Personality Type & Homeschooling

I just spent a great deal of time learning more about my personality and temperament, using a variety of sorters and tests. I also had Lillia take a version of the MBTI test for kids because I thought it might be useful when planning curriculum and the structure of our day. It turns out that she is an ENFP.

Well, what does that mean?

ENFP stands for Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving. This type of person likes to be with others, is energetic, individualistic, and impulsive. They are also caring and empathetic. A short list of characteristics for an ENFP child might look like this:

– Oblivious or forgetful of rules.
– Working on many projects at once, but not necessarily completing any of them.
– Messy and unconcerned with cleaning up.
– Loud (without realizing it)!
– Indecisive.
– Often unaware or unconcerned about time and schedules.
– Rebellious, especially if they are asked to do something.

Lillia’s personality type is difficult to “teach,” because they are so easily distracted and they resist being asked to perform tasks, especially repetitive ones (like exercises, rote memorization, etc). I, on the other hand, am an INFJ. I like to learn things in an orderly fashion, and I will avoid conflict at all costs so I am much more likely to comply with demands. I am, in many ways, the opposite of Lillia. This makes it particularly challenging to create a learning environment that will fit both of our needs.

While I don’t have any particularly inspired ideas for dealing with our personality differences, in terms of the educational environment, it does help me to better understand (and appreciate) some of my daughter’s more challenging traits. As my husband says, our strengths work in tandem with our weaknesses — in fact, they are often one and the same.

3 Comments

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  • Hi. I’m a fellow INFJ homeschooling mom that also falls into the secular, eclectic category. I just happened upon your blog in wordpress and wanted to say hello from Virginia! 🙂

    • Oh, how wonderful! I’m just starting to learn about personality types. I find it fascinating. My husband is an INTP, so that makes things interesting. I wonder what the type map would look like for homeschoolers. My guess is that there would be a good amount of INFJ’s. It’s the sort of “occupation” that seems to suit our type very well.

      Your blog is great! I wish I was a better knitter. I have tried several times with easy projects, but I always get demoralized by a dropped stitch or some other mistake. Maybe when I have more free time I will give it another shot. Handwork is very cathartic (once you’re comfortable). I really enjoy cross-stitching, myself.

      Take care,
      Kelli

      • I agree that the personality types are fascinating. I had my girls take the Myers-Briggs test yesterday and it turns out one came up INFJ and the other INTJ. It’s funny how much of a difference that one little letter can make in personality and outlook. It really helped me understand my INTJ daughter better.

        I’m married to an ENTP which, oddly, makes for a good fit. Poor guy is the only male in our house and the only extrovert. lol.

        If you were closer to Richmond, I would be happy to teach you some knitting fixes. Once you know how to pick up a dropped stitch and fix mistakes without ripping it all back, knitting becomes much more enjoyable. But, I love cross-stitching too. Needlework of all kinds is really meditative and soothing.

        There’s a Myers-Briggs book on amazon that I’ve been thinking about getting. I might have to break down and buy it.