Risk Your Routine, Save Your Child
Posted in Homeschool View on Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Your homeschool runs well. Your lessons are well planned, your schedule is regular, your kids are thriving. It’s clockwork. Then one day, you notice one of your children daydreaming a bit too much, or maybe he’s outright bored and does not want to work. You had not planned on this contingency. What do you do now?
First of all, don’t panic and secondly, don’t force your child to work, unless you want to start a power struggle that will upset everyone and benefit no one. Homeschooling is one-part flexibility; you don’t have to stick to a rigid schedule, even if you created it. Remember, flexibility is the key to a happy student.
How do you exercise flexibility? Shake things up a little. Break away from the routine. You might discover a new way to teach your child a subject matter thereby putting excitement back into learning. Or simply step back and give yourself time to examine the situation. You may discover that part of your routine needs to be chucked out the window altogether. Either way, remaining flexible opens up a lot of teaching and learning possibilities.
In some situations perhaps a short-term solution is needed. For example, you could skip the lesson entirely or – are you ready – skip school. Yes, skip school for the whole day and go for lunch. What you and your kids may not realize is that you are still homeschooling them although they are away from their desk or work table. You are setting the example that schedules can and should be flexible and that interrupting the routine every once in a while is all right.
Life itself is full of lessons and homeschooling is more than learning math or studying Hamlet. Homeschooling is about learning life skills and parents connecting with their children. If your kids are not turned on to your teaching method they will not learn. Tap into what sparks their imagination and watch them grow. Be flexible and most of all HAVE FUN! Shaking some new life into your old routine may crack a smile on your child’s face—and your own.
First of all, don’t panic and secondly, don’t force your child to work, unless you want to start a power struggle that will upset everyone and benefit no one. Homeschooling is one-part flexibility; you don’t have to stick to a rigid schedule, even if you created it. Remember, flexibility is the key to a happy student.
How do you exercise flexibility? Shake things up a little. Break away from the routine. You might discover a new way to teach your child a subject matter thereby putting excitement back into learning. Or simply step back and give yourself time to examine the situation. You may discover that part of your routine needs to be chucked out the window altogether. Either way, remaining flexible opens up a lot of teaching and learning possibilities.
In some situations perhaps a short-term solution is needed. For example, you could skip the lesson entirely or – are you ready – skip school. Yes, skip school for the whole day and go for lunch. What you and your kids may not realize is that you are still homeschooling them although they are away from their desk or work table. You are setting the example that schedules can and should be flexible and that interrupting the routine every once in a while is all right.
Life itself is full of lessons and homeschooling is more than learning math or studying Hamlet. Homeschooling is about learning life skills and parents connecting with their children. If your kids are not turned on to your teaching method they will not learn. Tap into what sparks their imagination and watch them grow. Be flexible and most of all HAVE FUN! Shaking some new life into your old routine may crack a smile on your child’s face—and your own.
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