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On week 3 of CM kids are bored and not wanting to put forth effort HELP.
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<p style=”text-align: center;”>Ok momma’s today was one of those days. Its been one of those days the past few days If I add in the weekend, today and yesterday though. I pulled ALL my kids out of school a month ago I have a 9, 12, and 6 year old. So 7th, 3rd and 1st graders although my 7th grader is doing all 6th grade level work because I found that to be his current level. I chose to homeschool because I want my kids to flourish. My daughter is on a seventh grade reading level and it seemed she was being held back by her grade. And my 12 year old son was placed in all remedial level classes because of not doing good on the Florida state test but he had A’s and B’s grade wise. He was bored to death, getting into trouble and hanging with the wrong kids. I recieved multiple emails and calls from annoyed teachers saying he was too advanced for the classes and was bored and disruptive. He could not be moved out level one remedial classes because the test determines that. As far as my 6 year old he’s my wild boy and totally not ready for formal education in my opinion. The first week or so homeschooling with CM was good but now everyday the kids are dreading school. They whine, complain, sigh, and after checking their work they have been putting in the bare minimum. I’ve been a cheerful, and positive mom but its wearing me down. Coming from 8 hours a day plus homework to 3 hours max of work I expect maximum effort. Is this normal for kids? My daughter had the highest AR score and made straight A’s in school, always recieved awards for her art and behavior and now I sit and have been watching her cry through her work and want to make little effort. I have began to question homeschooling. It makes my heart sink. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.</p>
Hello! We will be beginning our third year of homeschooling in August. I have a 5, 6 and 9 year old. My first year was the most difficult. My oldest missed her old school and my 6year old girl was being a stubborn learner. My little boy was beginning to be influenced by his sisters. I really had to give love, understanding and patience to my oldest and get her involved in activities right away. This helped encourage her to complete her work and to do it well. With Abigail, my now six year old, I had to change my teaching method and find more educational games we could do for learning. My boy continued loving school though. It took a good year and a bit more really to get to the consistent good attitude and willingness. It’s a big change for your children. Maybe a time off from education is what could benefit them. I did this for a short time with my kids in the first year and that was fun for everyone and enabled me to see where we were at regarding respect, family values, discipline and just having a lot of family focus and fun.
I have a few thoughts to share. First, you and your children need time to deschool. That means no lessons for several months (take the summer off!). Yes, that may make you nervous. It’s ok. Just do it. The caveat – don’t let screen time take over that empty space in the schedule. Ban screens. Leave out science kits, art materials, spend time outside, go to the library every week or every other week, put board games or card games out on the table or a shelf. In other words, have lots of interesting things available for the kids, and let them just relax and adjust.
During this time, you will start thinking about what you want your homeschool days to look like. What routines do you want to put in place this fall? Maybe you want to reserve the hour after lunch for reading aloud, and you want Wednesday afternoons for nature study, art, and music. You may decide that the first thing to happen each day for your family will be science, or maybe it will be math, or history.
Once you have these routines in mind, start choosing one to add in to your days each week, beginning in early August. In other words, slowly build a new learning lifestyle.
You will want to learn what works well for your kids. I have 10 children. One thrives best with quiet, another works well with some quiet background noise, and one is so distracted by auditory input that he has to wear noise cancelling headphones during math. One child digs in to get everything done as early as possible, with few breaks, because he wants the afternoons free, while another is a slower starter, who will happily still do a few things in the afternoon. One isn’t ready for school work until they have a snuggly blanket, while another always brings a stuffed animal to the table. One works best on the couch while another likes the floor, and a third only stands at the table (but doesn’t like sitting). Some start with math to ‘get it out of the way’ and one saves math for last because it is their least favorite. One always starts the day reading. One has to get up and literally run around, jump, do push ups, and get out energy between EVERY subject. These things may seem simple, but allowing the kids some say in their routine can make a big difference.
You will get pushback. Kids won’t enjoy every subject. That is ok. What subjects do you have specific things you want to use and which subjects are you flexible on and can let the kids pick? For example, my high schoolers choose almost all their curriculum, with input from me, while my elementary kids get to choose the science topics we study. All the kids get to pick every other book they are reading independently (I pick a book I want them to read, then they pick the next book they read. Both of us are happy!). My kids have a lot of flexibility on choosing writing topics, but know that I get to choose some too. (Ex: I have one child writing Marvel universe stories and Sherlock Holmes stories. I have one writing an adventure set in a Minecraft themed world. I have a child who dislikes all creative writing and always chooses to write a report/informational essay/nonfiction. I accept narrations about movies as equally valid as their narrations about history or science.)
My kids know some things aren’t optional. The law in our state requires they learn math, so math is a must. But they also know I can show them different options for math to help them find materials they prefer using.
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