Wish me luck for Monday

[Laura Corin]

I'm just working on bits and pieces before starting on Monday. Calvin (Mr. Dreamy-and-takes-forever-to-get-things-done) now has four work stations: right by me and under my thumb for anything where he has to use the internet (!) - he sits on a sensory wobble-cushion to try to keep him alert there; on an exercise ball at a low table for English/maths; standing at the main table for memorisation/reading tasks; snuggled up with me on the sofa for things we work on together.

 

I just put together next week's schedule. No longer does he have a simple list of work for the week. Instead, every task is set out with a time and I'll be writing down and averaging the grades, so that he can see where he is and where he needs to be. He still chooses in what order to do things, but the timing is strict and he is accountable for completion. Wherever possible I am using materials for which there is an exterior source for expectations on speed.

 

Calvin wants to make this work as well - he's fed up of working through the evenings and at weekends due to lack of concentration during the day. It's going to be a tough week for both of us.

 

Laura

[Starr]

You are an inspiration! Let us know how it goes. :D Can I send ds to you for training?

[Brindee]

What is a sensory wobble cushion?

 

Best wishes to you, I hope this works out for you both! Let us know how your first week goes!

[Kareni]

Best wishes for success with your new program!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Christy B]

I have a Miss Dreamy-and-takes-forever-to-get-things-done.

 

Sympathies and best wishes! :tongue_smilie:

 

I think your ideas are wonderful, I look forward to hearing how your week goes. We need to get a bit more structure, too, but as usual, life is messing with my plans.

[Ibbygirl]

Lots of luck Laura! :)

[Laura Corin]

What is a sensory wobble cushion?

 

Best wishes to you, I hope this works out for you both! Let us know how your first week goes!

 

http://www.sensoryedge.com/discositjr.html

 

The idea is that, as with sitting on a ball, the cushion requires a constant slight muscular effort which keeps the brain awake. We shall see.

 

Laura

[Rebecca VA]

How are you working out amounts of time? Do you budget, say, one hour for a subject and if Calvin doesn't finish his work in an hour he has to do it in his spare time? That's what I'm doing this year, and it's helping a lot (so far). I'm open to fine-tuning that, though, if anyone has any ideas.

 

What our schedule looks like is:

 

Math -- one hour

Science -- one hour

Latin -- 45 minutes (the online teacher expects her to work at least an hour and a half a day, but we don't have that much time)

Piano -- 45 minutes

Literature and writing -- one hour

History -- one hour

English -- 15-30 minutes

Art History (or history documentary) -- one hour

 

I don't mean to hijack your thread, Laura! Hope you have a fun and productive year!!

[Laura Corin]

How are you working out amounts of time? Do you budget, say, one hour for a subject and if Calvin doesn't finish his work in an hour he has to do it in his spare time? That's what I'm doing this year, and it's helping a lot (so far). I'm open to fine-tuning that, though, if anyone has any ideas.

 

 

I tried doing that before, but he just worked slowly and then worked all evening and weekend. Instead, I am grading him on everything he does - if he doesn't get it finished within the time frame, then he gets a bad grade, averaged at the end of each week.

 

This goes against the grain for me, but I think he needs to see the concrete results of his hard work. He took a public exam last year and was really pleased to get a high mark.

 

We'll see.

 

Laura