Hi, my name is Leslie. I am a first year homeschooling mom. The acedemics are going great. I think I have tried all of the thngs everyone has suggested at one time or another. The thing I am struggling with right now is that my son, 11, has NO interest in ANYTHING outside of our home. He will play football, but that is only in the fall. The only thing he is interested in is his computer games and video games. We give him a limit of 2 hours a day...which always seems to go so fast when there is nothing else that interests him. Does anyone have any suggestions? What do you think about making him get involved in something that he doesn't care for? Just not sure how to get him plugged in somewhere.

Thanks,

Leslie

Hi Leslie,
So what does he do now with the rest of his day? How much free time does he have after he finishes school? Does he have chores to do around the house also?

Personally, I haven't had a lot of success with making my kids get involved in something they weren't interested in. I usually keep that for things that we require them to do, not things that are optional. But I do think it's reasonable to require him to do some sort of physical activity, whether it's a team sport, riding his bike, or whatever. Call it "P.E." for school and let him know it's required, but he can choose how to meet that requirement. When I have decided to make my kids participate in something, I usually put a time limit on it. Like if they sign up for a class or sport, we'd make them stay with it for one semester or maybe one school year. Then if they chose to drop out that was okay. I felt like that was long enough for them to give it a chance and really know if they liked it or not. Sometimes they'd continue longer, other times they wouldn't. It gave them choices within boundaries, and that seemed to work well.

You could also expand on his current interests. If he likes video games, maybe he'd be interested in learning web design or computer graphics or something like that. I usually don't count educational computer time as part of my kids' just-for-fun computer time, but they often enjoy it just as much.

I hope that helps a little.
Lori

Thanks, Lori. That is helpful. We average about 3 or so hours a day on school work. I have also come up with a new schedule of chores that have to be done in a day. Both of my kids are responding well to that. I like the idea of maybe having him try web design or computer graphics. I will look into that. I am not very computer savvy myself, so I will have to see if that is something my husband can help him with. Also, thinking about it, we live in Indiana and we are probably just REALLY ready for some nice weather for them to get out a little. I do have a treadmill that I occasionally have him get on. I worry from time to time about whether my kids are getting all that they need socially and physically...I have to remind myself that God has called me to homeschool my kids, and because of that, I know God will make sure they are getting all they need in spite of me! That is a comforting thought.

Thanks again!

Leslie

Hi Leslie,

Your son sounds a lot like my 2nd child - a girl. Until she was about 13, she didn't have much going on outside of schoolwork and home. She's a quiet, introspective kid. She's come out of her shell a little more (now 15), but the Lord used those quiet years to bind us together. Because we spent so much time together, we have a wonderful relationship.

Do you have a co-op nearby that you can become involved with? Trying a 10 week class might be a neat thing for him.

Blessings,
Christine

Hi Christine,

It's good to hear there are other kids that are not real active outside of home. You know, our society today is SO busy...kids involved in everything! I find myself feeling like my son is lacking in areas because he's not like that (actually, none of us at our home is).

We do not have any kind of co-op here. I guess they tried to have one a year or so ago, but did't have enough people to keep it going. But I have recently found out their is one about an hour from where we live, They have alot of different classes and field trips that they offer. I know we will do the field trips, but I am still trying to figure out what clsses he would be interested in. The reason I struggle with this so much is because a year or so ago (while he was still in public school) he went through a time of depression. It really scared me and now I find myself doing whatever I can to keep him happy and not "force" him into things he isn't happy with that are optional. I know that is something that I need to be careful of, but that is just where I am at.

Thanks for your input...I love being able to talk to other people who homeschool! I have not experienced this until now! God is SO good!

Leslie

Lori,

You had mentioned trying web design or computer graphics. Do you (or anyone) happen to know how to get started in that? I know that probably sounds tacky, but like I said before, I am not very computer knowledgable!

If you or anyone knows of any good pc programs on this topic, I would love to know about them!

Thanks,

Leslie

Come on, ladies! You all are a wealth of information. Anyone know of any programs to teach web design?

Christine

Leslie,
Sorry I didn't answer this sooner. We use Microsoft Front Page for web design. Once we learned the basics (which are pretty easy) my kids pretty much teach themselves. If you can use Microsoft Word, you can use FrontPage. Many of the commands are similar. My kids have also used other page building software. I think one is called Page Builder. If you do a web site on GeoCities or Yahoo that might be what they use. I'm not sure, but it was whatever was provided on one of those sites. My son figured it out on his own but I've never used it myself. I think there's a site called freewebs.com or something like that. Someone told us about it. We haven't used it yet, but I think it has its own web building software also (maybe Page Builder, but maybe something else). You might want to start with something like that. It's free, so you really have nothing to lose. I like FrontPage myself, though.

As for computer graphics, that's another area my kids have been self-taught. They have designed some graphics in Paint and then uploaded them to a web site. Maybe the on-line web publishing programs have built-in graphics, I'm not sure.

When my son gets home I'll ask him how he got started. Maybe he'll have some more ideas for you.
Lori

That's great information. I appreciate It! We are going to check that out right away!

Thanks, Lori

Blessings,

Leslie

Leslie,
I asked my son (he's 18) about this. He didn't have any other suggestions for computer graphics or web design. But he did ask what kind of video games your son likes. He suggested that if your son likes action-type video games, he might be interested in martial arts (karate). My son loves those types of video games (even now) and has been involved in karate since he was about 11 or 12 yrs old. His interest in those two things just sort of feed off of one another. Just a thought.
Lori

Anyone else here have kids in karate? I have a bouncy boy and I'm wondering if this would be good for him or not.
What are your experiences?
Blessings,
Christine

Christine,
Karate has been great for my kids! All four have been involved in it, and three of them are still in it now. They started about six years ago. Their sensei is a Christian man who has been a wonderful role model for them. From what I've heard from other parents, you can't assume that all karate is taught in the same way. If you're considering a class, check it out first before enrolling your kids. I know there are different styles and each has its own focus. I don't know all the details on that but my son would, if you want me to ask him about it. He's now a 2nd degree black belt in Okinawan Kenpo, and has a yellow belt in some other style (I forget the name). Ana (my middle daughter, now 13) is a 1st degree jr black belt (the jr. just means she isn't 16 yet), and my youngest is a green belt and will probably test for brown soon. My oldest daughter got as far as green and then decided she'd had enough, had no desire to test for brown, so she dropped out a while ago. It has been really good for all of them, not just for the exercise, but it has taught them confidence, teamwork, physical skills, and just a lot of good things. Their class is a mixture of age groups, all the way from 5-yr-olds up thru adults. I don't know if all karate classes are like that or not. For my family it has been a great experience.
Lori

I think karate is great! Two of my children are involved in it; one about three years ago & the other 7 months ago. The major things that are expected is that the students show respect to everyone & self control. One of my children was a strong willed child & this has seemed to have helped turn that in a good direction. One is a Junior Purple belt (7) & the other is a Kinder-orange (5). The school they attend has two tournaments a year that the children can attend if they so choose. It truely helps boost their confidence. What I would recommend before enrolling your child in any school would be to have a sit down with the instructors & interview the school.

Hi jkpainter,
Welcome to the board!
I have another question: How can you tell whether a karate school will incorporate a lot of the mysticism stuff with their teaching? Are there some things to look for?
Thanks,
Christine

HI, you are all asking and giving great advice! My brother was involved in karate for several years and never had any idealogy attatched. You are wise to look for it though. I would imagine that as long as you are watching and invovled you won't have any problems. My brother is now a paster, it had no ill effect on his beliefs or relationship with the Lord.

OK, gotta ask this - any of you moms ever do tai-chi? I'm told it's wonderful for aging bodies, like mine. (Secret: I turn 40 on 4-12).
Christine

Ooops - I meant to say 50 - the big 5-0!
Talk about a slip!
Christine

What is tai-chi?

In think it's an ancient Chinese system of movements. It's very low impact, but I don't know much about it.
Christine

Hello,
Both of my sons just joined a martial arts program and it has helped them in many ways. They are more focused and listen better since they started 2 months ago. In regards to tai-chi. I have been doing it for about 6 months and it does really help me and loosen me up and relaxes the body.
Andrea