This past school year has been a rollercoaster ride for so many families including ours. When school first shut down in March 2020, I was at a complete loss of what to do and what to expect. I am far from a teacher (so I thought) and I was so scared my children were going to fall behind.
As parents, we are taught from the beginning that there are all kinds of standards that children are expected to fall into to be considered "normal" or "average". From infancy, our children are ranked on a scale, measuring their heights and weights. As they develop from baby to toddler, we inspect all that they do from rolling over to crawling, to walking and speaking. Anything outside the ranges can make parents and sometimes professionals worry. I completely understand why we have many of these standard measurements as there are many things that can be discovered from them and early interventions can always help prevent things. However, I have also come to learn after having five children, that all children develop at their own levels, and what sometimes would seem to be considered "abnormal" to the standards, was not always something to worry about. 
My oldest daughter was always in the 1st percentile if not off the grid for growth and height. She weighed 7 pounds, 7.4 ounces (above average) when she was born, but she just grew slowly. It was brought to my attention often and I would always feel more concerned than I should have after doctors visits because she was so below average. It wasn't until my other children were born did I start realizing that these standards were just that, standards, and that all my children were different, even my twins. Some of them spoke early while never crawling, while others were running before they turned one but didn't speak until close to two years old. With time and experience, I realized that these differences were quite normal and that there was nothing to be worried about. My children would develop at their own pace. I believed this whole heartedly, until they entered public schools that is.
Public schools also put standards on children. Children are supposed to read by a certain age, count by a certain age, and learn specific academics at a certain age. My older three children always seemed to be ahead of the game, took to reading easily, and didn't seem to struggle with much academic wise. My twins on the other hand were both extremely outgoing and advanced socially, but both struggled in their own ways with reading and other areas of academics. I was worried about them prior to the start of the pandemic so when everything shut down I panicked. I'm not a reading specialist and I certainly do not know how to teach struggling readers. It wasn't until we started homeschooling did I realize that I can apply the same reasoning to my school aged children that I had to my babies and toddlers: that all kids develop differently.
The homeschool community takes a very different approach to learning then the public school community. The homeschool school community has taught me that children all learn at their own pace. One child may take longer to read and write while another one takes longer to understand and grasp math concepts for example. Again, I absolutely understand having standards in place. This helps with students who may need interventions and I am sure that having 25 kids at the same level is a lot easier for a teacher to teach than if they are all at different levels. It can be hard just teaching my 4 who are all at different levels. But it's also ok to realize that students aren't actually behind, they just develop differently and perhaps they learn differently. I am happy to report that both my twins can now read, one of them is more advanced in their reading skills than the other but that is totally ok with us. (I am also happy to report that my oldest child is now 5'2 and has no issues due to her adult height or weight). I am no longer worrying that they are behind because I watched them grow at their own pace over the course of a year and I 
have been able to watch them develop academically at their own pace, something that I didn't get to witness as much with my older children which were always in public schools. And while both the twins are the same age, they are not at the same levels or as public school would say, grades. In homeschool, we don't have to put our children in specific grades, we just let them learn at their own levels and meet them where they are.
So while I absolutely understand the concern that parents must have had with their children's educations this past year, I wanted to take the time to remind you that you are not doing anything wrong. That each child learns and grows differently. If the education provided to them this past year was not as good for them as usual, don't fret, things are looking up and as soon as they can make their way back into an environment in which they are able to thrive, they are going to jump up to where they need to be. If this still finds you worried, another lesson I have come to learn and embrace from the homeschool community is that you do not need to sit in front of a computer or at a desk for hours on end in order to learn. Every where we turn is an opportunity to learn.
This actually could be the start of a whole new article, but there are so many ways our children can learn that do not involve school. Often times, kids end up learning about things that they may never use again in the real world (who is using algebra these days) and so many things that they are not taught that they do need (how to balance a check book or pay bills). Just look around you. Cooking teaches math and science. Reading together creates a love of books and can teach so much. And there are so many games out there that teach skills. Did you know that Gameschooling is actually a thing!? Just spend an hour chatting with your child about anything that interests them and watch their eyes light up from all that knowledge they gain.
The point I'm trying to make here isn't that homeschool is better than public schools, each family needs to choose what is right for them and I am sure one could make a pros and cons list for both. It isn't to say that standards are good or even bad for that matter. I just want to remind you that your children are going to be just fine. They are little explorers. Just because they are not where some evaluation tells them they are supposed to be, doesn't mean they won't ever get there or that it will be a weakness of theirs forever. Besides, most kids have had similar experiences this year so I guess that would mean that all the standards should now be lowered for years to come because of the pandemic that shut down the world and made us think our children's educations were doomed. While some of my children may not be at the same level as the average child their age, I am sure my child has also explored and learned so many different things that other kids have not. It doesn't make any one of them smarter or better than the other. So don't worry parents and teachers, these kids are going to be just fine. Just embrace any opportunity for them to learn and watch them grow.
