Isn’t this the cutest picture! Nathan is happily doing his math, or so it appears at first glance! You can tell that he’s laying down to do his “mathing,” but there’s nothing wrong with that, right? I bet lots of kids do their math homework while lounging on their bed or spread out on the floor.

However, when I move the camera back a little bit, you can see this is a very unconventional position for doing one’s math (LOL)! I’m not particularly concerned about the kids’ preferred study posture as long as they’re learning and enjoying the process as much as possible along the way.

I’m fairly certain if Nathan were in public school this type of tongue-sticking-out face would be frowned upon. It doesn’t bother me though. I know he’s not sticking his tongue out at anyone in particular nor is he being disrespectful. He’s just moving his body as he does his “mathing.”

Then, when he’s not quite sure if he has the right answer he twists his face into the cute little look above!

Everyone knows “mathing” is HARD WORK, right? Poor thing. Doesn’t this picture just make you feel SO SORRY for him? This is exactly how I feel sometimes when I’m doing my math (payroll, bookwork, reconciling spreadsheets for co-op, etc), but you wouldn’t catch me in this position. Instead, you’ll find me napping on the couch when I’ve endured a bit of brain overload.

It doesn’t matter to me that Nathan’s feet are always tapping out a rhythm and he’s usually humming a song while he works, both things which wouldn’t be tolerated in a public school setting. It would break my heart to have to send him to school where he’d not be able to sing his cute little songs all day long because music is a very large part of who he is.

I realize these images don’t depict the general picture we have in our minds of children in the act of school learning. Traditionally, we picture kids sitting at a desk with backs straight while working in their workbooks. The problem, imo, with the generally accepted posture for learning is that it restricts large muscle movement which I’ve found boys, in particular, are quite fond of (LOL).

I’ll admit that sometimes I’m tempted to say can you please be quiet while you work or can you PLEASE sit still for a few minutes while I show you something, etc. because I’m easily distracted by these types of things. If you have a child in public school or you’re a public school teacher, I completely understand the need for children in a large group setting to sit quietly and sit still so I’m not being critical of that. But, here at home we don’t have those restrictions and sometimes (especially as we are near the end of another year and I’m TIRED), I have to remind myself that giving our children the freedom to move about their environment making meaningful contact with the lifeless symbols in their textbooks is one of the many reasons why we homeschool. In fact, not only are they given the freedom to move about, most of the time I encourage our kids to change activities frequently. Along that line, I purchase materials that fit their learning style which often means hands-on materials.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say Nathan exhibits a “bodily-kinesthetic” learning style, but I bet he’s close to that description (LOL). Because he identifies #s into the hundreds, skip counts both odd and even numbers, knows all of his +1 addition facts and most of his doubles, counts in Spanish, and who knows what else, I’m not at all concerned about his unconventional study postures since our method of allowing the kids freedom to move about during their studies is obviously working just fine.

If you want more information on learning styles and how to teach to those styles, one of the books I’ve enjoyed reading over the years is In Their Own Way by Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. If you’re a local friend and you’d like to borrow the book, I’d be happy to loan it out.