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 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!
That helped a ton! 
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. 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! Katherine - I'm so glad you got your day started off early and found that made a positive difference.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
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.