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Strengths, Weaknesses, and Homeschooling
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Is it normal for your homeschooler to have strengths and weaknesses in certain subjects? How much should you worry about keeping your child at grade level? Is there a way to know what your child “should” be learning?
This week, the homeschool sisters dive into these questions and offer up some thoughts about the “standards,” plus how to keep from worrying all the time.
They chat about kid quirks, dealing with state requirements, grandma doubts and dad concerns. And mostly, they remind you that all kids naturally develop on their own timelines, so don’t fret- you’ve got this!
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST:
Click on the above image to listen to the episode!
LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
- BBC video (it’s hilarious!!)
- Brain Quest workbooks
- Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That’s Transforming Education by Ken Robinson
- eeBoo Time Telling Game
- Finland Will Become the First Country in the World to Get Rid of All School Subjects
- HSLDA.org
- Khan Academy
- Kids Don’t Fail, Schools Fail Kids: Sir Ken Robinson on the ‘Learning Revolution’
- Marie’s Words: SAT Flash Cards
- My Kicks: A Sneaker Story by Susan Verde
- Pin It Maps!, LLC
- Poolside Professional Development | Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley, My Little Poppies
- Smithsonian “Everything You Need to Know” trivia decks
- Tana French series
- Thank You, Sarah by
- The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined by Salman Khan
- The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
- What Every _____- Grader Should Know (series) by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.
- When a Love of Reading Unfolds Slowly | Kara S. Anderson, The Homeschool Sisters Podcast
BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE HOMESCHOOL SISTERS
You can hang out with Cait and Kara on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Tell us: how do you navigate homeschool strengths and weaknesses? Share here!
Cait– How are your young kids doing with the PAC program? I noticed on the website it’s aimed for 7th graders. I’m looking for a spine for a state unit for my 7 year old but worried it’s going to be too advanced.
Hi, Josephine!
This is a great question. We are going through alphabetically and we are only on Arizona, but there have been a couple times I’ve needed to skip over content (substance abuse and sexual assault related to substance abuse). It’s easy enough to skip because I am reading aloud, but there is definitely content that you’d want to pre-screen for younger kids. That said, it’s been a perfect fit for our state unit and I could see us revisiting it again a few years down the road.
Hi, Josephine.
I’m reporting back that I’ve stopped using this program after Alaska due to really biased political content. I’m taking it out of the show notes because I cannot endorse it. Wanted to follow up with you!
I HEART <3 <3 <3 your podcast!!!! Thank you so much!! 🙂 Keep it up! 🙂
Also, I'm glad to know I am not the only one worried about my kids ending up on a beanbag in my basement… o_O hahaha
Funny enough, I wondered about [that] when my daughter said to me, "Why would me move out if you and dad already went through all the trouble of buying a house?! Can't we just live with you??" Hahaha, I MUST be doing something wrong! ;D Mind you they do chores and have responsibilities… 😉
Also, your Eiffel tower reference was on point with my 6 y/o's confusion on Countries/States/Cities, etc. He wondered what other countries were in Texas aside from San Antonio, (where we live now)…. So we addressed it and now he "kinda" gets it! ;D
I <3 Homeschooling so much, not only the flexibility that it gives us, but also because I've learned so much along with my children.
Valerie
Cait, you mentioned Alaska and studying the states. Sparkle Stories has a FIFTY series about the states you might be interested in. Each week, a new state audio story and activities on their blog. https://www.sparklestories.com/blog/post/fifty-study-page-alaska-a-mountain-to-conquer
Hi Nicola! We are doing this too! Love Sparkle Stories!