3 Easy Solutions When Kids Fight Homeschooling

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Do your kids fight homeschooling?

We’ve all seen the image of studious, happy children gathered around the kitchen table joyfully completing their math worksheets before skipping off to read their history assignment. Then the dream ends. You’re faced with a cranky, rebellious child who doesn’t want to read history much less complete a math worksheet!

Here are 3 easy solutions when kids fight homeschooling.

Change the Habit

Sometimes kids get into a habit of fighting. You hand them a sentence to write. They barely glance at it before they’re off and arguing.

My kids have done the same thing in the past. The best thing to do is to back off. It seems like you’re letting your child win, but what you’re actually doing is building the habit of getting your work done in a timely manner.

When I backed off, we’d drop down to something ridiculous such as 1 math problem or read 1 sentence. Seriously, I backed down to something so easy that it wasn’t worth putting up a fight when they finish it in 30 seconds.

From there gradually increase the workload. In math, add a second problem next week. Once he’s doing two problems quickly, add a third problem.

If your child is fighting writing, go back to a simple 3 letter word. Build up to long words of 7-8 letters before breaking it down and having your child write two 3-4 letter words. Again build up until you’re assigning long sentences. Keep working until you have your child writing paragraphs.

Yes, it does take several months to build the new habit of diligently completing assignments.

Remember we’re looking at the long run. It may seem like we’re stepping back, well actually we are. But it’s with the goal of building a habit of completing assignments with fuss, without complaining, without a fight.

Nipping kids fighting homeschooling in the bud during elementary school will save you pain and angst in the middle school and high school years.

Review Old Material

Little kids don’t like to think hard, but they do love to show off what they know. Sometimes resistance, or fighting, happens because the work is getting too hard. I like to keep my 1st and 2nd graders working at 75% review and 25% new.

If your child is fighting you, it may be because the work is getting too difficult, too hard, too challenging. Try backing up and reviewing old material. There’s a good chance the fighting is because your child doesn’t fully understand or remember the concepts you covered a few weeks ago.

Back up to a point where the material is super easy and start moving forwards again.

I found my little ones would pick up steam after we went back to recover old material. They needed to review to solidify their understanding of the material.

Bribing Works When Kids Fight Homeschooling

When all else fails, try bribing. This doesn’t mean you need to pay your child for schoolwork completed. It means you need to plan something fun or special when the school day is over.

Add something fun to the day immediately after schoolwork is completed. My kids get computer time. They love having time to play games and explore the paint program. Computer time encourages them to complete their schoolwork in a timely fashion.

When your kids fight the homeschool, back off and see if you can find out what’s causing the fight. Is the material too hard or do they have a bad habit of resisting assignments? Once you’ve figured it out, make a plan, and nip the habit in the bud.

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kids fight homeschooling

2 Comments

  1. This is wonderful! I’ve definitely decided on homeschooling my kids – and things like this will be so important. I never really thought about the 75% review/25% new, but it really makes total sense. My toddler LOVES showing off his skills, and the excitement makes him so much more likely to do something new. Thanks for the awesome tips <3

  2. Ha! I actually do pay my kid to do her work! I came up with the idea when I realized we needed a positive reward to work towards – no negative consequences to avoid. She gets a dollar a day and that includes a daily chore. She loves it! She has learned so much about money and saving up for things she wants. I also tell her all the time when she asks for something, “Well how much school money do you have?” I think I’ve saved money over time!
    Thanks for the extra tips Sara!

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