need to remind him to study - he set his own schedule and worked diligently through the texts, often with difficulty as he soon surpassed his father's understanding the subject. The motivation to learn, to keep at it every week, came from within. He's abandoned his course, but not because it was too difficult but because, having tried it, he discovered that isn't a direction he'd like to pursue. His interest in computers led him that far, but, as I already knew, electronics is only a minor interest in his life.

The trust I place in my children to work out, on their own, what they need to learn and which direction to put effort into, is very hard to maintain - my confidence still wavers daily. They are in control of their own learning processes though and they understand a great deal about what motivates them, and when they want something they go after it with passion and enthusiasm and they do a great job and feel satisfied. It's not an easy path - learning is full of conflict and painful moments and my kids experience a lot of stress as they work things out for themselves. I always want to step in and guide them... As I've slowly learned, my way isn't always the best way. And if it's motivation I'm looking for, then that has to come from the child, from his or her love of learning, from his interest, from his need to make meaning and sense from whatever he is doing, right now.

I am not convinced that motivation, or the lack of it, is the result of structure in learning programs. When children's learning needs are matched to the activity motivation is usually high. Reluctance to participate can be caused by many factors - these need to be addressed first. I've included a discussion on these factors in Chapter 4 of my book Getting Started with Homeschooling .

Was this article helpful? Was it worth $1.00 to you? Your gift of $1 or more helps to keep this site operating offering encouragement and reassurance to families wanting better outcomes for their children.

Thank you for your gift contribution!

Option 1 $1.00 AUD Option 2 $5.00 AUD Option 3 $10.00 AUD Option 4 $20.00 AUD

Beverley Paine with her children, and their home educated children, relaxing at home.

Together with the support of my family, my aim is to help parents educate their children in stress-free, nurturing environments. In addition to building and maintaing this website, I continue to create and manage local and national home educating networks, help to organise conferences and camps, as well as write for, edit and produce newsletters, resource directories and magazines. I am an active supporter of national, state, regional and local home education groups.

"You've been an inspiration to me, I love the way
you really listen to people." Vanessa

"Whenever I read your writing I always come away
with increased confidence in my ability to provide and
share a wonderful learning journey with my family!" Davina

"Your guidance, understanding, support and words of
wisdom changed our lives. We now offer support and
organise many homeschooling events for others." Lesley

"Thank you once again for your prompt and friendly service.
I am convinced that your books are going to add
quality and peace of mind to my journey of teaching my kids
at home! Just from studying your website, until almost
2am in the morning, I 've been encouraged!" Louisa

"Thank you for all your many,many reassuring words
over many, many years. You probably don't know exactly how valuable you are to the Australian Home Education community. I've been reading your stuff for maybe 8 years or more now. And I'm very grateful." Gythaa

Welcome to the World of Home Education
and Learning without School!

We began educating our children in 1985, when our eldest was five. In truth, we had helped them learn what they need to learn since they were born. I am a passionate advocate of allowing children to learn unhindered by unnecessary stress and competition, meeting developmental needs in ways that suit their individual learning styles and preferences. Ours was a homeschooling, unschooling and natural learning family! There are hundreds of articles on this site to help you build confidence as a home educating family. We hope that your home educating adventure is as satisfying as ours was! Beverley Paine

3 ESSENTIAL STEP BY STEP GUIDES Getting Started with Home Educating Series of PARENT WORKBOOKS #1 Create Your Own Curriculum #2 DIY Lesson Plans & Unit Studies #3 Recording and Evaluation Made Simple $10.00 each (includes postage) Let experienced home educators Beverley, Tamara and April walk you through HOW to create a learning plan that builds on solid foundations that works for YOUR family AND ticks all the boxes for home educaton registration!
Tap into Beverley's experience through her books "Your books, your blogs helped me beyond words... they helped me to find comfort in knowing it is ok to choose exactly what is best for my family." Nisha "Your books and information are mind blowing and already I am feeling good about this new experience." Diane "Your guidance, understanding, support & words of wisdom changed our lives." Leslie "I feel specially inspired by Beverley's words and, the more I read her comments, the more inspired I feel, since my need for support, respect for different parenting styles, and information are fully met." Marijo
	Connect with Beverley and ask questions through her online The Educating Parents Homeschooling and Unschooling Facebook support group.

The Educating Parent acknowledges the Traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Owners, the Custodians of Australia, and pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people viewing this website.

Australia's premier online annual conferences, lifetime access to video and audio recordings, freebies, notes and associated resource guides.

EVERY SUMMIT IS UNIQUE!

$29 each 2023 2022 2021
$25 each 2020 2019 2017

"Biggest and best Aussie homeschool event of the year!"

Home education is a legal alternative
to school education in Australia.
State and Territory governments are responsible
for regulating home education and have different
requirements, however home educating families
are able to develop curriculum and learning programs
to suit the individual needs of their children.

Without revenue from advertising
by educational suppliers and Google Ads
we could not continue to provide information
to home educators. Please support us by letting
our advertisers know that you found them on
The Educating Parent. Thanks!