This is a vent and if anyone has any positive advice I will happily accept it.
Three weeks in to Kindergarten through a homeschool program and Bear 110% does not agree with school. I've figured out his working levels and all the work he's getting is his level or slightly below. Wolf has been doing Independent Study his whole school career and barring the few boundary testing problems we've never had any real long term issues. I, rather blindly, assumed I had the whole process down.
Bear on the other hand.... He refuses to start doing any work until he has hemmed and hawed for at least 15-30 minutes over which paper to do. (If there is only one he just won't do it at all) Then he sits there and complains and procrastinates, does it wrong on purpose, erases it fifteen times, plays with his pencil, lies about not knowing the answer, etc... Pretty much anything you can think of, he does. Once he actually starts he does just fine and generally finishes in an appropriate amount of time. This means that a 5 minute phonics worksheet will take, on the worst days, over an hour to complete.
He chooses to do worksheets that do not need to get done over ones that do. So a bonus sheet in his folder for if he finishes everything and still wants work to do will get done before the work that needs to get finished. And it's not even a FUN extra sheet that would be tempting! They are really only in there because I'm expecting so little work from him to try and ease him into all this that I feel guilty and want to see more work in the folder.
On top of all that, he LOVES EPGY math and will spend 40 minutes (2 sessions) at a time gleefully playing on it. He would do that every day if he could. He'll be to second grade math by the end of October or November at this rate. All I "require" per week is 3 twenty minute sessions...
He has issues with perfectionism and expectations, I understand and I love my Bear with all his intricacies, but I really don't know if I can do this. If school for this child involves 5-8 dedicated one on one hours per day (he won't do anything except EPGY if I'm not within arms length), I will LOSE it. He couldn't function at all in a regular classroom so that's not an option. I could take away all expectations, but then he's not doing school and not working his way through his difficulties until they get easier so that's not an option either!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!
What do you DO with kids like this? I'm being consistent. If he lies or flat out refuses to do work he gets time outs until he's willing to work, but even that backfires because he'll just stay in his room, sitting peacefully on his bed for the rest of the day. The rules are always the same, they don't change by the day or the mood. He has a healthy diet, lots of exercise, time outside, his brother to play with and to model proper behavior, playdates with kids who he can deal with. This was really the last thing I was expecting to deal with....
