by Alexa Payne

Created on: March 29, 2007   Last Updated: May 02, 2007

Following your child in homeschooling really means dashing a little ahead to open doors and windows so that they can see more and have more opportunities on their learning journey than they would have if they made it alone.

How you follow your child's interests depends on your child. Some kids develop deep passions and dive right in and devour anything you put in front of them. All you have to do with a kid like that is take her to the library and check out the whole Reptile section or, sign him up for Shakespeare Camp.

More often however, kids bop from one interest to another and trying to follow them can leave you exhausted and frustrated because you invest a lot of time in trying to follow, and they have already moved on to the next thing! When we follow our child's interests we are really leading and following.

A child does not have the experience we have, and so it is up to us to make them aware of the possibilities. When they show an interest we turn into leaders, trying to broaden or deepen that interest. But if they don't like the direction we take them, we turn back into followers, letting them take the lead and seeing where they go.

1. Nurture interests, but be careful not to squelch them with too much enthusiasm. A friend told me how early in the homeschooling every time her child showed the slightest interest in something, she'd try to make a career out if it. If the kid liked stars, she'd say, "Maybe you want to be an astronaut!" or if he liked cookies, "Maybe you want to be a baker!" Eventually she came to understand that she'd been scaring him away from expressing interest by suggesting that he should dedicate his life to anything he showed the slightest inclination towards.

2. Find or start a club. While mom's enthusiasm may squelch a child's delight, other people's enthusiasm will feed the interest. Clubs are a way to find knowledgeable and passionate mentors, or just other people who, unlike the average joe, will be as excited as your child is to finally see a California Clapper Rail.

3. Visit the library. Check out all the books on a subject.

4. Go deeper. If it is archeology your child is into, go on a dig. If it is birdwatching, hire a guide who will take you to see that elegant trogan your child has been dying to see. If it is horse, how about horse camp over the summer?

5. Keep opening those windows and doors!

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