One afternoon, we played doll house while watching an educational video about the alphabet. She was singing along happily until the segment ended and a new one started. They were flashing the letters while children shouted the letters out one at a time. Suddenly, she got very upset and said to me, "turn off the yelling, back on the singing!" She ran out of the room and went behind a wall to "hide" from it. I told her it'd be over soon and she came back to play once it was over.
I started thinking about her personality, whether she would benefit from a classroom of overly excited, yelling toddlers. She's never been in a situation like that and when her surroundings become too much, she retreats. She's definitely not shy and has no problem making friends with the most reluctant of kids. However, she does her own thing when a large group gathers and gets to loud for her. She goes off to collect sticks, play in the dirt, climb a playground by herself. It made me think about her learning style, how she seems to do better when someone sits down with her and gives her one-on-one attention. Since then, I have been trying to figure out the best way to teach her, using flashcards, coloring, singing, and reading. I realized how quickly she picks something up when we sing or read about it, when we explore arms deep in interacting, and when she asks question after question. She learns by experience, through her inquisitive nature, by being involved in the process.
While I may be blinded by the joys of being a WAH mom or the typical "my child is beyond amazing" syndrome, I can't help but think maybe our daughter simply benefits more from the one-on-one attention and customization of her education. Perhaps she just does better with one person working through each problem in the comfort of her quiet home. Often, those big groups make her retreat, maybe the structure would limit her explorations, the scarce attention would mean her constant stream of questioning would be passed over. Neither of us have ever had much structure to our days, we simply go with the flow and introduce as many experiences into our days as we can.
I've always teetered back and forth about home schooling, I probably won't be able to make a solid decision until I'm faced with the necessity of making one. Until then, we will learn as much as we can, we will enjoy our time and I'll answer as many questions as humanly possible
