We have been in this rut more often than not since mid-December. Math and Reading are very difficult subjects to get through since he doesn't like them. My 'patience account' is overdrawn. I keep threatening to send him back to public school next year, and I might.
Homeschool in theory is the best for Shaun, but not if he pulls shenanigans all day long. He would never even think of doing this stuff in a classroom. Then again, he wouldn't have his Mother as a personal tudor either. What the answer is I don't know. There are rewards in place when he tries hard and listens, but he no longer cares. He is not allowed any TV time until his work is completed unless he is given a "break". Some days he gets burnt out quickly, these are the days he is actually trying and I understand he needs some down time, so I give it to him. It is beyond frustrating to watch him screw around when I know he can do it for real if he tries. It is the best to watch his face light up when he is accomplishing something.
I know every parent deals with these struggles, and we have added more onto our plate with all this school stuff. The yelling and crying is not good for anyone and one way or another it will stop. On the positive side we are continually amazed by the progress he has made!! He was learning everyday in Kindergarten as well, but it was all the fluffy stuff. The songs, the holidays, the calendar. Now he is learning to add and subtract, to read, and oodles and oodles of Science. This is huge accomplishment for a kid that still didn't know the whole alphabet when we started this gig.
Socially we have been holed up until recently. Shaun finally decided he was ready to join in on some group activities. Last week we did an open gym for a couple of hours, and the week before we did some volunteer work at a charitable organization for children called Gifts to Give. I am currently trying to organize a maple sugaring tour. Not so bad right? (I am the one that misses the socialization of the school routine, not him.)
I think that just about covers it, I will put together a list of the major aspects of the curriculum below, overall I am very happy with it's contents.
- Handwriting Without Tears
- Hooked on Phonics, K
- Sonlight K Science
- Singapore Math (Earlybird K)
- Crticial Thinking workbooks covering all subjects
ASL and Spanish are on the wishlist. After the tax refund comes I will invest in some tools to learn new words and signs daily. I picked these since I took Spanish in high school and sign language in college. Some of it will come back to me right!?!? (NOTE: Spanish is the only class I ever failed.)
If we continue to homeschool I will invest in a Smartboard for next year, I think it would be very stimulating and fun for Shaun and myself. (A smartboard is a giant whiteboard that is connected to your computer via a projector and is touch sensitive, so it acts as a giant interactive computer screen. There is lots of great curriculum out there for these things, and it is very engaging for the kids.) There are hacked Wii remote set-ups which will be the only ones affordable to us.
Hopefully the Tension Tamer tea I have sipping while typing is kicking in, because eventually I must go get the beast and try it all again.
