Wonderfully Made: The Young Home Schooler’s Mind

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There is a beautiful design to the minds of our children. Every square inch of them has been intricately woven by the hands of God. Just like Psalm 127 says,

“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made… my frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth” (NASB).

Does that amaze you? Down to the very depths of their being, our children bear the fingerprints of God in a unique way. There are no cookie-cutter children, just as there are no cookie-cutter adults. While there are general ages and ranges in which children reach developmental milestones, no child is exactly like another. As home-schoolers, we cannot afford to miss this.

Children are “designed” to reach certain developmental milestones at different ages. For example, every parent would tell you that trying to potty-train a nine month would be a lost cause. They do not have the physical or developmental ability to do so. However, wait two or three years and you’re much more likely to succeed. Why? The child has developed the cognitive and physical abilities to succeed at potty-training.

The same applies to a child’s ability to grasp educational concepts. In our country, many would say that children should begin reading by the age of five. Often if it takes a child longer to begin reading then questions about learning problems arise. However, if you looked inside the brain of a child, specifically boys, you would find that they may not be developmentally ready to read until the age of eight or nine.

No matter how much we try to teach, encourage, plead or demand that our child learn a certain concept, if he or she is not developmentally ready then we are fighting a losing battle. We will only end up frustrating our child and seriously damaging their confidence, ultimately hindering later attempts to teach the same concept. If we wait until our child is ready to learn, even putting a concept off for several weeks, then we may be much more likely to help our child succeed. As home schooling parents, we need to be sensitive to this truth which, at times, can take a great deal of patience, I know! Trust me, though, the benefits will be well worth the wait.

The developing brain of a young child is astonishing. So much is accomplished and solidified in their minds during those early years. A hallmark in the cognitive development of a young child is the absence of abstract thinking. This means that while young children can understand the alphabet, numbers in sequence or musical notes, they often have great difficulty understanding ideas such as love, justice or honor. Perhaps, you’re now asking “So, what does this have to do with me, a home schooling parent?”

Well, actually a lot! You see, as home-schoolers we have the blessed opportunity to teach and train our children with their specific learning styles and developmental abilities in mind. For the young child this means presenting concepts in a concrete manner. Eventually your child will be able to think and reason abstractly, but early on they need concrete teaching that gradually moves to the abstract.

For example, in teaching addition begin by using every day tasks such as cleaning up toys, going to the grocery store or sorting laundry. Your conversation could go something like this: “Daniel, I have two white shirts in this basket and I need those other two over there. If you put them in this basket, how many shirts would we have?” Your child then uses his body to respond which gives him a great “hands-on” experience. He is also seeing that math is used in the real world everyday. It gives him a purpose for learning. Continue using math in everyday activities until he seems more confident. Then you can begin a more formal lesson while still using manipulatives such as blocks or counters. As he masters the ability to show you what two plus two or four plus one looks like with blocks, write the mathematical statements out each time he answers correctly. Eventually he will no longer need the manipulatives and he will understand what each part of the mathematical statement represents because of all the concrete learning that preceded it.

As a home schooling mom of four I have seen this work over and over. I even use concrete learning activities with my eleven year old when she seems to be struggling with a particular concept. Using concrete activities in teaching applies to all subjects. This is the beauty in home schooling…we can teach writing by making grocery lists or writing letters, we can teach history by creating native American drums or teach science in the creek that runs through our back yard!

Each of our children are developing uniquely, reaching their developmental milestones at different times. It is the beauty of how God created them. If we can embrace this and teach in a way where they have a purpose for learning we will surely bless and enrich their lives.

JJ lives in Nashville, TN. with her husband, Dan, and their four children. They have been homeschooling for two years and have a passion for encouraging other families.