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Tina P.
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| Posted: May 22 2008 at 1:59pm | IP Logged
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I'm struggling with end-of-year rush mode, on my part and lolligags on the part of the kids. My kids can dawdle through pages of grammar like you wouldn't believe! And math is worse. These two, religion, and spelling make up the first half of our day. It completely ruins our day (and I've explained this to the kids several times) when they drag out their morning stuff until evening. And I'm not doing a great job making the olders accountable for papers and projects that need to be done in conjunction with (especially) history. 
Please advise. Thanks.
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SimplyMom
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| Posted: May 22 2008 at 3:00pm | IP Logged
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I find with my nine year-old that if he is dawdling I set a timer. He has 30 mins to finish his math and then we go on to the next thing. It didn't take him long to figure out if he did his work in 15 mins he had more free time and if he spent too much time staring at the ceiling he would have to spend his free time doing the work.
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Darcee
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missionfamily
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| Posted: May 22 2008 at 4:13pm | IP Logged
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I'd say take Charlotte Mason's advise on this one: set short lesson times. If they work well for twenty minutes and complete a few problems correctly, let them move on. If they do not put forth a good effort or struggle with the problems, move them on at that point and sit them down for a second twenty minute session in the evening.
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At_His_Feet
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| Posted: May 23 2008 at 3:46am | IP Logged
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Three days ago I suggested that if my boys managed to get three of their workbooks completed by 9am that they could choose a TV show to watch that day.
What normally takes Thomas (10) anything up to 2-3 hours if it involves a whining session  , took less than 1 hour!  It's working a treat. So by 9am I feel like we have achieved heaps.
Perhaps something like this could work for your dc?
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: May 23 2008 at 9:51am | IP Logged
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missionfamily wrote:
| I'd say take Charlotte Mason's advise on this one: set short lesson times. If they work well for twenty minutes and complete a few problems correctly, let them move on. If they do not put forth a good effort or struggle with the problems, move them on at that point and sit them down for a second twenty minute session in the evening. |
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This has worked for us. In general, I'm most concerned about practicing the habit of attention over getting an arbitrary number of pages done (or the like.) During formal lessons with me, I keep them short and sweet, and will often use a timer to keep *me* from extending the lesson *beyond their attention.* A good companion to our formal lessons together is their independent work checklist. This needs to be done on their own time before they can move onto their afternoon free time. Each item has a required minimum time to meet (ex: read, 10 minutes.) Some of my children breeze through their checklist one item after the other, while others prefer a more leisurely pace. Either is fine as long as the checklist is completed daily.
Love,
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SimplyMom
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| Posted: May 23 2008 at 11:42am | IP Logged
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I should clarify my comment.
Christopher is very prone to "phasing out" he needs a gentle motivator to keep focused. I use a timer myself for the same reason. I wouldn't use a timer on something he was actually struggling with. If he was working diligently and not getting an assignment done that would be completely different. But if he burns through his time playing with the lint from his socks then work will have to be done later.
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Angie Mc
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SimplyMom wrote:
Christopher is very prone to "phasing out" he needs a gentle motivator to keep focused. |
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What are some of the gentle motivators that you use? I've used a variety of techniques but I still get stumped at times as to what to do when the "zoning" distraction begins. Sometimes I'll simply say, "Attention, please." Sometimes I'll ask, "Do you need a break?" I've asked, "Do you need to stretch?" I'm always eager to hear how others gently guide a child back to their work. When the first gentle reminder, doesn't work, what do you do you all do next?
Love,
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SimplyMom
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| Posted: May 23 2008 at 12:15pm | IP Logged
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In my case most of time all that is required is the timer itself. Sometimes I have him sit right next to me and all that is required is for me to tap the page for him to refocus. Often I will ask him to read the problem aloud to me. I also let him be a little silly. For instance in grammar his sentences are invariably about aliens eating dog food, broccoli growing in hair or worms crawling into shoes -- just silly stuff -- as long as it is grammatically correct and he is doing it. I try to make sure there is nothing in his workspace that can distract him (legos get smuggled in sometimes and they have to be confiscated). and they have to be confiscated).
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: May 23 2008 at 2:24pm | IP Logged
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SimplyMom wrote:
| I try to make sure there is nothing in his workspace that can distract him |
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The few times that we've done this, it has helped lots. We don't have "toys" in the work area, but lots of school supplies, books, Math U See blocks,... -- These things distract when they are having a hard time focusing.
Ways of refocusing my older two: First, I remind them that I require undivided attention and I wait until they are "with me" again. If they get distracted again, I ask them to stretch and do jumping jacks; go get a drink of water; ask the other kids to leave the room; ask the distracted one to go work in a different area; ask distracted one if he needs a break (if he says yes, I have him play outside if we've got time to spare. If we don't, I ask him to go rest in his room and come back when he can focus.)
My older two have learned from experience that if they don't finish their weekly work, they'll be working on the weekend. That's motivating. In addition, they know that they'll have to take "school" on vacation with us if they get too far behind. They are in charge of setting their own pace to a degree. We periodically review where they're at and what they have to do to "finish." The biggest motivator, though, is that they get movie nights/xbox time on Fridays and Saturdays, but only if they've done their work. They also write stories and design lego sets on the computer, but again, only if their other work is done.
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: How to get work done in a timely manner?
