When you see your child struggle with learning, you may not know what to do or where to go.
I remember the day I realized I needed help for one of my children. The fear of my own inadequacy flooded my mind: was it me, did I use the wrong curriculum, was I to pushy or not pushy enough? Once I began researching, I discovered there were people who could help.
One place I found is Learn To Learn in Ocoee, FL. After a visit to their center for a personal tour, I quickly knew this was a place to point parents seeking help, without going through the public school system. This company has the credentials needed to assist parents as they homeschool their children.
Learn To Learn is not a tutoring service. They are brain development experts, with a focus on “wiring up” the brain so it is ready to learn. Understanding the brain and the circuitry needed to learn, coupled with knowledge of why some children struggle with learning is what Dr. James Fadigan, founder of Learn To Learn, has spent decades researching.
The focus during your child’s teen years needs to be helping them find their strengths, gifts, and passion. Thankfully, homeschooling allows time for this. After all, real homeschooling is all about seizing the teachable moments with your child.
My daughter had a love for cooking and plate presentation. So, I had an idea during her senior year of high school. We gave a portion of the family food budget to her so she could plan a menu of her choice and prepare the meals she desired. It was never a forced requirement; I didn’t want to kill the passion she was developing.
With the litany of voices all wanting to be heard, it behooves me to ask, who do you listen to? This is worthy of consideration. The person you allow to speak into your life may have a lasting impact on how you think about or live life.
So why would this matter? Well, if you are being influenced by someone else’s calling, you run the risk of living someone else’s life and not hearing the unique plans God has for you.
This leads me to ask yet another question: who should you be getting advice from? The person who talks about doing something, a person who has once done something, or the person who has consistently done something and has a record of success. I say the later. You may still choose to spend time with those from the former categories, but those are the folks who have yet to prove if their ways will workout as planned.
During the high-school years, homeschool parents may consider Advanced Placement (AP) classes or Dual Enrollment as an option for their child. While both have the potential to earn college credit during high-school, the two vary greatly.
The Advance Placement (AP) classes are college level courses offered to high-school students on a more rigorous level. Students desiring to pursue college or a specific field of interest beyond high-school may find these classes appealing. AP classes can be taken online through FLVS or taught by parents who feel well qualified to teach such classes. FLVS is attractive to parents as there are no costs associated with taking these classes. (more…)
Oh not again! Your eyes begin to fill with tears. You want to dry them up but the emotions are just too strong this time. That look, you know the one I’m talking about, that look from your once adoring child. That teenager, who once thought you could do no wrong, now seems to only glare at you when you speak to them. You’ve stayed up late reading every blog or article you could find on being your child’s best friend. Every morning you purpose to try the new approach you learned the night before. You’re optimistic, surely this will work. However, after several attempts your frustration builds, discouragement begins and you find yourself wanting to give up.
The mental dialogue begins. I call it the blame game. If you can just identify who has the problem then you could get some emotional relief. All you want is for that sweet precious child to look and speak to you with that “I love you so much” attitude, the one you had enjoyed for so many years. You talk to your friends thinking they will have the answer, you pray and cry out to God to make it better. Nothing seems to be working. (more…)
