Time to Teach!

It is a set of strategies that will allow you to spend less time engaged in resolving behavior issues we expect our children to already know. There are 5 components that many of us already implement with our children. What I am so excited about is it puts it all together and gives a better understanding of how when and why we do the things we are already doing.

Self Control, Having self-control is more than just being able to count to 10.  Essential to successfully managing challenging behavior is the ability to first maintain self-control in the heat of the battle.  Losing control and responding in anger or emotional outburst results in a loss of respect for you.  You lose all credibility, and your power and authority are compromised.  Losing self-control signals that you are no longer "in control".

Relationship, this component is most likely the reason we chose to homeschool. It’s a proven fact “Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Specifically during schooling, do we let them know how much we care? I know from my experience a majority of the time, especially as they get older and the academics become more time consuming, it wasn’t so much about “how” they were but “how much” they were getting done. We sometimes need to be reminded why we chose to keep them home and keep those relationships close.

Teaching Environment, everybody has a different style of teaching and learning. That’s what is so great about homeschooling. Not only was I able to teach the curriculum I thought was best for my children but I was also able to teach it the way I felt best for my kids. The physical environment can have a profound impact, good or bad, on student learning and achievement.  Where do your children do their school work, how many distractions are around them.  The design, layout, decor and even lighting can go a long way toward setting an atmosphere of learning.

Teach To’s,Effectively Teaching To expectations.  Rules and routines give students a a feeling of security.  Rules and routines reinforce the skills that every student must have in order to be a successful learning.  Rules and routines allow a teacher or parent to be a fair disciplinarian. In this component you develop, with your children's input, the rules and behaviors you expect from them.  Then you teach them, just like you would math.

Refocus, this is time out with responsibility.  You can turn a disruptive moment into a learning moment.  Shift the responsibility to the child and allow them time to think about chosen behavior. Eliminate repeated warnings and multiple requests.