Lifelong Learning

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is seeing my children learning to love learning.   I come from a family of "lifelong learners"...a grandmother who learned to paint in her 60s, a grandfather who subscribed to a mail order home learning course for years, a mother who went back to school after her children both graduated...not to mention a family full of avid readers.    

Even more than I want my children to learn facts, I want them to learn *how* to learn, and I want them to love it.  I never want them to feel that learning stops at graduation.  

I ran across an interesting article today, "Are You Working on You?".   Harvey Mackay posts interesting statistics in the article:  

51 percent of the American population never reads a book more than 400 pages after they complete their formal education.

73 percent of all books in libraries are never checked out.

The average American watches 32 hours of TV every week.

The average American reads only eight hours (books, newspapers, magazines, Yellow Pages, etc.) every week.

More interesting statistics from Mackay:

If you read just one book per month for 12 straight months, you will be in the top 25 percentile of all intellectuals in the world.

If you read just 15 minutes a day -- every day, for one year -- you can complete 20 books.

15 minutes a day...20 books in a year.  Food for thought as the time is fast approaching to make goals for the new year.