How do you get your kids into school "mode"

[Hunter's Moon]

I know this is probably a dumb question as the only way to really do it is, well, just do it. But I struggle with that sometimes.

 

Do you do something daily that helps you get into school mode. I would love to take short breaks throughout my schoolwork, but if I did, nothing would get done. Once I stop, that's it. When I force myself to finally do it after that break (very long from the procrastinating) it is just going through the motions and not processing (by this time my major subjects are done, so this always happens with the minor ones: Comp., Grammar, and History usually).

 

I need the laptop for schoolwork, so that becomes a distraction sometimes. I do my Math, Science and Literature first thing though, so the laptop is off until I need it (unless I need it for Math, Science or Literature related things).

 

So, is there something you do right before school starts either in the morning or after a short break that puts them back into that mindset?

 

Once again, this may just be a buckle down and get it done, but maybe someone has some advice?

 

ETA: After I did Math and 2 Chem. lessons (I'm busy tomorrow so wanted to get one out of the way) I did some stretching and wiggled around a bit to get my blood flowing, and that helped me focus for Literature, but after Literature (lunch break) everything turned to mush when I sat down for Comp. and Grammar.

[PeterPan]

I hate to laugh, but maybe you have over-hard expectations for yourself? I mean *my* brain turns to mush when I do that much work, lol. Sometimes you're thinking it's you, when it's your blood sugar or what you ate for lunch or that you need some time exercising. I suggest you make a schedule for yourself with start times. Do you run a pc or mac? Both have some kind of calendar function with which you can set recurring appointments (daily, weekly, whatever). Do this and put in your schedule. That way it will ding and tell you to get back to math or composition or whatever. Pad it with those little breaks, but let the computer remind you to get back to it.

 

For lunch, make sure you're not eating a lot of sugar. Sugar (and white flour) let you down. Eat something healthy and sensible and see if it holds you a bit better. A baked potato and some carrot salad. Bowl of vege soup, that type thing. And then for your schedule, pace your brain taxing stuff. You can alternate hard and easy, or do all the easy stuff first. Or if after lunch is your low energy time, plan to take a walk or do an exercise video or some time on the treadmill then. That way it gives you a chance to perk up and re-energize to finish. But make that plan and put it in the appointment calendar of your laptop so it will ding at you and help you stay on track. I even put my house cleaning in my calendar like that. :)

[Ibbygirl]

I find a little water boarding helps. Ooops, did I just say that out loud?? :leaving:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

j/k :D

[Susan C.]

A schedule might help. Another thought is an "opportunistic" attitude. Got a night when nothing is happening and you are bored? Then get a few subjects done, even if it is working ahead. One night, we had slept in, and just got to really getting things finished. Find out what your most productive time is (and it can be different times due to what you have going on), then just blaze through your three hardest subjects. Then it won't be hard to fit the rest in. Dd sometimes babysits in the afternoons, so those days, she gets up early, then comes home and works at night. Other days, she works until dinner and has the night free. Just try hard to plan on getting a whole day of work done each day.

[Stacy in NJ]

You need a routine. A nearly set schedule. Since you're schooling yourself, it's even more important to develop a daily routine that you don't alter

[Hunter's Moon]

I have a schedule.

I've tweaked I have no clue how many times.

I think I need more of a routine and NOT a schedule because there are so many interruptions throughout the day that if I get thrown off the time schedule, I feel lost and give up.

I never quite understood though, what is the difference between a routine and a schedule? I know a schedule has times and a routine just has a general flow, but what does it look like in practice?

Do you have wide-ranges of times you follow? Or do you just do what the routine says when you feel like it?

 

Off to Google routines....

[PeterPan]

Stephanie, you can blend them. You have a routine, but you have a few reference points. Put just those reference points into your computer. If that lunch break is the doozy, then put that as your ding time, the one that gets you back going. You don't have to schedule in every single thing, because, like you say, you probably won't stick to it. When you already have a flow, you just need to solve the problem spots.

[Hunter's Moon]

Stephanie, you can blend them. You have a routine, but you have a few reference points. Put just those reference points into your computer. If that lunch break is the doozy, then put that as your ding time, the one that gets you back going. You don't have to schedule in every single thing, because, like you say, you probably won't stick to it. When you already have a flow, you just need to solve the problem spots.

 

Windows 7 doesn't have a calendar :glare:

 

I think I can download one though....

 

I do have a Google calendar, but I'd have to be online or have my phone next to me to be reminded, and actually, I don't think they text reminders.

[Teachin'Mine]

It may help to set a timer - a regular kitchen timer would work, or one on your watch. Give yourself x minutes when you begin the break, and when the timer goes off - that's it - back to school work.

 

Maybe after each break you can look at your daily schedule and see how you're doing on completing what needs to be done. Cross things off as you go so you can see progress. This may help to keep you focused.

[Stacy in NJ]

We use a routine not a schedule. I give my boys a checklist of daily assignments. We begin school at 9 and work until 12:00. I allow one short break during that period, maybe 10 minutes. We brake for an hour at lunch 12-1. We finish up any remaining assignments from 1 until they're done. Occasionally we'll run a bit late, and I allow them to make-up an assignment on the weekend. That's pretty much it. To a certain extent I allow them to determine which subjects to do and when, but math, lit and science are priorites in our house. We tend to leave the easier subjects for the afternoon.

 

The fact that you're tweaking your schedule is not positive. You need to get into a groove and stay there. I know, easier said than done, especially when it requires self-motivation - you don't have an adult slave driver.

 

My best suggestion is to determine what time of day you're the most productive. If that's in the morning, then get the lion's share of your work done then. I know some teens like to stay up late at night. What about doing most of your work in the a.m., taking the afternoon off, then picking it up again for a couple hours in the evening?

 

ETA: You might also want to speak with a friend or parent about helping you stay accountable. Can one of your parents or a friend call you every afternoon to remind to you finish up? I would seek out some assistance because while it may seem like a simple problem it could be a real game changer if you can't resolve it.

Edited March 2, 2011 by Stacy in NJ

[Greta Lea]

This works for us, even me. I'm reading a lot of the books that my older son is reading or will be reading for school. I'm also trying to get in the habit of writing a bit each day and doing some math review, but this is NOT a regular event *yet*:)

 

We all do best to get up, eat and do some school work of some kind pretty soon after b/fast. After getting one or two subjects completed, then comes a shower, which refreshes and wakes us all over again. More school, then a chore or two or maybe even lunch. More school, then some exercise or chores.

 

I encourage my boys to do school in different areas of the house. I know for ME, just changing the scenery helps me focus better. When the weather is nice, I encourage them to study outdoors some too.

 

Most afternoons, I start to feel a drag. I usually run to Sonic to get an iced tea and sit and read for a bit with the sun shining in on my me through the car window. I always try to get my boys to go with me and do some reading at that time. Just the change of pace like that helps me focus better.

[Jonibee]

I have the same issues myself because I work from home doing medical transcription. The computer is an easy distractor -- see me here?

 

So I have to just make goals with myself. When I identify a time waster, I have to move it to another time. I don't check my e-mail until such-and-such time. Stuff like that.

 

I think it is one of the hardest things in life, to be in charge of your own time, trying to accomplish goals you set for yourself. But what you are learning now is going to serve you so well for the rest of your life!

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

I just set the timer for a 15 minute break for everyone. Anything longer than 15 minutes and it is almost impossible to get started again.

 

"Lunch" works best when we don't take a lunch break. We usually just eat when we are hungry and get right back to work. Sometimes we can eat a sandwich and read a lesson at the same time.

 

I get things going in the morning by announcing that it is 15 minutes until 9am. At 9 my 10th grader reads history and my 7th grader does handwriting. Both are easy to do yet get the mind ready to work.

 

My 12th grader has been completely independent this semester. She gets going (or not) herself.

 

I warn against doing 2 or more lessons on the same day. You will just not retain as much because you'll feel pressured. Unless you are "just reading" the subject.

[Tullia]

I hate rigid schedules, but need at least a general routine. It's so easy to get busy and let something important slip by.

 

It helps me to remember that a productive day is the sum of many, many small decisions...to sit down with the books again after stopping for a glass of water instead of checking e-mail or facebook....to finish reading assignments before picking up a magazine. And, one really important thing is to not let the whole day be derailed by one not so good choice. Build in enough margin timewise so that if you do get distracted you can get back on track and still accomplish most of what you need to do. Sometimes it's hard to be realistic about how much time you'll need to finish a task, though.

 

I always liked Charlotte Mason's idea that changing tasks helps prevent fatigue; the key is to switch to another productive task. Breaks are good, but I do better if I treat them as a reward to be earned. Breaks are like desserts after a good meal--enjoyable and desirable but not necessary.

[regentrude]

My kids' experience is that short breaks do not work for them... they get sucked into doing stuff on the computer. So, the only way short breaks can ever be made to work in our house is by forbidding any computer use until school work is done.

Even so, they do much better if they work through till lunch without any scheduled breaks (aside from bathroom and drink). They feel that they have something accomplished, and it does not leave that much work for the afternoon.

They actually do extremely well with spending long stretches of time focused on one subject. For instance, on Wednesdays DD does her physics homework assignment for the week right after her physics lecture - so she is going physics from 8am till 11 or 11:30. This helps her keep momentum and stay in the subject. She also routinely works on math for 90 minutes to two hours in one stretch, because she can stay focused. (This means, of course, that she does not work on every subject every day.)

DS often spends several hours on programming; short time periods there are simply not an effective way to get programs done.

So, for us, the best way is to start at 8am, work till noon, and do the rest of the work after lunch (this is usually not very productive, so hard subjects are done in the morning).

[jld]

I'm not sure any of these tips will work if your heart is not in your work. Are you studying what you really want to study? Is your academic plan for the future consistent with your current and past interests?

 

When you're doing what you want to do, motivation to use your time effectively isn't usually a problem.

[Hunter's Moon]

Thank you everyone for the advice! I'll be trying out the routine tomorrow. I'll be getting up at 6 though so I can begin my Math and Science at 7 and finish by 9 or 9:30. I feel like once those are done, it is smooth sailing. I do work best in the morning, so this should work out good. I have a "schedule" but it is a lot more flow-y than my other.

 

6:00: Wake up

7:00: PreCalc and Chem.

9:30: Shower

10:00-12:00: Schoolwork

12:00-1:00: Lunch and break (no electronics)

1:00-???: Finish schoolwork

 

I have a list of subjects that need to be covered on certain days, and I'll just follow it.

 

I'm not sure any of these tips will work if your heart is not in your work. Are you studying what you really want to study? Is your academic plan for the future consistent with your current and past interests?

 

When you're doing what you want to do, motivation to use your time effectively isn't usually a problem.

 

I enjoy doing PreCalc and Chem. I don't really enjoy History and Literature, but they need to get done. Italian also just needs to get done. Don't love it, don't hate it.

 

I do see what you're saying though.

[Allearia]

I don't know about this suggestion, but maybe try to do your favorite subjects later and your least favorite first when you are fresh? Normally I would say to do science and math first, but the type of thought they take is different from literature, history, and writing, besides being what you like the most. I just know for me, and more of experience in doing work on my own schedule from home, it is much harder for me to do things involving writing and coming up with original ideas than to solve problems that have a clear answer.

 

Good luck, I so admire what you are doing and wish I had been able to do that in high school! I find it impressive that you are getting so much done.

[Hunter's Moon]

I don't know about this suggestion, but maybe try to do your favorite subjects later and your least favorite first when you are fresh? Normally I would say to do science and math first, but the type of thought they take is different from literature, history, and writing, besides being what you like the most. I just know for me, and more of experience in doing work on my own schedule from home, it is much harder for me to do things involving writing and coming up with original ideas than to solve problems that have a clear answer.

 

Good luck, I so admire what you are doing and wish I had been able to do that in high school! I find it impressive that you are getting so much done.

 

Thanks, I appreciate it :)

 

I was thinking about that, but I don't know if I could read that early in the morning without falling back asleep :lol:

[Nan in Mass]

Can you figure out when you are least likely to be interrupted and try to work during those times? Right after lunch might turn out to be the time when you need to get up and do something active so you don't fall asleep, or at least do something more active than read, like writing or doing problems.

 

Try to protect your work hours carefully from distractions and interruptions. Can you work in full view of someone else, so you are less likely to goof off?

 

Gather all your materials before you sit down to work so you can't use that as an excuse for an over-long break.

 

Try a little panic. Tell yourself that you are in competition with school students for spots in college and for jobs, and that if you don't put in as much time as they do, you will not be competative.

 

Remember that once you are in the habit of working hard for longer periods of time, it will be much easier. Usually, it is getting through the first few days that are the hardest. We have a terrible time after vacations but after the first week or two, it becomes easier. We just have to stick at it.

 

Try a little pretend. What book or movie character do you like who studies hard on their own? Imagine yourself as that character, studying away.

 

We have better luck working for longer periods of time. I wasted a whole fall one time by chopping our time up into little bits.

 

You are right to be wary of breaks. It is hard not to make them too long. You might find it easier to make your break just be getting up to go to the bathroom or get a drink and get the next subject's material. Try telling yourself to just keep going, just keep going.

 

If you feel you can't bear it any more, try to talk yourself into doing at least half an hour of the next subject before you take a longer break. Then, when the half hour is up, try to keep going. Sometimes it is easier to keep going once you are settled and started.

 

Is there a library within walking distance of your house? Can you go work in the library? Or someplace else? Sometimes switching locations, even within a house, can help you to refocus and keep going.

 

This is really hard.

-nan

[PeterPan]

Windows 7 doesn't have a calendar :glare:

 

I think I can download one though....

 

I do have a Google calendar, but I'd have to be online or have my phone next to me to be reminded, and actually, I don't think they text reminders.

 

I'm on a mac now, but my windows computer had the appointments and calendar and things in the Outlook email. You scroll up and it's one of the options, just like an inbox. I had never done it before, so my dh had to show me. You can set up for recurring appointments and totally tweak it (daily, weekly, times, etc.). You can fill in a basic name but also a whole paragraph of more detailed info. You can adjust when it sends you the reminder. When the reminder pops up, it shows the title and time but gives you the option to click and see the fuller description you had typed in. So when I was using that computer, I put my house cleaning on it. I had a detailed description of all the tasks to be done on a given day, a brief description that popped up in the reminder, and then adjusted the frequency (3rd Thursday of every month, whatever). I'm just trying to let you see how flexible and adaptable this is for you. But it should be in your Outlook email. Look there. If you don't have Outlook, hopefully you can find something similar.

[Nan in Mass]

There is pulling and pushing. Pulling is the carrot and pushing is the stick.

 

Pulling is when you lure yourself into doing your schoolwork. I have been known to lay a handful of m+m's on the table and tell my children to eat one every time they get through reading a page or doing a problem. That is a pull. Or something that works for myself, both now and when I was in school, is to promise myself that I can read a page of my fiction/fun/escape book between every page of whatever harder, drier thing I am trying to read. That is a pull.

 

Pushing is applying negative pressure. I hate to admit it, but fear is a huge homeschool motivator for me. I fear letting my children down by homeschooling them rather than putting them in public school. That supplies sufficient push to make me get up in the morning and drag us all through our school day. Bits of the school day are nice, of course, but almost all of it is less interesting than whatever other projects we have going, and it is still work even when it is nice work, and often times we are tired and more inclined to be lazy. It is worth thinking about whether your motivation is a push or a pull and trying to make sure that you have at least some pull motivators in your life.

 

So, the idea I had for you is a push sort of idea rather than a pull sort of idea, but it still might be worth doing. You might consider writing down exactly where all your time is going. Keep a piece of paper in your pocket and write down exactly how long you are spending doing each thing in your life - facebook, email, math, lunch, shopping, phone calls, video games, reading, etc. Then at the end of the week, total it all up and divide it by five. You probably have read the boards here enough to know that most of the homeschoolers headed for college are spending at least 6 hours on school, usually 7 or 8. Most of the ones headed for competative programs in college are spending 8 or more. Your public school friends are spending six hours in class plus homework. If you aren't doing a similar amount of academics, you might be doing yourself a disservice. It is super, super easy to fool yourself about how much academic school work you are actually doing every day. Part of the problem is that so many other things you do are very educational. You can feel yourself learning as you do them. Those things are good and necessary and the teens who don't do them have trouble surviving college. But college is also a very academic thing and you need to have lots of practice with academic work also to survive college. Counting up the actual number of hours you spend working on the academic piece of your education can help you keep the academic piece in balance with the other pieces. (Balance is the key here. It isn't good to focus on the academic piece and skip the other half of your education, either.)

 

-Nan

[HistoryMom]

Just a silly little suggestion: In the morning when my littles are having trouble getting excited to start school, we play a challenging but fun game or do a puzzle. It gets their brains working, and makes it easier to transition from fun time to work time. It helps me, too, get back into the groove. Maybe there are some quick subject-related or critical thinking puzzles or games you could do after your lunch break? The key is that they have to be school-ish and not too excitable (not computer games or anything too active) so that they can settle down into school work afterwards. DD is fond of vocabulary-builder word searches, and DS likes to play mathy card games.

 

Good luck! Sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on things. :)

[Nan in Mass]

What a great idea! I will have to keep this in mind, both for myself and for my son. That is the sort of thing that works for us. I always find it scary how much difference little things can make.

-Nan

[PeterPan]

You know, I had forgotten it, but one year we started off our day with a logic puzzle (perplexors, mindbenders, that type thing). This year she does the next installment of her origami a day calendar. With that came a code to get an email calendar a day too. You could make some self-established policies with yourself, like only getting to check your email when you've gotten x number of things done. Sort of in that push/pull vein of what Nan was talking about.

[LuvingLife]

I am starting to use a timer to keep track of the time I spend on each subject. Although it is a major pain, it has helped me so much! It may seem like you are back in ps again, it has kept me on track and I like to be precise in everything.

 

Maybe a timer will help? If you need more time on one subject, I usually reset it for an extra 30 minutes and finish what I don't get done the next day.

[Negin]

I find a little water boarding helps. Ooops, did I just say that out loud??

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Why isn't anyone else laughing? :lol:

This reminds me of much of my high school, college, and grad school years, or, should I say my entire life, where someone says something totally funny and I'm the only one laughing hysterically, and no one else is, which makes me laugh even more! :D :lol:

[specialmama]

I find a little water boarding helps. Ooops, did I just say that out loud?? :leaving:

 

 

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Why isn't anyone else laughing? :lol:

This reminds me of much of my high school, college, and grad school years, or, should I say my entire life, where someone says something totally funny and I'm the only one laughing hysterically, and no one else is, which makes me laugh even more! :D :lol:

 

I'm laughing too! You just beat me to it!

[Ibbygirl]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Why isn't anyone else laughing? :lol:

This reminds me of much of my high school, college, and grad school years, or, should I say my entire life, where someone says something totally funny and I'm the only one laughing hysterically, and no one else is, which makes me laugh even more! :D :lol:

 

:lol: hehehehehehe I don't know. Maybe because my sense of humor is so silly?? I was so proud of my lobster joke in this thread too (post #53 if you're curious). It was such a PERFECT set up, but only Karyn thought it was funny. Oh well, at least Karyn and I had a laugh. :D hehehehe

[specialmama]

:lol: hehehehehehe I don't know. Maybe because my sense of humor is so silly?? I was so proud of my lobster joke in this thread too (post #53 if you're curious). It was such a PERFECT set up, but only Karyn thought it was funny. Oh well, at least Karyn and I had a laugh. :D hehehehe

 

:lol: You're the cool kid in the classroom who everyone giggles with! Have you ever used a pen and wadded-up-with-spit piece of paper as a pea shooter? Come on, you can tell us! Maybe that's what OP needs to concentrate: someone to ping her with a soggy chunk of pulpy DNA! Hey Stephanie, can you rig some sort of contraption up? I bet it would work... :tongue_smilie:

[Ibbygirl]

:lol: You're the cool kid in the classroom who everyone giggles with! Have you ever used a pen and wadded-up-with-spit piece of paper as a pea shooter? Come on, you can tell us! Maybe that's what OP needs to concentrate: someone to ping her with a soggy chunk of pulpy DNA! Hey Stephanie, can you rig some sort of contraption up? I bet it would work... :tongue_smilie:

 

I was the silly kid in the classroom who always got in trouble for giggling. :D hehe

 

:lol: You're so funny. Nah, I never did spit balls. My sense of humor is weirder than standard fare like that. I guess I'm more of a practical joker/mess with people's minds/outright goofy kind of silly girl. hehehe

 

I'm more inclined to, for example, respond when a person asks me, "Did you see such and such movie?" and I answer them by describing the entire movie and asking, "that one?" and they'll say, "yes!" and I'll say, "No. I didn't see it." :lol:

 

It's so funny because sometimes they'll go on to tell me what the movie was about (after I've just described it to them) and tell me I really should go and see it and it never occurs to them that my describing the whole thing to them is because I've already seen it.

 

yeah, I'm a stinker I know, but it makes me laugh. lol

 

Don't even ask me what I did to my poor, dear mother one Thanksgiving when she tried to put the movie into the VCR that we were going to watch. (evil laugh). hehehehe Suffice it to say she didn't know I had the remote control in my hand and she thought the machine was possessed. :lol: :lol:

Edited March 6, 2011 by Ibbygirl

[Teachin'Mine]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Why isn't anyone else laughing? :lol:

This reminds me of much of my high school, college, and grad school years, or, should I say my entire life, where someone says something totally funny and I'm the only one laughing hysterically, and no one else is, which makes me laugh even more! :D :lol:

 

Why would you be laughing? :001_huh: I've been researching how to water board but am having trouble finding links to using it for school work. I have to keep searching, but it looks promising. :)

[Teachin'Mine]

:lol: You're the cool kid in the classroom who everyone giggles with! Have you ever used a pen and wadded-up-with-spit piece of paper as a pea shooter? Come on, you can tell us! Maybe that's what OP needs to concentrate: someone to ping her with a soggy chunk of pulpy DNA! Hey Stephanie, can you rig some sort of contraption up? I bet it would work... :tongue_smilie:

 

That's why they made the old fashioned station wagons the way they did - you know with the rear facing seats and the rear window that goes up and down. Great memories!!! :D

[Ibbygirl]

Why would you be laughing? :001_huh: I've been researching how to water board but am having trouble finding links to using it for school work. I have to keep searching' date=' but it looks promising. :)[/quote']

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[Hunter's Moon]

I find a little water boarding helps. Ooops, did I just say that out loud?? :leaving:

 

I think I'd be the first person to practice self-administered waterboarding, but you never know, I've heard of crazier things. :tongue_smilie:

 

:lol: You're the cool kid in the classroom who everyone giggles with! Have you ever used a pen and wadded-up-with-spit piece of paper as a pea shooter? Come on, you can tell us! Maybe that's what OP needs to concentrate: someone to ping her with a soggy chunk of pulpy DNA! Hey Stephanie, can you rig some sort of contraption up? I bet it would work... :tongue_smilie:

 

Ha, I'm no good at building things, but I could post a wanted ad. "Wanted: Spitball shooter with good aim who can provide their own peashooter/straw. Pay will be discussed after first session."

 

:lol:

[Reya]

"Okay! Enough playing with your sister and START SCHOOL!"

 

Followed by giggles and scurrying feet.

 

Does that count?

[Hunter's Moon]

"Okay! Enough playing with your sister and START SCHOOL!"

 

Followed by giggles and scurrying feet.

 

Does that count?

 

Aww, looking at their age difference, that is so sweet he enjoys playing with her.

 

My sister and I are 16 months apart and she hated playing with me :glare:

[Reya]

Aww, looking at their age difference, that is so sweet he enjoys playing with her.

 

My sister and I are 16 months apart and she hated playing with me :glare:

 

 

And he totally exploits the fact that I turn into a softie when they're playing so happily together! :lol:

[Hunter's Moon]

And he totally exploits the fact that I turn into a softie when they're playing so happily together! :lol:

 

Smart boy, LOL :lol: