Retraining in a sense

It is definitely possible. I pulled mine out of PS last year and they are 10, 11, and 12. We have made significant progess but I know it will take time. I would definitely focus on building the relationships and getting out of the thought process created by PS. I have used a lot of scripture and positive conversations to explain to my children why we are homeschooling (they are all on board but I still discuss the purpose and benefits). and why I require things the way I do.

Pick one or two habits at a time and focus on correcting those. That will help with consistency and not driving yourself mad. Remember, they didn’t learn these habits over night and they won’t be changed over night. 🙂

Tamra

My boys are 11 and 7.  I took them out of PS at the end of their grade 4 and grade 1 year (last June).  They sound very much like your boys in the sense that my oldest has been arguing “that’s not the way we did it at school” — particularily when it comes time to correct math “Mrs. W. never made us correct our mistakes”.  It’s annoying, but I patiantly explained that we don’t learn unless we corret our mistakes.  Every now and then I have to remind him that I’m not Mrs. W. and he’s not just one of 30 students to me, but my own child whom I greatly love and want the best of all things for.  I have the time and desire to help him reach his full potential, so why not take advantage of that rather than fight me on it?  I think they really lose themselves in the PS — if they don’t really excel at things they are far more likely to settle for average and be lazy about stuff.  They need a real boost to their self-esteem and it can be a challenge to figure out what really gets them excited about learning.

My younger was the one always in trouble with the teacher for not listening.  He is ADHD and a way above average learner, so he was bored silly in the classroom but rarely did any seat work unless it really interested him.  He was not overly disruptive, but a climber who often stood on his chair or desk or tried to climb on the window ledge or whatever.  School was just not the place for him at all.

Is your plan to pull them at the end of June?  I wouldn’t worry a whole lot about them missing the final month or two if that is completely your intention.  I really recommend unschooling for at least a few months — focusing on habits of attention, obedience and doing their best when doing their chores (if they don’t have chores, start this NOW) like Gina said.  It takes a while to build a habit, but if you start now you could have a good start on the 2 or 3 that will make your job easiest come September.  When you do start actual schooling, start slow and ease in — star with Math and copy work the first week, and a read-aloud (just one to start — a good, fun book that they will all like).  Ask them to tell you about the story — what they liked or didn’t like or what they thing is going to happen next, draw a picture about the story, etc.  Spend lots of time outside together talking about the things you see — birds, plants, animals, insects, clouds, whatever.  After about a week or even two add in something else — and maybe start taking a sketch book outside with you, or even a camera.  (If your kids don’t want to sketch at first, they can take pictures of things they see and put them into a nature study scrap book.)  Encourage reading for pleasure.  Don’t try to do everything at once and don’t feel you need to do every subject every term.  It’s ok to let one or two things slide while you work on the more important things.  Try to do things at times of day other kids can’t and mention how lucky you are that you can do those things together at those times, and how blessed you feel to be able to spend this special time with them.

I also suggest, when planning your school year, that you plan your personal time and your special time with your dh as well.  You will need both.  You may need to get creative as to how you will accomplish this, but you can do it if you are intential about it at the out-set. 

Tracey

Also – once you have your son reading living books, you’ll be amazed at the vocabulary he will learn without having to write out 20 or 25 definitions every week – my daughter is only 8 and she’s never written a single definition, yet her vocabulary is AMAZING! simply from reading good literature and picking up on the meanings by hearing them used in the proper context… That’s not to say that writing definitions is totally inappropriate for an 11 year old, but I bet you can score some major points by not making him do a whole list of them every week – without losing the benefit of building his vocabulary.

My older son would have been having a bit of a graduation ceremony this year as grade 5 is the last at their old school, and many of his friends will be part of that.  We will plan our own little grading celebration.  Not quite sure what yet, but something special.  I understand how things like that are important to children.