Need homeschool advice!! I feel like I am doing something wrong?

Question

I started homeschooling my 1st grader about 6 months ago. We go on field trips and read many books. I have an elcectic curriculum that is easy to follow but I just cannot get my son to pay attention to me when we sit down together to "learn." When we start he says it is boring & he is not reading enough on his own that I can just give him assignments so I really have to sit and teach him. What can I do to help him get excited about learning? If we go to the zoo I will try to teach him about the animals, we read whatever we find but by the time we get home and report to Dad what we have learned for the day he always says he can't remember or just looks clueless. Is this normal?

Answer 1

My oldest son is also in the first grade.We do 10 spelling words each week, on Monday word intro. and write 3x
Tuesday write 3x and define 2 words from the dictionary, with my help, Wednesday write 3x and define 2 words,
Thursday make mock test those missed are writen 3x and make 2 sentances using spelling words, Friday test day

Math, he has a worksheet each day to complete and i will cover the information until he gets it

I let him pick a book each week for us to read and he reads it each day Monday thru Friday some books we have stuck with for 2 weeks because they contained difficult words.

advice i was given was to cover the basics, reading, writing and Math, all the other information will come with time. and the information you will introduce to your son now will be covered in more detail at a later date, so don't stress if he doesn't get all the details right now, focus on the basics and he will get it. We also use the computer to reiforce the lessons of the day, the first 30 Min. on the computer are on learning sites.

we look at school work as part of their work for the day, work must be done before anything else, thier school work first and then their house work, then comes, tv time, movie time, computer time, game time,play time, etc.
We also have a allowance, my son can earn a dollor for completed homeschooling each day and a dollor a day for completed housework. With a cap of 10 dollars each week, he saves his money to buy the things he wants, sometimes for up to 3 weeks of savings, to buy the game he wants.
It also helps me to view myself as his teacher when school is going on, and not mom.
you may want to look into different learning styles, is your son hands on learning, repitition learning, audio, visual learning, find out how your son prosesses information and then teach accordingly.
Blessings to you in this journey towards knowledge with your son.
Here are a few of the websites you may want to visit with your son, enjoy
starfall.com
paulsplayhouse.com
schoolexpress.com
funschool.com
familyeducation.com
internet4classrooms.com
boowakwala.com
bensguide.gpo.gov
howstuffworks.com
storylineonline.net
brainpop.com
kids.discovery.com
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kidsfreeware.com
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bestedsites.com

Answer 2

Ok this is pretty normal if your son has never had formal schooling. Those sitting and learning skills are something that have to be developed they don't come naturally. AND once they are developed you will still have to work to keep it going.

In first grade there shouldn't be too much pressure to know animal facts from a zoo trip. You might just focus on what the animal is doing not so much where it is from and that. Or try learning about a few animals from a certain area of the world and THEN go to the zoo and find them. While you are there ask questions to reinforce what you learned at home. Here is a really great book that tells about a lot of the animals. It comes from a Christian stand point though, and I am not sure where you stand on that but you might look at some of the sample pages. http://shop5.gospelcom.net/epages/AIGUS.storefront/45abf5c205e9ce94271d45579e79072a/Product/View/10&2D2&2D253

Another thing is depending on what you are trying to teach him make it as much of an acitvity as you can, for science use a lot of experiements, math hands on manipulatives (base 10 blocks, clock, graphing using things like lets guess how many of each color of candy valentine heart is in the bag and graph it then lets sort and count and graph that) For reading we used hooked on phonics to teach my son to read and it really worked well for us. It has charts with stickers to mark progress and the books were nice. But I also read a lot of story books to that were above his level just to engage his mind and imagination and get him used to the flow of words. We read the Serindipity books, Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter and the Starcatchers, books about dinosaurs...anything I thought he would find interesting and if I hit a word I thought he wouldn't know like simultaneously I would stop and talk him through it. Eventually he would ask me, and now his vocabulary is amazing.

For history we are starting a classical approach to learning where we take things more chronologically and learn more about people and their stories and literature written during that time. You could look into Greenleaf Press or the Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer.

I agree with those who say limit distractions during school time and have a certain room, it does help. I have a 2 year old running around right now and I can see a real difference in my sons ability to retain information and focus and get done. Also limit TV and make most of what he watches educational. Animal planet is good, discovery kids has some good shows, there are IMAX videos and things you can rent from Netflix or even check you library. Limit video games, unless it is Leapster or computer based educational.

And from there start and incentive program. If you feel he isn't focusing or you want Dad to know what he is doing, give him a little test at the end of each day. Nothing formal, flash cards, read Dad this book you read today, answer some questions about what you did in science, etc and then work out a points system for something fun.

Answer 3

Sounds like you're trying TOO hard. You're sucking the fun out of learning. Even when schools go on field trips they don't lecture them the whole time about what they see.
And having to 'prove' that he's learning something will always backfire.
1) I would look at the curriculum. Often parents go through four or five before they find one that suits their child. And it has to suit the person who's learning, not the person who is teaching. Join a homeschooling group, they frequently have curriculum or books you can check out, and hold annual curriculum fairs so that you can look or trade for stuff.
2) Educating your child should take less than an hour a day to cover completely all that he needs to know. There is nothing gained by forcing him to sit longer, even public schools, when confronting those in alternative education or in hometutoring will provide less than ten hours a week in direct tutoring. First graders need even less.
3) At this point he's better served by learning how to learn: observation, pleasure in new experiences,sharing reading with you. Focus on real world learning, his math will be real when he can buy his own meal at McDonald's and count his change. Reading is real when he can help you read a recipe and make a grocery list. Social studies when you travel and figure out where you're going.
4) Get him things he wants to read. He'll never learn to enjoy reading if he's limited to those items you deem worthy. I'm not saying you have to buy Captain Underpants, but try some joke books about a topic he likes (my kids all liked a dinosaur joke book at that age) and often books about tv shows or movies that he likes are popular.
As he gets older, the need for formal study will increase. He will also be more interested in learning things. It is always boring to be lectured to, and even most first grade teachers do hands-on, move around business, saving table work for small segments and only to reinforce what's already been learned, at least, my kids who went through first grade learned those things.

Answer 4

Like me, your son might have A.D.D (Attention Deficit disorder).
I have been Homeschooled for ten years since I was in kindergarten.
When I was younger, I could never concentrate.
In subject's like math (Saxon math) the word problem's would get me every time.

In stories I would read, I wouldn't ever comprehend them.
My Mom couldn't understand.
In test I would take, that would usually take an average student thirty minutes took me and hour.
My brain would be "fried."
Last year (2006) my Mom finally went to the doctor's and talked to them about the problem.
Since highschool is much more serious.
I feel like a brand new person when I take my medicine that I was prescribed.
I can finally read a book and remember what I am reading.

To help you, you should go to the doctor's and explain everything your son does, even if it is about thing's that don't involve school.
Can he not sit for a long period of time.
Can he not concentrate easily etc.

What helped me when I was younger was, when we did math, my Mom sometimes would consider cooking as math.
Using measuring cups, doubling the recipe.
It was something that I felt I could do right, and I didn't think of it as school, but little did I know it was.
Let him make a homemade pizza, etc., for dinner (with the help of you of course) and that is something he can show his dad when he gets home.
He will feel so much more confident in himself.

With math, say the page has 15 problem's on it.
Let him do a few at a time, and in-between let him take little brakes.
Try using different curriculums, amazon.com is a great way to find a different variety of things.

You will notice a HUGE improvement.

Good luck to you and your son. God Bless.

Answer 5

People have different learning styles, and you simply have to find out how your son learns. Does he prefer hearing things, seeing them, or does he require a more hands-on approach? If he's having trouble remembering things he sees, or he just isn't paying much attention, I would advise that you go with a more hands-on approach. Perhaps a few labs or age-appropriate experiments to talk about how things work, etc. Get involved with a local homeschooling group if you'd like, and that way he can interact with some of the other children who homeschool. He will be able to discuss his interests with other students, but more important, you can discuss tactics for teaching with other homeschooling parents.

I wouldn't worry about the fact that a first grader isn't excited about learning, either. Parents are always excited for their children to learn, but if you'll recall, I'm sure most of us were less than thrilled about hours of reading, writing, and arithmetic! One way to peak his interest is to incoporate something he is interested in, and teach him about that. If he enjoys baseball, and collecting cards, etc, then you can easily word some of your own math problems around that subject.

I noticed that some other poster mentioned ADD or ADHD. That is always a concern for parents, and only a licensed doctor or Psychologist can tell you if that is the case. My wife is a Psychology major, so that's the extent of my knowledge on the issue! I do believe, however, that it is one of the more over-diagnosed conditions today.

You are the boss, and you don't have to be your child's friend. When you say it's time to do some schoolwork, or sit and read a chapter, then it's time to do so. But if you can find your child's learning style, it will be easier on you.

Since you just started homeschooling in the past few months, it's also not uncommon for you to feel insecure about your abilities and to question your own teaching skills. That's normal. You'll get into your groove if you decide to continue homeschooling.

Good luck.

--Homeschooling a 2nd Grader, Kindergartener, and a Pre-schooler (my wife is, I should say, she does 99% of it!).

Answer 6

Kids resist for various reasons, some of which are:

1) They don't like change. Solution--make sure that what is going on is a consistent routine, even if he's humming and hawing at first.

2) They think it's going to be hard or take too long. "This is boring" usually has nothing to do with it being boring. It's often a flag that the child doesn't really understand or doesn't feel capable or feels pressured. Solutions: lower the difficulty level, remove any sense of pressure ("I'm just going to show you something, I just want you to watch" then make sure you don't ask any questions.)

3) Sometimes it is 'boredom' or just a lack of connection. Those who are truly 'bored' will be able to come up with other topics to cover when asked.

4) They want to be in control. Solution: provide more choice or say in what's going on. "Should we work on these letters or these ones? Do you want to work on math or on reading?" "What would you like to work on today? When should our reading time be?"

So things to ask yourself (or him!): is he feeling pressured? is he feeling able? what are his interests? where are his abilities?

Specifically regarding paying attention, make sure your expectations are clear and don't let it become something where you 'give in' and he ends up getting his way in avoiding what's going on.
My 9yo dd can only often remember one or two things at the end of the day that she has done--when put on the spot to remember. She feels pressured so her brain switches off. Or maybe it's just that everything blends together and she really can only think of the most recent stuff, not sure. But we keep an agenda where she writes in what she's done so that she can show her dad. With the list there, she can remember all the stuff she did and tell him about it.

Answer 7

So many people have responded to this one question that your son may have ADHD, but I think the main problem is that he's not in a school environment. I know you may not wantto do this but your child need to be in a school setting where a professional teacher can tell you his strengths and his weaknesses. Alot of times parents feel that home schooling is so much better but alot of times these kids end up having terrible social skills and the signs that he's showing you are blatant and you're ignoring them. He's a child let him be a child and interact with children of his age. How can you possibly think your helping him when he can't even communicate what he's done for the day without spacing out. At least if he was with kids of his own age they could relate to the teacher what they learned. Kids help kids and he has no one to lean on so therefore he's just bored. Please do him a benefit for his future and place him in a public school today !!!

Answer 8

Yeah, you're doing something wrong.

There's nothing like "sitting down to learn" that will make a kid bolt from academics faster.

Don't decide what 'reading enough' is. You can't force someone to be interested and regimenting him like that will only make him more bored.

Don't make it all about teaching, or 'another great day in Home School!" or anything like that. Just let him play and explore and ask questions.

I'm 17 but I'm doing that now and it works. My cousins have never been to school and are doing it too. It's called unschooling and it really does work.

Answer 9

You should minimize distractions. The secret is to find something he is interested in. It is an established fact that children (or anyone) can only learn what they focus on, and it is hard to focus on something that doesn't interest you. I taught my daughter cribbage at about age three. We learned to count. What does he enjoy doing with you... don't call it school. Don't say we have to learn, say we get to figure out.... it is fun making things, and figuring out how they work. I think maybe the report to dad might be too stressful. If he could "teach" dad a new game and then dad could play it with him, it might go a lot farther. Mostly don't get stressed out. If you are reading to him, and spending quality time with him, I'm sure he is progressing faster than the kids in jail, because they are bored to tears, and the "teacher" is trying to ride herd on 30 of them.

Answer 10

Think about this: you're an adult, no? How well do you take it when someone sits you down to learn something you're not interested in? How well would you deal with this when you were 6?

The interesting thing about kids, and humans, is that we're already interested in learning. Evidence yourself: here you are trying to learn something. Leave kids alone, let them get bored, and soon enough they look for stuff to learn on their own.

It is fascinating to me how few people are interested in being compelled and controlled by others, and yet are fanatically sincere in advising people to control others.

Our daughter never wanted to read until she found books she liked. Now she's growing into it. I can guarantee if I treated her like a Gitmo detainee and 'sat her down' she would have resisted it; left on her own, she learned to read when she wanted to or needed to. Plenty of other people report the same thing.

One more question: is it possible that he is legitimately noting that what you are trying to get him to 'learn' is, in fact, boring? Much of what passes for education is, in fact, boring. Who wants to come over to my place and do algebra? Right. no one. Ditto spelling, geography, etc--except WHEN YOU WANT TO LEARN THEM.

So, yes, your son is entirely normal. What is abnormal, and is entirely new in the history of the world, is the notion of every 6 year old in the world, or any 6yo, sitting around 'studying'. how many of you 'study' anything? Anything?