This homeschooling blog was recently published in The Canadian Homeschool Minute – a division of The Old School House Magazine. July 4, 2018.
The journey of homeschooling is full of twists and turns, questions and uncertainties, challenges and trials. What do you do when your child learns differently or struggles to learn the concepts that seem so easy for their siblings or their peers? All across the country homeschool moms quietly ponder these thoughts in their heart.
“Am I even a good teacher? Or am I dealing with a child who is just plain, old disobedient? This child is so witty and so brilliant when it comes to learning about the world around him. But, when I sit down with her at the dining room table with school work in hand, the tears flow, the tone of voice changes and anxiety arises in both myself and this child. And, if I even walk to the kitchen to pour my coffee, I hear the words that turns my hair on end, ‘Mom, I need you’. Why is homeschooling this child so hard?”
Why is Homeschooling So Hard?
One of the reasons many of us choose to homeschool our children is to offer them the unique experience of learning at their own pace, in their own way. But it certainly isn’t as easy to implement this philosophy when our children seem to be falling behind. We can’t help but wonder, “Why is this so hard for him? At what point will she really catch up?”
The comparison game is a risky game to play. All of our children are unique and have individual strengths and weaknesses. Let’s celebrate and recognize these attributes. But, if your child’s weaknesses are the barrier to their learning potential, it is important to address them. There seems to be an underlying theme among homeschoolers that if you wait, they’ll eventually ‘get’ it. Waiting doesn’t make the learning struggle go away.
Consider Getting Help
There definitely is a time and place for homeschool families to find outside help to work through the challenges. I have personally experienced this with my own homeschooled child as well as with the many homeschool students that we work with in our therapy centres. Finding someone to come along side you, someone to validate your concerns and someone to direct you and your child on the right path can be life-giving! You may need some new help and some new hope injected into your home school. I have seen students’ lives changed!
