With all your homeschool students of various ages in a single classroom, it can be difficult to get the dynamics right. Often the older children may end up bullying the younger ones in order to feel superior or simply to express their anger at a different situation. Needless to say this behavior will have a detrimental effect on the entire homeschool classroom. Here’s a few things that the homeschool parent can do to deal effectively with the child.
Teach Him Compassion and Empathy
Children learn best by imitating their parents, so if you repeatedly show empathy and behave compassionately with others in your family and friend circle, the child will learn the more acceptable form of behavior. You can bring their unacceptable behavior to their attention and suggest an alternative way of dealing with their emotions. For example should a child not know how to skate and falls, the sibling who knows how to skate should not laugh at him. Instead he should help teach the novice skater and share tips on how to do better.
Practice Self Control
One of the reasons a homeschool student may bully a sibling is because he sees the homeschool parent behaving in a similar manner. By learning to control your own behavior, you can be a role model for your homeschool student. Teach your children to practice self control in small issues and praise them to reinforce their behavior. For instance if a sibling accidentally spills water on their worksheet and the child does not retaliate with anger, it’s worth mentioning as a positive thing.
Make Your Expectations Clear
The homeschool teacher should make it clear about what types of behavior is acceptable and what is not to all the children in the homeschool classroom. This way the child is aware of what may be construed as bullying and that should act as a deterrent. Also ensure that the child is aware of the consequences of acting in an unacceptable manner. For instance if the child makes fun of a sibling for lack of a certain skill, it will become the responsibility of the child to teach that sibling the skill.
