Here is a picture of all the exercise books we taught our four-year-old for 2021.
It is by God’s grace that He allows both Wai Jia and I to homeschool her. Wai Jia focuses on English, Chinese, Grammar and Arts. I focus on Science, Logic, Math, and Bible stories.
A major lesson I learned through this parenting journey is that while enrichment programs, there are some things only parental love can impart. When we returned from Canada back in mid-2019, we explored preschools. We checked out the local community ones and the branded ones. We heard all the marketing lingos. One had the motto in their K2 classroom- hungry for success.
For me, the key to learning is rooted in love. We are not exceptional teachers, or my child is a genius. I have to learn how to teach my child, and my child has to learn how to learn. We are all learning through this. Our teaching material is from Popular, a local bookstore. That’s how we do it in Team Tam. We journey together. We struggle tough seasons together. We do it because we value the relationship. Team Tam shows love by spending time with one another.
Take for example, math. I still remember those days when I was teaching her how to count. Now, we are doing big numbers adding. 153 + 253. For a while, I hesitated on her starting multiplication. But we are dipping our toes in it. Suppose she doesn’t get it—no big deal. We will try again later.
I’ve learned the most important lesson of all. The lesson is that love is the foundation of learning. If my child’s love tank is full, learning is secondary. We keep her tank full when we spend our time with her. That is costly because time is so precious, and we are ever so busy.
The whole education business is marketing the same message, choose us because we have a unique program to help your child excel in ______ (insert subject).
They are offering the wrong solution. The solution to a child’s learning is rooted in love, especially parental love. Children thrive when they know their parents are there to encourage them and be with them every step of the way. If that is not in place, all the other aspects of academic achievements are meaningless.