What kind of learner is my child? Tips on determining your child's learning style.

Think for a minute about how your child learns. Parents often focus on what their child learns in school, but sometimes they need to ask, what is our child's learning style?

Learning styles are linked to one or more of our senses. In general, each of us can be put in one of four categories of learning: Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic and Tactile.

• The Visual Learner learns best when he is "shown" how to do something. He thrives on written directions.
• The Auditory Learner retains more information from what he hears rather than reads.
• The Kinesthetic Learner expresses herself through movement and often has trouble sitting still.
• The Tactile Learner needs to feel and manipulate objects. This person needs hands-on experience in order to learn best.

Successful learning happens when we make a connection between what we are attempting to learn, and our personal strengths. When the connection is made, learning is easy. When it isn't, difficulty follows and students have trouble paying attention, completing assignments, or taking tests.

At home, parents can use individual techniques for the different learning styles. For example, if your child is having trouble preparing for a spelling test, here are some tips that might help:

• A visual learner can write and re-write the spelling list, so she can see how the letters look when they come together on the page.
• An auditory learner can make an audio recording of himself spelling out the words on the list so he can replay them and spell along with the recording.
• A kinesthetic learner can use her body to form the letters, can put the words on objects, or can recite the spelling of words while jumping rope.
• A tactile learner can use magnetic letters to spell out the words on the refrigerator or form the letters in clay or sand.

It is important for parents to understand how their children learn best. Although most of us use a blend of learning styles, we usually rely more heavily on one style than the others. Sometimes what may look like a learning disability, may really be a learning difference.

Hugs and blessings~

~~~Anne