Last week was our first full week and Fri. was a mega fun field trip. Now today, he tells me he hates school and thinks he just wants to go back to ps. He is only 6 and really fights me on the sit down work. Plus I worry that I'm not doing well enough or not teaching him enough. I try to do the "unfun" stuff first thing and then do our nature walk etc. later. I don't know. I just hope I'm teaching him what I should. I wish it could all be fun for him but I just don't know how to teach it all in a fun way. I have had really high expectations and really want him to love learning. I'm just not sure what to do. Most days we aren't even doing history or science at all. We just get through the basics. Any suggestions?
have you tried making your nature walk a good learning time? Measuring trees/leaves/prints, estimating weights of rocks. Outside is a great time to learn about science....why do the leaves change colour? What types of clouds do we see today? How do you think the pioneers would have survived in the woods? What animals did you see today? What types of animals would people have hunted? He is 6 so I am guessing grade 1? This is a fun time....lost of exploring. Ant houses, worms in gardens. Learning about habitats....what type of home does each animal have? Then back home he could write a few sentences of what he saw that day outside as well as draw a picture of his favourite thing he did/saw. Making a sundial to teach obout telling time by the sun. Go outside at night and learn about the stars and planets. GAther leaves, seeds etc for rubbings or to press in waxed paper....fall is coming soon so colours will be vibrant soon. Have you asked him about what he would like to learn about?
Gee I thought everyone's kids hated school? if I had a dollar for every time my son said he hated school I'd be rich. Especially when he was about 8-10 age range. He REALLY hated it back then. Some kids will always hate it - not matter how fun you make it. (Although I caught him looking longingly at his new chemistry workbench the other night...he probably won't admit it but I know he's going to love chemistry.)
Dd was like that for a bit last year too. Now she would prefer no school at all but if she has to have school then she prefers homeschooling over ps. What I did was keep pointing out the benefits of homeschooling with her. If it was a bad weather day I would be like aren't you glad you don't go to ps and have to go out in that. When she got done with her work before lunch I would remind her that if she was in ps she would still be doing school work instead of getting to play or go on a field trip. On days that she is doing her school work in pjs (which is quite common, she has to be dressed before lunch but can do school in pjs if she wants most days) I reminder her how early she would have to get up and get dressed in order to go to ps. After awhile she would get fustrated that her friends in ps did not get home to late afternoon while she was able to go out and play at 1:00. After a few months of this I started getting postitive responses to homeschooling and even I am glad we homeschool.
Maybe you could drop your teacher's hat for a while and just explore with him. If I had started when my son was young and I knew what I know now, I would not force learning at all at that age. A lot can be caught up and if he is resisting he may truly NOT be ready for formal academics. You may want to check out The Moore Formula-they advocate delaying formal learning until at least 8, if not even later 10 or 12. It sounds so foreign, but read through the information and let it sink in.
I'd "stop" school and just have fun. Read, hike, swim, do fun craft stuff for holidays, etc. Have you ever looked at Better Late then Early by Ray Moore? Or any of his other books? Check out his philosophy at Moore Foundation dot com. I was a big Classical Homeschooler........ and we all hated it. I read about Ray Moore and his wife and we mellowed out. I also found out my reluctant learner (son) needed glasses. We are now rolling into a more traditional schedule and the kids are much happier with school. Also check out Hewitt Homeschooling dot com. Hewitt was set up with the help of Ray Moore. They have some nice looking simple Unit study sets for the early grades that I really wish I had done with my kids early on. Good Luck.
Yup...this is it. ......... and it is great!!! My kids and I learned to mellow and learned more in the past two years then in all the years before. My kids are now doing 4th and 6th grade and we are all very happy. I can't sing the praises enough of delayed formal schooling.
If I am required to teach certain things, don't I need to have proof that we are doing those things? Also, Pat, I love your ideas. My problem is that I have a hard time coming up with things. I know that sounds silly but I'm just not very good at informal teaching. I need a guide or something! I do try to make it into a learning experience the best I can. I really don't want to take his love of learning away which is one of the reasons for hs'ing. Thanks for all the advice.
If he was in K at ps, then sure, he thinks its all fun like K was - and then, too, he could slide by without too much teacher attention in a group! He doesn't have a clue yet that first grade has lots of stuff that isn't fun even in ps. Try to make a lesson not last more than about 15 minutes, then work up later, and take a break after each thing. Try to work orally as much as you can, with only a little handwriting. Even then, handwriting practice can be done with markers/whiteboard, or fingers in pudding, shaving cream, etc., on a clean countertop or cookie sheet, or chalk on the sidewalk, or a stick in some sand or mud outside....
I agree with Lindina- if he never went to 1st grade in PS perhaps explain that they spend more time in their desks and it isn't all play. And further play isn't always fun when on the playground with larger kids! My son was pulled from 1st grade last year and he tried to tell me he hated school and this and that was BORING! I took months to point out how lucky he is to be able to have more free time. To sleep in, have snacks when needed, pee breaks when needed, talk and move in class, and although book work isn't always fun it's a part of school that will help him achieve his goals in life. I relaxed on my expectations as well and realized maybe I was asking too much. And yes we tried to make school more fun. We added mini units every week so we are always looking at new things. I even let him have days where he is 'teacher'. I tell him I only ask he think about what he wants to 'teach' me and I play student. When he thinks he is in charge I play dumb and I need a lot of help with 'my' work and then he helps and before you know it they have their work done. If you take nature walks just talk about what you see. Like wow those houses are nice. Did you know it's an architects job to design homes? Or lets see how many of this tree we can find. Or can you tell me how to get home. I always like to add the last one because they will eventually need to find their own way and learning directions is important. Discuss the various birds, animals you see and talk about habitats etc... Boys that age love nature and science experiments. Last winter when my DS was six we pulled icicles off the roof and measured them to see how big they were. And we watched them melt in the tub and talked about how they were formed. He loved it and thought I was a little nuts because a couple were like four feet long!
You can be creative in how you count everyday activities as learning: PE: any time he is moving can count towards PE history: watching documentaries or history movies or just talking about indians, or you reading out loud to him Science: any fun experiment, talking about nature as you walk along, cooking, any good discovery program math: for young ones--cooking, measuring, building with blocks I don't know what your particular state requires. I also don't know if they require that all the subjects have to be taught every year. I know in Texas it requires English, spelling, math, and good citizenship. I don't think that means a 12th grader needs a weekly spelling test, his writing will show if he can spell or not. I also don't think there are books out there for good citizenship and if there are if they would be broken up into 12 grade levels to be repeated year after year. For instance, if your state requires English, does it say in 1st grade they must master phonics and be able to read 2 syllable words? Or does it just say that English if required in the overall scope of things? Do you have to submit work?
Have you asked him specifically what he doesn't like? After each thing (subject/lesson/whatever)-maybe ask him if he liked it a visual might help-like a or :| or to choose from, then if he picks a sad face ask what he didn't like-how to make it better. If he picks a happy face ask what he liked so much about it....you might find he just doesn't like one subject or that he doesn't like one type of instruction/approach/activity.... My son is only 6 too-we do about 30 minutes of 'formal' school a day. I'm required to teach reading, LA, math, SS and science. Reading-I read to him (he doesn't read yet-he's not ready and that's fine by me) or does an online phonics game-so he doesn't know it's school (shhhh! LOL) LA-I just read some more LOL I make him write here and there. Do a worksheet or two... Math-I just ordered a few math manipulatives form christianbook.com (nice sale going on) but we have been using foam dice I got from Dollar tree, dried beans, M&Ms, buttons, etc anything we could get out hands on For SS he's doing a co-op class, but next semester we're just going to do holidays as the come up and state history (aka-field trips) For science-geez-apologia zoology 1 and anything else we can get our hands on! This takes up MOST of our time. living books, documentaries, nature walks, etc... I don't have to do every subject every day......oh and in my state I have to do 4.5 hours of 'school' a day-I count everything as school girl! My state requires no proof. But I do document what we do-just in case! Cooking can count as reading (reading the recipe) math (measurements) home ec, science (baking, caramelizing onions, etc) Chores count as home ec, life skills Outdoor play and cub scouts counts for PE Board/card games often teach (money=math, moving spaces=counting) Educational TV counts as school for us (my 6 year old watches a lot of science documentaries) I even count man vs wild as school! Life skills baby! LOL (hey-we have like 50+ acres of woods next to our house!) Crafts count as fun and learning=art and if the craft is based on something-whatever subject. Like for flag day we read a book about our flag and colored some flags from our past that I printed out-coloring that day counted toward SS! He now recognizes the starts and bars anywhere he goes! Maybe read some unschooling blogs for ideas. http://www.sparklingadventures.com/index.php?id=985 (there is a linky list on this blog post to Christian unschooling blogs) You might also learn how to count everyday things as 'school' If he wants to play with legos-let him-guide him a bit and see if you can turn it into a math lesson one ones and tens....We're very child-led, but I guide, but I don't push-it just backfires with my son-he doesn't like to be pushed....he learns way more when I just let him go and try to keep up. LOL http://apps.simplycharlottemason.com/ is awesome- you can find a living book for a read aloud on anything-to get your required subject in-then you can make him do a small book report for LA
Thank you so much everyone for pointing out that it doesn't have to be so structured. I guess I bought this curriculum and thought I have to follow it daily exactly as it is. My husband thinks that is how school should be and it makes it a little harder for me. I feel like everyone is judging me but really all I care about is my kids learning AND being happy. I love all of the ideas. Sonita, I'll also check out those links. Thanks again.
I have a question about the Moore Formula thing(sorry to threadjack!) How do you get away with no 'formal' teaching if you have to have a child tested each year to prove they are up to par with their grade level? In FL we have to provide an annual review and I'm not seeing how they would learn what the state expects them to learn with no formal teaching. Then again I'm not sure what their standards are since it says they're tested to prove they are measuring up to their ability level, but if it's my kid only I would know her true ability level. Otherwise that notion sounds good and I love incorporating learning into every day activities rather than sitting at a desk for an hour, even though I'm also a very literal person and feel like if there is this guide in front of me I have to follow it exactly. My mom says it's why I'm a bad cook :|
I think the biggest thing you learn is that Homeschooling is a journey....it takes twists and turns and doubles back (sometimes often). LOL My oldest is 12 and we have totally changed our methods and curriculum multiple times over the past 6 or so years. Be flexible and be happy....... you will find your groove and then the groove will change. :lol: ...and you will find it again. Enjoy the process.
I'm going through the same thing with my 6 y/o. She went to PS K last year and has told me several times that she didn't want to homeschool she wanted to go back to PS. She doesn't realize that 1st grade is nothing like K. We started with the Abeka curriculum following it to a T, but in these last three weeks I've discovered her likes/dislikes and am tayloring the lessons to her needs. That is the great thing about HS. If we were to follow lesson by lesson why not just send them to PS?
Thanks again to everyone. We have had a wonderful day today. I didn't pull out the lessons at all. We spent the morning outside learning about different plants and trees as we walked. Then we went out to lunch and I let him read things at the restaurant and at the store afterwards. He then helped his grandpa work on his 4-wheeler and I know he loved that. A little while ago he said with a gasp,"Mom, we forgot to have school today!". I hope to be able to find ways to incorporate learning more in the things we do everyday. I still wish there was a manual with ideas on teaching with day to day things. It would at least help me think of things I wouldn't normally think of.
