Help Kids Out of Control!!!!!

If you are on bedrest I don't think you can homeschool very welll. You must be exhausted! Can I ask what health reasons? All children, even those who are medically fragile, are guaranteed an education at a public school. They do what it takes. I certainly can imagine that boys that age, in a small space together, would be very, very wild. How you are managing is inspiring, because it must be a lot of work!!!! Is is possible to get them into any school?

Wow you have your hands full. I seriously am not sure how you can watch 5 children when you are on bedrest let alone home school them.
I would send the 3 & 4 year old to a home preschool for 4 hours 4 days a week. They need to play and probually need a outlet for their energy.
While the younger ones are in school I'd work with the 2 older children, but altering lesson time with some recess time. Perhaps one can have school time while the other can have recess. It would be easier to do without their siblings around.
I think you need help with disciplining the children, because you need to be able to physically keep up with them. You can't possibly parent well from your bed. Your children are showing you that by their behavior. It takes a lot of energy, consistency, and repetition.

Are you getting any assistance from the school system or your towns crisis center? Please call your local Head Start Program ###-###-#### and ask for assistance and if they cannot help you ask them for resources and be persistant. The Federal law requires that every child gets a free appropriate education the law is under IDEA. Under the law the school system is required to make safe accommodations that are individualized to your children. Please call The American with Disabilities www,ada.com or contact American with Disabilities legal services and just ask questions as to what you can do ###-###-####. You should be able to get assistance as far as schooling your children. Also look into assistance with help caring for them while you are recovering. Contact your local hospital and ask if they have or know of any volunteer programs which provide help to families in need of assistance, maby someone will volunteer such as a home health aide or a nurse. There are resources out there!!! Use your computer and when you are up to it search search search!!!! Have your mother help rally friends, etc...
You will not recover from what ever you are healing from with all this stress in your house. All this stress certainly cannot be good for a child with a heart condition.

Another good resource is CHADD google it, they have many resources and can often help you find pro-bono advocates and pro-bone attorneys. CHADD is a site dedicated to children and adults with learning disabilities and other special educational needs. Even though your children do not have learning disabilities they will beable to help you.

Good Luck and Get Well
Let us know how you are doing

Get them on a scedule. Do you have any help? A friend, your husband, a teenager?Get them to help you write out a chore schedule.
Have a teeneager come and take the boys out to the playground and run them. Get yourself a boy. My eldest loved babysitting and was sought after by everyoen because he played hard with the kids and wore them out.
Then use this as your leverage.
They need to get their energy out.
The 8 year old should be old enough to be in charge of lunches.
PLay games with them to pick up. Have your teen helper hide coins under things in different rooms so when they clean and find them they get an instant reward.
Rewards can be sitting and reading with mommy.
Good luck.

Send all kids to school except the 6 yr old and read parenting with love and logic. I would imagine your younger ones would qualify for headstart. Also you might be able to qualify for respite care. Good luck it sounds like a difficult situation

Wow, you really do have your hands full. I have a 6 year old boy, twin 4 year old boys, and an 8mo old girl. When people call or visit my house they say it's like a daycare. I believe that "idle hands" make little boys get into things. Try to keep them busy, and switch the activity so they don't get board. Puzzles and board games are quiet fun. To me, boys are energy packed, non-stop little people. To keep them calmer in the house, they need to get rid of some of that energy. If my boys are getting too rowdy, I make them run around the house, or make stick piles in the backyard. Anything to get them moving. When they come back in, they're a lot calmer. Hope this helps :)

Watch an episode of Supernanny. She turns situations just like this around on a regular basis.

I wonder if the public school in your area would be willing to help in some way? Since you are having to keep your children at home because they cannot attend school and potentially expose your ill child to germs and diseases ( I am assuming this is why they all are unable to go to school). There should be a headstart program in your area and possibly a teacher could come several times a week to work with the preschool age children. Maybe the elementary school could send tutors out to help your school age children with some of their school work and get them back on track again.
This sounds like a really difficult situation for you and I am so sorry that you are having such difficulties. I wish I had more concrete advice for you, but I cannot imagine a situation like you are describing that would NOT lead to the children being out of control and difficult!! You are talking about 5 young boys in a very confined space, with no active adult supervision. Of COURSE they are going to be misbehaving...any child would. Until you are able to be up and actively involved again you are going to have to rely on others to do the parenting for you.
God Bless

I highly recommend you get the book "Raising Godly Tomatoes". It's available from Amazon.com, or you can get it cheaper at the website, http://raisinggodlytomatoes.com. The author had 10 kids and home schooled and all that, so I think you might be able to get some advice that way. If your not a Christian, you might still find the principles helpful.

You never mentioned your opinion on spanking. The author does use it, but not much, and her methods, if followed, will make it practically unnecessary within a few days/weeks. I highly recommend it. I stopped applying the principles and my 3 year old was getting out of control. When I went back and started applying them again, I could see a huge change in less than 24 hours! I can't recommend this book enough!

Oh, I think I forgot to mention: You can read the whole book on the website. But I prefer having the book in hand. That way you can take it with you.

I would highly recommend getting onto some homeschooling boards, since having your kids 24/7 isn't something most people do anymore after their kids turn 5, and it's a whole different ball game. http://groups.yahoo.com/ has some amazing ones, and there are 1000's of HS families on them. You'll have better luck searching "_________ Homeschool" in the group search... because there are hundreds of HS groups. EX) Secular Homeschool, Christian Homeschool, Charlotte Mason Homeschool, Oregon Homeschool, etc.

best & hugs & maybe see you there!

PS... I should also mention... I know several HS families who are HS'ing due to health reasons. Being on bedrest certainly doesn't mean that you can't HS, and HS very well indeed.

People have told me that if their boys fight they BOTH get a time out no matter who started it and that seemed to help. Good luck!

it sounds like you need help. can you have a neighbor or friend help you out.. how about your husband. are all the kids sick... can some be sent to school... i think that would help out with discipline...