struggling learners Archives - Page 3 of 6

Oct 14 2013

Biggest homeschool blunders (“Why the heck did I do that?”)

Every homeschool mom or dad has the occasional bad day. I have them, too. I like to think these are normal, since they give us the opportunity to reflect on what works and what doesn’t, and to remember we’re only human (not “Super-Human”).

Today, I’m talking about MAJOR homeschooling boo-boos. These are more than just a bad day. They’re huge, embarrassing moments. Silly mistakes that somehow went unnoticed, then snowballed into really big problems. Those dumb, stupid, foolish decisions people make out of ignorance or from plain old laziness in doing things correctly. You know, those blunders that leave you blushing, your children speechless, and the whole family avoiding all other homeschoolers for the rest of ~~your lives~~ the year.

Did you know that lots of homeschoolers commit enormous crimes upon homeschooling? Homeschool blunders are actually a lot more normal than you think. I challenge you to find one family that doesn’t have a funny, scary or a pathetic tale to tell!

I once met a parent who told me a science experiment nearly burned down the house! Though the kitchen was lost (as was her self-confidence for years to come), thankfully, she and her children were unharmed, and the rest of the home was spared.

Another parent described what her neighbors were calling, “naked playtime” — which was exactly what her children had been doing in the yard as she rested (thinking the children were reading quietly in their rooms)!

A third family told of homeschooling at the family office building because they didn’t want to be perceived as families who never left the house.

As silly as these stories may seem, they’re true. Like other parents, we homeschool moms and dads can do some pretty crazy things, too.

Why?

Because we want to be good at homeschooling (whatever that is).

We want to be great parents to our kids.

Because we try so darned hard.

Like the bad days, these events can be looked at the same way — an opportunity to reflect on our approach to homeschooling and our lives. Lessons can be learned from blunders (sometimes the hard way) and we can make changes afterward, too.

I am collecting these kinds of stories today. Are you willing to share a story to encourage others? Leave a COMMENT!

Other posts like this:

What if I stink at homeschooling?

Time Off, Prioritize, Change Thinking

Poor choices don’t have to linger

Does homeschool always have to be fun?

Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau is a college professor who traded in her tenure to become a homeschool mom 20+ years ago. The founder of many homeschool groups and organizations, she works to advance home education, and is an outspoken supporter of education reform coast to coast. Her book, Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in Two Weeks, is industry-acclaimed as it illustrates how homeschooling can rescue children and families from the system, and how anyone can begin homeschooling within a limited time-frame, or with no educational background whatsoever. A liaison for regional school-to-home organizations and a homeschool leader in Florida, Marie-Claire also mentors homeschool families nationwide. A conference speaker, she has appeared at FPEA, H.E.R.I., HECOA, FLHES, and other events. She currently writes for audiences at Quick Start Homeschool, and as a guest on other sites as often as she can. Her articles have appeared in CONNECT, on Homefires, at Circle of Moms and she has contributed to hundreds of other blogs nationwide. Dr. Moreau can be reached atcontactmarieclaire@gmail.com.

Jan 05 2013

Grading student papers– PROs and CONs

Many homeschool parents grade student work. But you may be surprised to know that some homeschoolers do not grade papers at all.

Why do some families find it important to grade papers when others find it a waste of time — even detrimental to student success? Turns out, grading is a matter of perspective that aligns with the homeschooling approach and philosophy of learning.

Check this list of pros and cons to decide how you feel about the grading debate:

Why award grades (PROs)?

Students get a sense for how they’re doing. Older and mature students are able to utilize this information in different ways to change study habits or maximize performance differently.
Many children like receiving grades on papers, particularly those withdrawn from school who are used to getting grades for work completed. Some kids prefer numbers, others like letter grades. Some enjoy receiving stickers and encouraging comments, too.
“Good” grades — for some – are like rewards. Some children need and/or enjoy the sense of satisfaction that good grades bring.
“Bad” grades may work as incentives for some students. They may stimulate increased work, leading to better performance the next time.
Other children receive grades in school, why not homeschoolers? Homeschooled kids needing a feeling of “sameness” can feel just like everyone else. They are never left out of the conversation when their friends discuss grades in school.
Parents may feel the urge to make comparisons with siblings, other children, or children in school settings. Grades provide a means of measurement and comparison with children in the same age category in the same subject areas.
Assuming grading methods are standardized and used consistently, they provide a measure of progress (up or down) as grades fluctuate throughout the semester or entire school year. They may show patterns or provide clues helpful to making changes throughout the school year.
In many states, grades are required, or they may be used as a form of student evaluation to satisfy state homeschool requirements.

Why NOT award grades (CONs)?

In reality, grades are never really accurate, as they tend to reflect other factors having nothing to do with course performance (mood, illness, time of day, course material, methods or products used, etc.). Why bother measuring something if the results aren’t truly useful?
Low grades can upset and severely disappoint, causing feelings of failure or of being less-than what was expected. Feelings like these are experienced by students, and also by their parents.
Higher grades may cause undue pressure as students seek to live up to these same levels for the remainer of the course, the year, or even their whole lives.
Long-term effects of grades include a false impression that students are “good at” or “bad at” concepts and skills which in fact may not be true. Labeling students early on has lasting effects on self-image and worth, in some cases lasting a lifetime.
Some parents do not use grades correctly or consistently. Without strict controls, grades cannot possibly yield accurate results.
Measurement and classification using grades is not the only way to observe learning. Support, encouragement and nurturing a love of learning can be achieved in many other ways.

One child. Different grade-levels in different subjects.

Based on his age, your child would be in 4th grade at the local school. At home, however, using just 4th grade materials wouldn’t be the right fit.

You have seen him reading WAY above 4th grade level. And though you never had him tested, you suspect he could easily read and understand the poetry, novels and plays usually assigned in high school.

On the other hand, based on the placement tests he has taken, your son’s math skills put him around 3rd grade. Sometimes even a little lower, depending on his mood, the curriculum tried, and other factors you still haven’t figured out yet.

Your son’s spelling and vocabulary fall right in line with his reading level — higher than most his age. But give this child a pencil, and he can hardly draw a straight line. And his handwriting is hardly legible to anyone but you.

Sound familiar? Do you have a child with an interest or aptitude in one area who is “behind” in another?

Perhaps you have wondered if it is alright for one student to use materials for several different grades? You may worry about the risks of allowing children to progress at different rates in different subjects.

Let’s begin with some analogies. Remember the time you bought a new video recorder and tried to use it? Remember when you first started a blog? Or learned to program the recorder on your satellite television?

How about the first time you made lasagna? Fixed a leaky faucet? Changed the oil in your car?

Do you even recall how long it took to sew a ruffled skirt? Figured out the new diet or exercise routine? Learned to crochet? Studied the Periodic Table?

How long did it take for YOU to learn something new? Minutes? Days or weeks? Even longer? If you’re handy and you like that sort of thing, you learned it quickly, right? But some things took quite a bit longer — correct?

Now, imagine somebody told you that you’d need to learn each of those separate skills, each with different tools and different ideas, each in exact same amount of time. No way, right? Ah ha! You get it.

This is what traditional education does to our children. Without thinking, we parents are often guilty of it, too.

Homeschooling is the solution to requiring students to learn different things in the exact same time frame. Looking at learning in this way, one can easily see that children will learn some things more quickly than others. It’s normal. Through homeschooling, students may move “ahead” when they are ready. Nobody else can decide how long it takes. Only them. Or YOU by watching them.

Like programming the TV recorder, learning may come easy. Or it may never really take hold. Like baking lasagna, it may come out perfectly the first time, or may take many tries before getting it right. And crochet? Well, this may never be a skill you can master — ever. Or maybe you can — but never perfectly. Perhaps you’ll decide crochet just isn’t “your thing” and knowing how to do it doesn’t matter much anyway. Or crochet might become something you dabble with the rest of your life just for fun, but never anything worth spending too much time on.

Getting back to schooling, it is important to understand that grade-level learning materials are labeled this way to help those who must classify large numbers of students into groups. Classrooms full of same-age students must be held to the same standards, lest some could be short-changed by not receiving the same instruction, and left behind the rest of the pack.

Homeschoolers are not required to learn with the same-age pack. Homeschooled students may learn what their same-age peers are learning, or spend time on what their peers did last year, or skip ahead to what their peers might be learning several years from now. Learning has no limits, and may happen whenever the learner is interested and ready.

No parent would ever criticize a child for reading a book at bedtime. Why, then, would a parent limit a child from reading any book he chooses during the school day?

The are no risks — only benefits – to allowing students this freedom to learn. When compared to other children the same age, obviously children taught this way may appear “ahead” in some areas and “behind” in others. But when viewed as a natural, desirable thing, this isn’t really a problem, now is it?

Perhaps the only difficulty in allowing children to progress at their own pace is when anticipating the end results. Naturally, parents of homeschoolers may worry if their children have learned “enough” or have the skills and grades to enter college or a career. But so long as the cumulative experience adds up in 12+ years, which skill was acquired during which grade does not matter. Gathering up all of the learning at the end is what parents must focus on by the end — not which subject was taught each and every year.

You are invited to COMMENT with your thoughts on learning this way. SHARE your fears or concerns about not sticking to grade-level materials during homeschool, on using a variety of grade-level materials with the same child, and about changing materials when children are ready to move on.

Readers love to hear what you have to say!

Nov 23 2012

Writing instruction

Parents ask how to get kids to write. Across the board, this seems to be a common struggle among students — homeschooled and non.

In my classes, I am frequently met by students afraid to put pen to paper. Some have never written a good sentence or paragraph all their lives. Many lament having nothing to write about. Even more have no idea where or how to begin. I spend weeks undoing the lies they have told themselves about writing. After several months, they leave with a folder of completed writings and the confidence to try it again on their own. Many say writing has become their favorite subject.

Unless parents take a keen interest in writing or are decent writers themselves (or even if they are), they may not know how to encourage and develop writing in children. Writing instruction isn’t always included in language arts programs designed to help homeschool parents teach. Plus, even with the right tools, ordinary people are untrained in what to look for, and how best to call students out if writing isn’t up to par.

You’ll find comprehensive writing systems on the market. These include:

Writing With Ease

Excellence in Writing

Writing Strands

Time4Writing

and others.

These can be a great addition to the homeschool curriclum. BUT — just like with other products, many students enjoy them and many do not. Using a writing system can be expensive, and switching products mid-year confusing, too. These are a serious investments, both in terms of finances and — more importantly – in how a child views writing from that point forward.

I rarely suggest buying a comprehensive writing system at the very beginning of homeschooling. My experience has shown there is much work that can be done at home — without ever spending a dime – before the need for a comprehensive writing system ever arises. Developing projects at home goes a long way toward getting to know a student and helping develop attitudes about writing for the long-term, too. This may be time-consuming and require more effort than some parents are willing (or have time) to put in, but worth it.

The key to success in writing — I believe – is starting out by finding out what students enjoy. Interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes, PLUS how and where they like to write best are just a couple of factors. Knowing what students like to write with (pen, pencil, markers, even chalk) and on (ruled paper, plain paper, in a journal) are just as important. Factors in the environment affect writing, too. Even paying attention to what students were doing prior to writing can play a part.

In my home, I never used comprehensive writing systems. I observed each of my children to get a feel for their capabilities and preferences, and then assigned writing projects as we moved along. I taught grammar separately, encouraged reading, and provided great writing samples everywhere I could. This method allowed me to tailor the work to every child, encourage good writing habits when I saw them, and teach whatever was missing. I changed circumstances when things weren’t working, and constantly monitored writing in all subject areas. It wasn’t always easy! But, my children have all developed into writers, each blossoming on his own perfect time frame, and several (so far) receiving praise for writing skills in online courses and on college campuses. Best of all, ALL of my kids enjoy writing.

Because writing can be a delicate area, I always advise research and caution before selecting anything for homeschool use. If the system you acquire appears to be a good fit for the child, by all means, use it right away and continue forever. If it isn’t, however, first consider developing an informal system of writing on your own. Have students write short stories, keep a journal, jot notes about what they do during travels, write jokes, translate comics into stories, or even write clues for crossword puzzles — whatever works for them. Introduce a positive feeling about writing and observe how they work — for a long time. THEN make future decisions about how writing will be taught from that point on.

Are your students writers? Why or why not? I’ll continue posting about writing instruction at home. In the meanwhile, why not take a look at how writing is taught (or not) in your home?

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Nov 02 2012

Uncovering hidden clues in what children say

Homeschooled kids can have a lot to say! I notice this among homeschooled students all the time — do you? I also hear from professionals in different communities how inquisitive and conversational homeschoolers can be. (Has your pediatrician/veterinarian/dentist/hair stylist/others ever commented about the number of questions your children ask?)

We all know timid students, too. Though it would appear that some of the most conversational children seem to come from homeschool households!

WHY is this so? I’ll leave that up to you for now. But WHAT do these children have to tell us?

As homeschool parents, we learn so much from what our children say.

Listen carefully, and we may discover:

the things our children are most interested in thinking and talking about
the things our children still wonder about
the things which perplex, frustrate or challenge them
the things our children really, really love
the things they like to share, plus the things they prefer not to discuss
the things our children have already learned, and perhaps some of the things they appear to have completely mastered

How is this helpful to homeschool parents?

By listening to what our children say, we can learn things like:

what topics they truly enjoy studying
what subjects and ideas they simply do not like at all
what courses/books/materials may be too easy or much too challenging
some of the the different ways they would like to study and learn
places they really enjoyed and would like to go again vs. which experiences were a waste of time and money
the concepts they found particularly fascinating, which could turn into long-term projects or further studies
what they have already learned, and perhaps do not need to review over and over again
what they do not yet completely understand, and would benefit by reviewing some more

Listening to children offers parents valuable clues about non-academic things, too. While these are important by themselves, they may also affect homeschool efforts. This phenomenon may require clever deduction or “reading between the lines”. But by doing so, parents may discover things like:

uncomfortable study spaces
schedules that may be too rigid
not having enough time to complete projects
feelings of boredom or of chaos
rooms that are too hot or cold
bedtimes that may or may not be working
exercise patterns which interfere with other activities

and so on.

Listening to what children say is more important than simply interacting and sharing time together. Parents gain much important information from these conversations, too.