How Your Child Learns Best: A Practical Guide to Learning Styles

How Your Child Learns Best: A Practical Guide to Learning Styles

Your neighbor's kid sits happily with workbooks for hours. Your kid would rather eat the workbook than complete it. This doesn't mean something is wrong with your child—it means they learn differently.

Learning styles describe how individuals best absorb and process new information. While the academic debate about learning styles continues, the practical reality is clear: different children respond to different teaching approaches. A visual learner struggling with audio-heavy instruction isn't "difficult"—they're mismatched. A kinesthetic learner fidgeting through sit-still-and-listen lessons isn't misbehaving—they're trying to learn with their body because that's how their brain works.

Understanding your child's learning tendencies helps you choose curriculum that fits, structure lessons that stick, and stop fighting battles that don't need to exist.

The Three Primary Learning Styles

Most learning style frameworks identify three main categories. Most children (and adults) have a dominant style while using all three to some degree.

Visual Learners

How they learn best: Seeing information—pictures, diagrams, charts, written text, color-coding, demonstrations, videos.

Signs your child might be a visual learner:

  • Remembers faces better than names
  • Likes to draw, doodle, or sketch while thinking
  • Prefers reading instructions over hearing them
  • Notices visual details others miss
  • May say "show me" rather than "tell me"
  • Benefits from color-coded notes or highlighted text
  • Tends to look up or close eyes when trying to remember something

Teaching strategies that work:

  • Use maps, timelines, charts, and graphic organizers
  • Incorporate videos and picture books
  • Let them use colored pencils, highlighters, and markers for notes
  • Demonstrate concepts visually before explaining verbally
  • Use written schedules and checklists they can see
  • Allow drawing as a form of narration or note-taking

Auditory Learners

How they learn best: Hearing information—lectures, discussions, audiobooks, verbal instructions, reading aloud, songs, rhymes.

Signs your child might be an auditory learner:

  • Remembers names better than faces
  • Enjoys being read to, even when they can read themselves
  • Talks through problems out loud
  • Gets distracted by background noise
  • Learns songs and jingles easily
  • May hum, talk to themselves, or read aloud while working
  • Asks clarifying questions and benefits from verbal explanations

Teaching strategies that work:

  • Read aloud extensively, even for older students
  • Use audiobooks, podcasts, and educational songs
  • Discuss material verbally—conversation is learning
  • Allow them to explain back what they've learned (oral narration)
  • Use rhymes and mnemonic devices for memorization
  • Minimize background noise during focused work

Kinesthetic (Tactile) Learners

How they learn best: Moving and doing—hands-on activities, manipulatives, experiments, building, physical involvement, learning through experience.

Signs your child might be a kinesthetic learner:

  • Fidgets, bounces, or moves constantly—even when paying attention
  • Prefers to "figure it out" rather than read instructions
  • Remembers what they did better than what they saw or heard
  • Enjoys sports, building, crafts, or physical activities
  • May touch objects while learning about them
  • Struggles to sit still for extended periods
  • Learns better when allowed to move or take frequent breaks

Teaching strategies that work:

  • Use manipulatives for math (blocks, counters, base ten materials)
  • Incorporate movement into lessons—act out history, walk while reciting
  • Allow fidget tools or standing while working
  • Build frequent movement breaks into the day
  • Use hands-on science experiments, not just reading about concepts
  • Let them pace or move while listening to read-alouds
  • Consider workboxes or stations they physically move between

Using Learning Styles Practically

The goal isn't to label your child and then only teach one way. It's to understand their tendencies so you can reduce friction and increase effectiveness.

For Curriculum Selection

If your child is strongly kinesthetic and you buy a text-heavy, sit-and-read curriculum, you're setting up daily battles. Instead, look for programs that match their dominant style:

  • Visual learners: Curricula with clean design, plenty of images, video components, and graphic organizers
  • Auditory learners: Programs designed for reading aloud, those with audio components, or discussion-based approaches
  • Kinesthetic learners: Hands-on programs, manipulative-based math, project-oriented science, unit studies with activities

For Daily Lessons

When your child struggles with a concept, try teaching it through their preferred channel:

  • Struggling with spelling? Visual learners: write words in colored markers. Auditory: spell out loud with rhythm. Kinesthetic: form letters in sand or with playdough.
  • Struggling with math facts? Visual: use flashcards or charts. Auditory: try songs or chants. Kinesthetic: use manipulatives or jump while counting.
  • Struggling with reading comprehension? Visual: graphic organizers or drawing scenes. Auditory: discuss or have them retell verbally. Kinesthetic: act it out or build something from the story.

Combine Styles When Possible

Multi-sensory teaching is the most effective approach for all learners. A history lesson that includes reading aloud (auditory), looking at maps and images (visual), and building a model or acting out a scene (kinesthetic) reinforces learning through multiple pathways. You don't need to do this for every lesson, but incorporating variety strengthens retention for every child.

Three Cautions About Learning Styles

  1. Don't over-label.

    Your child is not "a kinesthetic learner" as their entire identity. They're a person who tends to learn well through movement. They can and should develop other learning capacities too. Use learning styles as a tool, not a box.

     
  2. Don't use it as an excuse to avoid challenge.

    "He's not a visual learner" shouldn't mean he never reads. It means you might read aloud together more while he builds reading stamina. Accommodating learning styles means adjusting approach, not eliminating important skills.

     
  3. Observe over time, not in one moment.

    A child having a fidgety day doesn't mean they're kinesthetic. A child who loved that audiobook isn't necessarily auditory. Watch patterns over weeks and months. Notice what consistently helps and what consistently creates friction.

     

Common Questions

What if my child seems like a mix of styles?

Most people are. Very few children are purely one style. You might have a child who's strongly kinesthetic but also quite visual. Or one who's primarily auditory but needs movement breaks. Use the dominant style to guide your main approach, and incorporate the secondary style regularly. The mix often shifts as children mature.

What if I have multiple kids with different learning styles?

This is where multi-sensory teaching shines. A family read-aloud covers your auditory learner. Adding picture books or maps serves your visual learner. Letting one child draw while listening accommodates the kinesthetic. You don't need entirely separate curricula—you need flexibility in how you present and process material.

Should I have my child formally tested for learning style?

For most families, observation is sufficient. You live with your child—you see what works and what doesn't. Formal assessments can be helpful if you suspect learning differences (like dyslexia, ADHD, or processing disorders) that go beyond learning style preferences. But for basic learning style identification, paying attention works well.

Your Next Move

This week, observe your child through the lens of learning styles. When do they seem most engaged? When do they struggle? What activities do they gravitate toward? Make a few notes.

You don't need to take a formal quiz or create a detailed profile. Just start noticing patterns. When you're choosing curriculum in Step 3, this awareness will help you pick resources that work with your child's wiring instead of against it.

If you're transitioning a child from traditional school, one more step applies to you: deschooling—the adjustment period that helps everyone reset expectations before formal homeschooling begins.