I have a terrible habit of avoiding conflict, and I am wondering how to go about teaching conflict resolution to a 4 year old. Are there any good books you recommend? It would be great if my son could start attempting to manage his own conflicts on the playground rather than running to me each time. And I think it would also be good for me to model some good conflict resolution in front of him.

Thank you all for your thoughtful comments. I read each one and took them to heart. I have really had to step back and ask myself why I was so upset about this issue. Part of it was that I felt like I was doing something wrong and was failing as my sons teacher, but I see so much more clearly now that the only thing I was doing wrong was having set expectations! I had completely gotten off track as to why I decided homeschooling in the first place. I am determined to give my son a more enjoyable education than I had as well as letting him enjoy his childhood more fully. I think I may have also gotten a little caught up in seeing all of the pictures of kids going back to school...in my circle of friends, sending your child to "preschool" practically starts in infancy. I guess it's time I surround myself with more homeschooling moms who are a little more in line with my education philosophy ;) Thank you all again, so much, for your heartfelt advice and encouragement.

I have been feeling a little discouraged lately, and am not sure what path to take. I have been homeschooling my 4 1/2 year old since January. It has been so wonderful to watch him grow and learn! When we started he could barely hold a crayon and now he is coloring in the lines, and is starting to read. I work with him only about 2-3 days a week, for less than an hour total per day. I make sure to do lots of activities where he can run around and be active. Although academically he is doing great I feel like I have failed him because he is so disinterested in doing any school work. At first things seemed to be going ok, and then he gradually started expressing a disinterest. And now we are at the point where as soon I say lets go do some school work he is sulking. He does not enjoy any workbooks, crafts, or coloring. He would much rather engage in fantasy play...for example today we played with toy planes (all day).... I wonder if I just started schooling him too early. My whole goal was to instill a love for learning and I feel like I have completely failed! I have been advised by some homeschoolers from another group to stop altogether and try again in a year or two. At this point, I suppose that might be the best thing to do, but I am having a really hard time with it. Any advice you all could give me would be much appreciated!

I would pick a handful of things that are the most important to you and make a chart for those few things. There are a lot of good chore chart ideas on Pinterest...I think you could even incorporate your sticker chart, but just try to concentrate on fewer tasks.

I think looking into a medical problem is a good idea...although good luck getting a doctor to listen to you and recommend anything other than the "cry it out" method (from my experience). My son had multiple food allergies and an eosinophilic disorder...even though he was only breasted he had many, many symptoms, sleeplessness was one of them. Reflux is another thing to look into. If you think everything is normal, I also know babies tend to go through a rough sleep stage between 4-9 months or so. I know how tough it is for you right now, but in the long run, you will look back and see how fast this time flies by...just do whatever you can to get some sleep...co-sleeping, put him in a swing, trade off with your husband...or sleep in a hotel for a good nights sleep! ;) Hang in there

I am so sorry to hear you are going through this! My son has had GI problems since he was a month old. It was a VERY long journey getting him properly diagnosed. He has multiple food allergies, constipation, and chronic stomach pain. I went from doctor to doctor and had to be very assertive. It was awful. He was finally diagnosed at the age of 2 1/2 with eosinophilic esophagitis. This was confirmed via endoscopy. However, this is a rare disorder and could have easily been missed even by other GI doctors. We live in Texas and we take him to a specialist in CA. In our search for answers there were many discussions about celiac disease, reflux, etc. my best advice for you is to follow your gut instincts and continue to be assertive in getting him properly diagnosed. Do your own research, and take him to get 2nd and even 3rd opinions if you have to. Look into good GI specialists in your area, or consider taking him out of town if you have the means to do so. Because your son has food allergies you might want to look into eosinophilic disorders at apfed.org And because he has low iron and an obvious gluten intolerance, I think you might be on the right track with celiac. I wish you the best of luck with your journey! Stay strong and trust in yourself!