Dealing with bad kindergarten attitude

[BeckyW]

My oldest is in kindergarten this year, and my state does require that he gets 180 days of school. I think if he was my only child, he'd be fine with this. But he has two younger siblings, and he is struggling hard with having to do more work than his preschool-aged brother in particular (age 3.5). I do have the younger boy with us for things like morning Bible stories, read alouds, and music/art. When he's interested in a subject, like dinosaurs, he's a voracious learner. But when it comes time to do reading and math lessons with my kindergartener, his attitude is terrible. He spends far more time complaining about being bored than actually doing the lessons, and I usually have to drag him through things kicking and screaming. I've tried things like regularly mixing in games, even creating my own games for his reading book, giving the preschooler his own workbook to scribble in while I work with his older brother, using playdough or dinosaurs or legos along with his lessons (as far as I can with a 15 month old in the house), etc. But he still just complains all the time.

I'm trying to keep the lessons short, and they honestly would be probably about half the length if he didn't drag it out so. And I don't think it's an understanding issue, as math is coming pretty easily to him so far. He's also usually fine with reading when I can get him to actually look at the words and sound them out instead of just whining or guessing what comes next. I really want this to work, as I know he would not handle Zoomergarten school well. How can I help him with his attitude on this? We're already on our second reading curriculum this year, and I don't think I can handle another switch right now. And how can I keep myself from getting so frustrated with the power struggle? I'm also getting very tired of ending each morning on the brink of tears.

 

[Imago Dei Academy]

Bless your heart, Momma. I can sense how frustrated and overwhelmed you are. We’ve all been there! My now 12 year old boy was just like that when he was in kindergarten and still is to an extent! It stinks that your state has the requirement of 180 days, because the truth is that some kids (especially boys) just aren’t ready to start school until around 7. That was the case for my son. He just needed a little brain development. It sounds like you’re on the right track with keeping lessons short and engaging. Something that is absolutely essential for success in my home is LOTS of physical activity. We got a trampoline so he could get a lot of energy out. I’ve found that if he rides his bike or jumps on the trampoline, he’s more successful with his school work. Another thing that works well with my reluctant learner is that each day, his screen time is earned by how well he does with school work and his attitude. I have to daily remind him- “Screen time is EARNED, it is not guaranteed.” There are a lot of days that his attitude is so bad or his work is so sloppy that he gets no screen time at all, or I’ll take 10 minutes off here or 15 minutes off there. This is an excellent motivator! Hang in there, Momma. I know it is so difficult especially when you have two other littles. You can do this!