Help for a friend...slow working students

[mom31257]

I'm trying to get ideas for a friend. She homeschools all three kids. Two of them are fine with getting their work done, no complaining, and motivated to get it done in a reasonable amount of time. The third, a middle child, is not. She is pretty slow with everything according to my friend.

 

It took her four hours to get a math lesson done the other day, and it was not because it was too hard for her. She is a little behind in reading, but has made great strides in it this year.

 

Nothing seems to motivate her, rewards or punishment. The child LOVES to go outside and won't hurry up to get to do that.

 

Any suggestions for a kid who works at a snail's pace?

[mom31257]

Any advice?

[Virg]

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[Mom0012]

I'm trying to get ideas for a friend. She homeschools all three kids. Two of them are fine with getting their work done, no complaining, and motivated to get it done in a reasonable amount of time. The third, a middle child, is not. She is pretty slow with everything according to my friend.

 

It took her four hours to get a math lesson done the other day, and it was not because it was too hard for her. She is a little behind in reading, but has made great strides in it this year.

 

Nothing seems to motivate her, rewards or punishment. The child LOVES to go outside and won't hurry up to get to do that.

 

Any suggestions for a kid who works at a snail's pace?

 

A timer really helps my son keep on track. We use this one because it's very visual. http://www.amazon.com/TIMER-INCH-MODEL-AUDIBLE-OPTION/dp/B001UAMZCU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1284629259&sr=8-1 I also have a weekly checklist for each child and that seems to help because they know what they need to accomplish each day. My kids know my goal is to do be done with all independent work by 12:00 and then move onto our SL reading at lunch. I think it is helpful that they know what we are aiming for.

 

I guess in your friend's case, I would also look at why it is taking so long. Is it is behavioral/resistance issue? Could there be a possible learning disability or ADD? Is she using a program that is a poor fit for this particular child?

 

Lisa

[mom31257]

A timer really helps my son keep on track. We use this one because it's very visual. http://www.amazon.com/TIMER-INCH-MODEL-AUDIBLE-OPTION/dp/B001UAMZCU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1284629259&sr=8-1 I also have a weekly checklist for each child and that seems to help because they know what they need to accomplish each day. My kids know my goal is to do be done with all independent work by 12:00 and then move onto our SL reading at lunch. I think it is helpful that they know what we are aiming for.

 

I guess in your friend's case, I would also look at why it is taking so long. Is it is behavioral/resistance issue? Could there be a possible learning disability or ADD? Is she using a program that is a poor fit for this particular child?

 

Lisa

 

Thanks so much for the advice. Her dd is the most "whiny" of her children, so behavior could be some of it. She has had some learning difficulties in the past with reading, but has made great improvement this past school year. The dd just had trouble learning to read. My friend thought about having her tested and all the other moms she was around said wait until she's 9. They told her for some reason many kids who struggle learning to read early just need more time for brain development. The dd turned 9 and started reading.

 

My friend said she doesn't remember well just what she hears, that she remembers things better if she also writes things down. The 2 youngest kids do history and science together, so she always has dd write down answers to questions (slow about that, too).

 

I will suggest all these things to her.

[nancyb]

My 9 year old son is this way. He can stare at a math sheet for hours. It’s not that he cannot but he will not do his work in a timely fashion. Several things have helped this year:

1. I changed my expectations. I read on this board that school should take roughly as many hours as the child’s grade. My son is in 2nd grade so I should expect 2 hours of work. I reread some of the Charlotte Mason teachings. She also believed that the disciplines should be finished before lunch. I also read on this board that SWB said this age should write 2-3 sentences per day. I was expecting much more than that. I realized that one of the benefits of homeschooling is that I can tailor my child’s school to his needs. I looked at what I was expecting. My daughter could have done it all before lunch but it was just too much to expect from my son. I ditched the literature guides and the math curriculum and started doing as much as possible orally.

2. I switched to RightStart Math. It is now his favorite subject. He LOVES this curriculum. I can’t tell you what a blessing this has been.

3. When necessary use bribery. For the few written assignments I use a free online stopwatch. If he finishes the page in 20 minutes he gets a little candy (today it was 4 chocolate covered raisins). If he does not finish within 30 minutes the assignment is set aside for “homework.†I find that if he has not focused by 30 minutes he needs to move on to something fresh. Also, saving it for homework ensures he doesn’t hold us up. We move on with our day. We finish the book work and move on to fun stuff. He needs music, art and outside time too. When we have finished our school day, we stay out of the school room while he does his homework. He has to sit by himself (which he hates) and finish without any distractions. Since he has gotten to do the fun stuff, he is feeling refreshed and usually works quickly. It is also helpful that the neighbors are home from school and waiting to play with him.

I hope some of this helps. I tried keeping him hostage at the table and that just made us both miserable. I want him to love school. I want him to get to participate in the enrichment classes and have free play. Implementing these ideas has made school fun again.

[mom31257]

My 9 year old son is this way. He can stare at a math sheet for hours. It’s not that he cannot but he will not do his work in a timely fashion. Several things have helped this year:

 

1. I changed my expectations. I read on this board that school should take roughly as many hours as the child’s grade. My son is in 2nd grade so I should expect 2 hours of work. I reread some of the Charlotte Mason teachings. She also believed that the disciplines should be finished before lunch. I also read on this board that SWB said this age should write 2-3 sentences per day. I was expecting much more than that. I realized that one of the benefits of homeschooling is that I can tailor my child’s school to his needs. I looked at what I was expecting. My daughter could have done it all before lunch but it was just too much to expect from my son. I ditched the literature guides and the math curriculum and started doing as much as possible orally.

2. I switched to RightStart Math. It is now his favorite subject. He LOVES this curriculum. I can’t tell you what a blessing this has been.

3. When necessary use bribery. For the few written assignments I use a free online stopwatch. If he finishes the page in 20 minutes he gets a little candy (today it was 4 chocolate covered raisins). If he does not finish within 30 minutes the assignment is set aside for “homework.†I find that if he has not focused by 30 minutes he needs to move on to something fresh. Also, saving it for homework ensures he doesn’t hold us up. We move on with our day. We finish the book work and move on to fun stuff. He needs music, art and outside time too. When we have finished our school day, we stay out of the school room while he does his homework. He has to sit by himself (which he hates) and finish without any distractions. Since he has gotten to do the fun stuff, he is feeling refreshed and usually works quickly. It is also helpful that the neighbors are home from school and waiting to play with him.

 

I hope some of this helps. I tried keeping him hostage at the table and that just made us both miserable. I want him to love school. I want him to get to participate in the enrichment classes and have free play. Implementing these ideas has made school fun again.

 

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely be passing it along. I had never realized about the grade correlating to the number of hours. I hope 12th grade isn't going to take 12 hours!!! :lol:

[momto2blessings]

Fotunately I don't have this problem, my kids want to get it all done with to play!! But I've heard of moms designating X amount of time per subject and then stopping. Any amount not finished has to be done later as homework, while other kids may be playing/having fun. Hope she finds a solution! Blessings, Gina

[LizzyBee]

Nothing seems to motivate her, rewards or punishment. The child LOVES to go outside and won't hurry up to get to do that.

 

Any suggestions for a kid who works at a snail's pace?

 

If nothing works to motivate the child to work faster, she probably has a slow processing speed. Trying to force her to work faster than she's capable of will just frustrate both mom and child.

 

Our Ed Psych told us there is no evidence-based treatment for slow processing speed; it has to be accomodated. Two of her recommendations were to have dd do half the math problems in each lesson and 1 1/2 times the usual amount of time for tests (in all subjects).

Edited September 17, 2010 by LizzyBee

[nancyb]

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely be passing it along. I had never realized about the grade correlating to the number of hours. I hope 12th grade isn't going to take 12 hours!!! :lol:

 

 

Ha! I think that was for elementary school. Of course there are no exact rules about this stuff, just recommendations.

[Moni]

If nothing works to motivate the child to work faster, she probably has a slow processing speed. Trying to force her to work faster than she's capable of will just frustrate both mom and child.

 

Our Ed Psych told us there is no evidence-based treatment for slow processing speed; it has to be accomodated. Two of her recommendations were to have dd do half the math problems in each lesson and 1 1/2 times the usual amount of time for tests (in all subjects).

 

Accommodate, accommodate, accommodate

and/or

There's a few things to try.

 

If Math took four hours it could actually be difficult even if she doesn't think it is. Maybe.

Give the student the Same Math Assignment, fresh each day, Monday-Friday.

As it gets "easier" for the student due to the practice and familiarity, the student may well get faster as the days go by.

 

Or give the student a math assignment from a year ago, all week

See whether the Easier math takes Shorter amount of time.

If so, it could well be more difficult than the mother thinks it is.

 

And/or

Do math for two different :45 minutes sessions daily, hours apart from each other. Work for 45 minutes. Stop. Move on.

A math program such as Saxon has about 120 lessons per school year. Doing half-lessons daily takes 240 school days

Do Math always half-paced six days a week (won't take much time at all even on Saturday!) and still take Two Months off entirely all year,

and the student will still complete a Saxon math book per year.

 

So many options

 

Also some kids are just the Dreamy-types I think. :lol:

They don't mind the restrictions from social activities because they have a Whole Life up there living in their Mind ;)

 

:seeya:

Edited September 17, 2010 by Moni
Pour Speeling

[knoxhomemommy]

I have a dc with this issue....the book Disconnected Kids by Robert Melillo was very enlightening. After working with a chiropractic neurologist with brain integration exercises this summer he is a different child.

[mom31257]

Thanks for all the replies. I am passing them along to my friend. She seems encouraged just to hear that others have dealt with it.

 

Keep those suggestions coming!