I need help/advice.

Well, a few things come to mind that I would do.  First, I would drop the co-op.  You can see it is not really a good fit (expecting too young a child to sit for too long).

For the not liking being told what to do – I have one of those (ok, more than one, but one very very strongly this).  A key for her was giving her some control of the schedule.  So while I dictate ‘school hours are from 9am-12pm’ she chooses what order to work on her subjects within that time frame.  She has a list of what must be done that day and chooses what to do first, what to do next, etc.  This is for individual subjects – we also have family subjects with all 8 kids that she does not decide when we do them, she has to attend to those when I’m doing them.  We usually begin our day with family subjects and that frees her up for the rest of the day to do her lessons in her order choice.  So today, for example, this child chose to do individual subjects in this order:

• Math
• Copywork in cursive
• Literature independent reading
• Calendar work

Even if your son isn’t reading well enough to use a list, you can have picture cards for each subject and he chooses which one to do (with you as needed, but he is in control of the order, not you).

Also, relax.  Yes, you bought all this curriculum and you would like him to do it.  But is there a chance that you bought too much?  Consider setting some aside to begin at a later time, or take a year and a half or two years to get through some of the materials (history?).

Six is very young, especially for a boy.

When my 9YO was six, we spent maybe 20-30 minutes/day on school work – sitting down, working together.  The rest of the time he played and explored (often on his own).  He spent hours and hours outside, bringing in salamanders and insects and worms as he found them.

He was my second child, so by then I was more able to let go of the public school mindset and let him learn more organically.  Each year he does a bit more “real school”, and he is a smart little kid – asking me to teach him Pre-Algebra, telling me what astronomers now think about black holes, and identifying plants and birds that even I don’t know.  It was difficult, but it was best for me to forget about what his peers were doing in school and let him learn as he learned best.

I might suggest the following:

-Literature:  continue with read-alouds, choosing books that suit his interests.  (So, for example, choose Charlie and the Chocolate Factory over Charlotte’s Web or Little Britches over Little House on the Prairie.  You know him.  Find books that he is going to enjoy.)

-Reading:  Short – I am talking 5 minutes or so – phonics lessons each day.  I did Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with my son at that age, and we didn’t even complete a lesson in one sitting.  Very, very short lessons.  Also, incorporate a few games.  My kids like the Whizizzle Phonics game, which is a card game similar to Uno.  Simple to learn, gives an opportunity to sound out words as you play.  Also, incorporate some copywork, teaching him to write his name or copy Bible passages.  Again…SHORT is key.

-Math:  my son naturally understands math, and he enjoyed having a math workbook around to work on when he was interested.  Otherwise we played lots of math games.  Money Bags, Math War, Sum Swamp, dice games, domino games, etc.  Also, he might work on his math facts on http://www.xtramath.com.

-Science:  have him keep a nature journal.  My 9YO has been keeping one for four years now.  He’s not an artist or a great writer, but it is a joy to look through that book, remembering his “finds”, nature field-trips with his grandparents and woods exploration with his friends.  Perhaps round that out with science books that match his interests.  My son read every book in the “Let’s Read and Find Out” series at our library, just because that’s what he liked.  If he particularly likes science, have some colorful higher-level science books laying around for him to grab and read.  My 9YO’s favorite book is the Space Encyclopedia I found for him at a library sale.

-Other:  Find other educational things that he enjoys and allow him to pursue them as he is interested.  Some interests among my kids:

-Audio Books (Jim Weiss is a great narrator)
-Extreme Dot-to-Dot books (some puzzles go up to 1000 dots)
-Nature supplies (the book Snowflake Bentley, bird guides, bird feeders and seed, binoculars, science posters, grow-your-own butterfly kit, ant farm, etc.)
-Math games
-Legos and Robotics
-Snap Circuits
-Magazines (science, history, or nature-related)
-Documentaries or science shows
-Chess
-Rubik’s Cubes
-Art supplies

Hope that helps you some.  One of the worst things I did with my oldest was to force the sitting time and the “real school” time.  It turned into a power struggle between the two of us and took all the joy out of the day.  At the time I didn’t know that there were better ways to do it.  I bought the entire Abeka K program and was determined that none of it go to waste.  Two or three years ago I sold a large chunk of it on eBay.  LOL.  Live and learn.

Finally, don’t “make it interesting” for him.  To me that brings to mind bright, cartoon-y, juvenile materials meant to manipulate a child into wanting to learn.  Make it rich.  Make sure it’s “alive” (speaks to his interest).  Make sure it’s quality.  When you are able to better tailor your materials to his natural interests, genuine, joyful learning will follow.

Hope some of that helps.  Honestly, my 9YO was the reason that we began homeschooling full-time.  I knew that full-day K (which we have here) wouldn’t suit his needs well.  It has been a learning experience, and I still need to adjust my expectations (shouldn’t he be writing more?  shouldn’t he know how to spell that word by now? shouldn’t he be making elaborate science fair projects?).  The fruits for me right now, though, are that I know that he likes to learn, has genuine interests, is testing above grade level, and is still naturally curious.  It’s worth the trade!

This is good for me to read. My almost 6 year old is very similar and I have been struggling to understand if is reluctance to do school is just him being stubborn or not being ready.

So far it is not much fun to say the least! I am trying to make it fun but he fights me for anything except me reading books to him. He doesn’t recognize his letters and numbers and seem to think it a waste of time. He would rather get busy all day getting into all kinds of mischief and creating art (and mess). Which is pretty much what he does!

I also wanted to mention that this type of problem is a lot more common with the oldest child.  (not to say that it can’t happen with younger ones – depending on personality)  – but with the oldest child this is all new expectations.   They younger children grow up seeing school done and it is their ‘normal’.