[Katigre]

Originally Posted by arelyn

I have no idea what to do with my 7 year old for homeschool this year. We've been really laid back and unschooly but this has just led to him following me around bored. If I try to do something schoolish with him it usually leads to him throwing a fit. Even when I let him pick topics he rejects doing activities, even when framed as "Hey, let's do this fun thing together."

So what happens when he throws a fit? I've never let that stop me from a school activity (or other required task). I view it similarly to a child throwing a fit about cleaning up their toys, or helping in the kitchen. We parent through it, help them calm down, and then re-engage the task. The requirement doesn't change just bc they're not excited about it. So many times, especially with something that's new, there's been a fit at the beginning but at the end the child announces they are proud of what they accomplished or actually liked it. I view school as a discipline like learning a sport or other activity - the joy comes through accomplishment and progress, and not all of it is fun at the time but in the end the hard work bears good fruit. I've seen my kids encourage their younger siblings that they can also persevere and do it.