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For 29 Years The Teaching Home Has Been Providing Home-School Families
Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement from a Distinctively Christian Perspective.
Co-Editors: Veteran Home-School Sisters, Sue Welch and Cindy Short
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Veterans Day
Veterans Day honors all the men and women
who have served in the United States armed
services. (Memorial Day honors members of
the American military who died in service for
their country.) November 11 is the anniversary of the
armistice that ended World War I in 1918. • The
United States changed Armistice Day to
Veterans Day. • Canada
celebrates November 11 as Remembrance Day. • The
United Kingdom celebrates November 11 as
Armistice Day.
Teaching about Veterans Day
The Department of Veterans Affairs has
made a Free Teacher Resource Guide for
Veterans Day 2009 available
online. The student resources in this 33-page
guide includes World War II history, origins
of Veterans Day, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,
America's wars, plus activities and coloring
pages for younger students. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K.
Shinseki, says in the introduction:"America has a sacred trust to care for
those who defend her. From the warriors
who stormed the beaches at Normandy on D-Day
to the brave men and women returning from
Iraq and Afghanistan – our Veterans
share a legacy of service that upholds the
values upon which our Nation was founded:
service to a cause greater than self."
Activities for Veterans Day
Besides teaching your children the history
and significance of this holiday, consider
doing one of the following activities. 1. Thank someone in
your own extended family or church who has
served (or is serving) in the military.
Send
an e-card. 2. Visit a veteran's
hospital or a veteran at a nursing home
– or invite a veteran from your church
to dinner. Listen to their story, ask
them questions, and thank them for serving. 3. "Adopt" and pray
for a veteran without a family nearby or a
young person currently serving in the armed
forces. 4. Encourage others to
pray throughout the year for our military and
those sacrificially serving. See
Veterans Day Call
to Prayer Kit.
Veterans Day Video Resources
The following resources are available from
BlueBehemoth.com,
featuring economical and trustworthy,
downloadable audio and video content for the
Christian family.
• Why
We Fight: World War II
• The
Stilwell Road
• The
League of Grateful Sons
• The
Battle of Midway
• Big
Battles of World War II
More Information & Activities
for Veterans Day
• Annie's
Veterans Day Page with links to Army,
Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard.
Includes a study of the word "honor" and the
Armor of God, plus crafts. • Annie's
Remembrance
Day Page (Canada). • Department
of Veterans Affairs Official Veterans Day
Website.
• Articles on
Ethics
and War on the Officers' Christian
Fellowship website.
Am I a Soldier
of the Cross? |
Am I a Soldier
of the Cross?
by Isaac Watts
Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His Name?
Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win
the prize,
And sailed through bloody
seas?
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord.
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.
• Free
4-page Worksheet on this hymn by Beverly
Schmitt at lovetolearnplace.com.
Includes vocabulary, word pictures, writing
mechanics, comprehension questions, Scripture
references and discussion, information about
the author/poet, history, geography, and
activities. • See
a short biography of Isaac Watts, 1674-1748,
and a list of 518 hymns he wrote on the Cyberhymnal
website.
The deadline for Jean Welles annual
contest for original worship songs is
November 15. See complete information, read "How To
Write a Worship Song," and listen to past
contest entries at worshipguitarclass.com.
Resources
for Thanksgiving |
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Back Issues
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Always-Relevant
Teaching Home Back IssuesFifty-one back issues are offered online
or by mail order. The information, inspiration, and
encouragement packed into
each back issue never goes out of date.
They
are always
relevant, applicable to your needs today. Order securely online. 
He Saw Right Through
That One
We were studying inventions and noted the
many inventions around us. When I
mentioned windows, my one son said, "I know
who invented windows."
Feeling rather impressed by my son's
knowledge, I asked him who. He replied, "Bill Gates!" Submitted by Rachel K., Virginia. Send your humorous anecdote to publisher@teachinghome.com. Immerse your family in God's truth through
systematic reading and study of God's Word. See The Teaching Home's Bible reading
schedule online at TeachingHome.com.
Christian Music Online 24/7!Listen to beautiful traditional, sacred,
and inspirational conservative Christian
music (commercial free!) when you tune in to
Abiding Radio at www.AbidingRadio.com. Also: Old
Christian Radio.
Because we have been separated from God by
sin, Jesus Christ died in our place, then
rose to life again. If we trust Him as
our Savior and Lord, He will forgive our sin
and give us eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish, but have
eternal life." (John 3:16) We need your help! Please help us make this newsletter better
by letting us know what we are doing
correctly, where we need to improve, and
topics you would like addressed. E-mail
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Copyright 2009 The Teaching Home
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In This Issue
Overcoming Learning Obstacles
by Cindy Short and Sue Welch, editors,
with contributions from Joy Marie Dunlap and
Chris Ellyson
1. Your Response
to Obstacles
2. Readiness
3. Prerequisites
4. Understanding
5. Pace or Depth
6. Discipline
7. Motivation
8. Various Other
Problems
Sidebar
•
Veterans Day: November 11
• Am
I a Soldier of the Cross?
•
Resources for Thanksgiving
Recommended Resources
• Keepers of the Faith:
Christian Reading
• HOMESCHOOLOPOLY:
Homeschool Board Game
• Logos Language
Institute: Foreign Languages
Greetings,
Sooner or later every child runs into a
roadblock on their road of learning. How
will you and your child react? How will you
know what the problem is? What can you do to
help your child? You will find many practical suggestions
for overcoming learning obstacles in this
issue. We hope that you will find them
useful and that the Lord will bless you and
your family for His glory.
Cordially,
The Pat Welch Family, Publishers
Pat, Sue, Heather, Holly, and Brian
The
Teaching Home is a home-school,
family-run business operated in our home
since 1980.
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1. Your Response to Obstacles
Your First and Most
Important Strategy
When a problem arises, it is common for
immediate reactions to be anxiety,
frustration, or stress – for both you
and your child. Instead, follow these
three steps as your first response.
1. Don't Panic
In most cases there is no need for
excessive worry. It is normal for any
child to run across things he does not
understand right away. If you expect
this to happen from time to time, and know
what to do when it does happen, your home
school can be a less stressful experience for
you and your child. If your child senses that you deem this a
major crisis, he may experience anxiety and a
sense of failure which could contribute to a
mental block against the subject in which he
is having difficulty.
2. Pray for Wisdom
God is there for us, waiting to show us
the way to handle our problems if we will
only ask and wait patiently on Him. He
promises to grant us wisdom if we ask it of
Him.
"But
if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of
God,
who gives to all generously and without
reproach,
and it will be given to him." (James
1:5)
3. Reassure Your Child
Pray with your child, asking the Lord to
help you teach, and to help him understand,
the problem material. Tell him that God
will certainly help you find a way to help
him understand. Teaching your child that, when facing
any problem, he should first call upon our
loving heavenly Father is an important
spiritual and life-skill lesson. The
opportunity to teach and model this lesson is
more important than the academic lesson. Trusting the Lord can help both you and
your child to regain calmness and confidence. Your prayer together will also let your
child know that you care about his
problems.
Identifying and Overcoming Obstacles
Be willing to take whatever time is
necessary to help your child over his
learning hurdle: • Especially
if it is in an area of basic skills such as
reading, writing, or math. • Even
if it takes weeks. You will be further ahead at the end of
the year if you stop to clear up an obstacle
and then go on, than if you continued to
struggle the entire time.
2. Readiness
Starting at the Very
Beginning
Readiness is more likely to be an issue
with children under the age of 9-12.
Identify the Problem
Ask yourself if your child is emotionally,
physically, and neurologically ready to learn
the material. As an observant parent, you will know that
the answer is not necessarily based on what
other children are ready for at this age or
even what else this child is ready for.
Work on the Solution
• You
might wait and try again in a few weeks or
months. • Offer
readiness activities to prepare your child
for this new learning challenge.
3. Prerequisites
Building from the
Ground Up
Some subjects, such as reading and math,
are building-block subjects. If your
child does not have a firm grasp of earlier
concepts, it can cause problems with all
subsequent work.
Identify the Problem
To find out exactly where your child is
having trouble and if it is a result of
inadequate mastery of prerequisite knowledge
or skills: • Break
the problem or concept down into its smallest
parts. • Test
your child separately on each area. • Work
from the simplest step up to the most
difficult. • Take
time to observe your child's reasoning
closely.
Work on the Solution
Pick Up a Missing
Prerequisite. When you find the gap
in your child's knowledge, set aside your
scheduled curriculum and take time to master
the missing concept or skill. This will
often include items such as: • Basic
math facts and processes of addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division. • Rules
of phonics sounds. • Sentence structure
and grammar. Review. Going back over
previously studied material can show you the
concepts your child did not understand
thoroughly, and can reinforce his skills as
well.
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4. Understanding
Looking Beneath the
Surface
Sometimes the obstacle may be a surprise
to us; something that our child has
misunderstood or failed to understand.
Identify the Problem
Talk to your child and ask him to explain
to you, the best he can, what problem he is
having and if there is anything that doesn't
make sense to him.
Work on the Solution
When you know what is bothering your
child, explain the concept(s) in new ways
until he really gets it.
Example
"Recently our daughter could not
understand the concept of rounding money
values to the nearest dollar. I decided to
take time to elicit her perspective. She
told me that it didn't seem honest to her to
call $2.55 "three dollars." "Realizing that she could not understand
why we would round a dollar amount, I showed
her how estimating the amount I spent while
shopping allowed me to stay within our
budget. "She tackled rounding and estimation
enthusiastically after that. It was as if the
explanation had moved a gigantic boulder out
of her path." - Joy Marie Dunlap
5. Pace or Depth
Enough Time; Enough
Practice
Sometimes your curriculum or schedule goes
too quickly without enough practice or review
for your child to thoroughly understand and
master the material or concepts. Other times, your curriculum might not
include enough depth. Your child might need
more information in order to truly understand
the subject.
Provide More Time
• Slow
down and take more time for each lesson. • Try
cutting your lessons in half and mastering
smaller chunks of material each day. • Schedule a
series of separate lessons to supplement the
problem area. • Take
one concept at a time until your child is
clear in his understanding.
Provide More Material
• Use
visuals such as globes, maps, timelines,
books, and videos. • Incorporate
experiments, demonstrations, and hands-on
projects. • Check
out library books that simplify and
illustrate concepts. • Use
a different curriculum that teaches the
concepts more slowly and thoroughly. • Discuss
concepts with your child.
Provide More Practice
• Use
flash cards and math manipulatives. • Use
learning games of all kinds. • Buy
a reproducible worksheet course and make
multiple copies of worksheets for extra
practice. • Design
your own activities or worksheets which
reinforce concepts.
6. Discipline
Is It a Factor?
There are two mistakes that can be made
when you consider discipline as a factor in
your child's learning problem. • Assuming that
discipline is an issue when it isn't. • Assuming that
discipline is not an issue when it is.
Identifying the Problem
• If
your child outright refuses to try to work
through his problem, then overt rebellion is
being manifested. • If
your child finds all kinds of excuses why he
cannot work on his problem, then passive
rebellion may be at work. • If
your child is genuinely trying to work on his
problem with a good attitude toward you, then
discipline is probably not a part of the
obstacle.
Work on the Solution
If your child's problem is unwillingness
to submit to your instruction and obey you,
it is very important for you to work on and
resolve this issue. Basic child discipline can be quite
straightforward. • Read
together what God says about the parent/child
relationship so that your child knows that he
needs to obey the Lord by honoring and
obeying you. • Give
clear instructions for your child to obey
along with your Scriptural, moral, or
practical reasons when appropriate. • Be
lovingly consistent. Don't let your child's
temporary discomfort from negative
consequences prevent you from correcting him.
You are doing him a great favor by helping
him to obey the Lord. He will also gain the
good and long life promised to children who
honor and obey their parents (Ephesians
6:1-3).
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7. Motivation
Wind in the Sails
You might be able to help your child over
a learning obstacle with the right kind of
motivation. Our newsletters #93
and #94
listed and expounded on the following "15
Ways To Motivate Your Child To Learn": 1. Appeal to
Spiritual Motives 2. Clearly
Define Goals 3. Reveal the
Purpose of the Study 4. Set the Stage 5. Enable and
Recognize Success 6. Capitalize on
Learning
Styles 7. Give
Incentives 8. Get Your
Child Involved 9. Know and Use
Your Child's Interests 10. Provide Variety 11. Be a Good Example 12. Maintain a Positive
Relationship 13. Employ
Accountability 14. Utilize Teamwork 15. Make Careful Use of
Competition See complete articles in our Newsletter
#93 and Newsletter
#94 in our archives.
8. Various Other Problems . .
.
. . . and Suggested
Solutions
If your child is having unexplained
problems, you might consider the following
possible solutions:
Health
• Have
his eyes checked to see if he needs glasses
or vision training. • Have
a general health check-up. • Follow
good habits such as:
Regular and healthy meals and snacks.
Daily outdoor exercise, such as walking.
Adequate sleep and rest.
Enough water to keep hydrated.
Study Area
Your child might do better if he is able
to concentrate with less distractions such as
noise, clutter, movements of other people, or
visual distractions. • Also
make sure your child has adequate light and a
comfortable place to sit and write. • Sometimes
it helps if you sit with, or near, him in
order to encourage him to keep working or
answer questions as they come up.
Curriculum
You might find that your child will do
better overall if you switch to a different
curriculum for all his subjects or just
selected subjects with which he is having
difficulty. Consider a program that
uses another primary method of delivery such
as: • Textbooks
(with or without workbook) • Worktexts
(text combined with workbook) • Unit
Studies • Computer Programs • Video
Classes
Grade Level
Your child might profit from going back a
grade level in a subject that is giving him
constant problems. It is always better
to get a good foundation than to keep pushing
on with incomplete understanding.
Learn How To Learn
A short course in learning how to study
and learn might provide your child with the
resources to tackle many learning challenges
throughout his life. • How-To-Study.com • Study Guides
and Strategies • Sites
to Promote Academic Success
Learning Style
Consider presenting a difficult concept in
your child's preferred learning
style (auditory, visual, or kinesthetic)
or switch to a different one than has been
used.
Different Teacher
Perhaps Dad, an older sibling, or even an
extended family member could take a crack at
teaching an occasional tough concept or
subject.
Take a Breather
Sometimes a child may get so tied in knots
over a problem that your best solution is to
simply leave it alone for awhile and come
back to it later for a fresh start. |
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