Kindergarten not working for ds, I am stuck

[Jen500]

and I need some new ideas! He is unhappy and wants to try out the ps. His main complaints are

1) He is bored.

2) He doesn't always like learning from me

3) my observation--I am spending most of my time w/my olders and my k'er is really tagging along

 

1-I spend all morning working with his older brothers (advanced 5th graders), who prefer teacher intensive materials. My k'er (just turned 6) hates occupying himself for this whole time. He has tons of toys, and some that I put away for use only during this time. Sometimes I try to play a short game w/him in between subjects.

 

2-He likes read alouds, SOTW, and doing science projects w/me, but he frequently gets mad at me (no fun for me) during math and phonics, and will tell me to go away so he can do it alone. (And he does work on it alone). We're using HOP and SM, and I recently added Miquon b/c he complained about all the pictures in SM and it seems easier for him to move ahead and work more independently w/Miquon. However, I dread our math and reading time together...he is SO different than his older brothers and I find his complaining hard to deal with and figure out.

 

3-I feel caught in between the needs of my older two and my youngest. My olders are HG and I suspect ds6 is also, although I haven't had him tested.

 

Thank you for reading if you've gotten this far. I feel silly that kindergarten has me feeling defeated. I am open to any thoughts and ideas...please help me out of the mental box I am stuck in!

[CalicoKat]

he's a boy.

 

he's five?

 

I say let it go and see where his interests take him and follow. :D

 

My five ds is driving me nuts. :grouphug:

[Jean in Newcastle]

Do your 5th graders really need you so much? By 5th grade my son was transitioning to doing most of his work independently. I would print out a schedule for the day from Microsoft Outlook and he would cross off assignments as he got them done. Now our schedules are for the full week. I would spend about 5 minutes at the beginning of a subject to make sure he understood the concepts and he's always able to ask me questions but he could do all the reading on his own and write/type his answers to things. We still do some read-alouds together.

 

I think your Kindergarten student is the one who really needs your time and energy because this is a foundational time for him and really can't do it alone. Perhaps if you filled his need for interesting school at the beginning of the day, he would be happier playing with his toys later in the day.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

I think your Kindergarten student is the one who really needs your time and energy because this is a foundational time for him and really can't do it alone.

 

:iagree:

 

A kingergardener needs to be emotionally engaged with his teacher, be it at home or at school. It's still a time for hugs, and loving. He should be closest to your heart, in all senses. During read aloud time, it's best if he's snuggling with you. Don't let him equate schooling with boredom. You don't want that as a base for the years to come!

[missmoe]

I agree with starting with your K in the morning. Fill his bucket first thing, and most likely he will be able to play alone later in the day. Do the things he loves together first thing in the morning.

 

Then later on in the day set a time for math and phonics, or split them up if both together is too much. Perhaps, a treat (or something that works for your family) along with math time or phonics time would make that time something to look forward to. Phonics while eating chocolate chip cookies doesn't seem so bad. Or maybe a reward for him working with you might be in order? Perhaps, a half hour of tv or something along those lines?

 

As for your 5th-grader, pick some things he can do on his own while you work with your K. My kids do logic, vocabulary, and typing on their own. Think workbooks. It would be great if we did it together, and they might even get more out of it, if we did. But I have three kids I'm teaching, they all need to work independantly at some time.

[Jen500]

Thank you for your responses..I have been thinking about them all morning, and I think you are right. I'll try working with him first, letting him choose what he'd like to do so it's fun and enjoyable, and then do phonics after lunch with a treat.

My 5th graders do need to transition to some more independent work anyways....I think the checklist would help them. They are responsible but they just need specific guidance.

[lionfamily1999]

Jen, you could also get him started with Math and let him work alone while you work with your older dc. This is what I do with my youngest. He knows how most of his workbooks work now, so he does a lot of the work alone.

[SEP]

I would have to agree that he needs 'time in' right now and you should be attempting to work your older ones towards more independence.

 

a book called Managers of Their Home helped me develop my schedule (I have 5 kids, but the youngest two are 21 m twins). I'm not suggesting you buy the book, but the overall concept is that make a spreadsheet of your day in 30 min increments and see what every person in the family is doing at that specific time.

 

it helps to juggle your day. also, the author recommends some specific time with older helping/teaching littles if possible to give you some time with other children.

 

if 6ds is reading at all he could read with a brother for 15 min, and then listen to his big brother read to him for 15 min from Magic Tree House or some other chapter book.

 

Just some suggestions. I think some kind of schedule that will allow you to have 1 solid hr with the little one first thing would work and then he can just work 'nearby' for the other things.