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I'm just wondering if this is a thing some six year old kids do or an issue or what. My boys get silly. Drama and the rhymes in motion in our HOD lessons (in the LHTH and now in LHFHG) always turn loud, knocking into each other, and just extremely silly and I get frustrated honestly. I get irritated and then find myself sometimes skipping stuff so I don't feel frustrated and have reign people back in for the next activity. I felt badly about that so lately I've been sending my "ring leader" out of the room if he begins to get silly but that doesn't feel right either nor is it working well because if he gets silly his brother follows suit. I don't think Beyond has so much "silly invoking" active activity but I'm still in Little Hearts and, beyond that, I feel this is bigger than curriculum perhaps.

Basically, I don't know if my expectations are unreasonable and I need to chill out, I should modify either order or activities, my kid is atypically silly, I've got discipline issues (I generally don't but maybe I've dropped the ball here), etc. So...advice?

Hi,

We have two little boys (7 and 2), and we did LHFHG last year...and I think every rhyme turned into what you're describing. They didn't get out of control, but there was definitely more movement and laughter than I expected. My husband reminds me that they're boys (I grew up with only girls). I think I did our Bible time before the rhyme. Then I'd just work through the rhyme a couple times (and they did learn them by the end of the week), then move on to the music section since they were already in a dancing frame of mind. Then I'd give them a little 10-15 minutes break to let them get it all out, and by the end of that they seemed "better." I don't know if that helps, but thats what I did.

Amy

I think with homeschooling one clear distinction that has to be made is the difference between school and everything else, since it all happens at home. We talk about expectations for school frequently in our home. When we are in school we are expected to follow instructions, do things to the best of our ability, show respect, and so on. When that doesn't happen we have to redo something. I would tell the children I am glad you are having fun, but while having fun we must still follow instructions and do the activity the best we can. I can see how the action rhyme would go downhill fast with a group, I often have to reign in my youngest and he is alone. Sometimes I will place a child in a chair and tell him "Mommy is going to go do a chore and when I am done I'll come back and see if you are ready to do school correctly." I don't think your expectations are unreasonable, children need to learn discipline and self-control - that is a very important part of school as well as home life. Obviously you don't want the rhyme to be a military drill , but at the same time children should do it correctly and with self-control. I think that can be accomplished while they are still having lots of fun.

The same thing happens with my DS. He doesn't follow the directions, he just starts jumping around, slamming into his sister, and getting totally out of control. I actually HAVE stopped doing the rhyme because he's not interested in doing it correctly. Maybe I'll get some good advice from the other moms who are responding.

I don't think you're being unreasonable at all and I agree with countrymom's advice to you. We have had to do similar things here in our home.

Sometimes when my kids need a break (and I can tell as they're being super silly) - we'll put on a fun, lively song and do a variety of activities (i.e. 5 jumping jacks, 5 hops on the right foot, 3 spins, 6 windmills, etc). They love it and it wears them out after about 3-4 minutes of constant motion. (I got the idea from Julie last year on the boards.)

You are not the only one. My kids can get loud. One day my son wanted to join in and he usually does fine, but since it wasn't really his lesson i made him leave the room and then everything was smoother. i didn't want him taking away from my daughter who was having fun with it.
I want them to have fun, but not be out of control.

Jenn d.

Oh my gosh my girls wanted to do the Rhymes in motion all the time and over and over again. I always did it at the end of our day. It was the last thing we did. That way it did not matter how silly it got. Sometimes if they were not paying attention during reading or getting silly them I would put in fake parts to the story that were just ridiculous to catch their attention and they had to tell me what was true. It sort of forced them to focus and in the end they were narrating back to me without knowing that was what they were doing. But always saved the Rhymes in Motion until the end. It was the reward for good listening.

We are doing LHFHG this year and I have found that doing the Rhymes in Motion right before snack time helps as far as not having to reign them in for the next activity.

Unlike you, I have a daughter who was blase about Rhymes in Motion, and who basically didn't want to do them. I found that annoying, because it is supposed to be fun and give her a chance to move, and she just wanted to sit on the couch and opt out. But, like you saw, many people have kids who are silly. You're not alone! I would say to try to do it, still. I do think they're getting something out of it.

Good advice here already! I like the ideas shared. I'd put it before a playtime or snack time - great idea there. I'd also spread out! Boys tend to knock into each other every given opportunity. I'd put them a very good space apart - like a room between . If they begin to do it in a sing-songy voice and it turns into a discipline issue, I'd have them do it at separate times of the day, as that borders on disrespect. This activity is to take about 2-5 minutes, so I'd just do it once and move on, while still expecting an appropriate balance of "joy" and "respect". HTH!

In Christ,
Julie