Momma used to say, “Look it up" and point to the bookshelves filled with a set of Encyclopedia Britannica and Webster’s Dictionaries whenever we wanted to know how to spell something or what something meant.
She did not do that because she did not know the answer, or because she was being mean, she did it because she knew that by researching our question we were learning for the long-term vs. getting a quick answer.
In this new age of "no child left behind" standards and learning for the test atmosphere in schools, children have less and less learning opportunities in spite of ever increasing resources in the form of computers.
As a homeschooler who has stepped outside of traditional schooling, I find it important to return to the look it up philosophy, but in doing so have discovered that my children had no idea how to research or explain what they have learned after spending just a few years in schools memorizing facts.
Using books and software by The critical Thinking Company, I am now seeing a turn around and more in-depth study habits in my children.
Summer is good time to get in some extra skills that are not taught in schools. Consider giving it a try.
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