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My ds is 8 and we are using Bigger. He says he hates school and wishes is was never invented. He does really well in all of it, he just doesn't like the writing and now math. He enjoys many parts of school, I think it's just in him to complain because he'd rather just be playing.

I read all these posts about how kids love Bigger and are having such a great time. Give me some ideas on how to make it more fun. Or remind me that he doesn't have to like it all the time.

Katherine
ds 8 bigger
dd 5 today! LHTH
dd2

Ahhh, well, if I were to ask my son if he liked school he would say, "No." Actually, I just went into his room and asked him deep down does he like school and he said, "Kinda." LOL.

To a certain extent I know my son really does enjoy school. He likes the history stories. He pretended to defend the isthmus at Jamestown today against the evil governor. He likes cursive and wants to do more. He wanted to show me his dinosaur books after reading about Thomas Jefferson and fossils.

Boys just want to have fun! They want to dig in the dirt, play legos, watch movies, etc. Our job is to train them up to be men and that means doing things that aren't always FUN.

I don't worry too much about what they SAY unless it is constantly negative. If they've gotten into the habit of whining, then that is a discipline issue and not a homeschooling one. Ask me how I know. I'm dealing with my 10yo hormonal daughter and her constant negativity lately. Uugh.

If you've suddenly bogged down in a subject then it might be worth it to take a step back just a bit. I know for the last week I've continued to just play math games (from the Bigger TM) and use extra practice sheets because my son needed some more work on re-grouping with addition before heading into re-grouping in subtraction. It gave us a chance to cement those skills in a more relaxed way.

For us writing just has to be broken down into steps. The Bible verse copywork is done an itty bit every day. I don't save it until the day it is assigned in the TM. If I know we are doing a science notebook page with copywork, I make it right before snack time or break time. "As soon as you get done with this, you can go on break or have a snack." Helps them just put that focus on the task instead of dawdling.

And every now and then, I just take a day and "we learn through play" but those are EARNED and not planned for children who are whining about work.

Are you kidding?! EVERY TIME I mention "school' my ds8 yells, "NOOOOOO"!!! Not that he hates it all the time, but he would just rather be outside playing, listening to his ipod, ANYTHING but school because it's "school". He just has a need to verbally express his lack of desire to do school because isn't every school- aged boy supposed to do that?! I just tell him to stop yelling in my ear & get whatever it is we're working on next. He does. I do continuously remind my dc WHY it is SO great to be homeschooled and it usually works. Some examples in my day: You can snack the entire school day. You can wear your pj's to class. You don't have any homework! You can take you ipod to school - but not always use it during class.... You can ride on your 4-wheeler at recess. Your teacher can hug & kiss you & you won't be grossed out by it!

thank you Juliekay! Your response made me feel so much better. When I first read the question on this post I thought " oh no I better read this and find out how bad a mom I am. But your response to your kids is exactly what I tell my kids too. Kiloyd,I think it is just in a boy's nature to be contrary. He doesn't like it because it's not HIS idea.

Oh, yes, I'm with flowerchik! If my son isn't in the mood for school I hear, "Mama, I don't like school. It's so boring!" Later in the day, he'll just push the instructor's guide over to me and say, "School!"

The replies are so helpful! DS did fine with school today. As a friend told me the other day , we just needed a break. We did history and dictation Tues and were having such a horrible day that we took the rest of the day off. Then took yesterday off for dd's birthday and party. AND today I got up on time! That helped a ton!

Yes, I think it is just in boys to have fun. I think I've learned that I need to listen to him and when he starts really complaining and saying he hates school it's time for a day off.

Mild complaining is fine. Just the "I'd rather keep playing" type is not a big deal, but this was getting to be too much. I'll have to make sure we have enough days off.

I don't see him ever to be the type to say "hey mom, can we do school?". Now dd on the other hand...., but she just turned 5.

Thank you!
Katherine
ds8 Bigger
dd5 LHTH
dd2

My kids do like school pretty much all the time. That does not mean we do not have discipline issues from time to time. One thing that does throw them off is if I am not focused on the task and drag the day out. My kids love school but they like to get it done. So they will get discontent if it is 11 and I have done nothing or if I make the day drag out until 6 or something like that. They want my attention and they like to know what is going to happen. I can get distracted easily so I have to set little rules for myself like when I sit down to read I finish and when I start one program I am going to do all programs and get it done so that there is no feeling like I put one set of kids off for the others. And on the other hand I also have to have rules for them and those I try to eliminate time where I am competing with them for play time. I have the hardest time doing that with my 5 and 7 year old which is typical. But I find if I am on track and insist they be on track they will. If I have made the day drag out and then insist it is harder to get results. Not much help. I guess my family is weird we all love to do school but thought I would just offer that in case it helps. Kids go through phases sometimes. Hopefully just a few adjustments and you can help them through this one. Hang in there.

My kids really do like school, but I agree with water2wine that it is the kiss of death to draw it out. This is especially true of boys, I think - though I have only boys and have no girls to compare them to. I would say that if dc are really complaining about school it's important to check when you really start and when you really end. If school sort of took up the entire day from sunup to supper, then I would have some pretty unhappy boys at my house. They like school very much, but they like their free time very much too. I think of school as their job right now, and it's important for me to manage the day (including myself, which is sometimes the hardest) so that they finish on time and have enough free time leftover. My sisters and I grew up thinking saying "I'm bored" was equivalent to swearing. My parents viewed this saying as a form of disrespect and treated it as such. Consequently, we never said we were bored (the few times we did, we had to clean the bathroom or some other task we didn't like so we weren't "bored" anymore ). Don't get me wrong - my parents were extremely loving, and we felt very loved, but they really wanted us to know the value of work and as such, boredom was seen as a choice, and a bad one at that. So, I confess when I hear dc saying "I'm bored" it is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. We do not allow our dc to say they are bored - we treat this as a discipline issue and a form of disrespect. I think there is great danger in our dc expecting to have fun all of the time, especially our boys as it is important to my dh and me that our sons can be good providers some day. If they weren't doing school, what would they be doing all day? Playing? Entertaining themselves? Sounds like the Prodigal Son to me. Anyway, I just wanted to encourage you that if you are hearing "I'm bored" and you are doing all of HOD (the fun stuff - experiments, activities, hands-on projects, etc.) and are giving them enough free time/play time, that I don't think kids have a leg to stand on. This school is WAY more fun than anything I did in school!

In Christ,
Julie

Julie, ds doesn't say he's bored, he says he wishes school were never invented. He just wants to play all the time. BUT, I made sure I was up by 7:30 Thursday and Friday and that made a big difference. We still had a slow start to our morning, did some chores and had breakfast and started school by 9am. If I sleep late and we start at 10 that makes our day longer.

And yes, he does enjoy the hands on activity part. And he may complain some about math and writing but he's doing well. I think the big things were we needed a short break and I need to not sleep late. Which means not stay up too late!

Katherine
ds 8 Bigger
dd newly 5 LHTH
dd2

kiloyd wrote:Julie, ds doesn't say he's bored, he says he wishes school were never invented. He just wants to play all the time. BUT, I made sure I was up by 7:30 Thursday and Friday and that made a big difference. We still had a slow start to our morning, did some chores and had breakfast and started school by 9am. If I sleep late and we start at 10 that makes our day longer.

And yes, he does enjoy the hands on activity part. And he may complain some about math and writing but he's doing well. I think the big things were we needed a short break and I need to not sleep late. Which means not stay up too late!

Katherine
ds 8 Bigger
dd newly 5 LHTH
dd2

Katherine - I'm so glad you got your day started off early and found that made a positive difference. Even though I am generally a morning person, it still is tough to get up and get going, especially now since it is quite dark out. I can totally empathize here. It sounds like you are finding your way to the kind of day that will work well in your home. I'm so glad he's enjoying his active parts of the day. I find the same thing to be true - sometimes just a few little changes make a huge difference in my overall day. Although I was responding in general to the other posts here regarding the "I'm bored" dilemma, I think saying wishing school was never invented is equally upsetting to hear as a homeschool mom - hence your post! As I've shared in the weekly check-ins the past few weeks, we are working through obedience issues with our middle ds. While his heart issues are not related to school right now, they still grieve us as parents and must be worked on constantly. So, I'm very glad for you that you're ironing that out with your ds as well and are on your way to enjoying your days more and more.

In Christ,
Julie

Ha ha ha. No, my kids don't like school all the time. My 6 year old never likes school. He is a boy and he was built to run and play and get dirty - not sit and read and write. LOL My older son is a good student and he doesn't hate school - but if given a choice between school and playing outside, he would (hands down!) choose to go outside. I think it is pretty normal.

I LOVED school - but I am a girl and I was a good student and made good grades while not having to struggle with anything. I think that, if you have to struggle in grade school, it makes those subjects much less fun as well!

yes, if given the choice to play or school of course he will choose play. I have to say though that overall he has shown some maturity from last year.

Now today though, being Monday was a rough morning. And we had to leave at 12:30 for a doctor apt. But when we got home he did his dictation with no problem and math with only a little complaining.

I need to plan a fun field trip. That would be good for him.

I think it's very rare that kids enjoy school everyday. And of course they are going to enjoy some subjects more than others-that is normal. I wouldn't worry to much about it. I think a lot of kids at your sons age go thru this. It's even true with veteran Homeschoolers. I think some kids have a hard time adjusting from PreK/K to elementary. I know my DD has. There is so much more involved and more requirements. Hang in there!

Thank you. We are doing better. The time change actually helped because I am getting up earlier so our day starts earlier and they have time to play b/w subjects.