Fit Your Child To The Plan Or The Plan To Your Child?
Putting on my "old lady homeschooler giving advice hat". My daughter, somewhat sarcastically (yet lovingly), says that old people always want to impart wisdom! Okay, that would be based on the premise that I have wisdom to give! But I do have a few thoughts.
Do you fit your child to the plan or the plan to your child? This year, we are making the move to using text books for math again. Yes, those things that have two hard covers and lots of problems on each page (don't worry- if you know me, you know I am not inclined to beat my children over the head with hundreds of problems). But moving from "playing with math" format to something more structured takes a little planning.
My first step is to chart what I think is one days worth of work for that subject. Just one day. Then we do the that "day". I can use my chart to track what is accomplished, and then I evaluate why we did or did not accomplish what I thought we would. Lazy student? Too many distractions? Unrealistic expectations? After I evaluate, I plan for day two. Usually by the end of the week, I am able to see how to make the plan fit my child. My focus is on learning- not on doing.
Okay, moving on. Another consideration. This comes from a conversation I had with one of my favorite mom friends- who actually did ask *me* for advice, thank you very much!:
What is your purpose in doing this curriculum (any- math, reading,...)? If writing the numbers creates so much stress that your 7yo cries when you pull the math book out, can you write the answers for him? Can an older sibling write them? If you are working on a reading comprehension book, does your student struggle just to write one sentence? Why not use those great questions as conversation starters instead?
I know that discipline is a part of learning. As a matter of fact, I would say that my adult daughters' success (I consider them all very successful, but I am the mom ;)) is due to their work ethic and the discipline to put themselves to tasks even when they find them unpleasant.
That being said, a 7yo could perhaps write 5 answers on his math page and dictate the rest. Add on a problem every week or two. By the end of the year, he will be answering them all without a tear in sight. Writing a sentence might seem more difficult than moving a mountain to your student, but if once a week you write out one of his dictated answers for him to copy- and then two and so on, in no time, he might be writing novels (not my son, but yours might).
The comparison I make is when I started at a gym a few years back- I did not work my way up. I put my weak muscles to work for all they were worth. By the end of my first few sessions, I wanted to cry. I made an appointment with one of the trainers who put me on a program to build the muscles and endurance that I needed. I increased my workout so slowly that I didn't even realize it was getting more difficult. Same thing- only with a pencil instead of weights!
That's my 2cents for the day!! Off to finish cleaning the school room!!
***Everything in this little post applies to and has worked for my family. I know we are all different!
Do you fit your child to the plan or the plan to your child? This year, we are making the move to using text books for math again. Yes, those things that have two hard covers and lots of problems on each page (don't worry- if you know me, you know I am not inclined to beat my children over the head with hundreds of problems). But moving from "playing with math" format to something more structured takes a little planning.
My first step is to chart what I think is one days worth of work for that subject. Just one day. Then we do the that "day". I can use my chart to track what is accomplished, and then I evaluate why we did or did not accomplish what I thought we would. Lazy student? Too many distractions? Unrealistic expectations? After I evaluate, I plan for day two. Usually by the end of the week, I am able to see how to make the plan fit my child. My focus is on learning- not on doing.
Okay, moving on. Another consideration. This comes from a conversation I had with one of my favorite mom friends- who actually did ask *me* for advice, thank you very much!:
What is your purpose in doing this curriculum (any- math, reading,...)? If writing the numbers creates so much stress that your 7yo cries when you pull the math book out, can you write the answers for him? Can an older sibling write them? If you are working on a reading comprehension book, does your student struggle just to write one sentence? Why not use those great questions as conversation starters instead?
I know that discipline is a part of learning. As a matter of fact, I would say that my adult daughters' success (I consider them all very successful, but I am the mom ;)) is due to their work ethic and the discipline to put themselves to tasks even when they find them unpleasant.
That being said, a 7yo could perhaps write 5 answers on his math page and dictate the rest. Add on a problem every week or two. By the end of the year, he will be answering them all without a tear in sight. Writing a sentence might seem more difficult than moving a mountain to your student, but if once a week you write out one of his dictated answers for him to copy- and then two and so on, in no time, he might be writing novels (not my son, but yours might).
The comparison I make is when I started at a gym a few years back- I did not work my way up. I put my weak muscles to work for all they were worth. By the end of my first few sessions, I wanted to cry. I made an appointment with one of the trainers who put me on a program to build the muscles and endurance that I needed. I increased my workout so slowly that I didn't even realize it was getting more difficult. Same thing- only with a pencil instead of weights!
That's my 2cents for the day!! Off to finish cleaning the school room!!
***Everything in this little post applies to and has worked for my family. I know we are all different!
I imagine you to be a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, Laurie! I am so happy to hear that you are able to help others and that others actually *ask*. I'm getting caught up around the blogs as I've been away from blogger for awhile. Hope you've been well! God bless your weekend:)
ReplyDeleteAs a former teacher and now a homeschool mom for 9 years, I couldn't agree more with you! Well written and well said.
ReplyDeletecouldn't agree more...although sometimes I do forget and need to refocus myself to met my children's needs and not the text book requirements. I only make my oldest write out a complete math problem if she gets it wrong otherwise she just jots down the answer...she rarely gets them wrong, someone once questioned me how did I know she was doing the problem correctly if I don't see the work on the paper...they had me worried for a bit but I got over it:)
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