Don't Forget to Let the Learning Rest

EP194: Does your homeschooling journey feel like it's all go, go, go? In this episode of the Art of Homeschooling podcast, Jean shares a transformative idea that might be the very key to unlocking deeper learning for your children: the art of letting learning rest. Drawing from the experiences and insights from the annual Taproot Teacher Training, Jean explains how integrating periods of rest into your teaching schedule can lead to more meaningful and lasting educational outcomes. Inspired by Rudolf Steiner's lesson rhythm, this episode uncovers why it's vital to allow children time to absorb and process new concepts and why stepping back could actually propel your child's learning forward. Listen for examples you've probably experienced before. Plus three phrases you can say to yourself to help you remember the importance of letting the learning rest.

Find the Show Notes Here (www.artofhomeschooling.com/episode194)

Taproot Teacher Training (www.artofhomeschooling.com/taproot)

Inspired at Home Membership (www.artofhomeschooling.com/inspiredathome)

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

You're listening to the Art of Homeschooling podcast, where we help parents cultivate creativity and connection at home. I'm your host, jean Miller, and here on this podcast you'll find stories and inspiration to bring you the confidence you need to make homeschooling work for your family. Let's begin. Hey, hey, my friend, Thanks so much for joining me here today. Hey, hey, my friend, thanks so much for joining me here today. I'm recording this episode just to remind you that as you plan for your upcoming lessons, don't forget to let the learning rest.

Speaker 1: 0:56

I know that most of us who choose homeschooling are longing for a more relaxed approach to learning. Maybe we experienced a lot of pressure when we were in school, or we feel the pressure of watchful eyes of otherwise caring loved ones, but while deep in our hearts we may long for a gentler approach, we often forget that in our day-to-day lives. Am I right? I know I sure did. I kept planning the next lesson, practicing skills, hoping my kiddos would finally get it, whether it was the writing skills, reading or math facts, and sometimes this felt like I was always pushing my kids for just a little more focus, skills, practice or lesson time, and this can be exhausting for everyone. Believe me, I know. So here's my message for you today Don't forget to let the learning rest. I've just returned from Taproot 2024, the wonderful weekend retreat and homeschool training that I host every summer. One bit of magic at Taproot is that there always seems to be a recurring message or two that emerge over the course of the weekend that seem to be just what everyone needs to hear. This year, one of those repeated reminders was this we teach the lessons and practice the skills, then let them rest for a bit before coming back to the skills or concepts after a few weeks or even months. Sounds simple, doesn't it? But I find over and over again that we tend to forget the letting it rest part and we forget the importance of coming back to it later on, like when we demonstrate writing a summary for our children and they write so messily we can barely read it. Or when we teach a vowel team and practice a collection of words with that combination, only to discover the next day that our children struggle with reading those words. Or when we introduce counting by fives one day with beanbags, and our children forget it all by the following week. I will tell you. I know that it's easy to feel discouraged in these scenarios I did oftentimes, and I hear from parents all the time my kiddo just doesn't seem to retain what I've taught. So here's the thing I think we're all missing Children don't learn skills or concepts immediately upon being taught.

Speaker 1: 3:58

We can't expect that we just teach something, practice it a few times with our kiddos and then our children know it, because that's not how learning works, that's not how the human brain works. We do this with our schedules too, don't we? We go, go, go, because there are just so many wonderful opportunities for learning, like field trips and museums and cultural dance performances and on and on. We want to give it all to our children, all the experiences and classes and play dates galore. But we all need downtime, time to rest and process what we're learning so that we can integrate it into what we already know. Our brains also need downtime.

Speaker 1: 4:53

Letting the learning rest is actually part of the learning process. It constantly amazes me that Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf Education, seemed to know this over 100 years ago when he trained the teachers for that very first Waldorf school. He created a lesson rhythm that introduced a new concept one day through story, then suggested letting it rest and coming back to it, to review it the next day, and that when we take ideas into our sleep life, we absorb more of the learning. We can expand this idea beyond a two-day lesson rhythm as well. When we teach our children new concepts and skills, we can focus on the skills and concepts for a block of time, say four weeks or so, then let them rest for a few weeks before returning to them.

Speaker 1: 5:53

Learning doesn't only happen when a child is on task, but also happens when we let the learning rest, and learning isn't always linear. Sometimes there are bursts of understanding because learning takes time and rest is not nothing. We tend to think of rest as a waste of time, so we try to pack as much learning in as possible, but the truth is that rest is an important part of the learning process For many of us. When we encounter this idea, we may think of rest as giving up or letting go completely, but the most important part of this process is to let the learning rest and then come back to it a few weeks or so down the road. As I said, learning actually takes time. Sometimes it's years of time. So don't forget to let the learning rest. Then come back to the skills you want to help your child learn and practice some more, let them rest again for a bit.

Speaker 1: 7:05

This cycle of lessons and rest will serve you well as you plan for your upcoming homeschool year. Just don't forget to let the learning rest and then come back to it a little down the road. This is a much more relaxed way of homeschooling and also more aligned with how our brains learn. Here are a few phrases you can say to yourself to help you remember the importance of rest I've done the work, now let it rest. Or I've taught the lesson, now I'll let it rest, and let it rest and come back to it later. Thanks so much for tuning in today and all the best to you as you plan for your upcoming homeschool year. That's all for today, my friend, but here's what I want you to remember Rather than perfection, let's focus on connection. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll see you on the next episode of the Art of Homeschooling podcast.