Each in his own time

Today is my daughters 15th birthday.  At exactly 8:10 this morning, she had her learners permit in hand.  She kind of lives that way... accomplish as much as possible as soon as possible.  This is why she'd already driven by noon.
This is why she will be graduating before her 17th birthday.

Her brother lives at a more deliberate speed.  He likes things slow, easy, and careful.  This is why he does not have a drivers licence yet when he will be 17 soon.  This is also why he opted to take another year of homeschooling instead of taking one more class last year to graduate at 16 like his sister.

Now that she is driving, he demanded that we pay for lessons for him.  He says we make him nervous and he wants a real instructor... so be it.  He is finally ready to drive, partly because it is time, and partly because his sister is putting a little pressure on him.

So what does this have to do with homeschooling?  Lots.

There are some kids who will read at 4 years old, some at 7, and some as late as 11. (the same with certain math skills) There is no shame in that, and pressure should be minimal to prevent the child from feeling inadequate by his lack of readiness.  This is not to say that you shouldn't work on pre-reading skills like reading to the child from and early age and teaching the alphabet and basic phonics rules.  Still, we shouldn't become panicked and distraught that the hard work has not paid off just yet.  Each child matures at his own pace.  They will learn in their own time.


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