The Challenge of Homeschooling when Learning Isn’t Easy
I started thinking about homeschooling when my son was about 3. My mommy sense was tingling and I knew that there was something going and he would need extra support. As a public school teacher turned college professor, I knew that the likelihood of the school being able to meet his needs would be low. My mommy sense was right and both of my boys have learning struggles that create extra challenges.
When I thought about homeschooling, I thought I would be able to stir the joy and enthusiasm in them and help them avoid the frustration. I was wrong. The truth is that we all like to do things that we are good at. People don’t like to do things that don’t come naturally. When academic learning isn’t one of those things, guess what you want to avoid? My vision wasn’t my reality.
Now I wish I could tell you that I got all granola and embraced student led learning and they just began to pick up books about the topics that make their hearts sing. It has opened them to worlds that a typical classroom would never allow. I wish I could tell you that.
The truth is that my kids would probably watch a screen all day if I let them. If I took screens away completely, one of my kids would stare at a wall rather than pick up a book. I can tell you that I have made adaptations and accommodations for them. Some of them have been good and some of them haven’t.
Homeschool Challenges with My Kids:
My kids have academic struggles, but they are still just kids.
- My kids love doing experiments, but not so much the actual science.
- They love listening to books on audible, but not talking about it or analyzing the texts.
- My kids love Minecraft.
- My kids do not EVER want to write a paragraph.
- One of my kids loves Legos. The other loves Pokemon. All learning cannot be centered about Legos and Pokemon.
Can you relate?
Dreams versus Realities
So we have tough days. Very tough days. They are getting further and further apart, because the best thing I have done is have consistent expectations that push them to their stretching point. When I push them, they grow. When I push myself, I grow. The key is to the stretching point and not the breaking point.
I wanted to teach because learning was easy for me. It came naturally. The gift I have gotten from my kids is the understanding that academic learning doesn’t come naturally to everyone. There are many ways to peel an apple, but if the goal is to get the apple peeled you have to figure out the one that works.
How We Focus on Overcoming Challenges
There are days that we focus on fun. There are days that we joke and laugh and giggle and are silly. If I could give one piece of advice it would be that your homeschool can look completely different than everyone else’s and that is totally ok. There is not a single approach that is the epitome of homeschooling just like there isn’t a perfect family for every kid.
We all bring differences. It is that variety that makes the possibilities endless. Homeschooling my kids hasn’t been the dream I thought it would be. In many ways, it has surpassed my hopes. Like most things that are worthwhile, it hasn’t been easy but it has been rewarding.
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