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So... This is our third week into this. Let me just start by saying that my 6 year old has adjusted wonderfully and does most of her work independently with very little help from me. She is doing amazing. My 5yo on the other hand.... It's a nightmare. She did fine the first couple weeks. This week we are working on new things, writing numbers and letters, etc. And she is just horrible. She thinks because she cries, and says it's too hard and throws her pencil down all dramatically that she won't have to do it. I can show her how to do it 100 times, and she still just whines and cries that she can't do it. Honestly she isn't putting forth much effort at all. She doesn't try to do her work, just sits there crying telling me SHE CAN'T. I am so ready to just stick her back in public school and forget about it. I don't know what else I could try to make this work. I am pretty much out of patience and don't really even have a clue what we are going to do next. Advice, please?!
I am still very new to homeschooling also, but i am having a similar problem with my 6 year old and so i have just backed off of her a lot. She likes a lot of personal attention(she has 3 brothers so feels left out sometimes) so I spend 1 hour a day with her and during that hour I make sure everyone else is occupied with something and I give her my undivided attention and during that time we work on math, reading, and language arts. So with the lessons being much shorter I have got her to cooperate a little more. At the age of 5 they dont have a very long attention span and get boerd easy so I have also made a lot of her lessons into a game, especially math.
Maybe some of the more experienced moms can give you more helpful advice. Im sure she'll be okay though.
I have a son that refuses to try ANYTHING having to do with writing, this includes math, drawing, and coloring. What are you doing with her curriculum wise or what do you want her to learn is a better question? What does she do for fun?
Well it seems that she doesn't want to learn how to write anything new. We have just been working on introducing writing numbers and some letters. I mean... She refuses to even attempt it. She just sits there and cries. =(
She might not be ready for writing yet. I wouldn't drop it entirely, but mix it up a bit so that she's still working on motor skills and writing skills ... but separately. Teach writing with something larger and more fun (fingerpaints, shaving cream, a cookie sheet full of rice or sand, using a stick on dirt, sidewalk chalk, etc.). Work on the fine motor skills with coloring, painting, play-doh, bead work, legos, and things like that. In 6-12 months, go back to working with a pencil, but again... keep it fun. Let her write with a "cool" pencil (even with colored pencils), or don't give her a "writing" assignment, but rather have her do the written work for other assignments as neatly as she possibly can. Her reward for doing the other assignments neatly is that she will have proved to you she doesn't need separate handwriting practice.
I went to a workshop on behavior once that was given by a brilliant man. His main piece of advice is to use the words "choose, decide, and pick" and to use them as often as possible. I have used this strategy, and although it is not imediate, it does work, you just have to give it time. ... here's an example he gave at the workshop: his granddaughter asked to use the car, his response: "If you choose to use the car this Saturday, then you must decide to add gas to it on your way home. If you choose not to add gas, then you have decided to not use the car next Saturday." That following Sunday his car was out of gas, his reponse to the granddaughter: "Since you chose not to add gas to the car, you have decided to not use it next weekend." Two weeks later, same senario, only this time she learned to add the gas to the car. Now that example is of an older child, but I have used this with my three year olds and had similar results. ...here is an example of how I use it with my own kids.... Serenity asked to watch me in the kitchen. ... my response, "If you choose to stand on your helping spot, you have decided to stay in the kitchen. If you choose to move off the helping spot, then you have decided to leave the kitchen." As soon as she moved off the spot, I reponded "you chose to move off the spot so you have decided to leave the kitchen." and I removed her from the kitchen. 15 minutes later she asked to come back in, I restated my intentions of having her stay in a certain place using the format and this time she stayed because she knew she didn't want to have to leave again. This doesn't always work the first time of course, sometimes it takes several chances to learn. But what you are doing is putting the reposibility on the child for choosing the outcome. It stops the power struggle. An example for your child could be "If you choose to get your work done now, then you have decided to have time to play in the sandbox (or whatever activity they like). If you choose to pout instead of working, then you have decided to not have time for the sand box." Then walk away and let him/her make the decision and follow through with the consequences they have chosen (sandbox or no sandbox in this example). Sorry to be so long winded, but I think this strategy, along with the ideas of making it more fun from above, could really be helpful. I just hope my explanation made some sense LOL
I agree with Chrystal give her a different way of learning them. Somewhere I picked up These large sheets that have waves, circles loops, etc. on them that you use washable markers with and have used them with my 4 yr old.
Another thing you could try besides the dry erase, is having her write in a shallow container of sand or rice. You could also put some shaving cream into a plastic baggie and let her practice writing in the shaving cream or if you didn't mind the mess, then just let her have it the shaving cream without the baggie
How many days a week are you trying to do stuff with her? I am only doing Sarah 3 days a week and if she wants to do more than that, then I let her make that choice. I hope she settles down and builds more self confidence in herself.
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