{Homeschool} Somedays i feel a failure...
... and today is one of those days.
{Please note i am feeling quite unwell today and i am sure that has a strong impact on my frustration with them and myself. They really are sweet and smart kids, i am just at my wits end at the moment and wishing they were more self-directed.}
i see my boys give excuse after excuse for why they haven't accomplished their (really straightforward and pretty simple) tasks. It makes me wonder what my husband and i have modeled for them.
An almost 8 year old should not have THIS much trouble writing out sentences with corrections on capitalizations (that we had previously discussed in detail) that he would take 5 hours to (still not) finish less than 12 sentences.
An almost 13 year old should not be unable to pull out 6 paragraphs of information (having been given a detailed outline of things for which to look) to write a short "research" paper in less than 2 months.
Again and again i get the "This will take forever" or "i can't find exactly the information you want in exactly the words you ask for"... despite giving explicit instructions, correcting for misunderstandings, and reassessing objectives with them after getting additional information about resources and timelines.
My kids may never be able to write a paper (either because they can't pick up a f-ing pencil OR their f-ing brains) - but they'll be spot on for a position in politics... claim ignorance, claim inability to finish because of other people, and whine like babies.
{Please note i am feeling quite unwell today and i am sure that has a strong impact on my frustration with them and myself. They really are sweet and smart kids, i am just at my wits end at the moment and wishing they were more self-directed.}
i see my boys give excuse after excuse for why they haven't accomplished their (really straightforward and pretty simple) tasks. It makes me wonder what my husband and i have modeled for them.
An almost 8 year old should not have THIS much trouble writing out sentences with corrections on capitalizations (that we had previously discussed in detail) that he would take 5 hours to (still not) finish less than 12 sentences.
An almost 13 year old should not be unable to pull out 6 paragraphs of information (having been given a detailed outline of things for which to look) to write a short "research" paper in less than 2 months.
Again and again i get the "This will take forever" or "i can't find exactly the information you want in exactly the words you ask for"... despite giving explicit instructions, correcting for misunderstandings, and reassessing objectives with them after getting additional information about resources and timelines.
My kids may never be able to write a paper (either because they can't pick up a f-ing pencil OR their f-ing brains) - but they'll be spot on for a position in politics... claim ignorance, claim inability to finish because of other people, and whine like babies.