During our first year of homeschooling, my daughter who was in the 2nd grade at the time finished her entire curriculum by Christmas. By spring, she was half way through her 3rd grade curriculum. I could not have been more pleased.
This was the child that several teachers in a row insisted that she needed Ritalin. This was the same child that was incapable of sitting in a chair and did her work bouncing from foot to foot or with her butt in the air and her knew in the chair. This was the same child who was convinced she was stupid. That first year of homeschooling did a lot for her self-esteem and my confidence in homeschooling. Then a strange thing happened.
After taking a break for summer where I mostly had the children read books and do some occasional writing, it took forever for her to get back into the curriculum that she had already begun the previous year with no problem. She finally did get back to work, but progress was slow and steady. By the end of that second year, she was completely on track with grade level. After completing a year and a half curriculum in her first year, it took a full year to complete the remaining half years work. I was puzzled to say the least.
Since then she has pretty much stayed on track in most areas, though testing shows advancement. Thinking back over our years of homeschooling, I have come to the realization that my child had what was akin to a mental growth spurt that first year. You may have noticed that your children do not grow at a slow steady space. If they did, dressing them would be much easier. Instead, they stay the same size for a long time, they suddenly sprout up, and then growth slows again.
Since that first major growth spurt, I have noticed several others in my child’s academic development. I have seen her go from being a very slow reader to reading a full 200-page book a day in a very short time. I have seen a proverbial light bulb come one and then math suddenly became instinctive. I have seen writing improve overnight after years of struggle.
I am writing this to say, become too alarmed when a child’s progress suddenly slows as their brain may be taking a rest for the next jump. At the same time, do not get too excited if they are moving at break-neck speed either. My best advice for parents when dealing with these the wild roller coaster of a child’s learning speed is to hold on and enjoy the ride.
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.
* Have you seen the homeschooling curriculum glossary?