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Tailored to Fit
The Challenge of Homeschooling Multiples
By Teri Brown
Homeschooling in itself is a challenging task. You have to figure out your state's laws, find a support group, create opportunities for socialization, choose a method and then follow through on it daily. But is homeschooling multiples double the trouble?
In a sense it is. As a homeschooling family, you are already a minority. As a homeschooling family with multiples, you are a minority within a minority. And that can be a very lonely place.
Perhaps one of the biggest differences between homeschooling twins and homeschooling singletons is the fact that multiples compare themselves to one another more often than do different-age siblings. One of the reasons many parents choose to homeschool in the first place is to give their children individualized attention. When you have multiples, however, this becomes more of a challenge.
Jennifer Castle of Portland, Ore., is homeschooling 9-year-old twins and has found that her dream of homeschooling is much different from reality. "I had this image in my head of the kids and I sitting at a big table and having all these wonderful discussions about literature and science," says Castle. "Because they are twins, we would all be able to work on projects at the same level all the time. Burst! Out goes the bubble."
Their different learning styles challenged Castle to change her thinking about homeschooling her twins. "Jon loves to read and is a visual learner like me," she says. "Mandy hates to read and is an auditory learner. This creates so much more work for me."
Another surprise Castle wasn't expecting was her children's tendency to help each other so they can finish the work more quickly. "They are on a close enough level that they will help each other, so they can get done faster," says Castle. "So I changed the rules – we keep working for a certain amount of time, not pages. They work together to get around that one too! I have an awful time keeping one step ahead of the two of them working together. There is, after all, only one of me!"
