You’ll never have all the answers in your homeschool

This post is for you. 🙂

Because I have something to admit …

Right now one of my kids is really struggling with math.

And despite everything I’ve done, I can’t seem to find something that will work for this kid.

So I thought I’d make a short video to explain what I’m going to do. Hopefully, it will help.

Transcript

Hello, my name’s ToriAnn Perkey and from my homeschool to your homeschool, can I just be vulnerable for a minute and tell you something we're kind of struggling with in my homeschool right now?

You know I like to make these videos, and I talk about all the cool stuff we do and all the cool things we use and like to give you guys lots of resources and tips, but want you to know it is not all peaches and cream over here on my side of the fence. There are some times when we really, really struggle.

And right now we are really, really struggling with one of my kids and math. And this is not for lack of effort on this kid's part. This is not for lack of effort on my part. I have researched. I have looked for different options. We have tried different curriculum. We have tried playing games. We have tried, and this kid has reached a point in math where it's just getting hard.

It's way past abstract. it's way past just memorizing or doing the facts. Qnd it's really become abstract. And their brain is just not clicking with the abstract. And there are tears, and it's frustrating -- for me and for them. And you know, part of me just keeps saying, Hey, keep trying. We'll explain it another way.

But it's really affecting our homeschool because this kid is so frustrated and they want to give up and they wanted ...they're just done with math. And they're so, so frustrated. And I thought a lot about ... I've been thinking about it. I was like, Okay, well it's not okay to give up. Right?

So we've got to keep working. We've got to keep trying. But right now I'm trying to make the decision of whether or not we pull back and just pause and do other things, or whether I go searching for yet another solution for this kid who just does not seem to grasp these abstract mathematical concepts. Or do I hire a tutor or do I try to find a class that they can take?

I'm wrestling with all these questions. And the reason I wanted to make this video is I wanted to tell you guys that this is part of the process. It's not like you find,...I mean sometimes you find the perfect curriculum and you're off to the races and you're done.

But there's a lot of times where you don't always find the perfect thing. Or your kids -- you start out and it's working and then your kids change. They get older, you know, or you add a baby, or life just gets different. And when that happens or ... the material gets harder, right? Like it just gets harder. And suddenly what was fun isn't fun anymore. And I think that it can be really easy to get discouraged and think that you're doing something wrong when in fact you are living a homeschool life.

And homeschooling means that you are constantly in observation and problem-solving mode. And I'm always watching -- Is this working?

And if it's not working, what do I need to do? Do I need to just push? Do they need to work a little bit harder? Do I need to find a different resource? Do I need to approach it differently? Do I need to look at myself? Am I causing a problem? Like I'm looking at everything when I'm doing this.

And when I'm willing to take the time. And it doesn't always like solve all at once, right? Sometimes we don't get the answer right away. I don't get the answer right away. And for me it also includes prayer and it includes, you know, thinking and meditation and pondering and journaling sometimes. And I'm just, What is ... what's the next step?

And when you embrace that, that's part of the homeschooled journey. When you embrace that, you shift to a different mindset about homeschooling. It's no longer about are we doing it right, but are we doing it so that it works right now?

So I wanted to tell you guys that. I wanted to tell you guys that even though there's this situation with this kid and in the moment we're frustrated and it's hard, I'm not giving up. I'm not going to let them give up. We might take a break, but we're going to figure it out. We are going to figure it out because I've seen that happen over and over again.

If we figure ... if we take our time, if we're thoughtful, if I look -- answers show up. The right people show up. The right resources show up. Things happen and line up and I'm open to all the possibilities. I don't shut anything down because I want to make sure that I'm finding the one that's going to be the right one.

And I'm not talking about like I'm spending hours and hours and hours researching curriculum every night. I mean I am doing some research because I'm looking for something new, and I'm asking people questions and all of that. I'm just talking about taking the time to let the idea percolate and work in my brain and to pause to hear answers.

And so yeah guys, it's not all a walk in the park and sometimes things are kind of rough. And I'm not giving up and I don't want you to give up because I promise you're going to find an answer. You will find an answer that works for you and your kid if you stay in problem-solving, answer-finding mode. Because that's what this is all about.

Save for later by pinning to your favorite Pinterest board!