Avoiding the red pen in your homeschool
Avoiding the red pen in your homeschool
Have you ever made a mistake? Chances are you have. Have you ever been really passionate about something? Really excited that you completed something? Then been told right after sharing it that you have made numerous mistakes? No applauds for you effort just you need to fix XYZ. Criticism and correction are needed but while your children are developing a passion for learning you may want to avoid the red pen in your homeschool.
Be Gentle
I am not saying not to correct your children. Correcting them is essential. You are their teacher, you have to correct them. I am saying be gentle and embrace their passion first. Celebrate everything that is going right in their work, all the progress they are making and everything they are understanding. Then go over what they need to learn and correct as needed.
Diminishing passion and excitement
For example, if your child hands you a drawing of a big head, long legs, no neck, one big eye one small eye portrait you aren’t going to explain the nuances of proportion and realistic drawing techniques. Maybe you would sit down with them later and teach them how to draw something but you wouldn’t take their drawing they are proud of and fix it, taking away their passion and excitement for it. That being said if you are teaching your child math you aren’t going to accept 1+1 = 4. If passion is needed for the project and it is there don’t diminish it by focusing solely on what they did wrong.
Focus on what is correct
Focus first on what is working and what is correct. Then dive into what needs to be worked out. Follow your children’s passions and empower them as they go along. Give them the tools and knowledge to correct their mistakes. Don’t make it the end of the world. A lot of the time when my children make mistakes we fix them together and learn about it. I don’t pick up my red pen and rip it apart. I will sit with my kids and go over math problems over and over and we will discuss grammar and why it is the way it is. I will correct my children but I will also give them space to be excited about a topic or assignment.
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LET US KNOW!
How do you feel about using the red pen to correct your child’s work? I would love to hear from you so comment down below!
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