There are children that are just born with a totally different view of the world. They don’t learn in the box or even close. This can be very frustrating for parents who are new to homeschooling and wondering if they are doing something wrong. If you have been homeschooling and suddenly the Lord blesses you with a horizon expanding child then it can be frustrating to change a system that has worked for years.
Many times we get in the mindset of how do we bring this vibrant thinker back into the fold. Back to something that is more normal that the world can understand. The push can be terribly hard on high schoolers getting ready for college and fearful that if they don’t ‘do school’ in a more traditional manner than they won’t be able to go to college.
1) Allow your child the freedom to think and learn as the Lord has wired their brain.
Let their sparkle shine!
This world is so vast that there will be a place for your child to become and adult and succeed. Or like I have seen with my adult child she will make a place for herself. I am so proud.
*TIP* All children thrive seeing and doing new things. Children that live outside the box NEED to be part, do, kinetic learning and watch others take part in many different things. Field trips from the local waterfalls to a huge trip to Washington, DC.2
2) Make a deep and meaningful connection with your child. It is hard being a child/teen/adult that thinks counter to the world. There is a lot of self-doubt and anxiety that can creep in because of constant outside cultural pressure. Be that buffer for you child!
The world doesn’t like those that shake up the norm. Your child has been blessed with a natural ability to shake up the norm. The next Einstein? Shakespeare? Alva Edison? The mother of the next golden age of art? Who knows but oh what fun it will be to watch your child grow and find that wonderful place in the world for themselves.
3) Having one child that thinks totally differently from your other children will lead to comparison. That should not guilt you as long as you chose not to act out on those comparisons.
Yes, I know as a mother of several children with differing abilities I find at the end of the semester or year and I am looking over what text worksheets were done in hand versus what huge sculptor is sitting there, I can tend to lend more weight to the worksheets in my hand. I always take a deep breath and sometime even ask my husband Chris to weigh in and help me keep a balanced view of the time, effort, concentration and giftedness that went into BOTH the worksheets and sculptor.
This is a #noshamingzone you can parent children of varying abilities all in different grades and subjects they love and use various curriculum. You are a great homeschooling parent and family!
Teach your children from the beginning that how they see the world is unique like a fingerprint. A home filled with love and learning enrichment will go far. It can get tiring as a parent trying to keep up with your fabulous out of the box thinker but dear friend those year go fast and the world changer you are parenting and guiding need you to help build them up where the world would tear them down.
Be excited as a mom of a world changer… watching her grow and come into her own is an honor and delight.