Strong Willed Daughter

[lulabelle]

My daughter has a very strong will and I want to be able to homeschool her without constantly arguing with her about everything. She is only 3 1/2 right now, but once we start homeschooling, life could get very interesting.

I am interested in any advice/experience with strong willed children and teaching them! Thanks!

[APGoddess83]

Subbing to hear what everyone has to say. My 8 y/o is incredibly strong-willed as well and getting her to focus on anything she doesn't want to is like pulling teeth! I still haven't found much that works.

[isabchi]

My just 5 yo is very strong willed, that one of the reason for homeschooling her. Well, actually unschooling, she have a high desire to learn by herself. I can suject to her some things but mostly she's the one who lead her learn. i think she's doing a pretty good job. So far,She is learning to read and write in English and Spanish and doing some math, geography, crafts, drawning, cooking and much more.

[SagMom]

Originally Posted by lulabelle

My daughter has a very strong will and I want to be able to homeschool her without constantly arguing with her about everything. She is only 3 1/2 right now, but once we start homeschooling, life could get very interesting.

I am interested in any advice/experience with strong willed children and teaching them! Thanks!

Well, of course, there's the fact that she might change as she gets older, but, as the parent of a strong-willed child, I know there's also the chance that she won't. When my dc was that age, I found I kept reminding myself of something that my grandmother once told me: "It takes two to argue." Simple enough, but a life-saver when dc and I would start to get into it because it would remind me that it wasn't HER being difficult--it was a clash BETWEEN us. It helped me to sort out what was really important and worth struggling over and what I could let go (most of what we clashed over, I could let go without a problem.) What I couldn't let go led to us working on compromises and being better at problem-solving. It's just about respecting her opinions and choices (and by modeling that, she'll learn to respect yours and others') and finding ways to do things so that are acceptable to you both.

All that to say that, while I know it can be a challenge, having a strong-willed child can lead to great things as well!

[Dillpicklechip]

My dd is 11, and incredibly strong-willed. She argues with pretty much everything I say or do. Obviously this gets annoying pretty fast. I don't unfortunately have any advice, I just wanted to say I know what it's like, and that it will probably get worse as your dd gets older.

[Casha'sMommy]

My dd is just 4yo and is also quite strong willed and fiercely independent. I've decided to get a workbox system running this fall to get dd on a "schedule" of sorts to allow her to continue to work independently but within my plan. I do anticipate some challenges when it's time to work on something together that she isn't interested in working on but that's part of the joy of homeschooling. You can take your learning outside, to the museum, to Grandma's, whatever. I figure I'll give her the option of where to work if we're running into a challenge.

I'll let you all know if this plan works out for me.

[Aeress]

I also have a strong willed daughter (2 really) and she is 8. For the most part we are unschoolers but I do require math to happen several times a week, as well as reading and some writing.
As she gets older, I am finding that when we create something together, like her new eportolfio and we work together- she puts in things she wants and I include things I want, she is more receptive. Also knowing what is coming is helpful- so a rough schedule for the week. Like math 3x's, writing 2x's etc.

At a young age, there isn't much I would feel a child has to do besides helping with chores, and learning through play. Having clear guidelines can really help some children- so a daily picture guide of what needs to be done, can be very effective.

I am also a strong willed person but i love to learn and so do my kids- this helps a lot.

[lulabelle]

Originally Posted by Casha'sMommy

My dd is just 4yo and is also quite strong willed and fiercely independent. I've decided to get a workbox system running this fall to get dd on a "schedule" of sorts to allow her to continue to work independently but within my plan.

Since I am new to homeschooling, what is a workbox system?

I love all the advice! I have prayed about this quite a bit, and one day God struck me with the thought that I am the parent, and it is up to me to make it work. Similar to what you said, Sagmom.

I do believe DD would excel in a homeschooling situation where she can lead her learning, as she is quite motivated. She is currently attending a Montessori preschool, which is great for her. We cannot afford to send her there past preschool, so homeschooling is looking like the best choice for her.

Keep the advice coming!

[Casha'sMommy]

lulabelle- a workbox system is an organizational tool using several boxes to place daily work into. Check it out, imo it's rather cool.
You might consider searching for photos online. I googled images when first researching workboxes and found a lot of great ideas. Doing that helped me develop wha might work best for our home.