Uncle CHiN
Dear Uncle CHiN,
I am completely commited to the homeschool concept, and am interested in
developing a plan for my daughter . . . She has all but mastered "Reader & Math
Rabbit" at 3 years and 5 months and has the requisite curiosity to do more. Have
you any suggestions?
Signed, Tot's Mom
Dear Tot's Mom,
No, I don’t know what comes after the "Rabbit," any more than I know what is on
beyond "On Beyond Zebra." I do know that your instincts will serve you well, just as
they have done up to this point. Continue to feed her natural curiosity and to support
her explorations. "The canary in the mine shaft" is her attitude toward learning, and as
long as she’s learning with a happy heart, you are doing well by her. So, trust yourself
and trust her. You are both doing great, and if you just explore and grow alongside each
other, your days will be eventful and unevenbut overall fine.
Guard against developing overblown expectations, however. Kids are quirky little imps,
and they have a way of confounding their parents' fondest predictions and highest hopes.
Your daughter may seem to have conquered every developmental pre-reading task, and yet it
may be many monthsor even yearsbefore she actually begins to read on her own.
Likewise, each and every child has a personal set of stumbling blocks, tasks or areas of
achievement that will pose challenges throughout his or her lifetime. If you and your
youngster run up against one of her hard-to-surmount challenges and you place too much
stress on achieving success, you may put her in a painful positionwanting to please you,
but unable to do so. This is the sort of scenario that is called "failure" and can leave
permanent scars on a child. So don't hustle too hard, Mom, especially now when she is so
young and tender. Just enjoy your time together. It will be gone before you know it.
Fondly, Your Uncle CHiN
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