Rewards...this has always been one of those topics in education that people were either strongly for or strongly against. When we started homeschooling, I had to become an expert on what motivated each of my kids. This has been an adventure because what actually motivates them often changes. Sometimes it IS something tangible that inspires them, but other times it's not at all. Isn't that the great adventure of raising kids? They are constantly changing and it's up to us to take the time to notice. What are they passionate about at the moment? What are their fears? What subjects or topics are they loving right now? All of these answers can guide our day to day decisions in how we educate our kids. I just love that. When I taught in a traditional school setting we called that individualized instruction. That was a goal in my classroom...to tailor each child's learning experience to best benefit them. Do you know how hard that is to do for 25+ kids? SO HARD! But we have such an opportunity to provide that for our own children as we teach them at home. That is one of the many things that makes me so thankful for the opportunity to teach my kids each day. Back to the topic of rewards:) Both of our kids met a goal last school year that they had worked so hard to accomplish. If you are familiar with classical conversations, then you know what a big deal becoming a memory master is. In our house, it's something that my kids have to prepare for primarily on their own. I'm definitely here to help them study in any way that I can, but they have to choose to work toward that goal each year and I do not nag them about it. (Believe me, it doesn't work...I speak from experience unfortunately) If they want to do it, they have to put in the effort. Both of them crushed that goal last school year and we were so very proud. As part of their reward, we told them that they could have a "date night" with a chosen parent to do something that they wanted to do. They actually both chose going to the same place, so we had a "double date" to Main Event this past weekend for some friendly family competition (Friends, no judgement on how long overdue this reward was. Memory master took place almost 6 months ago. Yikes!) Obviously, you can see from the picture above that my son and I did not leave victorious, however; our game faces were on point and we had a blast!
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I've learned in my 6 years of homeschooling that I definitely set the tone in my home. If I'm in a bad mood, more often than not, we're going to have a rough homeschooling day. And face it, we know we're all going to wake up in a bad mood sometimes. I've learned several tricks along the way that seem to help me shake off my grumpy moods. 1. Take a moment for some self-care. Maybe yoga is your thing, maybe it's drinking coffee outside by yourself....whatever it is, take a few minutes of time for yourself. Recharge so that you have love and kindness to give away to your kids throughout the day. If I can workout in some way in the morning, I find that I'm much more pleasant to be around. It helps to release stress that I may be under, it makes me feel accomplished and it gets my blood pumping, so that I feel ready to tackle whatever the day holds. 2. Have some quiet time. Taking even 5 minutes to drink my coffee, read the Bible and/or pray can quickly change my bad attitude. If I have a little more time, I throw in a bit of journaling too. I don't know if you're anything like me, but sometimes I just don't know where to start when I pick up my Bible. I've started reading one Psalm each day and then read a bit from the New Testament also. Sometimes it's a chapter, sometimes, it's a paragraph, but I love to copy a verse or two in my journal and ask God to reveal whatever He wants to show me through that scripture. This simple practice has made such a profound difference in my quiet time. I find myself thinking about the verse that I copied throughout the day or the Holy Spirit will bring it to my mind at the exact moment in the day when I feel like throwing in the towel. 3. Drop the books and do something you all love. I'm the queen of sticking to a plan. If you need a type A personality to keep you organized, I'm the one you want on your team. This has its blessings, right along with its curses. I have a VERY difficult time just letting go of whatever it is that I've planned for us to accomplish during our homeschool day.... even if the wheels fell off hours ago. I am still working on this, but I've seen huge improvements in this area. If we are on the struggle bus and are crying our way through a math lesson, sometimes we just need a short break to get some perspective. Try taking a walk around your neighborhood. Have some read aloud time (my kids love this). Let the kids go outside and play for a bit. Make a sweet treat together and then eat it while you finish that math lesson. The list here is endless. Just do something that you all enjoy and remember, one of the great benefits of homeschooling is that you can take a break whenever YOU need or want to take one. Need some inspiration on teaching your children without all of the anxiety that can come along with homeschooling? Check out Teaching From Rest. |
AuthorThanks so much for visiting. I'm Heather. I'm a wife, mother and educator who loves trying to make beauty of the life around me. Archives
July 2022
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