Classroom Dilemma

My teacher's guides have tons of bookmarks in them.  My "middle littles" are working through the same books for math and reading but at their own speeds.  One kid likes to do lesson after lesson after lesson each and every day.  Another can complete exactly one lesson each day, unless he decides to do more in the evening for fun.  Another will have a day when he wants to do lots of pages and then would rather not do any pages for days and days.  The fourth will do exactly one page a day as long as I sit and make him.  Doing any more is torture to him and to me, so I let him go play and learn a different way.

It would be so much easier to have them all sit down at the same time and do the same page with the same instructions.  I would only have one bookmark.  I wouldn't feel like I'm going crazy trying to remember which page I need for which kid at which moment.  

"Now I need a speed drill, Mom."  (I have to find the right lesson for that child.)

"I need my money cup, Mom."  (At the same moment, I need to find the instructions for this other child's lesson to see how much money he is supposed to be counting.)

"What do I do here, Mom?"  (Mom's getting batty already.)

"What flash cards do I need today, Mom?"  (Uh.  Just a second.)

One of the beauties of homeschooling, however, is that each child gets to go at the pace that is right for that child.  This is what got me started homeschooling and why I have been homeschooling for 11 years now.  There could be no two better examples of "at your own pace" learning than my oldest two, for very different reasons .

Oh, my goodness, do I want to see that child who can complete a workbook in a few days soar at the right pace for her.  Those two who aren't even in kindergarten, yet, have no need to sit through whole lessons when the weather is gorgeous and they want to play with dirt and sticks.  But why shouldn't they get to do whole lessons when the mood strikes?  That other one who tries to keep up with his sister but loses interest after a lesson that is exactly right for him shouldn't be held back with the younger two or pushed extra to race keep her pace.  He's the super star lots of other ways.  

This means I have four kids all born within 13 months of each other, who could easily be put in the same grade and on the same level, who will never be doing the same thing at the same time.  I might get dizzy on a very regular basis trying to keep it all straight, but I am determined to gear their education to their needs.   This was a lot easier when my students numbered 2, but I'm up for the challenge. 

 My pre-K and kindergarteners, ages 5, 5, 6, 5, still get most of their learning from sticks and such.

Don't even get me to thinking that this wild child is waiting in the wings just a year behind!