Picking a Favorite Subject I Teach

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I firmly believe that God grants each of us distinct abilities.  Some of us are artistic while others are great at complicated math or science problems.  Some of us have a mind ready to store lots of tidbits of facts while others might be better at conceptual work.  Even if we are capable in many of these areas, it is typical that a few really stand out as ones we both love and excel in pursuing.

This week’s Blog Cruise had the question:

Please share your favorite subject to teach and why!

Well, one might think that it would be science as that’s one of my strengths from my background.  And, I do enjoy doing science to this day.  But, it is a subject we do not do nearly often enough for my taste.  I have a feeling we’ll have more of a science push over the summer to make up for those pockets of time when it was set aside for other core subjects.

I also had a strong background in math.  As much as I love to work problems and see everything click into place, I can’t say it is a favorite to teach.  If anything, having a few boys who do not have the ‘math’ gift has made it a subject of dread for all involved.  While I might be able to tutor another person’s child, the boys tend to discredit some of what I’m trying to teach them on this subject.  (Heaven forbid that I show P how to do a problem in a manner different from his textbook!)

My enjoyment of writing (and hopefully the ability to write reasonably well) could hint at a push to create more writers in the house.  While I might love the idea of having the boys strengthen their writing abilities, I can’t say that it is a subject I find fun to teach.  P usually takes a barebones approach to any writing project and views input as criticism of him rather than a chance to improve his writing.  R is making progress, but still suffers from the combination of handwriting and spelling difficulties.  D just gets contrary if he doesn’t like the particular assignment.

Music is something that I personally enjoy and wish to pass along to the boys.  But, it often gets lost in the shuffle… even though the boys have an interest.  P is slowly learning on the piano and now his brothers want to follow suit.  However, P is prone to perfectionist tendencies and doesn’t like having to practice so much to obtain mastery.  That leads to headaches at times for me.  So, I can’t say that’s even my favorite subject to teach.

No…. the one I have enjoyed the most over the years is reading!  Yes, I am most definitely a bookworm kind of gal.  But, enjoyment of reading a book is not quite the same as helping a child learn to master the ‘code’ or patterns of phonics and ultimately become a life long reader.  R did not have the easiest time of it, but I delighted in seeing things ‘click’ and his desire to share the short stories from Little Stories for Little Folks to Dad each Friday.  D was my puzzle king at a young age, so it was no surprise that he’d take to reading so quickly.  He came up to me around his 5th birthday to say he was ready to read and held the Hooked on Phonics materials my sister had passed along to us.

Now I can enjoy watching all three boys reading not only for their own pleasure, but to share stories with Little J.  I have no doubt that J will grow up to be a life long reader after seeing his big brothers and Mom with noses stuck into books.  Plus, anyone in the family (including Dad) is happy to read to him the books he passes along each day.

Coming in a close second (except for this past school year), I’d say that religion is a joy to teach.  I love to expand upon my catechesis and pass along our faith to the boys.  Both R and D have enjoyed many aspects of the CHC lesson plans for religion and I’m planning to have P follow the 8th grade materials this coming year (as we’d shelved it while they went to faith formation through our parish.)  Central to this love is also the desire to help get the boys that much closer to being saints in heaven.  Being able to incorporate our faith into all aspects of life makes it easier to teach.

Come Tuesday morning, you can see what the other TOS Crewmates are saying about this topic (and others) by visiting the TOS Homeschool Crew blog.