Academic Progress at Their Pace

There is freedom in homeschooling.  We choose curriculum, or opt to use outside resources like classes, tutors, or co-ops for some subjects.  When needed, we can alter lesson plans to suit our families, or change directions when something isn't working.

In any given school year, many choices and decisions are made, but probably one of the most daunting responsibilities is determining the pace a child progresses through their academics.  As a homeschool teacher, you can allow a child to progress at their ideal pace for them, but what if this is far outside the norm? 

Typically, a child finishes the school year and they are promoted to the next grade.  They have completed satisfactory work and progress to a harder level.  However, not all children do. 

A child who struggles greatly may need remedial work or increased tutoring time over the summer break.  Perhaps, they need a different academic approach or some specific interventions throughout the coming year.  Lightening their academic load by concentrating only on core subjects may help.  Sometimes, they may even need to repeat a grade level in one or more subjects.

On the other hand, a child may excel quickly through their academic work.  This child sails through all your lesson plans, completing near perfect pages with very little evidence of effort.  Perhaps, they need a more challenging approach or a few extra courses in the coming year.  Sometimes, they may even skip a year to reach a more challenging level.

No matter what the situation, both children need their academic progress paced in some fashion. 

Regardless of what curriculum or method you use, the pace you employ is vital. 

A child who struggles should not be expected to complete as many lessons in as short of time as a child who excels academically.  We all understand this innately.  However, what about when your child only struggles with one aspect?  Maybe multiplication or sentence diagramming presents difficulty for your otherwise good student.  Do you progress at the child's pace, slowing down for their understanding, or do you press forward, trying to complete the curriculum on someone else's schedule?

Recently, I was reading through a book which cited the literal meaning of curriculum as 'to run a course.'  Wanting to determine the validity of that statement, I checked out the definition from Oxford Dictionaries on line.   This is what I found.

Curriculum - noun (plural curricula or curriculums): the subjects comprising a course of study in a school or college; origin - early 19th century: from Latin (see curricle)

Curricle - noun historical: a light, open, two-wheeled carriage pulled by two horses side by side; mid 18th century: from Latin curriculum 'course, racing chariot', from currere 'to run'

{definitions from Oxford Dictionaries}

Curriculum is the course set before the student.  There is an end in sight, but there doesn't have to be a standard speed.  Children walk it at their own pace, finishing as they are able.  As parents, who happen to be teachers, may we continue to encourage and lead them along the way to progress at their own pace. 

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Dorie enjoys being outside, photography, art, writing, a strong cup of coffee, and good conversations seasoned with much laughter. She and her drummer husband, Jerry, share a life built on faith in Jesus, love, and grace. They have been blessed with four active children. Each day, whether easy or trying, is a wondrous part of this grace filled journey, and Dorie blogs about them all at These Grace Filled Days. Their homeschooling adventures can be found at Homeschooling Just Next Door.

Amidst Chaos...

"Amidst chaos lies opportunity."
-Albert Einstein

I admire mothers who have it all together. Or who have it together enough to appear, you know, to have it together.

And while there are limited areas of my life where I do have things pretty well together, I will admit that homeschooling isn't one of them. It gets crazy around here.

I was more organized with 2 children and only 1 of school age, but adding children seems to make it harder. I certainly don't feel that God has called me to homeschool and limit my family size to make it happen in an, um, orderly fashion...

ON THE CONTRARY! It began to occur to me that the 'chaos' of a large household is actually a true benefit to a homeschooling family, depending on how it is received.

Whaaat?

Well, look with me. With a smaller family, I as a mother, have more time and energy to make plans and execute them smoothly. As more children, and more pregnancies, come along, I am stretched thinner and- let's be real here- formal lessons don't happen with the regularity they would without those pesky morning of puking, or those insane growth spurt days where I nurse a baby so much I hardly have time to go pee.

And did I mention those mornings when the 2 year old wakes up screaming because he's not in his shark pajamas... and he won't calm down... till 10 am???

So what's a responsible homeschooling mama to do?

I'm not sure- hehe- as sometimes I'm definitely not that picture-perfect matron, but I can tell you what I, an average, sometimes wiped out, sometimes cranky pregnant lady with three wild and wooly kids, do on any given day that is so nuts-o I can't even remember what's for lunch, or if there is even anything to fix for lunch.

I sit back, smile really big, and open my eyes to the grace.

While I was calming the 2 year old down, or laying in bad trying not to throw up from ravaging morning sickness, my 8 year-old snuck off to write in his secret journal... or to copy Chinese characters from some packaging material (he's currently obsessed with all things Chinese)... or to build a block tower using every block in the house. And my 5 year old choreographed a dance to the Blue Danube which she can play over and over and over and over on the keyboard... or joined in the block building... or made her own slingshot.

Are these things somehow less educational, less important to their development both academic and human than math pages and grammar excercises? Not to me.

Is a day spent playing with siblings (and yes, fighting and making up with siblings) less worthy than a day spent memorizing verb charts or slaving over math facts? And if I think it is less worthy, why?

I remember very clearly the day I took the school books off the high shelf and put them down on the shelf with all the, well, normal books. And something happened. Learning became somehow more normal... more real to us. Interestingly, my kids choose their 'school' books as often as they choose their other books, but it ceases to be a point of contention if today that poetry anthology doesn't get opened. Am I worried that my children won't learn 'what they need to know' because I don't direct their choices like I did in the days of yore: those everyone-has-quiet-time, snacks-at-3 (and ONLY at 3!), march-to-my-drummer days?

No. I see to much evidence that, for me at least, for my children at least, learning happens ALL the time. I can't stop it, hold it back, even if I want to. And as sick as I get of homemade catapults crowding my yard, endless keyboard jam sessions (WHERE ARE THE HEADPHONES YOU GUYS?!!!), art projects that overflow from the 'art table', and requests for math worksheets to be printed at 10 pm (yes, this happens... it seems to be the time of night when the math angel whispers into my children's ears "don't go to sleep... go wake up your mother and ask for math to do for fun...") I wouldn't trade the exuberance, the shouts, the wild adventure, for anything.


My other realization was that I can't schedule every minute of my children's learning and expect to grow self-motivated learners. I need to trust more that their interests will blossom if they have the time to pursue them... and not just on the 2 hour lesson-break planned every Wednesday afternoon!

Some mamas need to be in control. They want to lead. Some mamas let go of all control and give it over to the children. They let the children lead.

But for me, there's Someone else who leads.

And when life hapens- and OH! does it happen- I remind myself Who is in control. Who is the real Educator. Who gives the Light. Who more than me communicates the important stuff directly to these precious souls in my care.

And He will never let me down.

Hi, from the newbie

Hello, new friends! I hope this special day finds you all surrounded with the warmth and comfort of friends and family. I couldn’t think of a better day to join “Growing Your Homeschool.” I am thankful to be a part of this blog, thankful for the gift of home education. And most thankful for the awe-inpiring gift of motherhood. My name is Maureen

and I am a homeschooling mother of 3 delightful little people. (Isaiah almost 8, Rosemary almost 5, And John Paul just-turned-2.)

We live, at least for now, in the wild mountains of northern New Mexico.

When you read what I write, there are a couple things you’ll probably want to keep in mind.

I am not your typical homeschooling mama. I do not promote the use of curricula. I believe that children should be self-motivated, and I really, truly mean that. I mean it NOW, not ten years from now, when they turn 18. I believe that a nurturing environment is an education in itself. I believe academics prepare children for life in one way, but that education for living is a much broader thing, and that is what so many children, even many homeschooled children, are missing today.

I believe that if you don’t like it, change it!

I am always seeking a gentle path, a joyful path. I take education seriously, and I seriously consider the way children *feel* about their learning to be important. I want you to take everything I say with a grain of salt. No, TWO grains of salt. Because I am not the expert on your children.

YOU ARE!

I am really pleased and humbled to be here, sharing with you, walking with you. Thanks for having me! I can’t wait for us to get to know one another.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.


“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”
~Albert Einstein

Feeling Left Out

This time of year, children are preparing to head back to school and parents are busy getting them ready.  Every time that we attend playgroup or playdates, the other moms are talking about preschool.  They are discussing which preschool their children will be attending, where to find the best nap mats, and making plans to meet up once a week while the kids are in school.  Throughout these conversations, I sit silent and feel left out.  Don't get me wrong; I love homeschooling Abigail and believe that it is the right choice for my family at this time.  However, since we homeschool year-round, there is not a start to our school year.  I don't get to go on special shopping trips to find new clothes, backpacks, and crayons for the girls.  I don't get to attend Meet the Teacher nights or think about what fun things I will do for myself while the girls are in school.  Life just goes on as normal for us.  I am beginning to realize how different we are from our friends.  Choosing to homeschool makes us different in more ways than just how we are educating our children; it is a lifestyle choice.  It means that our family will not be able to relate to many of the experiences of our friends and they won't be able to relate to our schooling.  I won't be the PTA president or the room mother.  Instead, I will be my children's teacher.  While this is a wonderful thing, it was not my vision for my future and I am having a hard time with the realization that I will sometimes feel left out of the "typical" parenting experiences.

How to identify homeschool families

It used to be a lesser-practiced means of education, but homeschooling is growing in popularity. More and more families are choosing to teach their children at home, even though they "appear" to be normal. Here are ways you can spot them:

Go to children's hot spots (the library, the pool, the museum) during the least-busy times. The families there are probably homeschooling.

Notice a family vacationing in September? Yep. Homeschoolers.

That mom who is shopping with a whole troop of children at one in the afternoon? She teaches them at home.

The child who is articulate and polite with adults, and who seems happy and willing to play with other children regardless of their age? Homeschooling allowed them to escape the age-ism that is an accidental bi-product of institutional schools.

The family at the cattle auction at eleven a.m. on a Wednesday? They homeschool as well, not that you wouldn't have guessed it anyway when you saw the nine-year-old was taking notes.

They seem just like every other family you know, but they sure do keep a weird schedule! You will see them everywhere: stores, offices, parks, recreation centers, restaurants, banks, post offices...at meetings, on hikes, in volunteer positions, on committees. Before you know it, you realize they *are* completely normal. And maybe a lot like you.

“Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow”?

In my last post, Tilling the Soil, I shared briefly that one of the biggest influences and encouragements in our homeschooling journey has been that of new friends God has brought into our lives who have and/or are currently homeschooling. In small windows of time, I have had the opportunity to question, discuss, and observe these families in their ways of schooling and life, and have, in turn, learned a great deal from them. I have learned about things ranging from cooking from scratch (did you know that using Pillsbury is not necessarily the only way to get good biscuits?!) to teaching my (at the time) 3 year old his ABC’s to how to discipline creatively and effectively when everything I know to do is not working. The resources of these amazing, yet vastly different people in our lives has been immensely rewarding, informative, and helpful, not to mention fun!

As I continued to learn and grow in knowledge (and hopefully, a bit of wisdom) as I watched these families work, learn, play, and live together, I began to implement the things I was learning into my family’s day to day life.

Soccer Mom Sally over here was constantly on the go, actively engaging her children in activities that would strengthen them physically and engage them mentally. Her family stayed busy doing activities, together and apart, most days of the week, studying on the go, learning geometry as they played sports and studied music, etc…

Then, there was Homemaker Helen. She mainly stayed at home with her children, teaching them about what it means to be the keeper of the home, applying practical lessons on how to wash dishes, cook, and do laundry, and using things like making her own super duper laundry detergent, shampoo, and bathroom cleaning solutions from scratch. Her house is immaculate. Meals are started hours early because everything is made from scratch, and it’s always divinely delicious. Her 6 year old washes, folds, and puts away his/her own laundry, and the garden out back is where they get all of their fruits and veggies.

Then there’s Bible Teaching Brenda… Every morning, she arises an hour before anyone else to do her devotions and still have time to get breakfast on the table before the kids awake… They begin their day in prayer, and have Bible lessons, devotions, Praise & Worship time all before lunch. Her kids have memorized more scripture than the Pope and know where to find it and what it means as well. All of their studies, in every subject, are centered somehow around scripture and Biblical truth is the heart of every lesson taught.

Then we have Wonder Mom Wanda. She does it all and she does it well. She manages the house, eight kids, keeps her hubby happy, clips coupons so she can get 27 pounds of ground turkey for $1.25 total. She’s taught each of her kids to play musical instruments and how to speak in 3 different languages by age 5. She coaches the little league team, volunteers in the community, and has a home cooked meal on the table every night by 6:00. There’s no stopping this mamma!

The list goes on and on. Each family had their own way of making it work, and there were/are wonderful things about each family's ways of doing things. I’ve recently figured out that my big problem was that rather than figuring out what worked best for OUR family, I had been spending all my time trying to mimic these other families. Of course, in trying to run around pretending to be all of these things, trying to do all of these things, trying to make my family work, ideally, like so-and-so’s family, I wound up wearing myself out and only bringing stress and frustration to both myself and my family when we fell short of my unrealistic expectations.

You see, I am NOT a morning person by any means, so getting up at the crack of dawn to start my day when, really, I could spend an hour or two more sleeping peacefully in the wonderful comfort of my bed, is just not a practical or beneficial thing for me. I know because I’ve tried it. By 3 p.m. I am exhausted and in dire need of a nap, and I am CRANKY. I am a total grouch when I get up early, so not only do I feel exhausted (YES, this even happens when I go to bed early), so I don’t have as much energy to play with/school my kids during the day, I am also grouchy to boot, so it’s a double negative.

In addition to that, while teaching my kids scripture and doing Bible lessons with them is extremely important to me, at this point, I am just not quite knowledgeable enough to turn every single thing in our every day life into a Bible lesson. Maybe one day, I will be able to figure out how to use “Don’t pick your nose” and “That’s why we don’t put matchbox cars down the garbage disposal” into life altering lessons of hope and faith and back them up with scripture references, but right now, I’m just getting through the day, trying to remind myself that “I can do ALL things [even homeschooling] through Christ who strengthens me.”

And as for staying crazy busy with activities, I just don’t WANT to do that! I can’t imagine constantly being on the go, driving from one thing to another. I love the idea of my kids being involved with other kids/people, engaged in sports, music, dance, art, etc… but for us, sticking with one thing at a time is much more feasible, not to mention manageable…

In regards to that whole keeper of the home thing… Well… I’ll just be honest and tell you now that personally, I stink at it. In fact, I’m still just trying to figure out how to get a load of laundry or dishes done without any disasters happening elsewhere in the house LoL I am slowly learning to let my kids help me in ways that they are able, like putting close in the washer or dryer; or putting away the silverware once it’s been through the dishwasher. The OCD Control Freak in me has to work really hard to let go and realize that it’s not the end of the world of every spoon in the drawer does not face the same direction, but the Mamma in me knows that they will never learn to do it correctly, if I allow my controlling nature to take over and just constantly do it myself in order for it to be done “right”…

My point is this: There is no picture perfect home school or family. While one thing might work for one family, it might be total disaster for another ~ even though both families have similar goals, beliefs, principles, desires, etc… It is so easy to get caught up in holding yourself to a standard that is not yours – and often, not your child’s (or spouse’s) - to meet, trying to fill a mold in which you simply do not fit. And, I speak from experience when I say that when you try so hard at trying to pull off that which just might not be your “thing”, you can be left feeling like such a failure or wondering what you’ve done wrong, or what is wrong with you… or why your kids can’t/don’t do this or that… I don’t know if there is much else that is more discouraging than the overwhelming sense of failure…

But it doesn’t have to end there. You don’t have to go down that road.

Yes, ask, discuss, observe those families around you who seem to have found a way to make it work – for them. If something sounds good and it’s a REASONABLE FIT FOR YOUR FAMILY, give it a try. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, try something else. Don’t try to force it just because so-and-so’s family does it this way or that way and it works for them so it should work for you. No. STOP COMPARING YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY TO THOSE AROUND YOU. Homeschooling is not a cookie-cutter thing. Nothing in life is. In fact, if you are looking for a cookie cutter education for your children, maybe you should send them to school ~ because then they can be taught the exact same thing in the exact same way as hundreds of other kids (nothing against traditional schooling either; I am not criticizing the school system – there are some very good schools and some absolutely excellent teachers out there who are doing a wonderful job… I’m just making a general statement based on my very personal and limited experience with the school system on average today). Find what works for YOU. Don’t try to emulate someone else’s life or experience, because it’s just impossible to do so and will only set you up for failure and disappointment. Cater to the needs and preferences of YOUR family. And do NOT feel guilty or ashamed that you are not or cannot or simply don’t want to do all of the things other families are doing. Forget fitting into the mold. Throw the mold out ~ this is about growing your own successful home school, not taking root in someone else’s.

So, how does YOUR garden grow?