Being there for your kids - It Takes A Village to School Your Child

Episode Date: July 12, 2020

Many kids feel banished to their rooms and not come out until that homework is finished "young man!!" Home schoolers can feel isolated throughout their school day. As parents, it is vital that your kids know that you are there for them as they struggle to complete assignments. Draw on and draw in other resources to bolster your child's homework and home schooling experience. As they find more creative, engaging, unique, and interesting ways to tackle assignments, with your oversight, school becomes more of fun experience. Help your kids use all of the resources at their disposal. Be the sounding board. Active listen when you see them being stuck. Be the cheerleader with their efforts and their success. It takes a village to school your child.

Hi, I'm Dr. John Robinson, and this is Teachable Moments. Recently, I posted my top 10 tips for homeschooling success, whether it's just helping with homework or being full-time homeschooled teacher to your kids. Now I am elaborating on each item on the list. The final parenting tip, number 10, is this. Draw on and draw in other resources in your child's schooling, especially in this interconnected cyber-technical harried 24-7-365, world, keeping your child focused on his homework or on the homeschooling assignments can be a real

challenge. My thoughts, if you can't beat him, join them. Use all the resources available to you for the task at hand. The more different, creative, engaging, and interesting an activity is for a student, the more likely he will take it on. In today's world, it does take a village to raise a child and more so to educate a child. 15-year-old Jason, a high school freshman, was gaming on his iPad while sitting at the study desk in his bedroom. Lauren, his mom, came to his open bedroom door, but stopped before knocking. She saw the energy Jason was putting out, thumbs flying, trying to knock out all the space aliens he could at one time.

Uh, Jace, she offered while knocking on his door. What's you doing? I thought this was the time you set aside to tackle that history essay. Jason got one last volley of death ray blasts off before pausing the game. "'Oh, hi, Mom,' he sheepishly noted, as Mom came by his side. "'I'm just, you know, taking a break for just a moment.' "'Mom looked over his shoulder to the near blank screen where only the title of his essay was typed. "' Usually the beginning of an essay is not where one would schedule a break,' she arched one brow.

"'Is the Jim Crow era of racism over, or just on the down low?' "'Great title. What's next?' "'I don't know,' Jason's voice rose with each word. That's where I'm stuck. Lauren hugged her man-child and pulled up a chair. Okay, let's see. She helped him devise a plan of attack for the essay. She would text the other moms in their homeschool group to see what might pop up.

She suggested to her son that he read up on the Jim Crow era on Wikipedia, check the current news online that wrote on the racial injustices and police brutality of the times, and also look for TED Talks and YouTube videos that might shed light. She also volunteered to research references to the alt-right, white supremacy, and the Ku Klux Klan. Mom, Jason became exasperated. Enough already. It's only supposed to be five pages long. Today, resources abound and all are practically at your child's fingertips. As parents, we need to be aware of possibilities, encourage our child's search, and set time and space parameters for completing schoolwork.

With younger children, your approach may need to be more hands-on. However, always encourage his lead and never do a school task for your child. With older children and teens, help set up parameters and then check in on their progress every 20 to 30 minutes, offering to proofread after they spell check and grammar check. By drawing on and drawing in other resources for your child to use, you are expanding his creativity in completing given assignments. While he continues in school, and it does take a village, You can be his conduit to learning.

I'm Dr. Jonathan C. Robinson, licensed clinical psychologist and Christian author of Teachable Moments, Building Blocks of Christian Parenting. And this has been Teachable Moments. Teachable Moments, Building Blocks of Christian Parenting is available online at AmazonBooks.com and in local and national bookstores. More on Dr. Robinson at TMC-P-I-N-C.com.