Why does this little word that used to just describe my location in a line (behind 3 people), now make me almost cry?

1st - Many a child who walks, talks, reads, or writes “late” has gone on to do impressive things… Albert Einstein is just one example. LATE or BEHIND is no indication of future success. I heard one homeschool mom, former English Professor, share that one of her sons didn’t start reading until he was 12 and now is getting his Masters degree at 24. She worked hard not to panic… and let him develop in his own time and he did. She chose to remove the word BEHIND from her vocabulary and it paid off. When it finally clicked, he was excited to read versus feeling pressured and he ran with it.

2nd - Instead consider embracing the idea of READY. We can personalize learning for our children based on what they are READY for. We can meet them where they are versus where someone else’s schedule says they should be. We can study them as learners and awaken the excitement for learning by setting up learning experiences for what they are READY for.

Here’s an example from one mom I spoke to recently… 
Situation: Daughter had to “read aloud” at school (before homeschooling) for an assessment and was crushed by the pressure because she was a little BEHIND others. Now in homeschooling she has told her mom she hates reading and doesn’t want to look at books. 
Here are some ideas we came up with together.
1.Take reading, especially reading aloud, off the table. Truly let go of this (it’s just temporary).
2.Since she likes to draw, you read a book while she draws. She just listens. On occasion, be mesmerized by an illustration and only show her if she asks. 
3.Have her tell you stories about her dolls and other play things. You write the stories in a small blank book. Have her draw illustrations. And in the front write “Written and Illustrated by (her name)”
4.Find a book about a favorite topic, place to visit, or game she likes. Offer to read together “just for information.”

The love of reading will come back….naturally. You have to suspend your expectations on how long this will take.

BEHIND adds pressure and it’s hard to learn under pressure. As homeschoolers we can remove this pressure and instead AWAKEN a love for learning first!! The rest will happen.

Come join my FREE community and lets chat more about how to encourage you with this...

Jill