I LOVED the first day of school when I was a child. But it didn’t take long for the new to wear off and the bored to kick in…especially after 6th grade.
Whether your children are homeschooled or they go to public, private or virtual school, almost all children will go through a period when school is the last thing they want to do and the last place they want to go.
So, what’s a mom to do when her kids don’t like school?
1. MAKE IT FUN ~ Kids learn more by accident than they do on purpose. Throw in games and other activities to make learning fun. You can’t change a teacher’s personality or the curriculum they have to do… but you can make it fun at home and that will make it easier when they go to school. If you homeschool, you have the opportunity to make learning fun all day long. 🙂
2. DISCOVER AND FEED THEIR LEARNING STYLES ~ Sometimes children end up hating school because the way a certain teacher teaches isn’t in line with their learning style. That doesn’t mean you need to change teachers, but you can help your child see each lesson through the lens of their learning style. You can also talk to their teacher and discuss how your child learns best. (Visual, Auditory, Tactile, Kinesthetic) As a homeschool mom, I struggled with teaching my youngest son in his learning style because my teaching style was so different. Making adjustments in your own teaching style as a homeschool mom will help your children love school again.
3. DON’T BAIL THEM OUT & TEACH THEM TO PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES ~ We all have to do things we don’t like. It’s part of life and a necessary character trait to learn. It’s so easy to make things easy for our kids because we love them… but loving them well means that we don’t always bail them out. Help them grow from those tough places and discover the value of the difficult. If they’re in danger or if you see that something is really wreaking havoc on their hearts, that’s a different story. But if it’s just a tough class or a teacher that expects too much, then don’t bail them out. Instead of giving them a pass on their problems, help them learn to solve them using prayer, wisdom, and communication skills. Solving your children’s problems will never help them discover how to solve them on their own.
4. REWARD THEM WELL ~ Think of ways that you can reward your children for sticking with something, or for making a certain grade, or for handling a hard situation well. Take them to their favorite park, restaurant, play area, game or activity. They may do better just for the reward but eventually, they will look back and be glad they took that class, or stuck with that teacher, or tried to do well even though they hated it.
5. GET INVOLVED ~ Being involved in the classroom and in their activities gives you a bird’s eye view of what is going on. Sometimes there’s more to your child’s bad attitude about school than the fact that they just don’t like it. There may be something more going on and if you aren’t involved, you won’t see it. Maybe they are being bullied, or maybe harassed. Maybe they are being made fun of by their peers or belittled by their teacher. Maybe they just don’t like school or maybe there’s a lot more going on in their life and their heart. Get involved and find out.
When your children don’t like school, motherhood is tough. Knowing how to handle it may make it a bit easier to handle and help you all have a great school year, after all.
ARE YOUR CHILDREN DISLIKE SCHOOL? WHAT WOULD YOU ADD TO THE LIST?
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