Bored with work

[bbrandonsmom]

I don't know how to approach this. We told ds he'd have the week off for the holiday, but if he wanted to, he could do some work. He said no, because his school work is boring. He mentioned it again a few days later while my inlaws were in. I hope they didn't catch that.

What do I do? We school M,T,W and F, because Th is co op. We only school a few hours each day. Through the week we have maybe 2 play dates, we go to the library, to the park, a field trip etc. I'm not exactly sure what ds is bored with, other than workbooks. I can't really make those go away. We're not giving him too easy, nor too hard stuff. Are there games or something I can do to make some of the work more fun? If all he had to do was art and reading, he'd be the happiest kid ever, but I'm not taking our core away for that. We're on Singapore 1a (finishing up), PR2 wk 6-he finds some of this tedious, TOG, but he's okay with that so far. I think it's mainly the math and LA. We're doing unit studies for science and he likes that, except now I'm thinking he's bored with the worksheets that go with them.

What do I do? I'm trying to find math games that would be fun yet helpful. What bothers me a little also are the days I second guess home school. They are usually the co op days, because ds looks forward to class there very much. He loves his science and art classes and seeing his buddies there. I know it would not be like that in school, but...

[black_midori]

I wonder if he heard it from another child? I know periodically my 7yo will throw things like that around (this is boooooring) and it is usually after he has been playing at a park with friends (almost all homeschool).

 

I can even picture the conversation:

 

Son: "So, what do you think of schoolwork? Boring, right?"

Friend: "Yeah, booooooring!"

Son: "Yeah, I know, right?"

 

Home to mom:

 

Son: "This is boring!"

Mom: "We don't speak that way in this house - sit down and do your schoolwork."

 

I consider it just an on-going lesson in "things you can say chilling with your friends" versus "things you should said to your hard-working mom"!! It doesn't bother me at all that he finds some things boring; he also finds lots of things very interesting (although you wouldn't think so seeing him drag his feet coming to the table some days). Frankly, I don't see that all school work SHOULD be exciting - after all, I have found over the years that even in a job I love there will always be some portion that I do just because it is part of the job even if it is <cough cough> boring!! :D

[kristinannie]

My son was complaining every day about school and every time he had to go to karate. School I could understand, but he LOVES karate. I realized it was just a character issue. He would rather play on his own than do school or stop playing to go to karate. I started doing a consequence (he loses his favorite toy) every time he complains and it stopped pretty quickly. I know that he doesn't love everything we do in school, but I know he enjoys it and he is learning. I also remind him periodically of what his friends do in public school (it lasts all day and they do lots of worksheets and homework). He loves being done so quickly, being able to learn about fun stuff (we are studying our solar system right now) and having tons of free time to play and paint. I think things like this become a habit so I wouldn't worry too much about it. That said, I have gotten rid of curricula (OPGTR) that literally caused tears daily.

[Lily_Grace]

Why can't you do away with or slim down the workbooks? At that age we did lots of movement - running back and forth, calling out answers verbally, drawing out math on the sidewalk (counting by different digits up to 10 took us around the block!).

 

Why can't you do away with the sitting? There are millions of ways to learn something - just because you have the nice empty spaces to fill in doesn't mean you have to use them. It just means it's a jumping off point for ideas.

[boscopup]

If my son says he's bored, I give him something to do so he won't be bored. :D He's learned not to say he's bored. ;)

 

"Oh, your school work is boring? Here, go clean these toilets, wash down these walls, sweep the patio, pick up all the toys..."

 

You'd be surprised at how much better he will like his school work.

 

Some of it might be age and character issues. If you think he is truly learning from what you're using, stick with it. If you think there might be a better choice out there for him, you can change something. I had looked at PR for my oldest and decided it wouldn't be a good fit for him. He's not in one place in language arts. He needs higher levels in grammar and reading than he does in spelling and writing. So if we'd done PR, he would have been bored with the grammar and reading bits. For him, separating the subjects out makes sense. Then I can use whatever level we need.

 

For math, pull out some Math Mammoth 1A samples and see if he still thinks Singapore is boring. :lol:

[boscopup]

'Boring' might be a signal it is too easy for him, or too much from the same.

'Fun' means here more complexity, more depth or something total new.

 

 

HTH

 

And how could I forget that? Very much agree. If my son is bored, the material is often too easy.

[kandty]

Good post! We have this problem too. My son only says it went asked by someone else. He says he doesn't like school and it's boring. So embarrassing! We have discussed it at length and I think he would just rather being playing and doing his own thing. He said that school was too long. He is 7and in second grade. We are only doing about 3 hours. He said he does too much reading. I have him read from a book in the book basket for 15 minutes, and that is the only reading he does for school. He does read on his own 20-60 minutes a day. I'm I really asking too much? I told him that we can't do any less otherwise the police would come and put me in jail and he would have to go up to the school all day and have homework to do when he got home. :D That didn't help him to see my point. I finally said that I couldn't make any of the changes that he requested except for the more handwriting part. He said handwriting was his favorite subject and would like to do more. He was also told to say, when asked, "school is fine and handwriting is my favorite subject." Otherwise punishment will follow for the rude remarks. I wonder what would be a good punishment for this? I need to have something ready, just in case. ;)

[mrs.m]

I think it is normal for a boy to say something like that especially since he was offered a choice to not do the work. Maybe he really needed a break?

[FairProspects]

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[kandty]

:iagree:Also, I've become convinced since Ds 1 that some people really do find school boring because school builds specific skills. If those are skills that do not come naturally to you and/or are extremely difficult, then school may not be a fun experience no matter how it is taught. School, especially in the early years, is primarily about verbal skills, reading, writing, and language. Those skills always came easily to me so I enjoyed it and thought school was fun. For ds, those skills are incredibly hard and so working on them is difficult and boring (not what he would choose at all). Now, if school was mostly about spatial skills, he would probably find it fascinating. :) It may be just a matter of perspective and not necessarily a character issue.

 

:iagree: I hated school and thought it was boring too. :tongue_smilie: I was hoping that being a homeschool family would help prevent that issue. Also, it is just a double standard when people ask my children if they like school. If they ask a public school kid and they say it is boring the person responds in agreement and they joke about it. When my kids are asked this question (by the same person) and they say they hate it and/or it's boring that person turns to me in silence and gives me a look of unapproval or disappointment! I don't understand. I don't know if anyone else has experience this, but I have had more than my share of it. And it has come from those who have been supportive in our homeschooling decision. It is one of the reason I try to correct this issue.

[MeganW]

If I work hard to cook dinner, if my children insult the food it does not make me happy. They have learned that if they don't like it, they should keep their mouths shut rather than be rude.

 

Same deal with homeschooling. I am working hard to give them a great education. Some days it is a lot of fun, and some days it is not, but regardless, it is a lot of work for me. It is a priviledge to have a Mommy who loves you so much that she teaches you at home, and you don't insult her by complaining about your work. If there are legitimate concerns, of course they should be discussed respectfully, but just whining "this is boring" is unacceptable.

 

Also, my kids (6 year olds) know that not everyone understands and approves of homeschooling, and they know that we put on our smiley faces for other people. If there are concerns to be discussed, they are to bring those concerns to DH or I. (I don't know if it is really necessary to go on about concerns to most kids - mine have some challenges, and so I do want them to feel comfortable coming and talking to us if needed.)

 

My kids have been trained that when someone asks about school, they are to smile, act happy, and enthusiastically say "we learned the coolest thing this morning - did you know that <insert history or science lesson>?". Yes it is fake, but whatever. So is saying "fine thanks, how are you?"! It's a social skill!

[Walking-Iris]

If I work hard to cook dinner, if my children insult the food it does not make me happy. They have learned that if they don't like it, they should keep their mouths shut rather than be rude.

 

Same deal with homeschooling. I am working hard to give them a great education. Some days it is a lot of fun, and some days it is not, but regardless, it is a lot of work for me. It is a priviledge to have a Mommy who loves you so much that she teaches you at home, and you don't insult her by complaining about your work. If there are legitimate concerns, of course they should be discussed respectfully, but just whining "this is boring" is unacceptable.

 

 

:iagree: I just read this part of your post to my ds8---he looked at me with the biggest eyes. :lol: I feel this way a lot--I'm sort of sacrificing quite a lot of other adult experiences to home educate. My choice and I love it---but let's be respectful.

 

I have the same issue over here as the op. My ds8 has been saying lately that he doesn't like his school work and doesn't want to do any "ever" (but he doesn't say it to other people, he tells them what he likes naturally-- but only to me.) I think he wants to do what he wants to do all the time (and honestly most 8 year old boys or girls would rather be watching SpongeBob etc than doing math--as a generalization).

 

But I just tell him that there are things that we have to learn at certain points in our life and we'll get through it---no pressure---but we do have to work at it everyday. I've also been pointing out the things he does that are "school"---when he sits down and reads, I remind him that he's learning and having fun. When I look up something online (a craft, recipe, news etc) or I'm reading a book or watching a good doc-- I let him know that I'm still learning.

 

Sometimes I feign ignorance when working with him---instead of big me with all the answers---we're working together as a team to learn. I try to get into the spirit of learning *with* him instead of coming from a place of *making* him do/learn xyz.

 

We have a few things that are expected everyday. I try to change things up a little. Not use the same book all the time for one subject for example. I also try to change things each semester/term. Instead of stretching a book out through the year, I'll just let him work through it until it's done. Sometimes breaks are needed. My ds was just not getting the multiplication lessons at all and then we decided to veg out over 4 days for tgiving. Something germinated because he is rocking those math lessons now.

 

If you could pinpoint what it is he doesn't like and just change that much. My ds says it takes forever. It really doesn't. :glare: But in his mind sure---so I have been trying to space things out throughout the day a little.

 

Another thing that sets everyone's mind at ease is to have music on while doing any "seatwork". My ds seems to work with more attention, and less wigglies, when I put on some classical.

[Joyofsixreboot]

My dd finds anything she didn't choose to do " boring". I just use the old chestnut " the only people who are bored are boring people."

[Embassy]

School shouldn't be boring. There will always be boring or tedious parts of school, but if the child's attitude is that school in general is boring I would make some changes. Workbooks suit some kids better than others. I wouldn't change curriculum if it is working for him, but I might consider using the curriculum in different ways. A page of math, for instance, can be done on the whiteboard for a change. It can be done on the sidewalk or driveway with chalk. It can be done one problem or a couple problems at a time in the workbook with the child running through an obstacle course in between problems.

 

Just my 2 cents anyway :) I come from a perspective where it is a major goal to have my children love learning. I realize school and learning are not synonymous, but school is about learning. My oldest enjoys and looks forward to school, but he has moments of doing boring or tedious tasks. Learning sometimes involves boring tasks. I'm still working on winning my younger son over. He likes school sometimes.