I’ve been thinking that in the current coronavirus situation…
…that Experience-Based Learning could really be a great way to handle homeschooling…maybe as a temporary shift in routine for veteran homeschoolers, and as a way to help ease the stress and confusion of being thrust into the homeschool role for public schoolers.
But it occurred to me that my original set up as I laid it out in that article linked above might seem daunting. Especially to those that are already feeling overwhelmed.
SO, now I realize that during this time of crisis homeschooling, what we really need is SIMPLIFICATION. For EVERYONE.
For the veteran homeschoolers, for the noobs, for the ADHD moms like me, for kids of all types…for ALL.
So HERE IT IS, FOLKS…EXPERIENCE-BASED LEARNING…SIMPLIFIED!!
I’m going to lay it all out for you as simplified as I can, and in bite-sized pieces over the next few days…so you don’t have a lot to read at one time.
Take it in as you have the time and energy. Mull it over as you see fit, and decide if it’s something you’d like to try.
Then if you’d like to try it and also would like to have a community to bounce ideas and questions off of, come join us over at my Facebook group: Homeschooling During Isolation (the “Homeschooling with Experience-Based Learning” group which has temporarily changed focus, but will still discuss EBL!)
First of all…what the heck IS Experience-Based Learning?
Simply put:
EBL is a style of learning where the activities are organized and planned by EXPERIENCE (watch something, read something, listen to something, create something, etc) instead of by the standard ACADEMIC SUBJECT (language arts, social studies, science, etc). This learning happens through pre-filled STATIONS full of enriching options for children to choose from, and children are involved in as much of the process of planning as is appropriate to the individual child’s age and personality.
There are other definitions of EBL out there, but this is the method that I designed for my children and that I promote.
Definition of Experience-Based Learning, by Tina Smith, blogger at HomeschoolRealm.com
I explain my whole thought process thoroughly of how I came about creating this idea in this post here:
Curriculum Doesn’t Work For Every Homeschooler
So how can you use this idea in isolation with the least amount of STRESS and WORK on your part??
I’m going to lay it out for you, step by step…
Let’s start with a tool that will help both you as the planner and the kids as the learners…
First Step: Set up a FREE account on Wakelet:
This site is an AWESOME TOOL! Here’s a 54 sec video to show a little how Wakelet can be used:
I recently discovered this tool when I found out that you can no longer add children’s videos to playlists on YouTube and I needed something as an alternative. This resource is AWESOME!
So my assignment for you today, should you like to give this a try…and keeping this super simple and bite-sized…
- Watch the videos above on Wakelet.
- Create an account for yourself on Wakelet.
- Play around with Wakelet and get yourself familiar with it.
- Lastly, if you use Chrome or Firefox, I highly recommend getting the Wakelet extension for your browser. It works pretty much the same way the Pinterest pin-it button does, allowing you to save things you find on the internet to your Wakelet collections quickly and easily!
That’s all your homework for today…just get yourself set up and start to get familiar with Wakelet and I’ll be back tomorrow to share with you the next steps in Experience-Based Learning, Simplified!
In the meantime…have you joined my Facebook group: Homeschooling During Isolation
