I needed to remind myself today...

[PollyOR]

Phew! Some days are tough.

 

My 13yo is a bright bubbly girl. Out of all of my kids she is the most driven. When she sets a goal you know she will accomplish what she has set out to do. So, it is hard for me to watch her struggle when it comes to learning. She was 9yo before she started to show any progress in reading and math. She absolutely could not wrap her brain around grammar. We tried again and again.

 

She has come a long way in the past four years, but there are times when I lament that she is behind other kids her age. And honestly, I think the hormonal shift has made learning even more of a struggle. There are brief moments when she sails through a lesson but most of the time she gets easily frustrated and is on the verge of shut down (usually grammar or math). Today was one of those shut down days with a few tears added in.

 

I am trying to remind myself that this is one of the reasons we homeschool...so she can move forward at the pace that is best for her. She'll get there when she's ready.

[butterfly113]

You are not alone... so I am sending you a :grouphug:

[garddwr]

Here's my thought: it's better to be "behind" but learning, than behind and failing and lost--as students often end up in institutional schools. Keep up the good work!

[Capt_Uhura]

:grouphug:

[PollyOR]

Thank you! :) We are going to keep chugging along.

Edited June 6, 2011 by PollyOR

[AuntPol]

Behind but trying will often lead to better success in the long run than bright but unmotivated and underachieving.

[8filltheheart]

I am having the conversation with myself daily that they are all different, that they are who they are, and that that is a definitive good.

 

Most of my kids are advanced or gifted. My 17 yod is completely and totally avg. Ironically, she was my strongest, most advanced student at the youngest age and my very gifted ds was my weakest student that struggled to learn how to read. :confused:

 

It is hard to be a normal kid when your 2 older and 2 younger siblings shine academically (especially when her Aspie brother that behaves like a 5 yr old can make straight As w/zero effort and she works incredibly hard and ends up with low Bs.) :tongue_smilie: It is hard for her to accept that that is perfectly ok. But, at this age, it harder for me not to get sucked into her emotions and to stand back and remain detached from them. I have to keep my view as affirming her personally and help her set realistic goals that don't short-change her for who she really is.

[Hunter]

Most of us only need a solid 8th grade education to accomplish what we need to do. Most of us instead got a hodgepodge education full of gaps instead.

 

I've been going back and cleaning up my education, as well as having to fill in gaps related to traumatic memory loss. Sometimes I use k-3 materials...because...they are the best :-0 I realized some of this k-3 stuff is WAY more useful to me that the 9-12 stuff that is...well...just...stuff; lots and lots of bits of information that will make me sound smarter, but not improve the quality of my life in any way.

 

Sometimes I get really frustrated when my seizures erase some information that I worked really hard at learning. So now, I'm real choosy about what I take the time to learn, and I choose and assemble my materials in such a way as to ensure easy review.

 

I have started studying fewer things now, and am buying better materials. Quality over quantity is the theme this year.