Motivation

As a homeschooling mom, I find that sometimes I need to help my son gain motivation.   This is the first year I have really run into resistance with him.   After talking to other moms and reading other blogs, I know I am not alone here.    Somedays, I just feel lost in how to reach him.

I am not going to lie:  Not every day here is sunshine and roses.   Sometimes we struggle to make it through the day.  I do my best to keep my cool and not get angry; I don’t always win that battle.   I am human and as such, I make mistakes.   I take my role as teacher very seriously.  My son takes his role as student very seriously, sometimes too seriously.  

Most times, I try to lighten the mood; sometimes I have to walk away and count to ten.   Mostly, I try to change the problem into a learning experience for us both.  When your child is testing his boundaries and pushing his limits, when his hormones are beginning to stir, life as a homeschool mom can be stressful on both of you.   

I try to meet each day with a positive attitude no matter what the day before held.   You can’t hold on to the negative. If we have had a bad school day, I try to give us both some space to cool off after.  Then we go on about our day with the negative forgotten.   Again, we are not perfect, so this is something we have to work at.

For the most part we do great, and my son does his work with enthusiasm, but we all have hard times.  Facing the frustration with calm and a positive attitude can change a fight into a giggle, and hard times into productive learning opportunities.