Twins at different working abilities-now what??

[igeagewalker]

HI, I have a problem that I am looking for some feedback/advice for. My twin boys, who just turned 11 in late Jan. have been using CTC for four weeks. We are on Unit 4. One twin is very motivated, loves to learn, cares about his "grades", and had the attention span to do CTC at full speed. The other twin, though VERY bright, doesn't really care about school and even complains the night before about too long of a day. He gets tired easily and whines after much work. He learns very fast, but just doesn't have the endurance like the other twin. SO....we have been working together but I am wondering if I should slow down the second twin to 1/2 pace so his days are not as long. I don't want him to end up hating HOD. On the other hand, I don't want him to be "behind" either. But one of the neat things about homeschooling is being able to work with the child where he/she is at, and make the curriculum work for them-right?????

It would cause more work for me, to have them at different places. But I just hate to FORCE learning on the the child. Guess I am just looking for anyone who has had this situation before, or has any advice or feedback.
Thanks to all you wonderful ladies!!
pam

[pjdobro]

I really don't know what I would do in your shoes, but I feel your pain. I remember when I first started schooling my twins, it was really tough because they were at different levels academically. It's tough because they are the same age and therefore expect to be the same grade level. I have managed to keep them together over the years but it has been a balancing act trying to keep the levels correct for math, reading, writing, etc. There have been times that I've pushed one to keep up with the other or slowed one down to stay with the other and that has always been tough. I've always had some questioning about it whether I was doing the right thing for either of them. I did finally split them up in dictation this year which is something I should have done years ago. They do understand that they have different abilities and usually are ok with that, but still it can be challenging at times to have them being at different levels in subjects both for the logistics and sometimes their feelings.

My twins are currently in CTC and I have to say that there is a night and day difference in their work ethic and attitude. I have one that is a diligent worker and sees the tasks ahead as a job to be tackled. He tends to get an early start and feels a huge sense of accomplishment in finishing his day's work early. He thrives on the challenge of accomplishing his tasks and doing it in a timely manner. My other dc though tends to meander through the day. She is difficult to keep on task and though she doesn't exactly complain, her attitude isn't stellar on many days. She is fully capable of the work though and on the days that her attitude is right, she handily completes her work in a timely manner. So for her, I feel the problem is more of an attitude and heart issue and not so much a capability issue. Therefore I feel I need to keep pressing on and let her reap the negative effects of not being diligent like losing free time. This isn't our first year with this curriculum though and she truly loves it. She's in the midst of puberty feeling the tiredness and scatter-brained focus that comes with that too which I know contributes.

Your situation is likely different. If you feel your son really isn't capable of CTC full speed, then I would slow it down if you feel you can handle it. If he is capable though, then you have to weigh out why is he struggling. Is it heart issues or just taking some time to adjust to the new schedule/curriculum? Even having done HOD for 4 year previously, we struggled the first 7 weeks, trying to find our groove. I really considered slowing it down to 1/2 speed for a while until we got the hang of it. It is a full day. We were even used to many of the activities and flow of the guide from previous guides. So there is no harm at all in slowing down to half-speed until everyone is adjusted. I think if it were me though I might slow everyone down to half-speed to make it easier on myself. I did find that after about 8 to 10 weeks, we got the rhythm of the guide and the days started flowing better for us. Of course, my dd still has long days because she is slow getting started and takes little side tracks along the way instead of focusing. So, I guess I would try to figure out why it isn't working for your one son and decide if slowing it down now would help. If you think that it would help, I would consider whether or not it would hurt your other son to slow down for a while as well. It might help all of you to take a bit of a slower pace now until everyone is feeling more at home with the curriculum.

[igeagewalker]

Thanks for the post and comments, Patty. It was VERY helpful ! I do think the 2nd twin is capable of the work, he is just not accustomed to working so hard! The last curriculum we were doing was sorta "flimsy" and he got used to having loads of free time. So it is more a matter of getting use to working hard, but really just what really is expected of his age and capabilities. I almost think slowing him down, may just be taking a step backwards. My husband thinks we should keep going, since he will need to learn how to adjust to the world, rather than the world adjusting to him. So I think I will give it a few more weeks to see if we find a groove. Maybe if he is still struggling after another 3 or 4 units, I will reconsider.
Thanks so much, again!
pam