Outside the Box

I was thinking today about boxes.

I remember once when I was driving on a long car trip, I was creating a talk in my head I was scheduled to give at a Cm conference. I wanted to tell the moms it was OK to step out of the box. I imagined myself doing a big visual to help them remember -- I planned to take a big box up there with me and stand in it. Then step out. And show how easy it is.

I am thinking about this now because I have found myself in boxes... again. I know that some boxes are good. Our faith has a box of sorts. It is a good box.. a good place to be when we are listening to Christ and what the Church teaches. It can become a bad box if I am listening to people and not the true faith. That big T little t stuff... but if I get authentic and back to the Church she never leads me astray.

I have been in a box with my homeschool thinking. I think it is natural. I think I have to do things certain ways. So many people do things a certain way (or several certain ways) that I find myself thinking I need to do them. Well.... I really don't! Really! I need to do what works for me. Again, authentic. My motto. Think I will get a sharpie and write it on my hand. lol

I found yesterday I had a major revelation. I mean this is major, subtle but major and it was years in coming.

One of my sweetie pie sons does not care for math. We have done many curriclums over the years. Tried living math, math literature, etc. etc. Finally I let it go. Let him learn via real life. This was hard. But I knew the other way was not working. OK, maybe it was my fault and I am a big, fat failure, but it was not working.

I had seen enough unschooling to know they learn everything else that way. Why not math? Ok, this is not a math post, so I won't type any more about that right now.

Anyway, he is getting by, learning through life.

I had heard for a long time about Teaching Textbooks- It sound austere, but is an interactive CD rom.. very friendly. There is a demo online and I liked what I saw.

But what is out of the box here, is I think for the first time.. yes the very first time, I was seeing this through my son's eyes and not mine.

I imagined him going through the textbooks before and saw what didn't work. He enjoyed the Jacobs Geometry for a while, but got bogged down. Why wouldn't he? He is visual- enjoyed computer or people interface. After chapter and chapter, problem after problem, he got stuck. Didn't want my help. Wanted self study.

So, I watched the demo and tried.

Yesterday I showed it to him. He was open. We decided to order and he can try. They have a 30 day money back guarentee.

But, this time, I see this a tool for him. What he might need, how he might like to learn, when he is ready to learn.

This is subtle, but is an important difference for me. Before I always tried to find the right math curriculum to fit him, but one that he would eventually conform to and do. And the checkmark was in the front of my mind.. checking this section of math of the list. That list.

Now, I am seeing him as a person. He needs to see the need for math to learn it. He is seeing the need. This is a tool for him to use to improve his math when he is ready.

I can't explain it better than this, but this was a very important day for me.

I think the box I stepped out of was the 'math' box. I have heard for years that the dc will learn math when they make it their own. I think my son had to teach me. If he had been more compliant (or me more relentless) maybe he would be on a program now. But I had to let it go.. and go.. and go.. and now I see him blossoming, becoming who he is and ready for math.

This is SO not the way of most of the homeschooling world. It is way outside the boxes I see around me. But, it is working for us. So, I am out of that box now.

There are some other boxes I am skipping out of, too. More later.