If you had to start homeschooling over again...

[TravelingChris]

I have a first grader I am tutoring in the public school. Boy, do I wish I could homeschool her. It breaks my heart to know that although I am helping her, the likelihood is that she won't succeed. Anyway, I would do with all subjects what I try to do with her on a small scale. I mostly am doing reading with her though I figured out she needs to memorize math facts so we will also be working on that. Like my other children, I would blend delightful learning with some rote. I amke sure that I bring good books to read to her and try to find fun books for her to read. I picked up a free book at the library yesterday- Go, Dog, Go. I rbing her fairy tales from around the world. I talk to her about the outside world that she sees so little of.

 

I am also going to start tutoring a fifth grader in math this week who is in danger of failing. That will be a big challenge- not because I don't know math but because I do. I have found that people who are good in math often have a hard time understanding the confusion of the not good in math. I hope I can do a better job of it as an almost 50 year old than I did as a 12 year old in sixth grade who was tasked with teaching decimals to a clueless girl and I just couldn't get her not understanding.

[KungFuPanda]

Now that I have a high schooler. I honestly wish I'd done less when they were little. I don't think a semi-rigorous K-2 schedule changed who my kids turned out to be as older students and people. I wish I'd have paced myself better and taken more park days and field trips instead of being so responsible.

 

Now that the kids are older and we really DO have to work and be responsible, I wished I'd have skipped some of those years of playing school and just played more instead.