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melanie
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| Posted: Nov 10 2009 at 2:48pm | IP Logged
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Not sure where to put this...
I have a daydreaming 9yo who doodles incessantly all over his schoolwork. I have been letting this go as long as his work remains legible/gradeable, but I'm wondering if I should start to get rid of this habit. It does make his work very messy, and obviously he's wasting a lot of time. On the other hand, he's kind of a "pick your battles" kind of kid. I have talked to him in a gentle way about keeping his work neater, but this hasn't made any lasting impression, so I would probably have to have some sort of mild natural consequence like sending him off to erase the doodles each time or something. Any thoughts?
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Melanie
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KC in TX
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Maybe he could have a doodling pad nearby? My oldest dd does this and it drives me crazy!!! He'll have to learn that some things can't be turned in with all those doodles.
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JodieLyn
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try not to think of it as wasting time, it can help someone process information, so think of it as an aid to thinking.. but no reason they can't have an acceptable location other than on their work. (like the aforementioned doodle pad  )
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Kathryn
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My 10yo DD does this and I've never given it much thought and never found it a bother. However, her work is very neat (and the artwork too). She's just sooo artsy. You should see the doodling on her math pages. Interesting about it being a way to process information b/c math is her LEAST interesting subject and yet it has the MOST artwork on it. hmmmmm
If it's a "pick your battle" thing, I would just continue to encourage the fact that you need to be able to read his answers. Aside from the doodling, my daughter uses lots of different colors too in completing her assignments (mostly math) so if that's an option, consider allowing him to write in different colored pencils and may be that will limit the extra doodling.
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Booksnbabes
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| Posted: Nov 10 2009 at 3:59pm | IP Logged
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Doodling definitely can be a processing help rather than wasting time! (Not that I was a chronic doodler or anything... ). That being said, I like the doodle pad idea. And if he seems resistant maybe phrase it as "I enjoy your artwork. Could we have a special notebook for it? That way it won't be so jumbled." Or something like that. 
The pad can help you determine whether the issue is processing or wasting time as well. If he's constantly using it and not doing his work, it might be a wasting time issue which can then be addressed. If he's still working on the task at hand, just consider it fine motor skill development and start scoping out good art colleges. 
You may have to do the gentle discipline of erasing it off schoolwork until he develops a habit of using the pad since he is already in the habit of using the paper that is in front of him.
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melanie
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Hmmm, interesting. I never thought of the doodling being part of his processing the problems. Math is definitely his hardest subject. I'm not much of a doodler, certainly not while I'm actually trying to think! lol... but this child's brain whirls a mile a minute,,,and so does his body.
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Melanie
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lapazfarm
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I think if you discourage the doodling he may just find another self-soothing activity to replace it, like pencil chewing, nail biting, finger tapping and the like. doodling seems fairly harmless but if it bothers you then the doodle pad may work well.
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Elena
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If he likes to doodle you might introduce him to journaling and natural journaling. Those journals with doodles are the best! And there are some very important ones like Lewis and Clark - I think you could really turn this into something pretty cool if you can just guide and direct it a little!
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Becky Parker
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Hi Melanie,
I agree with Theresa. My "doodler" also likes to work with clay when he's thinking. If I don't let him doodle or have the clay he'll start spinning in his seat or jumping up to do this, get that, or whatever. He gets more done when he doodles.
Of course, you can tell if the doodling is actually a distraction. If he sits for hours doodling and no math gets done, maybe you would have to set some boundaries. ("Try to do the first row of problems, then you can doodle a picture" or whatever.)
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Nov 11 2009 at 9:02am | IP Logged
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Elena,
Can you tell me more about the Lewis and Clark doodle journal?
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ekbell
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I don't worry about doodling except on work to be saved for future reference (science and history notebooks; stories). I insist that all illustrations/diagrams/doodles on such work should be relevant to the topic at hand.
With work that is done, checked and never looked at again, I don't care about doodles, I just want it to be legible. If the child is obviously doodling instead of working I deal with it on that level and we work on ways to concentrate and thus work faster.
My eleven year old doodles in her spelling workbook, but not on her math pages.
It's either due to the spelling work needing more thought for her (which it does) or because she has time limits on math but not her spelling (I found my children to be more diligent if I say work on math for x minutes then if I say to do x amount of math).
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MaryM
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I don't know if anyone officially referred to them as Lewis and Clark doodle journals but I think in general what Elena was referring to was the fact that those journals have lots of little drawings in them, in funny places squeezed in with the text. They were purposeful doodles but "doodles" none the less.
You can see pages from the journals online to see examples of what they contained.
Recommending doing a journal or nature journal for a doodler is a great idea - it's a pictorial snapshot of "thoughts" that add to a written journal.
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Kathryn
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Hi Mary,
The link didn't work...I would be curious to see. I must get a journal for my DD.
As I previously posted above, she normally doodles all over her math pages in quite colorful fashion too but she is completing her work and it's very neat so I've not made a biggie. However, today, she said she needed a break from English (new task of diagramming sentences) and she drew a 3 frame cartoon as cute as can be. BUT, it's all over the dry erase board I use for school! I told her sorry that I would have to erase it and I wished she had put this on paper and a journal would be fabulous for this child! Till then, I'll just have to photo this art of hers.
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MaryM
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| Posted: Nov 11 2009 at 10:28pm | IP Logged
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Kathryn, I don't know why the link keeps dropping the "?" character from the address, so that it can't read the correct adddress. If you cut and paste this address in it takes you there:
http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/read/?_xmlsrc=lc.img.co rpus.01.xml&_xslsrc=LCstyles.xsl
Or just go to the Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition website directly and click on the "Images" then "From the Journal" links in left hand side bar.
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Kathryn
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Ohhh....I see what you mean. Interesting!
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Becky Parker
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Thanks Mary. This is interesting.
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LeeAnn
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Hi, I am a doodler (my school work was always covered in drawings of superheroes, princesses and abstract art) and some of my kids have inherited the habit. I have always found it helpful to doodle while listening to a lecture or while formulating an answer.
I recently bought this book about doodling as prayer:Praying in Color
I think it's really neat. The link is to the kids' edition. Maybe a way to harness or expand upon that doodling tendency into something very positive?
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SuzanneG
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LeeAnn wrote:
| Hi, I am a doodler (my school work was always covered in drawings of superheroes, princesses and abstract art) and some of my kids have inherited the habit. I have always found it helpful to doodle while listening to a lecture or while formulating an answer. |
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Me too.
LeeAnn wrote:
I recently bought this book about doodling as prayer:Praying in Color
I think it's really neat. The link is to the kids' edition. Maybe a way to harness or expand upon that doodling tendency into something very positive?
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Neat, LeeAnn! Thanks for the link. Can you bring it tonight? Can I see it? Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? 
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CatholicMommy
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Elementary Montessori encourages the doodling - but keeps it to the margins, or between sections of work. They call it embellishing, rather than doodling - and it can be very fancy! It seems to help children appreciate even their least interesting subjects.
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LeeAnn
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SuzanneG wrote:
| Neat, LeeAnn! Thanks for the link. Can you bring it tonight? Can I see it? Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? |
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Sure! LOL I actually bought it at the St. James Cathedral bookshop. See you tonight!
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Topic: a doodling child
