This picture was taken back in 2007. My oldest son was 5.5 and just starting his very first day of school – homeschool that is. My younger son was only 3 and didn’t join us for school that year. That was my first year homeschooling and it was a challenging one for me. My son didn’t learn in the typical pattern or sequence so I spent the first half of the year puzzled. I ended up unschooling for the second half of that school year.
At the end of that school year I tested my son to try and figure out what was up. That testing was valuable. Very valuable. It taught me how he learned so I was able to step away from the place of frustration to acceptance that he didn’t learn in the typical pattern. I started creating my own curricula for content subjects that were more in tune with his style of learning and pace. While my younger son has a very different personality and strengths his pattern of learning is very much like his brother’s. So when he hit Kindergarten and started doing some of the same things that frustrated me with my older son I took it in stride.
One thing I have learned is that there is no typical in homeschooling. Typical is the average of tons of kids the same age or grade. When you look at children individually you will find that they are all so different and don’t follow a set pattern. So looking into the homeschooling years ahead of us I strive to let my children’s natural style of learning lead the way. It may not by typical, but who says it has to be?
