Homeschool World Forum

[ambr1377]

Hello,
We are starting our first year of homeschooling and it is not going very well. My 8 year old son wont do any cirricullum. He just wants to go to the library to check out VIDEO GAMES. And since we are all at home I want them to do housework as part of their schooling so Im not doing EVERYTHING. I have a 4 year old daughter and a 20 month old daughter. My 4 year old is very enthusiastic about learning and is doing great at home, but is distracted by her brother and I having quarrels. Then there is my 20 month old who gets into everything no matter how baby-proof the house is. It seems like no matter what I am doing, I have to stop every 10 min or so to get the baby out (or down) of something. I really want this to work. Help! Help!

[hscoach]

Maybe you could try adding some educational games or field trips and other similar activities to each school day so your son might be more excited about learning. I don't think you should have to fight to get the work done. Figure out what works and go with that. Does he love the computer? Then let him do more work on it. (there are many free educational resources online) Does he learn better by doing something 'hands-on', like a project or experiment? Then go with more of that.

Maybe you could also make a rule like "during the school year when we go to the library, you are allowed to check out as many books, cds, and educational dvds as you like -- but no video games at all."

I know it is hard with 3 children and especially since your youngest is 20 months. You might try just doing school work with the older two while the younger one is napping in the afternoon and it is quiet. As they get older, it will get easier. Best wishes!
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Laura L. Barth
http://www.freehomeschooladvice.com

[Theodore]

Need to find him some books he'll enjoy reading. Two of my sisters knew how to read from a technical perspective but weren't at all interested in doing so, we actually used comic books to get them interested and then novels and now they read lots of nonfiction as well and at a college level.

Also, as a boy who grew up with computers myself, I know that the one thing I REALLY wanted to do and never got enough of was to play on the computer all the time. My parents only let me use the computer when all my homework and chores were done, and then only for a limited amount of time. If you can somehow manage to do the same thing with your son, his attention span will improve.
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[Bee]

Whilst my children were getting used to homeschool we set out some rules and made it clear what I expected of them. For the first 6 months, while they were acclimatising they did not have to do chores round the house.

I mark the school day clearly. They have to get up and dressed by 8am, they can have some time to watch tv (but no video games) while they eat breakfast. At 8.30 school starts. The radio, tv and all computer games are turned off and put away. We have a morning circle - a game, a song, a poem. I set up the school room while they are eating, so all the books are out. I write on the white board a list of goals for the day.

Every school day starts with math. We sit down together and go through the problems, make sure that they understand. The one who is not school age sits with coloring or a craft kit. While he was still a baby, he was set down to play close by, or in his sling while I taught.

Depending on the day, math is followed by geography, history, Latin, science or art. We have a routine and a timetable, which the children are aware of. When they have completed a piece of work, they get a sticker on their to do list for the day.

The school day continues with vocab, reading, writing, etc. We carry on working, with my supervising and teaching, and responding until lunch. The older ones are expected to help prepare lunch, and enjoy doing it.

We break for 45 mins for lunch, then school continues until 3pm.

The last 45 mins is project work time. They are allowed to choose the subject to prepare a lap book about, and have an unlimited amount of time to complete as long as they put work and effort into it every day. We have had subjects like volcanos, crystals, Roman Myths, Ancient Greece, women in the Bible, and dinosaurs. This is totally child-led.

They are expected to work until 3pm. At 3pm, we talk about the day, have questions, and wind up. They are then allowed to go out and play, have time with video games, watch tv, knit, sew. I do not mind what they do after 3pm, within reason.

We do have days when the kids are slow in their work, or unmotivated. Those days, I take control, find a good science experiment to do, or get more deeply involved in the task at hand.

The younger ones are more difficult, as it is more labor intensive, teaching to read and write. But once the older ones have been set up, and had their work explained that should free you up for the younger children.

Twice a month we go out to a museum, park, or place of interest, with worksheets to be filled in, and a report to write the next day.

If I have any trouble getting the work out of them, they know ALL the computer games, wii, whatever, and including the tv is removed and not returned until they show me they are as committed to their work as I am to mine. I know, I know..Im tough, but once they get into the swing of working at home, those hard days rarely come around.

[SUZI9876]

I'm very new to this, but this is what I do with my children. No TV until after school, unless it is an educational video that corresponds to what one of them is learning. If that's the case, they watch it on computer in a different room than the rest of us. They have a daily checklist for grooming and chores. Each checkmark is worth one point. When they have reached their goal for the week (the older children have more chores and therefore a higher goal), they are allowed 30 minutes of "uneducational" computer games; otherwise all computer games must be educational.

Perhaps something similar to this might work for your son. You could list all of his assignments and allow him to check them off. When they are all checked off if he has done his work correctly (you will probably be able to tell if he is really struggling with the assignment or if he just blew it off) then he can have x amount of time playing video games.