Discover Your Child's Learning Style

by Mariaemma Willis, M.S. and Victoria Kindle Hodson, M.A.

Prima Publishing

Discover Your Child's Learning Style is, in my opinion, the most practical and comprehensive book on learning styles for home educators. The approach to learning styles is very similar to the one I use in 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, except it uses five categories rather than the four I use. They correspond in this fashion:

Wiggly Willy = Performer
Perfect Paula = Producer
Competent Carl = Inventor
Sociable Sue = Relator/Inspirer
Their fifth category is Thinker/Creator

Willis and Hodson further break each style down by disposition, preferred modality, best study environment, interests and talents. All of these factors help give you a much better understanding of what learning methods are most likely to be successful for each child.

The book includes learning style profiles that can be used by the entire family. A primary theme of the book is that we should work with learning styles to encourage eagerness for learning in each child while helping him or her accomplish their goals. The book also suggests ways to overcome learning style conflicts in situations where are significant differences between parent(s) and child(ren).

While I cover learning styles in an entire chapter in 100 Top Picks, there's lots more information here since an entire book is devoted to the topic.

Authors Willis and Hodson have their own business called Reflective Educational Perspectives. Through that business they sell other companion items that are very helpful.

The Homeschooling Manual and Curriculum Guide ( $55) contains practical information such as tips for setting up a school day and programs/curriculum that work best with different learning styles. Discover Your Child's... book and this guide together walk you through the process of using the profiles, then applying what you discover to choices of methods and curriculum, setting up learning environments, motivation, and ways to improve family member interactions. It lists specifc curriculum that works with different learning styles.

Reflective Educational Perspectives offers additional resources, including Self Portraits (profiles for determining learning styles) that will help you make the most of learning styles in understanding your children and choosing methods and materials.