It’s no secret that boys are suffering in the school system. They are falling behind their female counter parts and are increasingly being put on medications to “fix” them. If you’ve decided that your son(s) need to be taken out of school, but aren’t sure how to make their academic journey a success at home, than this post is for you. Here’s what you need to know about homeschooling boys, from a mother of four handsome little men.
Boys aren’t girls
That’s pretty obvious, I know, and certainly apparent to anyone raising boys and girls. However, the public schools cater to girls. Girls do better sitting still and staying quiet than boys. Boys aren’t meant to, or able, to stay still and quiet for long periods of time. Trust me, they only stop moving and hush up when they’re asleep. And even then… they still move quite a bit.
Every child is different, and learns differently even within the sexes. My oldest took to reading no problem, whereas my second doesn’t really care for all that stuff yet. No child should be compared to another. But even as different as my sons are they all need plenty of hours every day to run around, be creative, and get dirty.
Let them learn as much as possible through play.
Stick to a routine
Schedules, and routines help create structure in the home and gives everyone some peace of mind. The kids know what to expect for their day and you can be more productive with a routine than going in to every day blind.
Clearly communicate with your boys about your expectations. If they are playing in the morning let them know that x, y, or z will be happening soon.
For example, after the kids have eaten breakfast, I’ll let them know we’ll need to unload the dishes and then do some scripture study. This allows them to take initiative and get things completed and set up for what comes next. It even holds you accountable when your kids tell you it’s time to get something done.
Keep lessons short, but be consistent
Young kids, boy or girl, shouldn’t be expected to sit still and pay attention for longer than a few minutes at a time. My older son can sit longer and get all of a lesson completed in a day. My second and third sons tap out after ten minutes.
That’s totally okay! And why consistency is so important.
Those ten minutes, three to four days a week for preschool and kindergarten aged kids will produce excellent results. You may feel at first that your kids are not learning anything, but as you go on with life they’ll start pointing out the letters they see all around them, how many things you have in your shopping cart and so on.
Also, kids at these ages don’t need to be able to read. If one does pick up on reading quickly and enjoys it, then help him learn more. If another doesn’t really care for it, or you have to fight him to even stare at a page of text, then wait to begin formal lessons.
There are a lot of free schooling resources out there that can be used to introduce young children to letters and numbers. The Good and The Beautiful has wonderful videos for the ABC’s and letter sounds that even my toddler enjoys listening to.
They are learning. By homeschooling boys in short sessions you’re preventing them from becoming overwhelmed with information. You want to instill a love of learning in your sons, not a disdain for it.
Read aloud to your sons
This is probably the best way to help your sons want to learn how to read. My sons especially love reading comic books with me. Even my three and four year old will sit around me for up to an hour listening to me read out the dialog while looking at the pictures on the page. And they aren’t just listening. They’re associated words with images and actions. Learning how to describe an image they see.
That alone goes a long way in your sons ability to comprehend what he reads later on.
Reading is one of the greatest skills you can teach your children. If they can read, they can learn anything. If you can do nothing else during a certain season (say you’re pregnant and feeling crummy) homeschooling your boys can be as simple as reading aloud.
Go at his pace
Accept that your son may need to take several days to complete a lesson. Or, maybe after working through a few lessons, you decide your son needs more time to work on the basics. Whatever the case, don’t push your son to learn something he’s not able to understand yet.
If you have to fight your son every time you do a lesson than both of you will grow to hate homeschooling.
That’s one of the many beauties of homeschooling boys, you can adjust your teaching at a moments notice.
Try to find ways to make learning fun. For example you could take a beach ball, write letters on it and play catch with your son. He’ll need to tell you the name of the letter closest to his hand before he can toss it back to you.
You could write some letters on a white board, pieces of paper, or use a large letter poster and allow your son to shoot it with a nerf gun, telling your son to name the letters and their sounds every time he hits one.
My kids also love any kind of hide and seek, or scavenger hunt game. You can easily turn those into learning opportunities by having them search for things that start with a certain letter, or find a number of different items around the house.
Uno is a great game to teach kids to sort based on color and number. The list of things you can do with your kids are endless.
Get creative. Learning through play is one of the best ways to get your kids excited to learn.
Homeschooling boys for success and joy
Boys are intelligent, creative, and bundles of energy. They deserve better than the public schools can give them. They deserve to learn in a way that honors their God given demeanors. Not all boys are the same, but all children, boys and girls, benefit from learning at their own pace and in their own way.
What have been your most successful strategies for homeschooling your sons? Are you struggling getting them interested in learning? Any wisdom, and any question is always welcome 🙂
And for you mother’s of girls, know I’ll be looking to you for advice if the Good Lord gives us a daughter one day 😀
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