Diana's Homeschool Blog

Do you thrill to the elegant precision of mathematical formulas? Do you love to do calculations in your head? Do you enjoy reconciling your bank account? If so, you are strong in the Math-Logical intelligence—you are Number Smart!

Schools tend to recognize and reward just two ways of being smart—Word Smart and Number Smart. If you’re good at numbers, you probably excelled at math and science. And, quite possibly for you, logic is a delight!  The important STEM subjects—Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics—are right up your alley. Here is a brief excerpt from my book, Reaping the Harvest:

When you understand your natural teaching style, it provides a greater awareness of your incredible strengths as a teacher—and potential weaknesses. It can help you better understand what's going on when there is a collision between you and one of your kids during homeschooling ... And it gives you permission to be flexible for the sake of your kids, which could make all the difference in the world!

Do you LOVE words? Do you enjoy cuddling up in a comfy chair to “escape” with a book? Do you take delight in word games, like Scrabble and Taboo? Do you happily work crossword puzzles and word jumbles, or solve riddles and create-your-own-ending mysteries? Do you find it delightful to memorize lines for the local community theater’s Shakespeare play? Do you treasure writing out your thoughts, whether in blogs, journals, or letters to friends?

All of these are indications of someone who is Word Smart! Whether spoken or written or read or played with, words are a great joy to people with a Linguistic Intelligence. Here is an excerpt on Word Smart from my book, Reaping the Harvest:

Some of the characteristics of this intelligence are:

• enjoys reading
• strong command of the language
• enjoys creative writing
• plays with the language—puns, jokes, rhymes
• fluent memory for specific data in words (such as names)
• enjoys making up yarns
• thought patterns are verbal rather than pictures
• enjoys puzzles and games that focus on words
• likes to listen to read-aloud stories, as well as sermons, lectures, etc.
• good speller

Are any of your kids “the life of the party”? They seem so comfortable interacting with others, so at home in conversations, so happy to be in the midst of the crowd. Do you ever wonder, “How do they do that??” or, maybe, “Why do they that??”

It’s because they are strong in Interpersonal Intelligence—they are People Smart! If you have kids at home who are gifted in this way, you may have been overwhelmed by how often they ask if it would be okay to visit friends or have friends over to your house. For you, all this visiting and being with people may be exhausting, but for them, it is invigorating!