Have you ever wanted to do something different at the be- ginning of the school year than what you have done in previous years? Or maybe you are new to homeschooling and want to go a different route
than a textbook/workbook style of learning. Whichever route you are considering,
delight directed learning may be the perfect
option if you want to show your children
that you are as interested as they are in what
they want to learn.
One thing we did with our three oldest
daughters and son was that any time they
wanted to buy, for instance, a new animal,
they had to not only continue to do other
schoolwork, but they had to investigate,
They started off by making a mind map,
putting the kind of animal in the middle
circle, and then adding branches out of the
main circle that included major areas rela-
ted to the animal. A mind map is an excel-
lent way to help your children break down
paragraphs and subjects, so that they can
stick to one topic at a time.
Our third daughter wanted a horse. In
the middle circle was the word, “horse.”
Then she drew a line out of the circle sta-
ting, “food,” another line saying “health,”
another one saying “lifespan,” another said
“breeding,” another “measuring height,”
then possibly “medical needs” (including
getting the horse shoed and hooves ground
smooth by a farrier), “immunizations” that
are necessary, “noises” they make (such as
neighing, whinnying, nickering, and snort-
ing), and so forth. Once that was done,
they used their mind map to do a four to
ten page research paper, depending on
their age, with pictures required. Once they
had a realistic view of what was required
in caring for that specific animal, the costs
involved, and the time commitment, then
we could make a reasonable decision if that
was an animal that would fit into our fam-
ily. And yes, she got not just one horse, but
three! This is just one example in which
delight directed learning can be so excit-
ing and worthwhile. Added to that, they get
68 Fall 2017 • Delight Directed Learning www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
by Kelly Benedict
Delight directed learning
may be the perfect option to
show your children that you
are as interested as they are
in what they want to learn.
What Is
Delight
Directed
Learning?
