Wonder World Classroom

When Do I Teach ______?

Part 3 of a 3-part series on using Teachable Moments to boost a child's learning experience.


Last time we saw an example of how easy it is to find teachable moments if you know what to look for--and how easy they are to overlook if you are a slave to the ShouldBe committee's schedule. Today we'll cover why teachable moments do NOT mean children will inevitably be "behind" in their studies.

Admittely I left us in something of a cliffhanger last time. In a shocking move, Johnny's mom callously shoved aside the ShouldBe's calendar and let Johnny do a science project instead of practicing the writing he's getting really "behind" on.

How will poor Johnny ever learn to write if Mom doesn't make him do it?

Let's fast forward to Johnny in the 4th grade, shall we?

Let's assume Johnny's mother kept up this What I Want To Learn Right Now stuff. 4th grade Johnny is hard at work hand writing a science report on the life cycle of parasites (an 8th grade project according to ShouldBe's, since he loves science and has had many What I Want moments involving it). He's also well ahead in math, and at his grade level in other areas except fine arts. He writes his report without whining or complaint and looks forward to learning each day, because he loves what he's doing.

But wait...how did the writing thing happen? He didn't love THAT, and couldn't even write the alphabet by the end of kindergarten.

Well, a miraculous thing happened around the middle of first grade. Johnny was going to the science museum and wanted to write down a list of all the different rocks in the mineral exhibit. His mother astutely noted a long-awaited Teachable Moment and brought along some large pencils and a notepad. He carefully copied the letters he saw on each rock's display plaque. One thing lead to another, and within a few weeks he was writing all his letters. By the end of second grade, he was writing more complex stories than most traditional school counterparts, most about science. So did his mother's "lax" approach to writing damage his education? Quite the contrary.

Oh, and there's that pesky matter of Johnny still being "behind" in art. He grows bored with trying to make artsy stuff when there's so much science to learn about. Ahh, but soon enough his parasites report will involve drawings he wants to include, ones he will realize don't match up to the quality he wants for information of this complexity. He can ask Mom to help him Google art tutorials to help his drawing skills, or perhaps he'll go 3-D and do a gumdrop and toothpick sculpture. These "boring" art projects will be embraced readily and without complaint, because then it will be Johnny's What I Want To Learn Most Right Now time. Score another one for the teachable moment!

Naturally, not all the examples in this series work out so exact in real life. Some children get frustrated easily no matter what, and others may need a bit of clever motivation to trigger teachable moments with subjects they don't enjoy. (See my blog post on No Math Day for a sneaky example.) Still, I'd rather not drag my kid through rote schooling she'll happily forget later just to say we did it "on time." I'd much rather raise a child who loves to read, write, explore science, and appreciate art because she's embraced each of them on her own terms. Potential employers don't care at what age applicants learned to spell their names, so why should I?

So I say be bold, let go, and trust the fantasmagorical learning process of a child. You'll be glad you did.

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I hope you've found this series useful. I may add more tidbits on Teachable Moments later. Feel free to share YOUR tips on using this technique as well.

Until next time remember---in a homeschooling family, class is never dismissed! Keep on learning...