Homeschooling Chronicles - Classroom Discipline When the Class is the Home

Learning and discipline are interconnected. The ability to control emotions, effectively manage time, and maintain proper social discourse are important skills that are used in school and throughout life. The issue for the homeschooling parent can be finding a way to instill these values and behavior while teaching at home. I have found that the best method for doing this is to implement the proper consequence or reward.

While my classroom is small compared to one in a traditional school, I still encounter times where discipline is necessary. Choosing what to suspend or how to reward has been difficult for me.

For a while, I tried the star and sticker method. I created a chart and offered stickers or stars to reward good behavior. My children loved the idea. They respond well to this type of visual encouragement. Initially, I enjoyed the positive nature of this system. But eventually, I felt like my kids became more concerned with the reward than character traits I was trying to instill.

Looking for a different method, I searched for something that didn’t require as much maintenance and wasn't as focused on rewards. This  alleviated my stress of having to come up with ideas for toys or gifts, and helped me move away from the idea of tangible rewards. I decided have the children work towards a special family experience. This was a great twist and it brought about some quality family bonding time. After a while, previous commitments impeded the family adventure prize.  it was challenging to incorporate yet another event into our family schedule. If the reward didn’t materialize in a timely fashion, my children were disappointed and they lacked motivation to keep working towards another event.

Next, I retracted my students' extracurricular activities a mode of punishment. There were a lot of activities to choose from. Yet,  this presented some problems as well. Each activity required a certain amount of commitment. By taking one away, it could cause a ripple effect for my other children or other kids participating in the activity. If I prohibited my child from playing on his sport team, there may not be enought through not only our lives, but those of others as well. There were also monetary concerns. Some extra activities are pricey. Missing more than occasionally, felt like financial lunacy. When a discipline situation arose, I began to fret over what extra activity I could take away. Once, I looked crazy as I stammered out, "Well, you can’t go to . . ."  I paused and frantically analyzed whether I could actually follow through with my punishment.  Eventually, I was left with, “Go to your room.” While sending my child to his room seemed like an acceptable solution, he didn’t find it much of a punishment. For my kids, their room offers them a sanctuary. There can read and play with toys, undisturbed. They are actually quite content with this punishment. On the other hand, when siblings are squabbling, relegating them to their rooms is quite effective.

One day, as I realized that my pupils could entertain themselves quite well when they were sent to their rooms, I was reminded of the age-old teacher punishment: writing sentences. It was a golden moment of pure insight. My childrens' handwriting was atrocious, and I was constantly searching for ways to improve it. Writing sentences proved to be an extremely beneficial disciplinary tool. My students were unhappy, but their sentence structure, penmanship, and behavior improved. I felt a light bulb moment had occurred in the darkened room of discipline.

This modern marvel was merely a flickering glow. While the sentences worked, it wasn’t applicable for all occasions. I have found that a blend of consequences and rewards is the most effective discipline method. If siblings are arguing, going to their separate rooms is perfect. They are allowed some breathing space. Poor grades and papers should result in bonus work or projects. Some extra curricular activites should be missed if the student's attitude or behavior could be disruptive to others. Each incident requires a creative response. I learned in all things there is a proper measure for each individual situation. It is important to be understanding and talk to your child. In this way, they will bettter understand what the consequence is supposed to teach them. Learning is the true reward, though it may be a long time before they see its benefit.

Classroom Discipline in the Home Environment:

Showing Respect

In this lesson, students define, show they understand, and demonstrate respect. 

Respect: Looks Like, Sounds Like, Feels Like

Students identify respect and talk about how they can show respect for others both in and out of school.

Class Constitution

Students look at the United States Constitution, discuss it in groups, then compile a "Class Constitution" of rules to follow in class.