I have no intention of dedicating this blog to my newfound homeschooling journey, as I know that doesn’t appeal to everyone. But I do like to share with readers my life experiences and especially the good and kind ways the Lord moves in our lives.
It’s officially been a week since we pulled our almost-13-year-old son from the public school system. I never want to come across as bashing public schools. My children have had some outstanding teachers over the years. My daughter, Natalie, (who is a Junior) thrives in school. She always has. I don’t think the child has ever shed one tear over homework or had a late assignment. She’s just “good” at school.
The Boy, however, has struggled to learn since day one. His diagnosis of Inattentive ADHD (why it’s no longer just called ADD is beyond me), has proven to be a real thing. With one sound or flicker in his peripheral vision, his focus becomes non-existent. This week at home, I’ve had to reel him back in many times. His teachers at the middle school don’t have the time to continually bring Bennett back to reality. But I do. And it’s proven to be incredibly beneficial.
One of Bennett’s biggest struggles is math, and I quickly learned this week he is not on grade level. We went back to basics. Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Elementary school stuff. And that’s okay, because that’s what he needs. Then we threw in some variables. It clicked. For the first time in years, math clicked.
We applied it to things he loves, and there’s nothing he loves more than basketball stats. His wealth of knowledge on the NBA and college ball blows my mind. How do we determine shooting averages? How tall is Luka Doncic in centimeters? How can we use math in stats? Well, everywhere.
For reading comprehension, we’re learning all about Steph Curry from his toddlerhood shooting on a Fisher Price goal to his faith-based upbringing to his days at Davidson. Bennett is telling me what we just read together. He’s comprehending. He’s retaining. His focus is intact because we’re talking about the greatest 3-point shooter of all time.
For the first time in my son’s life, he can write the state’s names on a map. I’m aware this is considered a third-grade skill in the public school system, but he couldn’t have found Detroit on a map last month if his life depended on it. He could tell you all about the Pistons’ starting lineup, but Michigan was “somewhere around here, I think?”
Now he knows where Detroit is. And why the team is called the Pistons. And what pistons do on his dirt bike. Geography met science, and it clicked.
Things are clicking everywhere.
He’s perfecting his ball-handling in the driveway before the sun goes down. Right now, he’s upstairs taking a “brain break” on his drum kit by dolling out the riff to Aerosmith’s, “Walk This Way”. As he drums, his mind is working. He’s hitting every beat effortlessly. He’s learning. And he’s not in a desk.
Aside from academics, Bennett is growing spiritually. Our day starts with God’s Word. I see the Holy Spirit moving within him as he asks questions. He thirsts for the knowledge that can only be found there. His anxieties about school- what others say about him, the filth he hears in the bathroom, his embarrassment at failed tests— all that is melting away. And being replaced with what is “noble, good, pure and lovely.” His confidence is rising— confidence in himself and who he is in the Lord.
I can’t protect Bennett from everything in the world. I can’t teach him everything, either. But I have full confidence that he’s thriving here— in this new adventure we are embarking on together. He’s learning something each day, and he’s retaining it.
I’m so thankful the Lord has ordained this path in our lives.