When my youngest girl returned to homeschooling last year, we had to work on a mindset shifts about grades. Specifically, that there are no bad grades in our homeschool.
Even my son who has never attended school still stressed about bad grades. I suppose this was from hearing his sister worry about her grades, and maybe even from movies or TV shows.
They may not do well on a lesson — but in our homeschool, they’ll never fail the subject because we’ll keep working on those concepts until they understand them.
I spent months last year explaining repeatedly to my kids: if you aren’t doing well in a subject, we’ll go back to the parts where you need more practice.
No matter how awesome the teachers, it’s simply impossible in a traditional classroom to accommodate the various learning speeds of 20+ different students. Even in schools with designated classes for more advanced learners or slower learners, some students pick up on things more quickly than others.
However, in a homeschool setting, we can slow things down or repeat a concept as often as necessary. We can go at our own speed. It’s one of the things I love most about homeschooling. It doesn’t matter if we don’t finish every lesson in any given curriculum/program. This works the other way around, too: we can zip along through subjects that come easy, without repetitive work they don’t need.
Homeschooling isn’t all giggles but I’m working on reminding myself why I’m [STILL] doing it — and why I believe it’s best for my kids, for now at least, even on the hard days.
Wife, mama, homeschooler, dog-wrangler. Introvert who finds joy in good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Fitness enthusiast and strength coach. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand.
