Case Study: Patty's Story Part I
Normally I would only share this story with my E.P.I.C. Empowered Parents Inspiring Children Home Educator Certification clients. But I want to share it with you today because although you may not intend to homeschool in the long term, it will show you the possible benefits of using the Light Way System even for a short time. The issues Patty faced may sound all too familiar to you. I hope not but...here goes.
Patty came to me in 2015 because her 13 year old son was struggling with anxiety and depression. He hated school and learning and getting him out of bed on school mornings was a chore.
Patty's own husband didn't want her to homeschool never mind her friends and she certainly was no teacher! She had huge fears, but she walked right through them and the results have been spectacular!
In the beginning, Patty desperately wanted to homeschool her children but as I said before, even her husband was against it. She begged me to come to Chicago to help her get started and persuade her friends and family it would be a good move for her kids. So I drove to Chicago and did two workshops over one weekend. I explained how the traditional system is fatally flawed, then I shared what 150 years of research has taught us resulting in 21st century learning principles we can use. I taught her how to implement these principles like project-based learning, self-directed learning, fully balancing our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being for the greatest most expansive learning outcomes. I showed Patty how to run her program democratically, how to transition from parent to teacher with ease, how to manage a child lead learning environment, and much more.
When I met Patty’s son, Matthew, he was somewhat withdrawn and quite down on himself. He did not have a good rapport with his teachers and felt generally harassed and harangued at school. His grades were less than he was capable of and he struggled to get out of bed on school mornings. Patty's daughter, Arianna, was in better shape but still hated going to school. They had been begging her to homeschool for quite some time.
After the workshop, her husband agreed to a trial and proceeded to order in a set of curriculum manuals and courses with instructions that they were to be followed daily. Patty was a bit frustrated. You see she wanted to teach her kids differently to the way they had been learning in school. She wanted them to feel empowered to make good choices for themselves and to learn about topics they actually cared about. So the manuals sat to the side and the kids went on an amazing learning journey you can read about on Patty’s blog.
Arianna and Matthew transformed. They had experiences that children in traditional schools could only dream of. They performed in local adult theatre productions, took part in civil war re-enactments, learned circus sports at The New York Flying Trapeze School in Chicago, attended the Chicago Botanical Gardens Fiber and Fabric Art show, and yes, did reading, writing and arithmetic, but these were integrated seamlessly into all these pursuits.
At 18 Arianna got accepted to Cornell, is a professional harpist and has a two year degree in horticulture. Matthew is studying German living in Germany.
Your kids deserve this type of learning too and that’s what my Jump Start Light You Up Coaching Program is for – to give you the tools to do pain free homeschool, to deliver it with ease and to create a learning experience your kids will always be grateful for.