by Lorinda K. F. Newton
During the summer, you researched and purchased your curriculum, prepared your lesson plans, and believed you found the right materials for your family’s learning styles. You excitedly introduce your children to their new books and other educational materials. A month into the school year, the kids begin to whine. You find they don’t understand some of your lessons. What should you do?
You have a few options: persevere through the material, modify the assignments, replace the curriculum, or even drop or postpone a course.
Work Through the Material
“I hate English spelling,” cried my middle-school daughter as she slunk down into her chair. “It doesn’t make sense that there are so many ways to spell the same sounds.”
“Yes, sometimes the spelling of English words is complicated,” I replied. “But learning spelling is worth the hard work. Sometimes you just have to push through it, okay?” Yes, I tend to overexplain things. “Sit up and let’s continue.”
Sombai responded with a humph, sat up, and we resumed our spelling dictation.
I’m a firm believer in the Spell to Write and Read (SWR)curriculum. (See last month’s review here.) I had used it for five years with her brother before our daughter joined our family. I knew it worked.
Because she didn’t speak English until she was six years old, English instruction challenged her. But I also knew SWR worked well with those learning English as well as native speakers. So, I pushed on and selected some different reinforcement assignments from those I had used with her brother. This curriculum was designed to be flexible, and I modified the lessons to fit her learning style.
Some curricula lack this flexibility. But as a creative homeschool mom, you will most likely find a way to make a particular curriculum meet your child’s needs.
Modify the Assignments
Just the other day, Sombai, now a high school sophomore, called me to her room. She was struggling with a guided-notes assignment for Physical Science, a class at Arrow Academic Center (one of the many Academy Northwest learning centers).
The worksheet contained an outline of chapter one with several blanks for her to fill in. It didn’t provide any verbatim phrases from the text except for the main headers. She couldn’t figure out what words she needed to write in the blanks. Moreover, the outline was done in a bullet format instead of in the traditional style with the numbers and letters. This format increased her confusion. It was hard to tell what headings the subpoints came under.
I explained that the guided notes were simply a learning tool. Sometimes a tool serves one person well but not another. For instance, when I place plants in my garden, I sometimes use my bulb planter and other times a trowel. They both make a hole in the soil. Different tools can be used to complete the same job.
Since the assignment’s purpose was to demonstrate her understanding of the material, I told her to outline the chapter using her own words on notebook paper. She didn’t need to use the textbook words to meet the learning objective.
When one of your children struggles with an assignment, consider his learning style. Instead of having him write the answers, could he tell them to you orally instead? My son has dysgraphia and another writing learning disability. We tried dictation software, but that didn’t work for him. To complete his English and history assignments, we often discussed the questions together, even when he was in high school.
Children who struggle with reading at their level can use audiobooks or have someone read the textbooks aloud to them. At times, video instruction can help as well.
Toss and Replace
During my daughter’s freshman year, we studied the three major ancient civilizations: Egypt, Greece, and Rome. We followed a Beautiful Feet Books literature-based guide. Although we enjoyed the books on Egypt, the text for Greece was utterly boring and difficult to follow. I had a backup text, but it followed a thematic, instead of a chronological, path.
So, I searched the library for resources and borrowed a Great Courses DVD set on ancient Greece. The professor was enjoyable to listen to, and my daughter had no problem following his 30-minute lectures. These continuing-education courses come with course notes and questions, which we discussed.
Sometimes as a homeschooler, you will need to change a piece of a curriculum as I did. Other times, you may need to replace an entire curriculum.
Consider the pros and cons of switching curriculum midstream. You can do this without much trouble at the K-8 level, however, making a change at the high school level may delay your child from earning the credits he needs. Also, avoid bouncing from one math curriculum to another as your child will probably experience learning gaps. Such learning may make high-school level math more complicated.
Dropping a Subject
Instead of using a complete curriculum package such as Alpha Omega or Bob Jones, I select my curriculum a la carte. In doing so, I often plan more than my kids could handle, and occasionally, we have had to drop a subject.
You can get away with dropping a subject in elementary school, but avoid doing this when your children grow older. They (and you) need to recognize that life is hard sometimes, and you must cover a core subject even if they don’t like it or are not good at it. In addition to meeting graduation requirements, your children gain perseverance, an essential skill that many young Americans lack.
That said, I have allowed my children to drop a high school course when we realized their course load was too heavy. I had to do this a few times for my son. Due to learning challenges, he took five years to complete 20 credits for high school graduation. He spent two years on Biology because he found the topic challenging.
My daughter attempted to learn Hindi on her own during her freshman year. But learning a foreign language as an independent study is hard to do, especially when the parent doesn’t know the language. So, we dropped the course and plan for her to take this subject in college.
Next time your kids complain about a subject, use your discernment. Most of the time, they simply don’t feel like putting in the effort that is required to learn. Keep going if that’s the case. Character development trumps comfort and ease.
But remember, if your students are honestly struggling with a course, consider your options. You can modify assignments, swap out a section, replace the curriculum, or drop the subject altogether if you can. Unlike a classroom setting, homeschooling gives you this flexibility.
Lorinda K. F. Newton began homeschooling her children in 2004, and her family joined Academy Northwest in 2014. Her family lives on beautiful Whidbey Island north of Seattle, Washington. She writes about faith, culture, and governing from a biblical worldview at Lorinda’s Ponderings and Lorinda’s Ponderings on Facebook.
