Teaching what you don’t know

mom and son read

I wish I knew it all. I want to teach my daughter too many things! Lizzie is 5 years old and has a hunger for math and science.  I am naturally inclined in reading and writing. As I sit her down for an art project together, she starts to ask me math questions.

Seriously, Lizzie? We are doing fun art and you want to make it a math question? 

I am so proud of her. And then it hits me – I can help her with math now, but when she is older? What then?

I also want to teach her to appreciate different cultures, different lives. I want her to learn geography, geometry, and how our world works. These are all things I just don’t understand myself.

And I don’t want to just rely on  her teachers either.

Then, it dawned on me.

I can learn with her! 

They say the best teachers are also the best students. Teaching someone a subject is one of the best ways to learn it yourself.  As she is learning a new subject that is difficult for me, I can actually ask her to teach it to me and it will help her!

I am also going to keep asking friends and family for help. I have a husband that is naturally a whiz at math and science. He teaches her all these little facts and they do math problems together.  I have other friends with children and they teach me games we can play to learn new concepts.

The biggest thing I learned? To not let my lack of knowledge keep me from being involved in that part of my child’s education.

How do you teach your child what you do not know? 

This entry was posted in Uncategorized by Annie Shultz.

About Annie Shultz

Annie Shultz lives in Kansas with her three kids: Lizzie (four years), David (two years) and Lucy (11 months). She created her blog Mama Dweeb in 2009 to share her writing and life with other moms. She is also the managing editor of 5 Minutes for Parenting and a contributing writer on the Perspectives blog with pediatrician Dr. Greene. She loves discovering and sharing parenting ideas that help caregivers find success in their role. She has learned that a mother is always learning, always adapting, and forever involved in the most rewarding adventures!

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