5 Tools to Find and Fix Your Child’s Learning Gaps

Do you ever feel a sense of panic as you realize your children’s education is entirely in your hands? You are not alone. Parents with a background in education and those with no experience in the field share those moments that have them asking, “What on earth am I doing?”

The truth is, you are going to miss things. There will be gaps in their learning. You will not bestow on your children a perfect education.

But let me assure these deer-in-the-headlights new homeschooling parents that it doesn’t matter what school they might choose to send their offspring to — because that school will miss things too. Even the best school in the nation will be found lacking.

The homeschool parent has something that cannot be replicated at any school: a deep love that will fuel them to learn all they can to help their children succeed. There are some amazing teachers out there, but none that can truly love your children like you do.

At ShillerLearning we strive to create curriculum that helps you meet the educational needs of your children in ways that fit their personalities and learning styles. We are passionate about helping you inspire a lifelong love of learning — which gives children the tools to fill in any knowledge gaps they discover in the future.

We do not want to make assumptions about what a student knows or doesn’t know, so we recommend that the educator start each student — regardless of age — at the first test from Book 1, with the introduction: “This should be really easy for you and will take you just one minute to do. Let’s have some fun and see if you can get them all right.”

Diagnostic tests are included with each math or language arts kit. Additional copies may be printed from your downloads for additional children in the family. Diagnostic testing may also be purchased separately if you are trying to decide between kit levels (it’s refunded when you buy a complete kit). If you are unsure where to start, call us at 203-210-5208 — with a few quick questions we will guide you.

Check the answer key. If the student answers all questions correctly, acknowledge that and move on to the next test. If a question is answered incorrectly, the answer key is prescriptive: it tells you exactly which lesson(s) will fill the hole identified by that question. When the student misses most of the questions on a test, stop testing — you have now identified exactly where they need to be in the lesson book.

Note each of the lessons next to each question answered incorrectly. This is your Personal Lesson Plan.

Remember: this is not a measure of how well your child is doing. It is simply a guide to help you choose the lessons they need and will inspire them to learn.

You can make a Personal Lesson Plan for all of your students using the diagnostic tests, which tell you exactly which lessons fill the holes for questions without competency and/or closure.

Keep your child’s Personal Lesson Plan (the ordered list of lessons and lesson names) in the front of a 3-ring binder. Following the Lesson Plan, insert the Visual Tracking Sheet. These two record-keeping tools will help you stay organized while providing encouragement and motivation to both you and your student. These sheets can be downloaded from your ShillerLearning account (click the person icon and provide your email address to log in).

Lay the Visual Tracking Sheet next to your child’s lesson plan and place an “X” through each lesson that is not on the lesson plan — giving a visual representation of what they already understand. Each time a lesson is completed, your student may color in the box for that lesson. Watch their confidence grow as the chart fills up!

This can be found printed on the inside back cover of lesson books, in your binders, or in your downloads.

Each day, note the date, time spent, and the lessons completed for which your child reached competency and closure. If either you or the child thinks a lesson should be revisited, note it in the “Lesson to Revisit” column. Then both you and your child initial the right-hand columns, verifying completion and promoting the child’s ownership of their education.

The Montessori Magic

One of the goals in Montessori education is for the child to learn to take responsibility for their own learning. We emphasize that a child’s play and learning is their work — and we want them to learn to initiate work and take pride in their accomplishments.

As the student becomes familiar with the curriculum and can read independently, you will likely discover that they get out their book and manipulatives and complete a lesson on their own. They will color in the Visual Tracking Sheet, fill out the Completed Worksheet, initial their column, and then bring it to you for your initial — verifying their progress.

All of our customer service representatives at ShillerLearning are homeschool parents with personal experience using the curriculum. Please call us at 203-210-5208 with any questions — we love to chat and help make your homeschool journey a little bit easier and more fun!