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Five Ways to Help Your Boys Learn

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Learning is a very personal thing. I write about boys’ learning on a regular basis because I am passionate about helping people raise boys who love to learn.

Take a few minutes and think about your boy and his learning life. Does he love to learn? Does he struggle? Does he think he can’t learn? Or is he somewhere in between?  No matter where he is at, or what his age is, there are things that you can do to help him.

All of us have different approaches to learning. I think we all want to raise boys who are lifelong learners. In order to do so we need to take learning seriously and go out of our way to find out more about learning and especially about how boys learn. Use the tips below to help your boy with his learning.

5 Ways to Help Your Boys Learn.

Boys Learning Help:

First, Do No Harm

I don’t think any of us want to hear “I hate reading” or “I hate math.” I certainly don’t want my boy to hate any subject. Try to find new ways to look at specific subjects if the term hate comes up. We do not know what type of work our children are going to do in the future. Try to make sure hating a subject isn’t part of your boy’s life.

Find the Way Your Boy Learns Best

You can read about learning styles, talk with your boy about the way he thinks about learning, and observe him when he is learning something that he really wants to know. Trying to find the way he learns best will help him to tackle difficult learning tasks as he moves through life and make learning more enjoyable for him.

Give the Gift of Time

We tend to lead pretty busy lives. Do not schedule too many outside activities. Give your boy time to think, play, and wonder about things. You want him to have down time to explore and check out new ideas. An extra tip—boredom does not need to be fixed. Boys can find really interesting things to do when they are faced with being bored.

Provide Materials and Support

Give your boy the books, tools, supplies, and information he needs to get started on his project and then stand back. For example: If he likes pirates, get books, find maps, research online, go see a replica of a pirate ship and take the time to put all things pirate in his path. Try a unit study on a topic he is interested in. They are a great way to learn.

Look to the Future

If we want to raise lifelong learners we need to “look long” so to speak. We really need to step back and figure out what our goals for learning are and take into account our boy’s goals as well. Focusing on the present is important as well but I bring this up because you need to, on occasion, ask yourself it if really matters if your boy learns about a specific subject at this very moment or if a break would help.

Boys’ Learning and Passions

Encouraging your boy to follow his passions will make a huge difference in a boy’s learning life. Think about how you feel when you are learning about something that really matters to you. It is exciting and time just slips away. Whatever your boy may be interested in, honor it and help him learn about it. One boy I know of was obsessed with snapping turtles, and he now has a huge one—in his room! If you don’t want a snapping turtle in your house you could choose to follow that type of passion at the zoo 🙂

There are going to be subjects that boys lean toward and others they shy away from and that is fine. We can’t know everything there is to know about each and every subject. Boys’ learning is important so make learning a priority in your home and use the ideas above to help your boy learn.

More Boy’s Learning Resources:

Do you have  a no fail way to get your boys interested in learning?

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KC the Kitchen Chopper

Monday 20th of October 2014

This is such a valuable post for parents of boys. You are doing a great service. Thanks for sharing at #theWeekendSocial where we can get this info out to more. Please stop by again Thursday 9:00 PM EST to share again. Pinned to our board. http://www.theKitchenChopper.com

Sheila

Monday 27th of October 2014

Thanks for the nice comment and for the pin :)

Alli

Thursday 16th of October 2014

Wonderful tips Sheila. Our oldest has developed a interest in Manga, he's shown me a whole new world. Books, tv shows, the artistc elements that go into creating it, even some of the history behind it. Things I never would have known if he wasn't interested in it. Sometimes I think I learn more from my boys than they do from me.

Marie @ Child Led Life

Thursday 16th of October 2014

Growing life long learners is what it is all about! Thanks for the great advice to slow down and let them learn how they do best! Glad to pin this for later. :)

Pam

Thursday 16th of October 2014

Great tips here Sheila. I love that you focus on their interests and question the importance of some topics. So often we get hung up on making sure they learn things that really aren't important in the long run.

Sheila

Monday 27th of October 2014

We do get hung up on that, don't we. A focus on interests really does lead to a lot of learning that stays with them.

Kelly

Saturday 11th of October 2014

This article has really helped me to think about my son's interests and his learning style. I have to admit I am thankful he's obsessed with cars and not snapping turtles!

Sheila

Sunday 12th of October 2014

Yeah, I know what you mean--not sure I could handle the snapping turtle either! Glad the article got you thinking.

Kelli Miller

Sunday 12th of October 2014

ROTFL! I feel ya' :-)