{"id":6705,"date":"2014-12-02T09:16:21","date_gmt":"2014-12-02T16:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.happyhomeschooling.com\/?p=6705"},"modified":"2015-07-06T11:34:32","modified_gmt":"2015-07-06T17:34:32","slug":"eleven-year-itch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/eleven-year-itch\/","title":{"rendered":"Eleven Year Itch"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"prom2009-11\"

Time to learn how to get along in the big world!<\/p><\/div>\n

Question:<\/h4>\n

Homeschool was going great until my son turned twelve. Now I am struggling to keep him interested. Why?<\/em><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/h4>\n

Because your son has reached what I call the \u201cEleven Year Itch.\u201d It sneaks up on mothers, with their first child<\/strong>. Homeschool seems to be going along in a fairly regular, happy pattern when your oldest child becomes increasingly \u201cant-sy\u201d and restless and sometimes downright unhappy. It took me a long while to figure it out with my first child in homeschool. Now I watch and expect it to arrive for every child anywhere between ten and thirteen years. It’s sad, it dampens the fun, but the final destination for our\u00a0children is to grow up and be independent<\/strong>…so they are really just right on schedule!<\/em><\/p>\n

Some quiet, self-contained children will only get an slight case, and homeschool can continue with just a little modification. But for most\u00a011-13 year olds, the home circle becomes too confining<\/strong>. They are growing up. They need to get outside and experience the world beyond the family. If you plan and provide for it, the need is pretty easily satisfied. If you ignore it, homeschool can become increasingly unhappy to your growing chid, and nearly impossible to continue.<\/p>\n

If you want to continue homeschooling, you will need to provide for these changing needs<\/strong>. Time to look outside the home and\u00a0get your child involved outside of the home. Here are some ideas:<\/p>\n