Everyone has struggles now and again… even the best of homeschoolers. So, don’t let it get you down if your kids have a few learning gaps. I know when I find out my children have a few weak areas it really gets me down. There isn’t any one else to point your finger at and say – Why? There is only yourself and your thoughts of “What could I have done different?” I have been there many times, but I realized that it happens. The question is, now that we know there are some issues… what are we going to do about it?
Summer is the perfect time to bridge those gaps in your child’s learning. If you found that they have weak areas as a result of a standardized test, then most of your work is already done for you. You simply need to take the test and find the sub sets where your child scored low. You can focus on those particular areas during the summer to try to strengthen the areas that were troublesome.
I like to do this with my own children each summer. Yet, I personally also like to have the summer as a time for me to recoup and refresh myself. If I can’t recover and refill my mother’s heart I will be of no use. I seriously use the summer to do that. That doesn’t mean that my kids get off scott free with no schooling. Ohhh… no way! I have tried to find ways that they can still get the remedial work they need without it stressing me out or requiring much thought on my part. I love to use online summer programs that fit the areas that were troublesome especially homeschool science. I set it up on each of their computers that the favorites bar on their browser has all the link to the summer review programs that I want them to use. This allows them to individually access these websites without asking me for help. Granted, they don’t do school everyday, but they do it whenever they are bored or it is raining! I look at it as automated summer homeschooling!
What do you do to help your kiddos bridge their gaps during the summer?
Homeschooling is awesome, just sayin’ – but sometimes it isn’t easy to make sure that you are covering everything that your child needs. I have to admit that I have had a rude awakening in the last year and a half. Once my daughter hit 11th grade it was serious crunch time for college. We were just coasting along – doing a good job – but still not really thinking about details of what we would need once we hit college years. So, here we are and needless to say we are finding out alot of great information. I’d like to share some of what I’ve been learning, but I think I’ll start with English. Here is a sample of what you should be teaching your highschooler for Language Arts.
In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, social networks are lit up like pinball machines with comments, questions, and ponderings from parents about whether they should just pull their children out of school to homeschool them. While I completely understand the reaction, I want to share my thoughts on why I think choosing to homeschool should be more than a reactionary response to specific current events.
Even if one of the parents in a family is already staying at home full time, he or she would probably be quite surprised by how much their day would radically change if homeschooling became part of the equation. No matter what style of homeschooling you use, or what curriculum you follow, parents who educate a child at home are deeply involved in their learning. They need to be available all through the day for teaching, support, guidance, and direction. I might even dare to add that homeschooling parents aren’t well known for having an abundance of “me-time”. Not that this should discourage anyone who is considering homeschooling, but it’s definitely a factor to think about before making a quick decision to pull a child from their current school situation.
