Are We Frustrating our Children?
by Jamie

Do you ever feel like you speak a different language than your child? Well, maybe you do! Each individual person was created to learn act and think in an individual way. Our children may function and think differently than we do, and that is just fine. It simply means they have a different learning style.
What comes natural to one person (sequential tasks and abstract thinking) may be foreign to another (random tasks and concrete thinking). These are just different learning styles at work. So often at my house, I find myself frustrated with my children when they don’t complete tasks as I’ve specified, or are approaching an assignment in a way that I did not teach them. As parents, we need to leave room in our homeschool expectations for the concrete or abstract learner as well as the sequential or random learner. There is no one “correct” way to learn, and just because it “clicked” for us with a certain method doesn’t mean it will “click” for our child.
Don’t be afraid to try different options, curriculum, or methods. A frustrated child is not reaching his potential. If your child is frustrated where he is right now, take a minute to determine what learning style he is. There are some great books out there to help you – The Way they Learn –by Cynthia Tobia is one that I use as a resource. You can even check out homeschool moms discussing the book here. Once you have determined your child’s learning style the door is open to meeting his needs in the manner that “clicks” for him. There is so much to choose from and so many great programs that meet the needs of every learning style from science games to online art programs. Don’t let him be frustrated a minute longer…