July 1st, 2010 | Renae
The Importance of Short Lessons
We got so much school done when my son was in kindergarten. He was an only child. We worked on school for hours a day. Learning phonograms, writing numbers, and reading lots of books. Yes, I was such a good teacher then.
Until I really think about it…
My son cried writing his letters. Math confused and both of us were frustrated. Learning was so painful. I pushed the tears right out.
Sometimes the frustration reappears, but I learned something from that early struggle.
I stop teaching while my little girls are still interested.
12 Comments
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Thank you for visiting my record of reflections about biblical principles, family life, and home education.
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~Renae Deckard
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You cannot force a child to learn anything. You can only force him to do the assignments. Do want our children to grow up knowing how to do assignments? Or, do we want our children to grow up learning? If a child balks at his lessons, slow down…come from a different angle…try a different technique. Hide the medicine in the applesauce. The child will remember the treat of the applesauce and never know the medicine got inside.
.-= Carol J. Alexander´s last blog ..Picking Wineberries =-.
Carol,
I tend to agree with you, but I have one child who I sort of trained to balk at lessons. :( Once we get going, he does a great job and enjoys learning. It’s just the getting going part that can be frustrating.
I also think that, especially as children get older, they do need to know how to do assignments. It takes character to do the work of learning. Without some effort there is no reward.
As you can tell, I’m still trying to find the balance. The post Biblical Education is Easy addresses the issue of over teaching and I need to revisit it often.
.-= Renae´s last blog ..One Income in a Two Income World =-.
I love this! It is so true. We do a little bit and they are excited to be learning something and when they want to do more or I can see the frustration levels starting to get high. Then I say okay let’s go play. What since does it make to make everyone upset and get nothing out of what they are learning.
.-= Rana´s last blog ..Knowing Your Inner You =-.
Rana,
It takes a good measure of creativity to be a homeschool mama, doesn’t it?
Sounds kind of like my oldest. I was so gung-ho to get started homeschooling that I started too early and then we hit a wall around 2nd grade. Thankfully, I learned the lesson of not pushing so hard. He is now an eager learner at age 12. My other two have reaped the benefit of my mistakes, thankfully!
Jenn
[...] can embrace the beauty of short lessons like Life Nurturing [...]
[...] can embrace the beauty of short lessons like Life Nurturing [...]
I recognize myself in your ironic “I used to be a good teacher” comment. It took me awhile to really grasp that my children were demonstrating how they learned best. Sometimes they showed me through their eagerness, sometimes through obstinancy. I had to get past my own perceptions about what it meant to learn before it really flourished in my home.
.-= Laura Grace Weldon´s last blog ..Hay Now =-.
Great last thought – “stop teaching while they are still interested.” Love that.
.-= Jennifer in OR´s last blog ..When your daughter finds a baby jackrabbit =-.
I love that last thought, too.
I set up stations for my younger kids, and always make sure to move them to the next one BEFORE they show signs of frustration with it. Don’t ask why I rarely apply this to our actual school day.
Yes, some things just need to be done, and dragging their feet will make lessons longer. However, most things can be interesting, if approached the right way. And if Mama is enthusiastic about it. Then lesssons don’t need to be long to be effective.
Well said, girl!
.-= Wendy @ Living Creatively´s last blog ..On Divorce of a Christian =-.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy your iced mocha!
.-= Sandpiper´s last blog ..Treasures of the Snow =-.
I sometimes do a quick, “put your pencils down” and then some fun stretch exercises to break things up a bit. It seems to work well for my grandkids.