Pulling at the Threads to Solve Homeschool Learning Struggles

As homeschool curriculum consultants, we sometimes feel like Curriculum Detectives. We tap into our inner Sherlock Holmes to investigate further into the crisis at hand. More often than not, when we are talking with you, we are helping you dig into the situation—for example, possibly the situation of “my child hates math.” This is the presenting issue, but we cannot stop our investigation there. This is something the Curriculum Consultant Team at Rainbow Resource Center is doing every time we work with a family. We are equipped to evaluate each interaction through the lens of our FAMILY Way, our extensive homeschool curriculum library, and the hive-mind of the team to find the deeper cause. Why does this child hate math? Math tends to provide a great example of digging deeper into the presenting problem to get to the need underneath.

Digging deeper, though, requires pulling the thread. There is a fear that once you start pulling, you may unravel all the careful planning that went into your school year.

I marvel at how fiber workers can mend and fix sweaters, scarves, tapestries, toys, and more through cleverly placed stitches and sometimes the removal of threads. Let us think about ourselves as curriculum workers, taking what we have in our hands and mending the areas that have the greatest need. Finding this area can require us to pull loose threads to see how deep the problem goes. Continuing with our math example, the presenting problem could be that your middle school student is still struggling with multiplication facts. What is multiplication but advanced addition skills with higher-level thinking? Or maybe you have a high school student who does not understand algebra. What is algebra but multi-step basic math equations and a focus on fractions? Consultant Deanne addresses math-specific crises in her Math RX Video for when you have hit the wall with a wailing child and no forward momentum is happening. The presenting problem is always obvious, but the delicate pulling of those threads reveals the deeper issue at hand.

The need is not always with math. For example, consider an upper middle school or high school student presenting the struggle to work through their history or science program independently. Further investigation reveals a fluency and comprehension struggle with grade-level materials. Lack of well-developed or exceptional vocabulary in their compositions is the presenting issue, but under the surface, is there a spelling setback? Or perhaps a student is presenting a reluctancy to read out loud (which I am sure we can all empathize with), and pulling that thread reveals phonemic awareness struggles. Now that weak areas are exposed, tender work can be applied to mend these areas and promote a whole and complete understanding.

The mending of these areas will take all different kinds of solutions and will never be implemented the same with different students at different times. You can be equipped with tools to approach each student when the time arrives, and then it becomes a matter of implementing these tools and techniques. What can the mending process look like? Maybe the presenting struggle of an independent learner is discovered to be a reading comprehension breakdown when it comes to academic texts. This discovery is made through carefully asked questions, evaluation, and observations made during school time. The goal of independent learning is still an option, but now you know that mending needs to happen to bridge the gap and help your student gain independence.

For mending reading gaps, tools like the Jane Ervin Reading Comprehension in Varied Subject Matter, Core Skills: Reading Comprehension, and 180 Days of Reading work with your student on specific areas. These provide focused work in a designated spot of learning—not just summarizing what they are reading in a favorite novel, but training their reading brain to pick up key details, to file specific information away for later retrieval, and working this muscle to read different types of texts for different purposes.

The mending process may reveal that it is not only the misunderstanding of the concept but possibly the wrong materials you are working with. The timed fact worksheets, constant flashcard use, or even handheld math devices may not be bridging the gap between knowledge and application of math concepts. This could be a learning style hiccup and something more visual, game-school, or interactive may need to be applied. For math, tools like Times Tales give numbers a character and a storyline to help students remember multiplication facts. Right Brain Multiplication Cards help create stickier surface in students’ brains by giving visual cues for number retention. Even approaching instruction in a game way, like RightStart Tutoring Kits do, can unlock deeper understanding of tough math concepts. Mending the areas where we find weakness will take time but is always worth it in the end.

The mending of these weak areas can be done with flourishes, using new, creative, and flashy methods or more subtle (with the same effectiveness) to match a child’s style. This could look like an online supplement with games, videos, and engaging practice, or something as simple as an intentional paper workbook. Knowing your students helps cater the darning to suit that child. The mending process is a fun area to be! While it might feel like you are unraveling everything that you just worked so hard to put together, you are also in this area of experimentation, intentional and personalized work with your child. This is a gift that homeschooling affords you in your day-to-day studies—the ability to personalize learning to your unique learner and walk alongside your child on this academic voyage.

You are not expected to be a professional mender at the drop of a hat, either. This is why the team of Curriculum Consultants at Rainbow Resource Center exists—to walk with you on this homeschool journey, providing guidance and empowering and equipping you to educate the hearts, minds, and lives of those children entrusted to you. No strings attached! Contact our free homeschool curriculum consultants today for personalized recommendations tailored to your family's needs.