Delight directed homeschooling is a new term for me. I discovered it as I was reading the HSLDA report about the academic success of different homeschooling methods. Apparently delight directed homeschooling is just as effective as the beat-them-over-the-head-with-a-book method.
Wow.
I've got to learn more about it. Apparently you follow a child's lead and study things that "delight" them. I'm not sure how that's different from the unschooled approach. Since Mia is so interested in the world, I think it might work for her.
When I was a librarian and parents came to me worried that their older kids never read and didn't want to and weren't good at it, I gave them all the same advice. Put into their hands literature about ANYTHING they are interested in. If they are a skateboard punk, get them a subscription to a skateboard magazine. If they like guns, get them Eyewitness Weapons. If they like fashion, boys, and make-up, get them a subscription to Teen People. Magazines work especially well for older kids.
And here it is. My advice coming back to me, kind of.
I've been kind-of following it already. I've tossed all preconceptions about scope and sequence in science, history, geography, etc. She gets to learn about what she wants, when she wants it. I've dropped spelling and grammar as independent subjects completely. I make her write a piece for her blog once a week, give or take, and don't direct her writing inside or outside of that.
I can't let go of math, though.
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