boy with cape and sunglasses

Conquering the Challenge of Homeschooling Boys

Dragon Slayers

Boys are conquerors by nature! Ask any mom who has one. If they aren’t jumping off the furniture they’re slaying pretend dragons. It flabbergasts us women but it’s best to heed the wisdom of dads, “Leave them alone, they are learning to be men!”

After further research I discovered how in utero a male child experiences a chemical wash over the right side of his brain, causing it to shrink. This alteration forces males to act more left brained, think logically and act physically. All perfect for hunting, conquering and producing! But not as easy to multitask as us woman, who can do five things at once. I’m sure a great design from our heavenly Father so we could raise children and cook at the same time!

Learning for Boys

A light bulb went off in my head. I would need to approach homeschooling my son differently than my daughter. He would learn all the same things, but in a different way.

I gave my son as many hands on learning experiences that I could find. We took walks and found bird nests, made salt relief maps, prepared biscuits and stew from the Oregon Trail, hatched chicken eggs, raised baby ducklings, made our own flashcards, went on field trips, discovered caves, drew birds, planted gardens and the list goes on!

During sit down book times if he needed to get up and move around I was lenient. If he spilled his milk three times a day, I was patient.

Sometimes when we think our sons are being difficult we need to remember these limitations! I told my son about what I had discovered. He was relieved! He would remind me many times, “Mom you gave me three things to do at once and are overwhelming me. I only think with one side of my brain!”

The revelation was a godsend. My son is brilliant! He went on to become an honors student in college and won scholarships. Thankfully I found out early on that I needed to be tender to his God-created maleness and it has made all the difference!

A couple of hand-on curriculum I have found boys love:

Spies of the Revolutionary War Writing Unit and Lapbook

Each writing exercise uses visual, auditory, or hands-on projects sure to engage every type of learner. Make a battle drum, create your own secret code, or memorize parts of a famous speech. Develop a spy character and write about it! Even the reluctant writer will dive into the writing pool!

Warfare by Duct Tape

Bring Ancient History to Life! Re-enact history, defend honor, vanquish the enemy and take dominion… or just plain have fun! Warfare by Duct Tape specializes in books that teach you how to create your own historically based duct tape weapons, armor and costumes.

This article was originally published on our Homeschool Launch Blog.

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