Yesterday was the most awful homeschooling day and we were only into week two! I thought that my boys had gotten pretty well acquainted with their numbers 1-20 so I decided to see if they could fill in the blanks. I am so sad to report that they couldn't even follow the simple fill in the blanks with the ANSWER KEY! Needless to say it was very frustrating for all involved.
Throughout the torture, I mean math, session a lot of sighing, flopping the head back to look at the ceiling, laying head down on the desk and other subtle indicators of b-o-r-e-d-o-m were present. I finally gave up and told them to go play outside.
(To their credit, this morning they woke up and asked me when school was starting!)
I decided that today was going to be a no school day. Am I a wimp or what? I got some new books related to different styles of homeschooling and I am going to devour them this weekend. I want to do school that works for my kids and me. Right now, I think I have to adjust my expectations and remember that they may be bright, but they are still only 5 and 4!
Oh, and while we are on the topic of frustration, HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR HOUSE CLEAN AND HOMESCHOOL YOUR CHILDREN???? If I even dared to show you the state of my home... well you get the idea.
There are a lot of bugs that I still have to work out...
I just want them to love learning and not be bored out of their minds...
So today is Burn Out Friday for me. Oh, and it is also Catch-Up-On-The-Laundry/Dishes/Floors/Bathroom/Etc-Day too!
Slightly discouraged, but not willing to give up, I persevere for a better way!
FIVE IN THE POTTER'S HAND
3 comments:
Hang in there, Mrs. Q. Perhaps you can have a recap every morning and ask them what they enjoyed most about school before starting up on your lesson plan for the day. This might give you an idea of whether or not they need more time to absorb the lesson or if they are ready to move towards the application part of learning. Staying on top of cleaning the house is HUGE -- I can't imagine what homeschooling is doing to your cleaning schedule. Just remember, in the end, your kids are not going to remember how neat and tidy your house was. They are going to remember all of the wonderful school days they had with the loving mama who took the time to instruct them in the best way she knew how. :) Hang in there, read up on homeschooling tips. You will only get better. Peace, hugs, and understanding!
Love,
Ruthie
http://godspreciouschild.blogspot.com/
Well, you already know I'm juggling the homemaking/homeschooling combo ;-)
However, it seemed like your boys recognized numbers when it was fun in number bingo right? Maybe filling in the blanks is boring without a prop... like a jar and a bunch of straws.
Example. Their sheet says "1, 2, ___, 4, ___" Have them put in straws and say "1" as they put the straw in, point to the one on their paper, then "two" with the 2nd straw point to the two, then say "three" with the straw and then write the three down.
Maybe that will catch their attention more?
At 4 and 5, I wouldn't have them do too many "pencil/paper" activities yet. Do lots of manipulatives--hands-on activities. At the $ store, they have plastic, magnetic numbers and letters. Pull out numbers 0-5 and have them put them in order on a cookie sheet (fun! numbers! magnets!) or on the table or fridge.
If they are not yet recognizing all numbers 0-5, pull out two or three per day and just play with them and talk about them. Get a piece of construction paper, write the number they are having trouble recognizing (let's say number "4") in black marker, so that it is very large on the paper, then have them glue cheerios, beans, or shredded construction paper to the number, until it is covered. You can also cut const. paper out in squares and have them glue those to the number--y'all can talk about the square shape at the same time. You can also pull colors into this lesson--talk about the colors of the const. paper.
I read a book once (I'll have to find it) that talked about homeschooling boys and math (I have four boys). It recommended not even introducing paper/pencil math activities until boys are 10 years old! Their brains work differently, and if they are playing math games and playing with math manipulatives, they are learning so much--then, once they are 10, you start putting it down on paper. I didn't do this with my oldest b/c we started homeschooling in 3rd grade, but I can really see what the author meant, LOL. It did help me to see math differently, too!
Hope these ideas help!
:)Kat
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