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, mom, grandma. Introvert who finds joy in good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Fitness enthusiast and personal trainer. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand.
