Homeschooling Boys: Part 1

We are now going into our second week of homeschool. I survived. This mom has four boys, and yes….they are busy. Active. Inquisitive. As some would say “All boy”.

Our homeschool room has a trampoline, sit and spin, and is located next to the playroom. One of our chairs used to be an exercise ball. This is just an example of “what” our room holds.

Boys are very different than girls. Definitely more active. Since I have no girls then there is really nothing to compare to other than myself. Requesting them to sit for long periods of time is futile. I am a very busy homeschool mom and not a lot of idle time is possible.

Multi-tasking is my middle name (not really). But that is how I feel at times. (Smile).

We start our day off with breakfast at 8:00 am. No later or the day falls apart. You see my kids know about the important parts of the day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

There is a snack time somewhere in there but it is healthy so that is not as exciting. I found very early on that boys need a routine. Boredom will initiate creativity which leads into discipline issues. All of which I desire to eliminate.

So everyday we do the same certain things at the same time. Every day we eat breakfast at the same time. It NEVER…never changes.

Homeschooling Boys:

Have a set time for breakfast each day to set a workable schedule.
Realize really quick that learning will happen if they can be comfortable. Finding how they learn is more important.
Be consistent. Boys work well with consistency.
Love the energy that they bring to the homeschool room.

After reading a lot of books, and I mean a lot they all said the same things….keep a schedule. Well, I’m not too good at that so I started with something small. Breakfast. At least in the beginning of the day we start off with good intentions.

Now at breakfast there is quite a bit of wiggling, spilled cereal and the like. For me, I like to refer to breakfast as base. It is my safe place to start my full day of activity, and dealing with a lot of motion. You see, I am an only child whose favorite hobby was reading. Yep. I am out of my element. This homeschooling thing is great and I would not have it any other way. But I do miss finishing a good book or even a chapter.

Brain Breaks:

I do a couple of these in an hour. For a second grader and preschooler that is a long time to sit still. Patience is one thing, learning to sit still is fine but with so much energy bottled up it really help to get the blood flow moving.

1. Stand up. Move around the chair. Then sit down. It doesn’t take long and not much distraction.

2. Read a page in a magazine. This give them a tidbit of information and then I guide them back to their studies.

3. Use a kindle, phone, or electronic device. Have them look up one quick question with Google voice. Then go back to their studies. The time does not need to be long, it is just matter of diverting attention to get things on track and keep focus.

So every day we start with breakfast, follow our routine and schedule. Then as the day progresses, we add in some brain breaks to save everyones’ sanity. Through these methods we have been successfully homeschooling for almost 6 years.

What do you start your day with? Do you allow a little creativity in the day? What do you do to work through energy and the wiggles?

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Cheers,

Michelle