{"id":298888,"date":"2020-10-29T20:41:39","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T00:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/5-ways-to-help-when-saxon-math-is-hard\/"},"modified":"2020-10-29T20:41:39","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T00:41:39","slug":"5-ways-to-help-when-saxon-math-is-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/5-ways-to-help-when-saxon-math-is-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reliable Ways to Help When Saxon Math is Hard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why do I love <a href=\"https:\/\/nicolethemathlady.com\/announcements\/club-month-two-ways-to-reward-all-that-saxon-math-work\/\">Club Month<\/a>? I love it because it\u2019s a big chunk of time where I see so many kids who have said &#8220;Saxon Math is hard&#8221; come through with major success stories. Kids doing big-for-them things and getting recognized for it. My inbox fills up with pictures of happy kids and I hear amazing stories of moms who see their kids\u2019 abilities grow. <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As an educator, it does my heart good to know their success stories, and to imagine how rising to a new challenge will affect them over time.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But I know that Club Month (or anytime kids decide to tackle <a href=\"https:\/\/nicolethemathlady.com\/announcements\/be-a-part-of-nicoles-all-right-club\/\">the All-Right<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/nicolethemathlady.com\/announcements\/does-practice-make-perfect-the-30-5-club\/\">30-5 Club<\/a> challenge) can also mean disappointment. Some kids aren\u2019t going to get into a club they choose the first time they try. We all struggle sometimes, and it can be hard to watch your child deal with discouragement.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But there is another reason I love <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nicolethemathlady.com\/announcements\/club-month-two-ways-to-reward-all-that-saxon-math-work\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Club Month<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and it may surprise you. You see, the work to get into the clubs is so much bigger than the curriculum! The fact that Saxon math is hard work for some kids is what builds character when they ultimately succeed at it. But it&#8217;s difficult to build character, without a little help, too. And this is where you and I step in to educate in the things that will have the longest-lasting effect on our children.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How our children react to early failures can determine personal success throughout their life. And <strong>they need us to help guide their reactions and give them strategies to overcome disappointment.<\/strong> These lessons will help them whether we are talking middle school math, projects at work, relationships&#8211;you name it.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Five Reliable Ways to Encourage Your Child When they Say &#8220;Saxon Math is Hard!&#8221;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\n<h4>Listen<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<h4>Remind them that everyone struggles<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<h4>Point out past successes or areas of incremental improvement<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<h4>Encourage a break<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<h4>Consider new studying or test-taking strategies.<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><strong>1. Listen.<\/strong><\/em> Let them vent a little. I am all about encouraging a positive attitude, but sometimes things stink and it\u2019s okay to say it! You don\u2019t have to let them stew in it, but having someone acknowledge that something crummy happened helps to move on.&nbsp;<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-298889 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920.jpg\" alt=\"Saxon Math is hard\" width=\"940\" height=\"788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920.jpg 940w, https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920-768x644.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. <em><strong>Remind them that everyone struggles.<\/strong><\/em> Everyone! No one has been an overnight success, and some great things have come out of previous failures. There\u2019s always something to learn, and helping your student learn something from a failed endeavor goes a long way toward lessening their fear of disappointment over time.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3. <strong><em>Point out past successes or areas of incremental improvement.<\/em><\/strong> Did they do more problems than they have done before? Did they master that one concept where they had been struggling? Have their test scores gone up a few points? Those are all successes even if they fell short of an ultimate goal. That is worth celebrating!<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4. <em><strong>Encourage a break<\/strong><\/em>. When a child is saying &#8220;But Saxon math is hard!&#8221; they may just need to take a break from all that effort they have been attempting. Maybe it\u2019s a break in the moment (like taking a walk or reading a book when math tension runs high). Or maybe it\u2019s a break from the goal itself. <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look, if they didn\u2019t make it into one of the clubs this month, that\u2019s fine! I will feature them whether it\u2019s October or April or anywhere in between. Take a minute, take a deep breath, and come back to the challenge when the time is right.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5. <em><strong>Consider new studying or <\/strong><\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.educationcorner.com\/test-taking-strategies.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em><strong>test-taking strategies.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It\u2019s possible that not making a goal is a sign that something needs to change. Maybe it would be better to take a test at a different time of day. Maybe the spot where your student is working isn\u2019t as conducive to learning as it could be. Maybe they just need to tweak a few things to achieve their goal. <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now is the time to look at the effort from all sides and see where some needed changes might have a better outcome. This is a great opportunity to examine current strategies and try out new ones.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look, I hate to see disheartened kids as much as I love to see happy ones. Hearing &#8220;Ugh! Saxon math is HARD&#8221; hurts my heart like it does yours. But I\u2019ve had enough disappointments of my own to know that good things can come from them. <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we teach young people how to deal with frustrations and disappointments, we make them <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/amymorin\/2014\/12\/14\/5-ways-resilient-people-use-failure-to-their-advantage\/?sh=66d6fa7b10f8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more resilient.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I love the fact that you and I are building better math students. But <strong>our real legacy will be if we build stronger people.<\/strong> So don\u2019t take a child\u2019s failure as an endpoint. Help them to see it may just be the beginning of something better.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talk to you soon,<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicole the Math Lady<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">P.S. When your student is ready, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you can find the info on how to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nicolethemathlady.com\/announcements\/the-30-5-club\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">submit them for 30-5 Club Membership<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> here, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nicolethemathlady.com\/announcements\/be-a-part-of-nicoles-all-right-club\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All-Right Club Membership<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> here.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why do I love Club Month? I love it because it\u2019s a big chunk of time where I see so [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[17,4,19,20,6,21],"class_list":["post-298888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nicoles-clubs","tag-homeschool-math","tag-middle-school-math","tag-nicole-the-math-lady","tag-saxon-for-homeschoolers","tag-saxon-math","tag-saxon-videos"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Header-Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Header-Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920.jpg",1920,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Header-Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Header-Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Header-Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Header-Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Header-Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Header-Helping-When-Its-Hard-102920.jpg",1920,1080,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Nicole Thomas","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/author\/nicolethemathlady\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Why do I love Club Month? I love it because it\u2019s a big chunk of time where I see so [&hellip;]","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}