Homeschooling Wiggly Boys by Jessica Hines

I’ve heard stories of children that are homeschooled and actually sit and do their schoolwork.  There are rumors of children who will curl up on a couch and listen to someone read to them.  I’ve often wondered if this child really exists (or is it similar to the 4 month old that sleeps all night?)?

All I know is that, as a mom to two active boys, quiet time isn’t a regular occurrence in my home. My boys are 6 and 8 and are into everything.  They want to know everything, do everything, and see everything.  It can be exhausting for this introverted mother. 

This translates into a homeschool with very little table work.  When I first started homeschooling my oldest with kindergarten, I had visions of what school should look like (school at home) and what our days would be like (beautifully dressed children peacefully working and never, ever running amok). I was in for a big surprise.

My boys love to be read to, especially my oldest.  But, they do not love cuddling on the couch for a read.  When I figured out that my older son listened and retained what I was reading better if he jumped on his bed while I read, I was surprised to say the least.  How can he learn if he’s not being quiet and still?

 It was an experiment. I was at the end of my rope and thinking homeschooling will never work. Everything was a fight.  He hated the math.  He hated the read alouds.  He hated school.  I hated school.  As a last ditch effort, I allowed him to jump while I read.  When we were at a friend’s home later that week, I heard him telling her what he had learned.  He was listening!!  I couldn't believe it!  Could this work? 

GUEST BLOGGER:   Jessica Hines

Shortly after, I started teaching the math using manipulatives and ditched the worksheets.  He stopped hating math. 

So, when my extra wiggly youngest son came up for kindergarten, I was ready.  Expect now we had bunk beds and no jumping could take place.  Except the math manipulatives were a bust and the curriculum I had chosen (for wiggly kids!) was a miserable failure.  He refused to hold a pencil or do any handwriting! Cue sad mommy.  By October, I was again ready to pull my hair out. 

I started googling and trying to find what other mothers of extra wiggly boys use.  I prayed and thought, and read (rinse and repeat).  Desperate, I ordered some things to keep his hands busy, bought some essential oils to help with focus, and ordered the biggest child sized bounce ball I could find. 

I dropped everything except phonics and math.  This extra wiggly 5 year old had about 30 minutes worth of work in him and no more.  In order to minimize frustration on both of our parts, I started using a timer.  I learned that he could sit for instruction for 5 minutes at any one time.  Any longer and it all fell apart.  So, I set the timer for 5 minutes.  When it went off, I had my Wiggly Wonder get on his bounce ball and bounce his way from one end of the house and back (we called it his horse).  When he got back, he was out of breath and ready for a rest.  We did 5 more minutes of work. 

If he tired of the game, I had him jog on the treadmill for 2 minutes.  I timed him and learned that after 2 minutes of jogging, he sat for 8 minutes of instruction.  I gained 3 minutes.  For the rest of his kindergarten year, I did not ask him for more than 5-10 minutes of concentration at a time. 

Do you know what happened?  We stopped fighting.  He stopped saying school is too hard.  He is learning to read.  He has learned to count and add and subtract.  He is now a 6 year old, finishing up kindergarten.  He can sit for 15 minutes of instruction.  That’s what I call progress. 

It was hard for me to let go of the idea of school.  It was difficult for me to allow learning to happen in its own time.  It was worth it. He tells everyone how good he is at math.  And even though I dropped handwriting, he learned to write his name (and mine).

Childhood is not a race to see how quickly a child can read, write, and count.  Childhood is a small window of time to learn and develop at the pace which is right for each individual child. (Unknown)

Thank you, Jessica for thinking outside the box for me! and for your boys!