Costco Connection | August | Back To School | Learn by doing
© STOCK.ADOBE.COM
Learn by doing
The real world is full of learning opportunities
Whether due to global events that have affected formal education or students who have different learning styles—or both—parents regularly look for alternative teaching methods. Real-world teaching opportunities abound, down the hall or in the backyard, and students are eager to learn by doing.
“Living and learning [are] interconnected. The best way to learn something is when it is relevant and necessary and meaningful to the learner,” says Carlo Ricci, professor of education at Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario, and author of The Willed Curriculum, Unschooling, and Self-Direction (Ricci Publishing, 2012; not available at Costco).
Children learn naturally, incorporating literacy, mathematics and other skills as part of a daily routine. Parents can encourage participation in everyday activities to supplement their child’s formal education.
“Teaching through living is incredibly important. It not only teaches our children real-world practical skills but shows them the ‘why’ behind the learning,” says Cati Peinado, a Costco member and co-founder of Petal Resources (petalresources.com), an online home education resource site.
Here are some real-world ways to teach:
- Decide on a meal menu and read recipes. Double or halve a recipe to practice fractions. “If you select a recipe from another country, you’ve squeezed in some geography,” says Peinado.
- Plan a walk in the woods and teach children about weather systems and temperatures. Identify local plants, trees and animals, or use maps or GPS systems to chart a course.
- A playground can be the perfect opportunity to learn about physics, explains Peinado. “Talk about pushing someone on the swing and why they swing back.”
Peinado adds, “In my experience, children learn best when there is a real-life … purpose to their learning. You can see the engagement and enthusiasm in their eyes when they are given a real purpose.”
Learning resources
The following organizations have websites that offer a variety of ideas on how to facilitate education beyond the walls of a classroom.
- Science Buddies (sciencebuddies.org): Cooking and food science information and activities.
- Vanderbilt University (vanderbilt.edu; search “teaching outside the classroom"): Gives examples of related teaching techniques.
- Inside-Outside (insideoutside.org): Resources for naturebased education from Antioch University.—RWW
Costco Connection: Costco warehouses and Costco.com carry a variety of items—from traditional school supplies to measuring cups and more—to further your child’s education.
Writer Rosie Wolf Williams lives in Vermont.
