Real Life Homeschool: Learning Through Exploration of the World Around Us

I have shared in the past ways that we use exploration of the world around us as part of our learning. I thought it was worth mentioning again (with some newer photos) for today’s post on real-life homeschooling.

 

This could be in the realm of ‘life skills’, which include such mundane tasks as cooking and cleaning.  We are continually encouraging the boys to learn new skills which will benefit them into adulthood.  My 14-year-old has found a passion for cooking and wants to create dishes rather than just follow a recipe. I’ll be sharing the recipe for his Mexican Beef and Bean Pasta Bake (as shown below), which he made us for dinner last night.

It could be going into the community to learn more about different aspects of life (e.g. visiting a pizzeria to see what they do.) 

My older boys have sat in on a community based meeting as part of the Citizenship in the Community merit badge, which is something they’d not normally seek out, but learned more about the political process than they thought would happen. But, I’ll admit that it is the field trips to places with food or neat animals that really get their attention.

Or, it could be going into the natural world and learning more about everything around us.  One big plus to life in Alaska is that there is no shortage of wilderness to experience nature up close.  Just so long as we don’t run into a bear or come too close to a mama moose, I’m good with enjoying God’s handiwork.

Here are some of my previous posts that talk on this topic:
Life Skills and Homeschooling Go Hand in Hand

Learning About The World Around Us (studying natural world)

5 Tips on How to Homeschool With Young Children At Home

Creating an Environment to Foster Imaginative Play

Delight Directed Learning in the Homeschool

Summertime Field Trips for Fun Learning Adventures

 What are some ways that you encourage learning through exploration of the world around us?

         

Day by Day in our World is joining other homeschool bloggers from the Schoolhouse Review Crew in sharing glimpses of our real life homeschool. Here are just a few of the bloggers participating this week:

Life at Rossmont
A Stable Beginning
Happy Little Homemaker
Joyful Hearts and Faces
Mama’s Coffee Shop
Delightful Learning
Double O Farms
Tales of a Homeschool Family
Home Sweet Life
A Rup Life