Every homeschool student is different and their interests will also vary. Depending on their aptitude they will find some stuff easy and other stuff tough to learn. As a homeschool teacher what should you make them focus on first? A couple of factors need to be considered before you make this decision.
Larks and Owls
If you homeschool student is an owl who is usually rather bleary eyed in the morning, you may be better off trying to teach the easy stuff first. When he finally does wake up and catch momentum you can switch to the tough stuff. If your homeschool student happens to be a lark who is bright eyed and clear in the mornings you may want to begin with the difficult stuff right off the bat and get it over with. The homeschool parent’s level of attention may also play a role in determining which topics get handled in the morning and which are left till afternoon.
New Material or Practice
When your are teaching something new to your homeschool student it would make sense to do it in small, easy to understand increments. Then gradually you can move on to more complex examples and problems. However if the child already knows the concept and need to practice the material it may be a better idea to give him some tough problems to solve. This will clarify any doubts left in the mind of the student and allow him to have a good understanding of the topic.
Tests and Revisions
When your homeschool child is preparing for a test, the revisions should focus on the difficult stuff. Yes, make sure that the child goes through the easy stuff, but during revision give extra time and attention to the difficult material he needs to study. When the homeschool student is actually tackling the test he should first read the full question paper. Now he should mentally solve the steps involved in the tough questions and then begin with actually answering the easy questions if he runs into a problem.
