Kiddo ARE doing better this year but it seems to take a LONG time for things to sink in with them. I'm wondering if it's me and the way that I explain things or if it's just them.. Dd7 seems to absorb everything like a sponge but the other two don't. Sometimes I am embarrassed by the fact that my kids don't know certain things. And it's not because I didn't teach it to them, it's because THEY weren't interested and didn't learn it. Simple things like looking numbers up in the phone book. Ds13 can't spell worth a flip either. I don't know what to do.. Is it me? Or is this something that some kids have issues with and they have to figure out on their own as they grow up.. I don't want to have a 16 year old who can't look up phone numbers. I know I'm probably over reacting.. Just wondering if anyone else is dealing with things like this with your kids and if so what you are doing about it.. It doesn't help that I spent the day with another homeschool mom whos kids are genius kids.. I swear these kids are OFF THE CHARTS smart.. They are extremely active and have some major talents. I'm not comparing my kids. Really, I'm not. It just makes me more aware of what my kids are NOT doing. And has me wondering if I should be doing more.
sometimes, I feel that we need to step out of textbooks a little and get our kids into real life experience. for example, my girls at co-op covered rocks and minerals in science. I tried to explain it word by word as it says in the book. but my younger daughter understood it more when we found on youtube a song about the type of rocks and watching a video about mining. in history, they the subject was about Irish famine, we read the book first, but they understood it more when we read about call YOU WOULDN"T WANT TO SAIL ON AN IRISH SHIP. also, if you have an appointment or need to call the library, it might be a good idea to have the kids look up the #s and even call themselves. your kids are very smart and you doing more than enough, those are just more idea. Best of luck
My ds15 was right there where your ds13 is two years ago. I had to start making things like the dictionary and phonebook a part of our "school", meaning, if he asked for someone's number, HE looked it up. If he didn't know what a word meant, HE looked it up. And not online, either. The problem for my ds was that he had grown too lazy to pick up an alphabetized book of any kind and he hated the thought of using one. The past two years we have also been using workbooks for spelling/vocabulary that teach from Greek/Latin roots and a bit of language study mixed in. This has helped him tremendously. He now thinks about what words mean (after looking them up himself ) and can then spell them based on the root word. I have only recently become accepting of my children's different levels of ability, which can vary from subject to subject, lesson to lesson. If I know they are working on something earnestly and with a good attitude, I know they are doing what they can to learn. They are not me (nerd), nor are they their dad (not nerd ). They are unique and I have to change up our learning/teaching strategies for each new lesson and life skill that comes our way. Hope this helps.
Since Ems was in K, I have had her look up numbers in the phone book. I wanted her to be able to know how to use one because I had trouble using one all the way into my teens AND I WASN'T HOMESCHOOLED. So do not knock yourself. :angel: It isn't simply a homeschool thing. Sometimes, we get caught up in other areas and forget or do not cover certain areas enough because they are not a regular part of our daily lives. It isn't too late. Just have them start looking up a number or two a day. They will catch on soon enough. It doesn't even have to be "school". Make it part of life. If there is application they will catch on faster. Do you order pizza, call stores to see if they have supplies you need, call places to see if they are open? Have your kiddos look up the numbers and call.
Wow Hey I can relate and I think it gives me the worries that I may not be doing a ghood job untill I run across someone who has been working really hard an d my kids know something different, then I feel like okay we did good.
