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Got struggles? How is everyone doing?

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd check in to see what everyone is up to this week. As school is quickly coming to an end for some and for others it just never ends, and still for others, you have preschoolers at home or you're homeschooling and life IS school....I'd love to know what you might be struggling with at this point.

What is your biggest struggle right now while teaching/homeschooling your boys? I can think of a few myself. But, I'll share mine in a reply to this discussion. Really, let's share our thoughts and ideas...and encourage one another as we talk about some of the harder things we're encountering right now.

Looking forward to connecting with you all more....

Megan

House of the Rising Sons

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Melody Dove on April 17, 2012 at 4:20am

Hi Megan,

Here in England the school year is structured quite differently to the US with no long summer holiday. School finishes the 3rd week of July and is back the first week in September. We don't follow the school year schedule anyway as two of my boys quite enjoy learning and would get bored if we took a long break. Also by not breaking for summer it gives me the luxury to takes weeks out here and there as we need them.

My biggest struggle is my oldest boy who is a very melancholy sort. Its not really a teaching struggle except that it is difficult to get him to be enthusiastic about anything. I have worked with him as much as I can, let him choose the topics for things like science and geography, choose the books he is reading for language arts but even when its stuff he has chosen and I've given him some great hands on activities to do he still is has this "oh man we gotta do school" attitude. I'm really at the end of my rope with him. I am totally ready to cut out all TV, send all of their TV and movie based toys to the attic. I really regret ever allowing them to start watching television as with my eldest he now just wants to sit around and watch his shows instead of engaging in activities. He rarely seems to enjoy anything, not just school related but life in general unless it is something BIG like going to Legoland for the day. I remember being a kid and just enjoying pottering about and playing and I lOVED to learn. I attended a Montessori school and so my learning was self directed and I was very content in that environment. I really just don't know what to do with my son. I am naturally a very positive and upbeat person, a natural problem solver and having a child that doesn't have a "can do" attitude and seems to complain about everything is very difficult. I spend hour prepping activities and such for him to only have him respond with a frown and a look of long suffering when I show him the activity. I'm well read in the different approaches to learning, have tried a variety of activities and the weird thing, sometimes months after the fact, he says how he enjoyed what we did but it was an activity that he had a look like he was sucking on lemons through the whole experience and complained about. Any suggestions on how to deal with this kind of kid? His 5yr old brother is Mr Enthusiastic, is thrilled with anything I give him and never complains. He just loves to learn and the little one loves the Tot trays, Montessori shelves and sensory bins so I have no problem with them. Its just I have no idea how to motivate my big guy and he has no idea himself as I've tried asking him what his perfect school day would look like and he doesn't have any ideas.