HomeAbout Blog Articles Curriculum Resource Directory Shop Facebook |
||||||||||||||||||
Download our FREE The Educating Parent Resource Directories today!
Plus... more FREE resources!
Support Groups: National SA VIC NSW QLD TAS ACT NT Looking for support, reassurance and information? |
It's Not the Childby Stephanie, reprinted with permission "Why doesn't my child understand what the worksheet is asking?" "My 5 year old can't remember her letter sounds even though we go over them every day." "He can do math in his head easily, but ask him to complete a math worksheet and he just doesn't get it. What is wrong with him?" I find that the longer I homeschool, the more paradigm shifts I have. One of the most reassuring shifts I have had is that if my child is struggling with something, he either is not ready to learn it and needs more time or the information is not being presented in a way that makes sense to him and he needs a different approach. Either way, the problem is not with my child. In school we get the message that there is a specific set of information that every child of a particular age must and should know. The interesting thing is that no one seems to be able to agree on what that is. Go to different states and you find different "standards". Check out different curriculum and you find different concepts introduced at different times. Look at different "scope and sequences" and you see different focuses. What this means is that the concept of "every child should know X by age Y" is a myth. It is borne of necessity because schools, driven by the fact that they have so many children to teach, can not tailor a learning program to the individual child's needs. The great news is that, as homeschoolers, we have the freedom to let our kids learn on their own natural timetable and can tailor our approach to their needs. But this also means that we have to overcome the mindset of blaming the child if they are not learning. I read on an email list one time "resistance is a child's way of letting you know something is not working." Good advice and something that I try to keep in mind. So then the question is, how do you know whether the child just needs more time or if they need a different approach? My answer is: know that you have time and listen to your child. Jason (now 11) was a "late reader". At different times over the years I tried to gently introduce reading. However it was obvious that he was not ready...he was not interested and nothing seemed to "click" so I backed off and waited. A little bit before he turned 8, I realized that he had a lot of sight words, but was not making the leap to reading. He seemed to have all the pieces swirling around in his head, but was not connecting the dots. I could see that he was ready but also that he could use some help pulling the pieces together I tried one reading program and it was obvious that it did not make sense to him (it focused too much on phonics and letter sounds). I switched to another program (that had more visual cues) and it was obvious this was exactly what he needed. Reading "clicked" and it was very easy for him. He chose to finish the entire program and has never looked back. Waiting for the right time and then finding the right approach resulted in a "late reader" who is not defined by his lateness. Jason never considered himself a "poor reader" because we never focused on his inability to read...we focused on his strengths and trusted that when he was ready, he would read. This does not mean that I never worry or wonder if I am doing the right thing. And it does not mean that I never get frustrated when my kids are not getting something or that I never wish they would just get it already. But remembering "it's not the child" helps me put things back in perspective. And best of all, it preserves my relationship with my children (by my not blaming them) and their relationship with learning (by them not blaming themselves). Which, when it comes down to it, is what homeschooling is about. Stephanie is constantly trying to find that elusive state of balance in her life while enjoying her two energetic yet vastly different boys. You can read about their ongoing exploits on her blog, Throwing Marshmallows . Was this article helpful? Was it worth $1.00 to you? Your gift of $1 or more helps to keep this site operating offering encouragement and reassurance to families wanting better outcomes for their children. Beverley Paine with her children, and their home educated children, relaxing at home. Together with the support of my family, my aim is to help parents educate their children in stress-free, nurturing environments. In addition to building and maintaing this website, I continue to create and manage local and national home educating networks, help to organise conferences and camps, as well as write for, edit and produce newsletters, resource directories and magazines. I am an active supporter of national, state, regional and local home education groups.
|
and Learning without School! We began educating our children in 1985, when our eldest was five. In truth, we had helped them learn what they need to learn since they were born. I am a passionate advocate of allowing children to learn unhindered by unnecessary stress and competition, meeting developmental needs in ways that suit their individual learning styles and preferences. Ours was a homeschooling, unschooling and natural learning family! There are hundreds of articles on this site to help you build confidence as a home educating family. We hope that your home educating adventure is as satisfying as ours was! Beverley Paine
The information on this website is of a general nature only and is not intended as personal or professional advice. This site merges and incorporates 'Homeschool Australia' and 'Unschool Australia'.
The Educating Parent acknowledges the Traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Owners, the Custodians of Australia, and pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people viewing this website. Home education is a legal alternative Without revenue from advertising |
The opinions and articles included on this website are not necessarily those of Beverley Paine,
The Educating Parent, nor do they endorse or recommend products listed in contributed articles, pages, or advertisements on pages within this website.
Disclosure: Affiliate links are used on this site that take you to products or services outside of this site. Please review products and services completely prior to purchasing through these links. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question before purchasing or signing up. Always Learning Books, April Jermey assume no responsibility for those purchases or returns of products or services as a result of using these affiliate links.
If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about this site, please feel free to contact us.
Text and images on this site © All Rights Reserved 1999-2024.