I have a 7 year old who refuses to do any work or even try at something new. I have taught her several methods to figure out her math problems, she refuses to do any of them. I have tried reward systems such as time on a comp. game (educational of course) and game time and it does not work. If she focuses, she completes work in record time such as four hours for core courses (math, reading, history, science). i am frustrated.:shock:
Welcome to the Spot. Well, honestly, I think 7 is young. I'm more of a better late than early mindset, but pay attention to the kids to see when they are ready for things (they usually will ask, even in a round about way). Maybe she needs different curricula? Not everything fits every kid.... or every parent. What are you using? Is it maybe not a good fit? Is it too school at home? Considering you said it takes her 4 hours on a good day to get just the core subjects done... it sounds like it may not be a good fit. Heck, I have 3 kids who are homeschooling and between all of their independent and group subjects we don't do more than 4 hours a day (unless we get involved in a project like building a Trojan Horse or something).
What do you do if she refuses to do something not school-related? What if you asked her to clean her room and she refused? In our house, my kids don't get to do anything fun [i.e. play on the computer or tablet] until their classwork is all done. If that didn't work, they'd lose TV followed by whatever else I could come up with. Kids live for testing boundaries. Mine know exactly how far they can push before pushback occurs. They know I'm serious when I say I'll take away privileges if they don't do the work.
What are you using for Math? Is this happening with all subjects? If it is just Math maybe you need to change up the curriculum. The problem could be a boundaries test just as Shelley said. That is quite common at that age. Maybe change up the rewards too, I used things like special prizes or treats out of the house. Extra tv or computer just would not have gotten dd motivated, the idea of a surprise is what did it for her.
She needs Life of Fred! (I am a shameless promoter of LOF; I think it just might be the most brilliant math program EVER. It's not for everyone, but if you have a bright, but highly distract-able child with a short attention span...Fred is for him/her. My son begs to do math because of Fred.) Four hours of school is a long time for a seven year old. Homeschooling is more concentrated than brick and mortar school; it's tailored, one-on-one with no down time for class discipline, management or movement.
I missed the 4 hours part, that is a long time for a 7 year old which might be part of your problem. When dd was in 1st/2nd grade we normally did school for 3-4 hours max (and we did Sonlight and Sonlight Science. In 2nd grade we also did 2 Science programs.). Our core course never took more than 3 hrs on a bad day. You might want to look at scaling back what your are requiring. That might solve your problem right there.
"Too many methods of math" is the complaint many people have about Common Core in public school. Try just using ONE (the old traditional formula) method. Once she gets it, then you can try "here's another way that some people find useful".
Thank you all for your input. I am going to try scaling back and doing more creative outlet ideas with her. She is a very strong willed child, so I think I am getting pulled into a power struggle.
