Eek I'm just wondering if there is any other way??? I have 3 kids, 7,5 & 1. They have just this year really began to sit down and do "written" work and actually the eldest said she loved it - novelty worn off a little after just 2 weeks....however, I digress. I find that I have to micromanage anything they do - even being by each other is a problem sometimes, yet other times they are like the most darling of siblings that ever walked the earth...:angel: Even the baby can be a menace but that is the life of babies - to find, discover, attack and DESTROY!:evil::evil: How do I prevent the micromanagement of even the simplest of requests...I am beginning to wonder if they have to have different desks/tables on opposite sides of the room while I play with the baby in the middle - or should they just be made to get along by working with / alongside each other. Seeking sanity on all this....and no doubt more soon SS
I have the same problems with ALL my kids. I let them do their workbooks anywhere they like, the couch, the floor, the table, their bed, outside when it is nice etc. If they have questions they bring me the book and we go over stuff together until they understand. Otherwise when they are done they bring me the book and I look all their work over and we correct any mistakes together. While they are working on their stuff I can take care of the youngest 2 kids and pick up the house. I used to make them all sit at the table and work and it just became so loud and frustrating from the fighting (he touched me! She's looking at my workbook! etc) that I realized they all know how they work best, so I gave them the freedom to choose where they do their work. The don't always pick the same place everyday and some days they will switch places 100 times but at least the work gets done and there is A LOT less fighting and micromanaging!
Luckily my girls get along really well and don't bother each other while doing their work. Maybe once your kids get a few years older it will ease up. My main struggle is my 2 yr old son. It is next to impossible to get anything done with him running around :roll: Can you do work with just 1 child at a time, while the other children play or watch tv ? I know easier said then done
I like them to sit at a table as it is better for their backs. But when one is distracted by the other..ahem.. Ds is asked is asked to do his work in the next room by the fireplace. Or sometimes if there are way too many rantings and ravings over the workbook/work I will ask him to go to his room to complete it. Not my favorite but sometimes I think it helps him to decompress and mellow out. I have also developed the oh you can't behave then stand in the corner until you can philosophy. Which as mean as it may sound works really well if you are consistent. Nothing like being bored to get them back to it with a happy attitude. Otherwise maybe if your little one still naps do the schooling when he/she naps. Have the older child if they are reading read to the younger one. Whiteboards are also good. You can play with the baby and ask the kids to do math problems on them. Say like this, draw a prince/princess. She/he is carrying a basket and in it is five tomatoes. Now two fall out how many are left. The kids have to draw what you say and then do the math. It really is fun and entertaining. Save it for when they start to act up A sort of backup plan. Also another fun one is BINGO. You can make bingo math, alphabet whatever which is the two of them learning and playing together. If it is strictly bookwork when the problems hit try doing it in shifts. One can do theirs while you are making lunch the other while you are making dinner. Hope something I said is helpful
we do this here too. I used to have one area to school in, and it took me awhile to get used to the idea that we could school all over the house. Now work gets done alot faster and with way less fighting. and I get alot more done in a day when I am not looking over shoulders and refereeing arguments. My kids also like the feeling of accomplishment and independence when they do it without mom interfering.
Most of the time the girls are fine and will cooperate totally with each other and independently of each other - but it is just those moments when they are aggravated - not sure whether it is frustration, boredom or sheer bloodymindedness! :roll: Unfortunately the middle one suffered from middle child syndrome from the minute she was born - and if I try to spend some quiet time with the biggie she has to find something to tell me, show me or then starts to act up so , we're trying to find a way around this one....which at the moment sometimes ends up with her banished or me shouting . My new year resolution was to not shout - but she doesn't make that so easy. I am quite reactive and she knows just what buttons to press... We're just starting out on the formal work (the children have never been to school) and now the older one is more ready - she needs to sort out her life a little bit as she is now aware that her peers are moving slightly ahead in some areas - so she is getting a bit ansy about not being able to read and is getting frustrated by it too - so I am sure these frustrations are not helping, but I am trying to get her reading by stealth...doing lapbooks, following instructions in kits that she wants to do (she was made up over the holidays she made a robot from a kit). All in all I guess I'm understanding that we have a new routine too as our family life has changed dramatically over the last few weeks and we all have a bit of settling in to do....I am just wondering how long this settling takes and how much effort I put in to the settling, versus letting the dust settle by itself is needed....(not that I don't want to do it - just don't want to interfere if not necessary)...we shall wait and see. Thank you for your continued support - perhaps when lots of cutting and glue are not involved (middle one last left alone with scissors attacked her hair in dramatic style) then maybe I could lighten up and try the work anywhere that I can see you approach until they can be trusted to "work" where I can't see them..... Always looking for those ideas though - thanks SS
I also deal with this problem. I try NOT to micromanage because it degenerates into "She looked at me!" "He smiled at me!" ARG. Their battles become littler and littler and imho dumber and dumber (that's adult speak LOL). I am learning to let them find a spot other than the table. I want them both there, really, since penmanship is neater, and we really do a lot of discussing and less paperwork. But yesterday, as ds had a meltdown and asked to go sit on the couch instead, I realized hey, that's ok too! We may switch to working in the livingroom (one on couch, one on loveseat) but I need another clipboard so hopefully all writing won't degenerate. If I'm in the middle of talking and they start, I shut up and wait. Then I say, briskly, "Are we ready to continue?" Usually they do calm down a bit after that.
