Delight-directed teaching? What is it? To be honest, I hadn’t even heard of this term until I decided to participate in this 5 Days of Teaching Creatively Blog Hop! I figured I could guess what it meant based on definition. I thought it would be such a fun hop to participate in, and then when I saw the first topic I stopped dead in my tracks. What? I thought maybe I just shouldn’t participate. I mean if I don’t even know what the first topic means what can I possibly add to this Blog Hop? Well, how about a new perspective? Sometimes the “teacher” has to become the “student,” so with some help from the other awesome participating homeschool bloggers taking part in this Blog Hop I learned a little more about what delight-directed teaching is all about!
The first thing I learned is that although I had never heard of that term it is definitely something I have always incorporated in our homeschooling. Our first year I actually didn’t use a curriculum at all. We did do book work, though, but the day was often directed by their interests – what they wanted to learn about or explore that day.
Then you may remember I posted about my dilemma of feeling like I NEEDED to get a curriculum this year. It is First Grade, after all, no longer Kindergarten. Plus I am the type of person that loves direction and schedules. I often was finding, though, there were days where the kids would be having a hard Sensory day or we are sick, etc. then I would get REALLY stressed out because we were “falling behind.” Then there were also days that we just didn’t feel like doing that specific type of work. So, did I ditch the curriculum? No. Obviously we’ve obviously picked up some new curriculum as well for our Crew Reviews! We became more flexible, though, and started having days that were delighht-directed, and I didn’t even know it!
There are days that the kids enjoy and WANT to do a variety of curriculum, and then there are days where they just want to “play.” There is learning in play, though, and that is where the delight directed comes in! Aurora LOVES cats, so we can “play” veterinarian and talk about the different types of animals, what makes them different, what makes them the same, etc. We can talk about the difference between domesticated and wild animals. We can even go online and talk about animal anatomy and how they are different or similar to us. We just had an extremely full lesson, and it didn’t even feel like it!
So, I actually use delight directed learning often, and it works great for us! Not only do they enjoy learning, they actually learn better when it is enjoyable for them! Plus learning really is so much more than JUST reading, writing, and arithmetic. It’s about life, God’s creations, every day experiences. How better for them to enjoy and learn these experiences than when their learning is directed by the things they love?
Delight-Directed Teaching is the first day of the 5 Days of Teaching Creatively!
Don’t forget to enter the AMAZING 5 Days of Teaching Creatively giveaway! 3 winners and $1000 worth of prizes!!
Be sure to read the blogs below for more great Delight-Directed Teaching Posts!
Loving Your Pet Giveaway Hop (ends July 14th)
If you love your pet this Giveaway hop is for you! Two Little Cavaliers is your go-to place for International Dog News, Pet Product Reviews, Pet Centric Giveaways, Cooking for Dogs, and the creator and co-host of the Saturday Pet Bloggers Blog Hop where pet bloggers and pet lovers come together to meet, greet, and hang out. Two Little Cavaliers has gotten together with some great bloggers, including Pea of Sweetness, to bring you an event that is completely Pet Centric that means every prize is for your pet or about about your pet!
Enter our Giveaway!
A special THANK-YOU to BoRegards.com for sponsoring our giveaway for the Loving Your Pet Giveaway Hop! BoRegards offers beautifully crafted fire safety plaques that alert rescue workers in the event of a fire or other emergency within your home as well as a wealth of information on fire safety in the home! They are a wonderful company that truly has a heart for pets and sharing fire safety awareness! The plaque is 8.5″ X 8.5″ with 3 finishes to choose from. For the giveaway BoRegards will be sending one lucky reader the Pet Safety Plaque in the Burnished Copper finish – a $34.95 value! Be sure to read my full BoRegards review!
*Please enter using the Rafflecopter below! Giveaway is open to the US Only, must be 18 or older. The more entries the higher your chance of winning! After entering don’t forget to read below for a link to the Grand Prize of the Loving Your Pet Giveaway Hop as well as some other great pet-centric giveaways!*
GRAND PRIZE FOR THE LOVING YOUR PET GIVEAWAY HOP:
Pet Bed w/Memory Foam
The best thing you can do for your pet is to provide a comfortable night’s sleep. This memory foam bolster pet bed is a great place for your pet to rest after a day in the yard running around or to cool off after a long walk! For cats its the perfect place to call their own. It has a solid memory foam base to provide maximum support and durability, a therapeutic memory foam layer to relieve discomfort in joints, and a high-loft comfort layer to offer insulation and a nesting environment. A protective, waterproof liner prevents moisture from harming the foam. Your pet is sure to be happy and comfortable sleeping on this bed. Available in 3 sizes and winner’s choice small 35 inches, medium 42″ and large dogs 48 inch. The bed in the picture above is the small size with 2 – 15 lbs dogs on it.
Please be sure to visit these other Bloggers who have put together amazing Pet Centric Giveaway as well! The Grand Prize is link #1 and noted above the description! Be sure to head over there as well! 🙂
*Disclosure: I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Pea of Sweetness is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment.*
Blogger Opp – Loving Your Pet Giveaway Hop! *Over*
Looking for a fun blogging event to participate in this summer?
Come join the Loving Your Pet Giveaway Hop! This FREE Giveaway hop which is scheduled for July 1st – 14th is all about your pets. We all know how I love my pets! 🙂 The sky is the limit here on what you can do with this event. The product(s) you Giveaway just have to have something to do with your pet or animals in general.
For more information visit the Sign-up Page!
The rules:
All Giveaway items should be pet centric that can mean the item is for your pet (leash, toys, bowls, clothing) or items with animals on them shirts, mugs, note paper, Jewelry, artwork – the sky is the limit!
NO LIVE ANIMALS that means no fish, gerbils, puppies, lizards ect. It is illegal to Giveaway live animals in this way.
Animal habitats, critter condos, fish tanks, etc are fine as long as there is no voucher for a live animal that goes along with it.
All Giveaways should be $20 or more with those totaling over $100 will be marked on the Linky List.
Please do not combine prizes from multiple companies unless they come to you as pre-packaged basket already. If you reach out to the company please give the company the courtesy of their own post. You are welcome to have multiple Giveaway posts in this event. By telling the company that they are your sole sponsor for this event you are likely to get a bigger package from them anyway.
Please promote this event!!! The more you promote the more excited everyone is going to be when the event starts.
By the way the Grand Prize for this event is a Nature’s Sleep Memory Foam Pet Bed in your Choice of Size and Color! Exciting!