Madness/Sadness
Homeschool rocks my socks! 
And, it makes me sad and MmAaDd!!
We are progressing well. The child has completed about a third of one year. We are into the section in PreAlgebra now where he is reviewing adding and subtracting fractions mith mixed denominators. He can do lowest common multiples mentally. He looks at the numbers and just calls out the LCM within seconds. I am so amazed by how his brain works and how well he picks up things. The thing is, he could not add and subtract the unlike denominator fractions. He asked if we could slow down in math about a week ago and spend some more time on these sections.
Of course, we can!! He was concerned that we would have to keep moving forward. He discussed how in school it did not matter before if he had understood or not, because they always just kept moving forward. He thought I would keep pushing him along. He asked me twice to slow down and spend more time on the fractions section. I answered him in the positive twice. I asked why he had to ask me again, after I had already agreed. He said he thought I just might be saying so, and not really do it. He thought he would have to push onward and move ahead never really grasping that fraction section...because, this is what he said he had to do in school before. This makes me sad. This makes me mad.
My own son thinks I would leave him behind instructionally, because it was done before. My own child is afraid I will leave him behind instructionally, so that he feels he has to ask me twice...even when I heard him and agreed to meet his needs the first time he asked. I am mad that I did not see this before. Why had I not noticed in the past that he did not have this skill? He was supposed to be in PreAlgebra Honors this year in the public sector. I wonder if we had stayed the public school course with him, would he have been passed by in other ways. Why did I not catch this when we did homework with him daily for like 4 and 5 hours a night? Why did no one notice when he was in previous grades? Why did the teacher never catch it?
I know the resource teacher last year would have stopped if she had known. She was on top of things...so, where did I lose this skill in my child's life? I feel like a part of me failed him.
So, last night we sat together and he learned how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. And tonight, while we were riding in the truck, he told me I was the only one to ever sit down with him 1:1 and teach him this skill. I mentioned we did not have to move forward, we could stay here on this math section for as long as he needed. He said it was not necessary...he said he understood it now...he said all he ever needed was someone to take time to show him how. I came in and checked his math tonight and they were all correct.
Now, I will state, he went around his elbow to get from his little finger to his thumb on some of the problems he did today in the section, but he did them correctly. I do recognize his brain does not work quite like mine and it is interesting to note how he processes things now that I am sitting with him 1:1. And all this is fine, as long as knows the concepts and understands the methodology behind them.
Still, upon reflection and discussion with my husband, we are both at a point where we continually realize where we could be as a family and where he could be if we had stayed the course and left things as they were. Thank you, Lord, for knocking as out of where we were to do what we knew needed to be done.
No one wants for my child the things I do. I know this now. I am still so saddened he never learned some of things he needed to know. I am still so mad it was never caught to be corrected in the past. But, now we know. Now, I can help him. Now, he will know. Now, he can learn.
And, it makes me sad and MmAaDd!!
We are progressing well. The child has completed about a third of one year. We are into the section in PreAlgebra now where he is reviewing adding and subtracting fractions mith mixed denominators. He can do lowest common multiples mentally. He looks at the numbers and just calls out the LCM within seconds. I am so amazed by how his brain works and how well he picks up things. The thing is, he could not add and subtract the unlike denominator fractions. He asked if we could slow down in math about a week ago and spend some more time on these sections.
Of course, we can!! He was concerned that we would have to keep moving forward. He discussed how in school it did not matter before if he had understood or not, because they always just kept moving forward. He thought I would keep pushing him along. He asked me twice to slow down and spend more time on the fractions section. I answered him in the positive twice. I asked why he had to ask me again, after I had already agreed. He said he thought I just might be saying so, and not really do it. He thought he would have to push onward and move ahead never really grasping that fraction section...because, this is what he said he had to do in school before. This makes me sad. This makes me mad.
My own son thinks I would leave him behind instructionally, because it was done before. My own child is afraid I will leave him behind instructionally, so that he feels he has to ask me twice...even when I heard him and agreed to meet his needs the first time he asked. I am mad that I did not see this before. Why had I not noticed in the past that he did not have this skill? He was supposed to be in PreAlgebra Honors this year in the public sector. I wonder if we had stayed the public school course with him, would he have been passed by in other ways. Why did I not catch this when we did homework with him daily for like 4 and 5 hours a night? Why did no one notice when he was in previous grades? Why did the teacher never catch it?
I know the resource teacher last year would have stopped if she had known. She was on top of things...so, where did I lose this skill in my child's life? I feel like a part of me failed him.
So, last night we sat together and he learned how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. And tonight, while we were riding in the truck, he told me I was the only one to ever sit down with him 1:1 and teach him this skill. I mentioned we did not have to move forward, we could stay here on this math section for as long as he needed. He said it was not necessary...he said he understood it now...he said all he ever needed was someone to take time to show him how. I came in and checked his math tonight and they were all correct.
Now, I will state, he went around his elbow to get from his little finger to his thumb on some of the problems he did today in the section, but he did them correctly. I do recognize his brain does not work quite like mine and it is interesting to note how he processes things now that I am sitting with him 1:1. And all this is fine, as long as knows the concepts and understands the methodology behind them.
Still, upon reflection and discussion with my husband, we are both at a point where we continually realize where we could be as a family and where he could be if we had stayed the course and left things as they were. Thank you, Lord, for knocking as out of where we were to do what we knew needed to be done.
No one wants for my child the things I do. I know this now. I am still so saddened he never learned some of things he needed to know. I am still so mad it was never caught to be corrected in the past. But, now we know. Now, I can help him. Now, he will know. Now, he can learn.
WOW ~ That will make you think. We do not home-school, but we private school where the classes are cut in half and everyone is on 'somewhat' the same level. It's worth every penny to know they are not being left behind. SO happy for you guys!
ReplyDelete