Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Farris:
Betty, you’ve worked with struggling learners for many years. How have you seen homeschooling help these children succeed?

Betty Statnick:
Well Mike, mom can allow the child to pursue his gifts and interests to get at his needs. Let’s say the student likes to cook—wants to be a chef. But she hates math. So they toss the workbooks and go to the kitchen to bake and learn, in real life context, about equivalent fractions.

Another thing—mom can stop whatever lesson is underway to take advantage of teachable moments. Maybe the text they’re using wouldn’t cover a skill until 50 pages later, but when a question is asked, now is often the time to stop and explore that question. There’s that built in motivation.

One mom, we’ll call her Gracie, told me that when her husband was reading the information about auditory processing disorder, which their son had, the father recognized himself in those symptoms. So the father played the auditory processing card games, the board games, which they had purchased with the Special Needs Children’s Fund monies, he played them with his son. Both father and son were helped thereby, and family dynamics were greatly improved.

Mike:
Betty, these are great stories. I’m so glad you joined us this week. Your stories are just another reminder of how homeschooling can help every child learn.

I’m Mike Farris.