How can I motivate my 10 year old daughter to excel in homeschool?

Question

This is our first year and the only real problem is that there are times when she wants to kick back and I want her to finish. I don't want to nag her but I know that wouldn't fly in a regular classroom. Any suggestions on how to get her revved up. She was for several weeks.

Answer 1

Welcome to homeschooling! First word of advice: DON'T EXPECT TOO MUCH IN THE FIRST YEAR!

Most kids who have been in regular school go through what we who have been homeschooling for a while call "de-schooling". They slack off some, don't seem very interested in what they're doing, etc. It takes them a little while to regain interest, sometimes as long as a year. Don't sweat it. Give her some options on things to do:

"Marcy, how about you can either read up on the circulatory system and draw me a diagram of the heart today, OR you can research volcanoes and graph out how the magma flows through them?"

Don't worry that she'll be missing out. Realize that most kids spend six to eight hours a day in a classroom, but only about 2 to 3 hours a day of that school time is actually spent learning anything. The rest is spent getting books out, listening to basic instructions on how to do a basic project, moving from class to class, and etc.

If you want to contact me and talk more about this, I've been homeschooling for 15 years. You can reach me through j3nny3lf at yahoo dot com :)

Answer 2

Actually this does fly in the "regular classroom", that's one reason public schools do so poorly.

The schedule recommendations are good ones. Structure helps people, and young people crave it. It will also help you w/ planning, and better yet, having a record of what you've done thru the year.

As a final suggestion, try activities or games. Find fun games that reinforce the ideas you're learning. Or activities, like baking, that use the concepts. Math and fractions have obvious use in baking/cooking.

One thing you might be stuck on is thinking that the "regular classroom" way of teaching is the "right" way. Reading and writing assignments have their place, but they are limited in effectiveness. That's one of the great things about homeschooling, YOU'RE FREE TO DO MORE.

Answer 3

Remember, this is your first year of Home-schooling so it has been a time of adjustment for both you and your daughter.

I have always felt that as a homeschooling mother, my job is to first and foremost, take care of my daughter's character development - I want her to be kind & caring, honest & trustworthy, moral & decent - things that can't be taught in a classroom. The accademics must be taught as well, but the charactar is what I focus on.

I would not be too concerned that your daughter is not excelling this year, in fact, rather than worrying about her completing her day-to-day tasks, look at the bigger picture.

Get together with your daughter and make a list of what needs to be achieved this year. For example a ten year old may need to improve their Multiplication & Division skills, learn Geometry or Algebra, improve her reading / grammar / punctuation, maybe include some fun things like learning to dive, ice-skate or ski, cook, learn to garden or maybe volunteer for an organization locally.

My daughter and I make a list each year, and update it often, we call it her "Growing List". It is a way of focusing on the skills she needs to master over the next year, rather than just in the next day or hour.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

The first year of homeschooling is the toughest for both the parent and the child, and your problems are harder if they have been in a public school. Establishing the boundaries and expectations takes a while, so don't get to upset if things don't flow as smoothly as you'd hoped at first.
From your daughter's age, I am assuming she is in 4th grade. That is a transitional year for children, in elementary schools as well as homeschool. It's usually the first year they really have to apply themselves and study, and the first time they get material that requires them to do any sort of thinking on their own. Up until now, the teachers have done a lot of the work for them. The concentration has been heavy on teaching the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. Tests are usually covered in class, with the teacher more or less spoon feeding the information to the students. Now suddenly, she is expected to actually do some work to learn- and some kids take better to that than others.
I've homeschooled our children for the past 12 years, and we still face this same hump with each child. I try to deal with it with a bit of patience and reassurance, gently prodding them along and encouraging them that I am certain they can do it. You make it a point to provide a little guidance to get things started and make notice when they suceed on their own.
Each of my children has a weekly plan, broken down by day with that day's work listed. The rule with ours is that when the day's work is done- they are done. If that means they finish by lunch, then the rest of the afternoon can be spent working on something they enjoy. If they want to take until 3pm, then that is also their choice. Our school day ends at 3pm, and whatever isn't finished rolls over to the next day. If the work at the end of the week isn't finished, though, and it's due to a lack of effort- Saturday becomes a school day, just like Monday to Friday. If school work for any given day is not finished due to lack of effort, there are no "fun" extras. No scout meetings, no play on the computer, no tv, no phone or fun with the friends.
Before you get this serious, though, you need to evaluate the things your daughter is learning. Is it too simple, and she's just bored and unchallenged? Is it too difficult, and she's lost and feeling stupid?? Before you do anything else, make sure you have a good curriculum fit for what she needs. Also, look at the work you are asking her to do. Is it boring? Could you do it in a different way, or bring something else in to help out?
I hope you are with her as she does her work. Homeschooling doesn't mean just handing over the books and workbooks, and walking away. It means working alongside your child, helping them learn, and encouraging them to learn. If you are just leaving her with the stuff, and going off, then you can't expect her to do it. She'd probably love to have you actually "teaching" her- but that is an active role you have to be willing to take on, or this isn't going to work out at all.
It may be she has decided she doesn't want to be homeschooled after all. Girls don't usually out right rebel and say this, they usually pick a less in your face method like being unwilling to do the work. That may be what you have, I don't know. And neither will you until you look into things a little bit more. Once you have evaluated things, then you'll be in a better position to change what is necessary.
Good luck with homeschooling- I hope whatever you decide to try helps. It's very rewarding to be there for the Ah-hah moments, but it is also a lot of work. Don't let anyone kid you otherwise. If you can't or don't want to work at it, then you need to send her back to a regular school.

Answer 5

My dad changed into only like you, only he turned right into somewhat extra strict. He had this declaring that still stands with me on the on the spot, and that i will probable bypass all the way down to my toddlers, "i like you adequate to enable you to hate me for a lengthy time period." As I were given older, he changed into waiting to describe to me the justifications he parented the way he did. He informed me that his pastime changed into to be my dad, no longer my pal. It changed into defined that at the same time as he would like for me to love him each and each of the time, he would a lot somewhat keep in mind that i'd finally end up to be smart about possibly risky situations, and danger-free. He changed into continually declaring that i changed into his first precedence, and that it does no longer count number what different youthful toddlers get to do. In each communication, he would end it through declaring, "i will continually love you adequate to enable you to hate me for a lengthy time period!" and that i'm so happy he stayed real to his note! That being suggested, you're doing the right element! you're being her dad :) shop up the sturdy paintings, because a 10-3 hundred and sixty 5 days-previous lady's issues and approach isn't something compared to what's to go back in many years. in case you position the barriers, barriers, and expectancies now, you may have a a lot extra straightforward time at the same time as she is going through the somewhat problematic years that are particular to go back.

Answer 6

If there is a school near your home make arrangements for your daughter to participate in a school activity. You may also look into combining your curriculum with another home schooled child.

Answer 7

Talk to her about it. Work with her to figure out something better. Set some limits but let her have some choice within those limits.

Answer 8

Try a competition with the other students in her ....
No, that won't work. How about grading her on a curve.
Wait, wrong again. Try telling her that if she doesn't do the work that you will fail her. She will be so embarrassed in front of her friends...
Hmm, I'm just out of ideas.

Answer 9

kids/people learn best not from what you tell /teach them, but from what they see...their environment. how you act.
are YOU a disciplined, astute, intellectual, ambitious person?
if not, chances are your kid won't be either since you are her primary role model.whether the kid is homeschooled or not she/he will pick up good/bad habits from parents/primary role model.

Answer 10

I know you have your reasons for home school, but what your describing is exactly why "regular " school is in my opinion preferable.... Most of what we learn in school is not in books, but is in
social interaction, and getting revved up about life as a whole. Sports, choir, theater and human interaction are the main things of value in school.. Read "Summerhill" about a private English school, where one student declined to go to class until his senior year and then in one year learned everything his fellow students had learned in 12.
Let your daughter go to regular school, at least part time and then teach her what you choose at home.. She'll thank you later, I promise.