Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Moms, if you're needing a boost, stay right here as Chairman Michael Farris talks with his wife, Vickie, about their homeschooling journey next on Home School Heartbeat.

Mike Farris:


Vickie, some moms have children that they would describe as reluctant learners, kids who would rather be doing anything but school. Do you have any advice for them?


Vickie:


We haven't had too much trouble with that over the years. Basically, what I've tried to do is try to balance out doing things that will encourage the kids, things that will be fun for them, although I don't have a whole lot of time to come up with hands-on projects and fun things. And to a certain extent, I think it's important for kids to know that there are some things that they have to do in life that they're not going to always enjoy doing. So, just kind of balancing the encouragement to do well with just the self-discipline that's needed. One child in particular that I remember I did something with, she was a reluctant learner. Instead of punishment, which wasn't working with her, I tried a reward system. And so, if she did her work well for that day in a good amount of time, I would award her a star for the day. And then when she earned five stars, she would get something that we had agreed upon ahead of time--a stick of gum or some money or something like that. And that really worked well for her. And then, of course, she grew out of that, but you know, that's just an idea of something that worked well for us.