He spends his time watching cartoons and playing his toys. We have tried the soft and hard methods to make him to study, revise his school work but ................... a pain in our neck!!!!!!
2006-07-18 20:35:15 · 8 answers · asked by tomorrow will be better 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Home Schooling
Ok, you are at a point where you are going to have to decide which is more important to your lifestyle...do you want hands on teaching? Closer involvement with what your son learns? Or do you just want him to do book work or the typical classroom work and let you have more of a traditional teacher role?
Many people homeschool because of a variety of reasons; from wanting to control what is taught, to wanting to protect their child from a potentially hazardous environment. But to make the commitment to homeschooling sometime comes as a bit of a shock.
A homeschooler is usually the parent, as a parent you've been teaching your child his whole life. Not to touch things that are dangerous, how to stay safe, how to know the parts of his body. These were all things that were done in the spirit of sharing and fun. Songs, games and such where a large part of this.
But many homeschoolers fall into the idea that they should follow the traditional path of schooling. But one reason traditional schools fail to reach their students is because of the way they teach. Mostly it is audio/visual type learning....seeing and hearing.
In the 70's they discovered many students did better in workshop classes. Because these students were kinetic learners...they needed to have physical contact, to manipulate items in order to understand what was being taught.
Schools today have decided to medicate those type of children because they don't "fit into" the traditional way of teaching. Frankly I find this a disservice to our children.
I would suggest that you have your son tested first. There are many different ones available that can help you figure out where his strong and weak areas are. Check his learning aptitude - is he more audio, visual or kinetic? in what percent of each?
Then there is a great program put out by the Sylvan Learning Systems, though it isn't easy to find due to it being an older program. It is a testing program that is unique in the way it presents the test. It's very much like playing small games to complete parts of the test. When complete it can show you a better academic picture of your son's strengths and weaknesses.
(you can contact me if you would like more information on this software. Starrweaver@yahoo.com)
Above all, remember that homeschooling your child is about sharing and learning. Take him to a library, to a museum or even to a park or nature area. Let him collect leaves or different flowers and then help him to identify them. (This is not girlie stuff it is science...for those that think in those narrow minded terms)
Have him see if he can find and name animals he sees. Teach him about maps by having him rediscover his own neighborhood. Have him make a map that shows how to get from his house to his favorite places. Or make him a treasure map with a special and very real treasure buried at the end. (I did this one leaving clues at each point on the map and then they dug up a cooler that help a rather interesting bounty of goodies - healthy, and some cool pirate toys. Which this activity would go great with the new Pirate movie on at the theatres.)
You see? You can build a learning adventure around so many things. Like baking cookies (math skills, measurements) pizza, uncut for lunch. (make sure the pizza place doesn't cut it....then have your son figure out how many pieces are needed - Math skills, fractions) Building a birdhouse, planting a garden, looking at the stars, going to a recreation center...all can lead to a dozen different discussions...(lessons) but they all need hands on participation.
With our adult world spinning so fast with work, bills and chaos; it's little wonder that many believe that to homeschool you just stick the kid on a computer, in front of a t.v. show, or have them do book work...so that all that needs to be done is check that they did it and be done with it. But that is traditional school, not homeschooling. Parents need to remember that special time they spent with their 6month old, 1yr old, 2yr old...singing silly songs, laughing and tickling, pointing out things and naming them for wide eyes to gaze at.
Just because your child is older, he's still seeing a lot of the world through the eyes of wonder...for the first time. Don't lose that by tv overload, chaotic and stress filled scheduals. with work that consumes time even when the workday is over. Leave all that chaos where it belongs....when work is done, let it stay at work. If the boss is a real taskmaster...make a life choice. Do you really want to be busting you butt for him and miss out on time with your family cause he's being an overdemanding jerk. Bosses should not be able to force workers to do work after working hours. Check with union and labor laws...you have a right to be with your family...heart and mind...don't steal what time you have away from them.
Life is about choices, you made a choice to be there as a guide and teacher, a mentor and fountain of wisedom, experience and history. Make sure that you offer all of yourself, offer your parents experience and knowledge too if you can...family history is an amazing gift to pass on to a child. It offers roots, stability and a sense of belonging to something larger...something that goes on.
Ok I've droned on long enough....hope this can help you find a path of your own, that will lead you to success....
2006-07-20 11:00:42 · answer #1 · answered by starrweaver 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Turn the TV off. Only let him watch Tv for 1 hour a day. And make sure there are no toys around when it's time to study. Also when he's studying you have to help him. A 7 year old doesn't know how to do it on their own yet. You need to sit with him and go over his assignments and help him.
Try a rewards system. Make a calendar where everyday that he does his schoolwork he gets a star. If he gets enough stars he gets a special treat. Money or candy or a small toy. A small amount of money might be a good idea because that will teach him about earning money and he will have his own money to spend next time you go shopping.
Try to make learning fun and interesting for him. Ask hm what subjects he likes to learn and why he likes them. Challenge him to think.
Good luck
2006-07-22 11:27:55 · answer #2 · answered by Dez 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you want to have a good time with your kid, learning and teaching correspondence, try to bring in fun methods for his learning. For example, weave in games amongst the math problems, or make a little drama act for his history, and so on. And take away the TV and cartoons for a while, tell him that they will come back if he at least puts up with studying for a while. Maybe he'll find it fun.
But if he's a really stubborn kid and still refuses to study, I'd say the TV and cartoons go away for a pretty damn long time, and tell him he BETTER do his school, and if he's especially hard working, you'll bring him to the zoo or something like that.
And schedules are a bit tedious, and some kids have a hard time keeping up with them. It's better to relax, and have a good time while studying, yet be serious at the same time. You can look up studying games and techniques using yahoo or google search.
2006-07-19 07:57:28 · answer #3 · answered by B.C. 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
this approach seems certain to set up a power struggle with him - always a mistake. At 7, his behaviors are normal and developmentally appropriate and helpful - limit the tv. Let him express his interests and foster them. When he asks about butterflies or brownies or tiling a floor, really answer him. If he continues to be intersted, get him a book, an article, a project in what interests him and do it with him.
children have an inborn desire to learn and in the right environment, they will strive to learn. he's not the problem - strange ideas about how to educate little boys are.
2006-07-19 23:25:48 · answer #4 · answered by cassandra 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
try to work out a reward system. if he gets a certain grade in his school work he get to pick a new toy from the mall or go to a movie and bring a friend..something like that.
also i'd say NO tv or toys untill a certain amount of work is done
2006-07-19 03:39:56 · answer #5 · answered by drtgirlz 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stick with a time table to let him watch the TV, after that switch off the TV. Play with him and let him play and involve with other kids who plays and study as well.
Kids learn from group.
2006-07-19 03:40:09 · answer #6 · answered by vinay k 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try abandoning the idea of time tables etc. adopt an autonomous approach to home education.
read "Winning parent winning child" by Jan Fortune-Wood
2006-07-19 04:18:45 · answer #7 · answered by mikeheuk 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tell him that u ll give him whatever he likes in eatableor u ll get him his best toy if he"ll get more good marks in his test.
2006-07-19 03:48:10 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋