Archive for the ‘Creative Homeschooling’ Category

Our children are experiencing childhood very differently than we had experienced it. There’s nothing inherently wrong in that – after all, each generation is different. But one aspect of today’s childhood that does bother us is the lack of creativity and imagination.

Children are blessed with natural curiosity. They want to learn, to explore, to create. But being surrounded with ready-made toys means that they use their creativity very rarely. Even when it comes to the many wonderful things technology has to offer, technology-based video games generally do not enable the player to create or to change the world she plays in.

When you take time spent at school in traditional learning environment, which also doesn’t encourage problem solving or creativity, and you add afternoon hours spent in front of the television or playing video games, you get a very passive existence.

That’s why we feel so strongly that at least when they’re learning, children should be encouraged to be creative. Emphasis needs to be placed not on memorizing facts, but on solving problems, creating environments and thinking up stories.

The best gift we can give our children is love of learning. Rather than making education so passive and boring that they can’t wait for the school day to end, we can make learning an experience they look forward to. Whether through technology-based, 3D online homeschooling programs that allow children to create, or by adding a virtual worlds class to the traditional curricula, we owe it to our children – especially our gifted children – to bring life back into teaching and learning.

Homeschooling by definition has the potential to be more interesting than traditional schooling. Unless parents are completely intent on schooling in the same way as a traditional classroom, and most homeschooling parents are not at all into that, homeschooling gives the student a lot of autonomy and encourages independent work.

But not all homeschooling programs are created equally, and some are certainly more engaging than others. Homeschooling CAN be dry and repetitive – unless educators and parents are set on making it fun and interactive.

WiloStar3D is an online homeschool that prides itself on using technology, namely 3D virtual worlds, to make learning fun. We think that students should be excited about learning. They should love going to school. We refuse to accept that children must spend 12 precious years doing something they hate, and learning very little in the process.

Our fully accredited homeschooling program is interesting to students because to them, it feels just like playing a video game. They get to develop virtual worlds, use highly expressive avatars and create collaborative projects with other students. Our 3D online homeschool takes learning from “passive” to “active” and from “boring” to “interesting.”

Parents love our school because it is fully accredited and because it is perfect for their intelligent, curious children. They see the spark in their kids’ eyes when they “go” to school (our 3D virtual school does in fact makes it feel as if they are going to school) and they see that their kids are being constantly challenged.

A 3D approach to home schooling adapts to different learning styles, promotes higher order thinking skill, helps retain materials learned and enhances problem-solving abilities. Most importantly, it keeps students engaged, motivates them to excel and results in higher achievement levels.