Don’t Confuse Preparation With Acceleration

As a new homeschool year begins, it is easy to look ahead and begin worrying about whether our children are doing enough.

Are they ahead? Are they taking the right courses? Should we add another activity? Is it time to think about dual enrollment, test preparation, or something that will strengthen a future college application?

Preparing a child for the future matters. But preparation and acceleration are not always the same thing.

A child who finishes algebra early is not necessarily more prepared for adulthood than the child who is learning how to persist when something is difficult. An impressive course list cannot replace curiosity, judgment, responsibility, communication, or the ability to work independently.

Those abilities develop slowly, often through very ordinary experiences.

Let your child manage part of the week's schedule. Expect an older student to communicate with an instructor rather than having Mom do it. Allow a teenager to wrestle with a problem before stepping in with the solution. Give children meaningful responsibilities and let them experience the consequences when those responsibilities are forgotten.

These moments may never appear on a transcript, but they are preparing our children for something much larger than the next grade level.

As you plan this school year, certainly ask what your child needs to learn.

But also ask, Who is my child becoming?

Sometimes the best preparation for the future isn't moving faster.

It is growing stronger.

Buen Camino,
Maria Ann
Homeschool Success with Maria