My ds should be going into 4th grade ps this year. He finished 3rd grade in ps and this past summer we really didn't do any work. We had fun, took several vacations, tv, video games, swimming and on and on. So now it's time to hit the books and this is our first year homeschooling. I'm having a hard time keeping my sons attention with his academics. He is a visual learner and we are using Time4Learning, library books, Journal,(if he has to write anything he whines about it) a beginner cursive workbook (1pg a day) and we have a Lego machine class each Wed. I'm scared about him falling behind. He is always wanting to take a break and complains about doing any work. He would never complete any worksheets if I wasn't standing over him. I've heard a lot about deschooling but I thought summer would kind of be that period. What exactly should I or he be doing during this deschooling period because he still needs to learn his math facts and writing skills. I'm having a hard time adjusting. I know he would watch tv or play video games all day if I let him (of course I don't) but because I'm giving him "school work" to do and making him get up before 10 he whines. I don't want to start homeschooling off bad and make all of us feel like this might not work or isn't going to a great experience for any of us. Any ideas, experience stories, support or opinions about this is appreciated. TIA
This is more a discipline issue than a schooling issue. How would your respond to his behavior if he reacted like that to any other household chore? It sounds like you're already making the effort to teach to his learning style. Kids are always going to whine about work of any kind; having taught professionally, I guess I'm just so immune to hearing whining about schoolwork that it doesn't really phase me. They can whine all they want, but it's going to get done regardless. My kids love games as well. Our deal in this house is that they can play an hour of games only after all lessons are done. If they don't do something, then they don't get games that day. If the whining really bugs you, make that part of the deal as well - all lessons must be done and with no whining before games.
agree I agree with the post above. It seems like a discipline problem to me also. If my dd whines she knows that she will not be able to do craft time or computer game time. I have a sticker reward chart that works really well. when they fill up the chart they get a field trip. can be a free trip to the park or an expensive one to the GA aquarium. whatever we can afford at the time! It took me a while to get my daughter to get out of "mommy mode" during school time and to look at me as her teacher. amy, GA
maybe don't use worksheets anymore? Do you want to spend the rest of your homeschooling experience standing over him? How fun will that be for him? I speak from experience as someone who had their son finish 3rd grade in ps and then we started homeschooling. He is now 12 and we will start 7th grade in one week. It's possible that you are trying to recreate "school" in your home to look like ps. Your son sounds very similar to mine and believe me, that won't work too well. WHy is it that you pulled your son out? I am a product of public school and so is your son -that is the only framework we have for learning -but it's not all there is. Start calling it learning not school, talk to your son about how he likes to learn things-you already know he's visual so that's a good start. Worksheets are BORING -my son did more worksheets in ps than I can number and they do nothing to spark a love of learning -they are convenient for the teacher because it's easy for him/her to correct 25-30 of them. Math can be learned at the grocery store, in advertisements, in real life situations - memorizing facts can be achieved thru worksheets but an actual "oh I get it" is achieved through doing real things. My son is easily bored and through much trial and error we have pretty good sense of what works for him. I run screaming at anything that looks like a workbook (although honestly am tempted to purchase them when I'm feeling lazy or doubting my homeschooling abilities) I'm not condemning workbook users at all-they have their place but mostly they bore my son to tears. Try to read some unschooling articles/websites. Sandra Dodd is a good one. It will help change your mindset from public school to learning. I flirted with unschooling for awhile but know I couldn't do it completely. We are "relaxed" homeschoolers. Involve your son in this process to some extent -you'll be surprised what you find out from your kids if you'll just ask Jane
Have you tried working with a white board? Some kids will do anything if they get to write it and wipe it away.
I'll second the white board. My kids love ours. We have a full-sized one and the little lap ones from Walmart that they adore. My 8 yo loves when I write out math problems for her and she does them there, but fusses about doing them from the book. But she also likes worksheets. <shrug>
I can see where I need to have more discipline but I was hoping he would be more independent with his studies since we went with T4L which is somewhat more fun then what he's used to. We were way to lazy this summer. We officially started 2 weeks ago so I don't think we've hit our groove yet. He does the work because we make him but he just whines about doing it. I can deal with it. I think that's a great idea about using different language. We've always said "school work" so that sounds like a dirty word now to him. He has lost any passion for learning because it's "work". I'm trying to find new ways to teach a visual learner. We'll start using a lap white board tomorrow for math, I know he'll like that. Thanks for the idea! He's also inattentive ADD but I don't want to have him on meds. We also have 3yr old twin girls so they can be distracting at times. I guess I'm just feeling anxious about failing myself like forgetting an important subjects or not being able to handle everything.
Since you mention he has a lack of focus, have you tried using L-Theanine? I'm about to give it a go with my daughter; she's not ADD, but she is very unfocused and easily distracted. I've heard and read great things about it. It's an amino acid you find in green tea. They have it in capsule, pill, and powder forms. The people I've talked to who use it with themselves and their kids all swear by it as a great help for focus.
I had the same problem with my son while in ps for his homework. I told him he had to stay at the table until (one sheet - or whatever you want to set) was done. Then he was able to take a break of (however many minutes works for you - set a kitchen timer). He then had to complete the next set before he could get another break. I told him it was his choice on how long he would sit at the table. If he finished quickly, he got his break faster. Or he could sit there a long time until he decided to do the work. Then I stuck to it. Took a few days for him to get in the groove, but he finally figured out it went quicker if he cooperated. We did have an episode where he refused to do the worksheet at all. He was mad at the teacher. He has a set time allowed for his game system. I took away time in 5 minute increments and told him each time how much he had left. He lost 20 minutes before he realized he would lose it all and I would start on his time for the next day, lol. You just need to find what works on that particular child. We all have our weak spots.
OM!! I've realized today we need a lot of review. I can't imagine how he's passed some grades in ps without knowing some basic math facts. He is still counting his fingers or in his head when adding facts. His writing is horrible. It took him 2 hours to write his vocab words, the meanings, and a 7 sentence story that had the vocab words in it. (this is T4L Lang Arts Extension) The story didn't even make a lot of sense. He misspelled some basic words, kept forgetting to capitalize and put periods. I think making him do the Time4Learning Lang Arts, LA Extension and the Math portion before taking a break longer then 5min is not too much to ask a 4th grader. All the reviews I've read says T4L only takes couple hours a day. Is there any resources out there that can help with math facts or writing stories?
Miska - have you looked at this information on visual-spatial learners? It has some good tips at how to work with kids who are more visual [and, yes, bad handwriting is a side effect of being a visual learner LOL ]: http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/Visual_Spatial_Learner/articles.htm
Would he focused anymore if he said the information out loud and you wrote it down? You know something completely different from what he was doing in ps? Where does he do his work? My dd is in Montessori and they have a great big rug that the kids love to lay down on and do their work. I also have taken my kids outside with the whiteboard and some snacks and did fractions in the shade and they really liked that. I would not be too concerned about being focused - just do the work in unusual places that a kids would not expect to do work at. I think he will hit a groove but you just have to be patient and believe. Faith is a GIANT step you need to take to convert from ps to hs. This is a whole new ballgame.
Part of what I've found with my kids is they really like the "time with mom" aspect of homeschooling. During school time I don't set them up and leave, even though I could do that with my DD and she would be able to do the work. We all sit around the school table (an extra dining table in our house). The kids get out their work, I get out my beading, and we all work together at the table. I'm immediately available if there are questions. I also do some things orally. DD will sometimes ask a question, then we discuss it and I'll see she understands, and I don't make her go back and write what we've discussed. She see's it as a big bonus, and I see it as an alternative form of learning. We don't have to show our work to the state here in IL. If I know she knows it... she's good! If you look through our workbooks, you might often see big sections crossed out with the word "orally" written across it! The only problem I have right now is my 4 yr old who wants to be involved, but doesn't always want to sit at the table with us. We are working on that!
It's an adjustment for both of you, so you need to allow yourseves time to adjust. It's okay for things not to go well some days, it happens to all of us! As you and he get to understand homeschooling better and strengths and weaknesses, I'm sure you'll work through things okay! My ds15 had trouble sitting still to work. Someone mentioned saying things out loud. I totally agree! I let my ds walk around and say/spell/count things out loud. It helped him tremendously! I would NOT make him sit at a table or desk or in one place (especially those with 4 or 5yo's who needs to move about a lot)! This is HOMESCHOOL not a school classroom! He needs the ability to walk around, lay on the floor, sit in a chair, etc. as he needs to to help him focus and learn! Seriously, some kids just CAN NOT focus when forced to sit at a table or desk! We had the diningroom area and livingroom that we were in mostly. He could wander around there and sit/lay in any position that felt most comfortable for him as long as he was getting his work accomplished. If he got out of hand, I'd have him run around the house 2 or 3 times--sometimes by himself, but more often than not, we all went out and ran around the house, or down to a stop sign and back. It was good exercise, and it helps clear the mind and get the blood flowing! Sometimes I could see his focus draining away, so I'd have him do 10 or 15 jumping jacks. Just something to get the blood flowing smoothly again so he can think better! Also, make sure he's drinking plenty of water! That helps keep the blood from getting sluggish. Find some things that he is specifically interested in and get books or find stuff about it on the internet. Let him do vocabulary/spelling and reading and reports on those things. He'll be less likely to whine if he's working with something he enjoys! I totally agree with the whiteboard idea! We've done that for a few years, and it just works! My kids would do diagramming and things on the whiteboard that they "couldn't" do on paper! I also did a lot of things orally with this ds. The other two didn't need that as much, but he seemed to do much better when we read outloud and discussed things. Whatever it is that you find will help him--do it! Home things settle in and you have a great year!
