How to Plan Interest-Led Studies
As a parent or guardian, your role is to provide guidance and resources as your child discovers new ideas and learns through trial and error. If you don’t have an idea on how to plan Interest-Led Studies, I am here to help.
Interest-led studies, or child-led learning, is a great way for homeschoolers to take advantage of the flexibility that homeschooling offers. With interest-led studies, children are in control of their own education and have the autonomy to explore topics that they’re genuinely interested in.
In my 31 Days to a Better Planned Homeschool series, we’ve talked a lot about homeschool curriculum but it is also possible to do so without using any. Isn’t that crazy, you can plan your own.
We’ve chatted about how to find the best homeschool curriculum but have you thought about designing your own?
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Recommended Homeschooling Books for Moms
Are you in need of ideas and motivation to continue your homeschooling journey? Time to grab these books and have a fresh start!
Homeschool Planning Guide for the Unorganized Mom: An easy-to-follow plan for successful homeschooling when you don’t even know where to startThe Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and LifeThe Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your KidsThe Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at HomeA Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of LearningThe Call of the Wild and Free: Reclaiming Wonder in Your Child’s Education
What are interest-led studies?
This is where you see where your child’s interests lie, and if they don’t have one yet, this would be a great time to discover a new passion.
Choose a topic
Ask your child what they would like to study this year, this may surprise you, and it gives them a chance to get involved in their homeschool plans. We started with interest-led studies for science and then worked it in for history. Take it one step at a time. I’d ask my son what he wanted to study and he said dinosaurs, we studied dinosaurs for a whole year. He still remembers what he learned now 6 years later. I love it.
Create an outline
This may seem harder than it is but what I do is take a library book out and look at their table of contents on the subject and figure out from there what topics I’d like to cover in our own studies. It doesn’t mean you have to do it all but it gives you a good framework to start with.
Find resources
Gather all the resources you’ll need like non-fiction and/or fiction books to compose your reading list, activities, or projects that will incorporate hands-on learning on the topic, as well as see if there are any field trips that you can take to incorporate your topic. I like searching for free printables so I don’t have to make everything from scratch.
Implement your plans
No use in not following through on your plans, just jump right in and get it done, you kids will thank you. Don’t be mad if things don’t go as planned, follow those rabbit trails and see where they lead you.
Recommended Homeschool Planning Must-haves
Need more help getting your homeschool plans together? Grab the Homeschool Planning Guide for the Unorganized Mom or The Unorganized Mom Printable Homeschool Planner to go from chaos to calm.
Interest-led studies can be very rewarding experiences for both parents and students alike! They offer unique opportunities for personalized learning experiences where children feel like they have ownership over their own education—and who doesn’t want that?
By choosing a topic, creating an outline, finding resources & materials, and implementing your plans; you’ll be well on your way toward enjoying an interesting journey filled with curiosity & exploration!
So don’t wait any longer – start planning today!
Download the how to plan interest-led studies printables below
More Homeschool Planning Ideas
Can You Throw Your Homeschool Plans Out the Window?
What Extracurricular Activities Will Your Child Love?
Digital or Paper Homeschool Planner
7 Time Management Tips for Homeschool Moms
Marcy’s Delightful Planner from Ben and Me
If you need something more extensive for planning then you need to look at this planner. Still think you can’t do this? Marcy’s 31 days series on delight-directed learning will give a lot of insight into working it into your homeschool.
You’ll also want to check out the other 26 bloggers in this series as well and join our Homeschool Tips 4 Moms Facebook group if you’d like to connect with other homechooling mothers.