Thanks for the great story.

I started to think about our little school and how we operate in such a different way. All four of my kids are pretty bright and don't need a lot of explaining. They are all ahead of grade level.

The two others that I school were way behind where they should be. One of the things we had to deal with was an attitude of "I'm doing way harder stuff." We talked about how that doesn't make you a better person, that our value isn't determined by what we do. It is wonderful to see how the kids now rejoice in the progress of one another.

One thing that I have tried to teach them is that there will always be smarter people around. There will always be people who are less smart.
When they are taught to not compare, but ask if they have done their best, then they can take delight in the good that others do and in what they themselves do, no matter how they measure up to others.

I am amazed how well the two other children that I homeschool are doing. And I know it is largely related to the fact that they know they are perfectly okay, even though their worm is way shorter than the others. They have made such progress because they have been given the freedom to be where they are and move on from there.

Just today, the little guy did 100 addition facts without a number line! And he wanted me to time him to see how fast he could do it. He was so excited he could do it without a number line and was racing away at it. It took him under 11 minutes (I nearly cried). This is big news since the whole last year I had serious doubts whether he would ever learn the addition facts (a year ago at 7 he didn't even understand the concept of adding and couldn't even get 1 + 1). The public school that he attended was basically happy to get him off their hands because they thought he was unteachable. He is such a different child, it ammazes people who know him. How much of that was related to worm strategies?

Jade4, I am so glad you were able to triumph over your circumstances and that such a good result came about!

GG
enjoys the little and not so little triumphs.....