by Amanda Bennett

In light of recent interest in unit studies and interest-directed studies, I have been doing some reading and thinking about things that I have observed during my travels and talks. When looking at the array of titles of our unit study guides, parents often ask, "which one do you recommend that I start with?" I usually respond, "What are your children's interests?" and usually get a blank stare from the parent.

Why is that? Why does it take us all so long to recall or name the interests of our children? And when many of us do list the interests, why are they usually comprised of karate, soccer, dance, baseball, etc? As I look at this now, it would appear that our generation has narrowed and imposed our own "planned" interests onto our children's lives. We have pre-selected a range of activities that we can put into "boxes" on our day planners for the children -- yes, they have choices, but the choices must lie within the range of those that we can carpool to or trade driving with other moms.

So, when we are asked about their interests, these lists keep surfacing. It would seem that we have severely limited their access to truly "creative" and self-driven interests to those on a list of acceptables to the neighborhood. This is quite disturbing to me, as a parent and as a homeschooling mother of three.

Creativity is one of those things that I can't discuss enough, and yet it is also one of the most suppressed traits that we have. At birth, human children have an insatiable curiosity about their surroundings. Over the first 4 years or so, we encourage this creativity, to the degree that we have time to nurture -- limited by our own pre-programmed lives. Then, as "school" begins, the student is told what to do, what to think and where to color within the lines. We begin to squelch his desire to investigate independently and be different -- we encourage uniformity and competition in pre-defined areas of attainment.

As the children grow and develop, their time is even more programmed and defined, leaving less and less time to investigate and identify their own true interests and gifts and talents. As homeschooling parents, we are given the perfect opportunity to help them find these special areas of interest -- to guide them in the beginning, and then provide the tools and flexibility to pursue these areas independently.

Thomas Edison and many others were encouraged to follow their interests, and investigate things that they were curious about. This "gift" of time to slow down and check out things that held their interest gave a tremendous boost to their creativity , inventiveness, and their own understanding of themselves. They were not conformists -- they were given the freedom to find out what made them "special" -- what God had given them from their conception -- their gifts and talents.

I remember, as a high school senior, the feeling of total confusion as mid-year came and went so quickly. I was receiving offers from many colleges and scholarships, based on my grades in high school as well as my college entrance exam scores. However, I had NO IDEA of what I wanted to do -- I went into engineering because everyone said I should -- I was "good" at math and science. I sit and reflect now about how things might have been different if I had been given the opportunity to do more investigating and less crowd-following down the standard path towards graduation. To this day, I am still discovering areas of interest and talents that would never have surfaced if I was still committed to a "career" in engineering and management. Homeschooling has not only provided our children with a remarkable opportunity -- we parents are also reaping some exceptional rewards in the area of self-discovery, also.

Now, here are some ideas to give you some insight into your childrens interests, gifts and talents. In my case, I had to learn to "back off" from the children mentally -- to really "see" what things held their interest. It is too easy to get so busy and wrapped up in our daily routine, and much harder to look at your child from a new perspective, away from team sports, social activities, etc.

For a child that is a devoted softball pitcher and player, it might take time to realize that the child also has a deep interest in plants -- her room might be covered up with plants and cuttings, but this area isn't one that you might naturally think to help her investigate. One homeschooling mom shared with me recently, "I can't get my son to study at all -- all he ever wants to read about is robotics. He is always tinkering and building them." I mentioned that is was WONDERFUL that her son had such an avid interest in something, and that she should be proud that he has taken it upon himself to gain knowledge and apply what he has learned. She looked at me in a puzzled way -- she had never thought about his interest as being part of his "education"! I suggested that she try to provide some guidance in other academic areas, as they applied to this interest in robotics, namely broadening his knowledge by studying other famous inventors, investigating the economics of robotics in industry, how other countries use robotics, etc.

In our outspoken world, their interests are often overlooked -- interests in animals (horses, dogs, pets), people (church, elderly, younger children), buildings (houses, malls, churches) and economics (baseball card collecting, retail merchandising, savings) are good examples. Consider giving your child some suggestions for fun projects this summer, based on what you suspect some of their gifts and talents might be -- volunteering at local businesses, nursing homes, veterinarian, kennel club, summer camp, ham radio events, garden club shows, etc. Have them try their hand in some of these areas and other ideas might spring up as the interest develops.

Another approach to consider is asking the older students what topics THEY would like to investigate during the next school year. If they look at you in a puzzled way, make some suggestions to get them started -- automobiles (for those nearing the driving age), modifications to their existing bedroom (building a loft, bookcases, etc), cooking (gourmet, pastry, professional, etc), building a boat, rebuilding an old car, and the list goes on and on.

The point here is to help them see what is "inside" of them -- make discoveries about themselves that might be overlooked by just going through the motions of a standard textbook education. Use the opportunities to guide them and provide learning opportunities along the way, enjoying the chance to share the journey with them! Homeschooling provides so many rewards, and seeing them grow and develop into adulthood is terrific!

Find out more information about all of Amanda Bennett's helpful resources at her web site: http://www.unitstudy.com