In 1986 my wife, Jessie, and I began home schooling. It was more Jessie than it was me, since I was at work each day while she was home with the kids. But home schooling became a way of life for our family until 2006.

But there were some lessons we leaned along the way. One of these lessons was understanding the difference in the way some children learn. And it was a difficult lesson for us.

You see, our first two children lulled us into a false sense of security. Matthew, our oldest child, had been taught to read by his mother by the time he was four years old. He loved books. He loved reading. All we had to do was give him something to read and he’d be off with a new spurt of learning energy.

Rachel, his sister, was not much different. She, too learned to read by the age of four, and she too loved books.

But then came the challenge in the family. Peter was our third and quietest child. He loved to play with Lego, and could build these complex models without any visual aids by the time he was three. He too, learned to read by the age of four. And that’s where the similarities stopped.

You see, Pete had no great desire or urgency to read. The problem was not that he could not read, because he could read with the best of them. It was just that he did not like to read. And he still doesn’t. But it took us a few years to catch on to this. When at the end of the day we found he had finished none of his school work we initially thought he was lazy, rebellious, or just disinterested in learning. We were wrong on all counts.

What my wife eventually discovered was that if she sat with Pete and read his school work to him, he would then pass any tests with flying colors. In fact, his test scores were better than his older brother and sister. We had on our hands something we were unfamiliar with at that time: an auditory learner.

We had learned the hard way that some children like to learn by reading, while some like to learn by reading. There’s another group that like to learning by doing things.

Now, professional classroom teachers are often aware of this, which is why they mix the activities during the day. They are trying to cater for the different learning styles of the children in the class.

But as parents, we have a better choice. We don’t have classes of 20 or 25 children. We have just a few children that God has given us. And being parents, we know our children far better than any teacher ever will, provided we don’t neglect our parental duties.

So, if you’re having just a little frustration with your own children in the home, it may well be that there is some kind of conflict going on with their learning style and they way you as a parent are trying to teach them. This can happen even if you’re not home schooling.

Therefore, be considerate of the gifts God has given to your child, and try to adapt to their learning styles any lessons you have for them. Do not in any way compromise your standards of what you want them to do. But be flexible in your presentation and handling of the lessons that you give them from day to day.

If you want more help, along with some practical assessment sheets to help, click here to buy