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SusanJ
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| Posted: Oct 04 2012 at 3:27pm | IP Logged
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Good afternoon Ladies,
I'm wondering if a few of you might share your experiences with your more self-motivated students who want to skip ahead.
My oldest is very bright but not a fan of school so this hasn't been a problem yet. My daughter just started first grade and she is always wanting to work ahead: more and more spelling workbook pages, more and more math. She's smart but not gifted or anything and she just loves school. And while she doesn't like to be bored she also gets discouraged when things get too hard.
My preference with school is to keep the formal stuff short and sweet and let them just play and learn as they will the rest of the day. My concern with letting her work ahead is that she will find it easy and fun for a few, or even several, months and then kind of hit a wall and be discouraged. But I know boredom can be discouraging too.
Any words of wisdom?
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Martha
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| Posted: Oct 04 2012 at 3:51pm | IP Logged
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What do you mean by "skip" ahead? There is a difference between just moving on each day at whatever faster speed they might like and skipping.
Skipping is not something I'm a fan of, but if they want to do two or three lessons instead of the 1 assigned? Sure. Whatever.
Sure eventually they will stumble or hit a wall, but that happens not matter what speed they are going. And my response to that is the same regardless of cause, we slow don't to climb the wall.
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Oct 04 2012 at 4:08pm | IP Logged
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Oh, sorry. I meant to avoid saying "skip". I just mean stuff like doing five weeks worth of spelling in one sitting.
I'm probably overly concerned as I definitely made a few mistakes with my older son in his first couple of years, pushing too hard sometimes and letting him fall way behind in the name of, I don't know, being a "relaxed" homeschooler. And now I'm still trying to sort out where he's bored and needs pushing and where he was truly pushed ahead of his ability and needs to back up.
But I suppose these are constant questions all along the journey, aren't they? Good to hear that you hit those walls no matter what speed you are going.
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Erin
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| Posted: Oct 04 2012 at 4:23pm | IP Logged
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SusanJ wrote:
| I just mean stuff like doing five weeks worth of spelling in one sitting. |
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Susan
I've been fine with this approach for years. My experience with little ones is one day they might be 'in the mood' and do pages and pages of maths, they're on a really good learning curve and then.... they might not do any maths for weeks, probably plateauing, it all balances out.
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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: Oct 06 2012 at 12:47pm | IP Logged
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I'm with Erin :)
There will be walls, but then you have the gift of TIME (because the child is "ahead") for the past learning to truly percolate within them before moving forward.
You also have a child learning something INTENSELY. Versus learning tiny bits in a variety of subjects every day, if spelling is the thing, then spelling rules are now being learned with ease. Not perfection necessarily, but ease ;) Then, when the wall is hit, you have a lot to just review and apply to regular life while the "interest" has moved on elsewhere.
For rarely in the "real world" (otherwise known as the adult work world, only a segment of reality but I digress), do we truly have the same tasks day in and day out for years on end. Yes, there are certain things that stay the same (eating, cleaning, getting along with people) and these are the things we should be doing every day since the time we are born. Otherwise, projects at work change, children grow up and have different needs, spousal relationships develop, people pass away, there is sickness, celebration, tragedy, miracles.... Life does NOT stay the same.
So it is GOOD for children to have a routine, but also learn how to NOT have a routine - so that they can take whatever life gives. A small way we can develop those skills in our children is to allow things to be broken up from time to time - delve into a couple of subjects intensely while others are just plodding along; then a few months later, to fly ahead in the previous plodders and rest with the previous flyers ;)
(can you tell this is a situation I've dealt with in some friends? sorry for the soap-box! hope it was helpful in some small way!)
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Oct 06 2012 at 1:02pm | IP Logged
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Thank you--that is encouraging. And sort of obviously true. I certainly operate that way in the things that are forced on me by my vocation (eight straight days of attic organization, anyone?) and my own interests.
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Mom to Joseph-8, Margaret-6, William-4, Gregory-2, and new little one due 11/1
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Do you let you students work ahead?
