Keys to Free your Struggling Learner

My struggling learner was different from birth.  She has, this mystifying and mysterious form of eye contact.  It is nearly its own language.  She’d spend hours talking to me without words.  She studied everything from the comfort of my lap, snuggled and sedate.  She smiled and twinkled, as her brother performed for her infant eyes.

When she did begin to speak, she talked in an accent and often flipped syllables in her words.  Turing words like magazine into mazageen.  She’d work for long minutes, explaining and describing simple objects, like broccoli, instead of using their names because you could not remember what to call them.  Friends at church or at the park meant the world to her but were often hurt because she couldn’t remember their names.  The girl in the purple horse shirt may have been a great playmate but she could not get her brain to recall that her name was Beth.  So, play dates with Beth were never scheduled.  My little one could not recall labels and I couldn’t always follow her down her mental path its intended finish line.

I sought advice from my homeschool community. I was encouraged to calm down and wait it out.  They reassured me that my pupil’s development would catch up to her peer’s and things would finally click.  Almost like magic.  By the time my girl turned 8 we had explored nearly as many curriculum options. I was nervous but did my best to turn to God and wait.  I waited and waited and waited.   After all, who was there to point out her differences.  She was safe and growing at her own pace in our home.

My little girl noticed things.  She watched Sunday School friends read scriptures aloud, fill in worksheets, and complete word searches.  All while she sat quietly baffled.  She had well-meaning teachers tell her to focus harder or ignore her altogether as if she was being disobedient. All in the Bible Class.  She gathered the evidence, added it together, and concluded that she was just stupid.

So, while I waited, terrified to stick my student with an unappealing label, she labeled herself.

Thankfully, God is much wiser than I’ll ever be.  I wouldn’t listen to His prodding  but my daughter did.  At 8, she bravely asked me to find someone to tell her why she couldn’t read.

That’s what we did.  Diagnosis?  Severe Dyslexia, among other acronyms. Basically, when tested, my 8-year-old sprout could think and reason like a 10th-grade student but could only read at a pre-K level.  Can you imagine? She wasn’t stupid… she was STUCK!

So we attacked the situation with remediation and lifestyle changes.  All about Learning, Barton for Reading and Spelling, Brain Training, Cogmed, Cod liver oil, Pro-biotics, arm tapping, and midline exercises are just a few we’ve tried.

Which ones have work the best? Who knows.  But I have discovered 2 things that work every time!

Understanding & Compassion

Not to be confused with empty lip service or pity.  Understanding and compassion work when nothing else will.  Because there are days when my girl is fighting to push herself, as hard as possible, and still can’t comprehend the lesson.  There are days when our remediation sessions are spent holding each other and praying, resting in the promise that where we are weak God is strong.

Why compassion?

Because without it I can force my student to finish the assignment but I’d lose the opportunity to minister to her heart.

Why understanding?

Because without it  I can be stony, cold, and callous… judging my student for her lack of production and not her hard-won progress.

Why both together?

Because struggling learners are usually their harshest critics.  Because they don’t need another curriculum or program or tutor as much as they need your approval and admiration.

They take time to develop.  They take great effort to execute.  Days can be long and homeschooling can be hard.  Thankfully, the God that has called you to homeschool is the God of all compassion and the One to ask for all understanding.  If your keys are rusty than seek the Holy Spirit and shine them up. These 2 keys can free all struggling learners, allowing them to become the best version of themselves.  The creation the Father intended them to be and nothing less.   Learning differences are challenging but they don’t have to be disastrous for you, your child, or your homeschool journey.  So, before you lay your hands on the next shiny promise of a new curriculum, I dare you to pick up your keys and unlock some freedom!

If you haven’t already,  check out my book Diary of a Dyslexic Homeschooler, it’s sure to give you a shot of understanding.  You can find it on Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com.  I’d love to hear what you think.

Need more information and support? Check these out!

https://bartonreading.com/

https://www.cogmed.com/

http://carolbarnier.com/

http://www.diannecraft.org/teaching-your-right-brain-child/