Anyone time their children's assignments?

[fhjmom]

I am so frustrated and I am about to beat my head against the wall. My children WILL.NOT.FINISH assignments in a timely manner. I am talking 2 hours to do a single handwriting assignment. Faith has been working on *ONE* section of Singapore Math for an hour and a half. We have only been schooling 3 weeks and are so far behind where I would like to be because we just cannot get anything finished. I go over a lesson with one and then give them the independent work to do one their own while I am working with the other. I am in the same room with them and give them reminders to stay on task - answer questions if they are stuck, encourage them to get busy... It is just a serious lack of motivation.

 

It is so bad today I really had to leave the room and gather myself or I was going to explode.

 

I don't think that breaks would help because it starts even with the first lesson of the day. If we ever took a break it would never end (and we do break mid-morning bc I have to get my youngest from preschool, then for lunch; I am just not willing to give up any more.) I tried a reward system where if they finished lessons on time and worked diligently, they would be rewarded with screen time - it three weeks they have earned 15 minutes and I was exceedingly generous in giving them that. :tongue_smilie:

 

I am ready to fire up a timer for each lesson and everything not done within the time limit get marked wrong. I am almost to the point of giving up on homeschooling all together. I am sick of the battles. I want to have time to play and do fun things with my kids, but not at the expense of their educations. I feel like I am failing in teaching them any type of work ethic.

 

Not to mention that at the end of the day I still have all my own school work to do, so knowing they are messing around taking up so much of the time I *need* to be able to get other things done is making me crazy! My kids come first but it shouldn't be this hard. There is no reason that they should not be able to do what I ask and get things done.

 

I just need a little encouragement!

[amey311]

Lemme give you a hallelujah and an AMEN. (and I'm not even religious :lol: )

 

This has been my school year so far. I KNOW it's better if i sit right.next.to them, but oh dear THOR, I'd like to be able to do something else while they're working.

 

I was thinking about getting some stopwatches so that they could race the timer. We're using that online homeschool skedtracker thing, and I never changed the default times for how long something will take (so nearly everything says 60 minutes). Sometimes I wonder if Thing 1 is using that as a guideline.

 

I feel like I'm chained to the desk and it makes me really, really annoyed a lot of the time. DH works from home and has been known to bring down the angry hammer at times by bellowing "JUST DO YOUR WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

Right now Thing 1 is in the bathroom for the third extended visit. He took off up there when I left the room to do WWE with Thing 2.

Edited September 20, 2011 by amey311
i'm so annoyed that i've stopped being able to spell

[LaxMom]

We've had to start timing. I am waffling between them needing to finish their work on their own time, or marking unfinished work incorrect...

 

I wouldn't be irritated if it actually took that long. The problem is that there's lots of fooling around, navel gazing, pondering life. We've also had to start giving them limits on meals (and they get what they haven't finished back for the next meal). I'm sorry, cinnamon toast does not toe 90 minutes to eat, and the grownups just cannot sit at the table doing nothing for 2 hours at the end of the day.

 

No advice. Lots of commisseration.

[LaxMom]

Lemme give you a hallelujah and an AMEN. (and I'm not even religious :lol: )

 

This has been my school year so far. I KNOW it's better if i sit right.next.to them, but oh dear THOR, I'd like to be able to do something else while they're working.

 

I was thinking about getting some stopwatches so that they could race the timer. We're using that online homeschool skedtracker thing, and I never changed the default times for how long something will take (so nearly everything says 60 minutes). Sometimes I wonder if Thing 1 is using that as a guideline.

 

I feel like I'm chained to the desk and it makes me really, really annoyed a lot of the time. DH works from home and has been known to bring down the angry hammer at times by bellowing "JUST DO YOUR WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

Right now Thing 1 is in the bathroom for the third extended visit. He took off up there when I left the room to do WWE with Thing 2.

 

Pardon. Are you my other personality? (seriously. What is UP with the bathroom thing?)

[QuirkyKapers]

Don't give up! I am sure you can figure out how to make it work. Try reversing what you are doing, instead of rewarding good behavior, try taking away privledges.

 

Tell the how much time you think a lesson should take. If they go over, they are going to have to that much work in chores or deduct a certain amount from allowence or take away that much tv or computer time or time with friends or all of the above. :grouphug:

 

I know I used a timer last year with my son. He loved to see how much he could get done in a certain time period.

[QuirkyKapers]

We've I'm sorry, cinnamon toast does not take 90 minutes to eat .

 

Are you sure?? I know that it can really be quite a production here....

You know you have to toast the bread, than butter, than sprinkle, than set it down to go to the bathroom, than wash hands, than try and remember where the toast got put, than take a bite, than look around the room, than ask a million questions about how the toaster works, how you make the cinnamon topping, than resume eating.....:D

 

Obviosly, I can commiserate as well.....This just doesn't happen with toast eating here....

[Rhonda in TX]

I give a time limit. Anything not done is assigned as "homework" to be done on their own time. When I follow through with this, it works really well. I don't take off points for things not finished, but DS is seriously ADD and this is high school, after all. It's hard and it takes time. I just want him to keep moving through the day.

[Ginevra]

I have used timers to speed up everything from Math to Dinner. They are extremely wonderful. :D

 

When I was actively using timers for schoolwork, anything not done in the very reasonable time period was "homework," i.e., they would have to do it later in the day before they got to their fun stuff.

[regentrude]

I would ask why it is taking this long. Are there distractions? Does she not remain focused? Does she sneak breaks?

I do not time my kids, but when I have the feeling they have taken longer than necessary, I will sit with them as they work. That makes everything go faster - because it is never difficulty, only losing track, getting unfocused, doing something else. I then need to make sure they stay on task by supervising their work and removing distractions (such as computer)

[Ria]

Absolutely! I would allot 45 minutes for math. I would explain the lesson, which would leave the child approx 30-40 minutes to do the work. When the time was up, we moved on to the next subject whether the child was done or not. That way I got MY schoolwork done.

 

When the school day was over - my part of it, lol - kids who had not finished assignments had homework to do before they got snack, free time, or a meal.

[amey311]

Pardon. Are you my other personality? (seriously. What is UP with the bathroom thing?)

 

I know what he's actually doing in there. Or at least I'm assuming he's reading. He's nearly 11.

 

This last time he wasn't in the bathroom, though. He apparently decided he needed a nap (because i'd mentioned napping to Thing 2 who is 8 and was looking rather bushed). Of course, when I asked what he was doing in the bedroom, he couldn't say "Napping" with a straight face. Good thing the boy doesn't play poker.

 

Is there a good source for cheap stopwatches?

[Ellie]

Generally, when my dc took for.ev.er to do written assignments it was because whatever I was having them use was totally inappropriate--too easy, too hard, wrong learning style, absolutely no relevance in the child's mind (which is something to consider), whatever. That meant I needed to re-evaluate and reassess what I was doing and make changes.

 

I would not let a child work for over an hour on a single assignment. I would also not required unfinished work to become homework, 'cuz that would come back to bite *me*!

[amey311]

Of course, I ask that, but it would probably only work for Thing 2. He'd be all over seeing how quickly he could get things done. He also likes the marble method for chores. he's all about extrinsic motivation.

 

Thing 1, though.... And his problem is that he isn't really motivated by rewards or punishments (or so it seems). He'll be LIVID when he can't use electronics at the end of the day because the work was never done, but that won't change tomorrow's behavior. It's a bit like talking to a wall, but I could convince myself that the hot air and water droplets might be slowly eroding the wall....

[fhjmom]

We don't do electronics during the school week at all, which is why I started the positive reinforcement with earning screen time - I thought that might motivate them to earn some TV time during the week. They don't have a lot of down time right now to just play - I wish they did!! We are not finishing lessons before we have to leave for evening activities (sports/theater practices and church activities). I had hoped to have school done by about 2:30 then they would have a couple of hours at least to play before we had to get ready to leave.

 

The bathroom is a huge problem here too. I even sent DS's Bible memorization work with him when he went this afternoon. :P

 

The only time they are on the computer is when they do ALEKS (math supplement).

 

The 3 yo is a major distraction and I am working on keeping her occupied and out of their hair.

 

I am generally sitting with them the whole time. We have two couches (well, a couch and a love seat). Whichever child I am working with is usually on the couch with me and the other is directly across from us on the loveseat.

 

It doesn't matter what subject it is or how easy or hard the lesson is - I just think the kids think they can get away with dawdling. I cannot figure out how to make a consequence stick that means anything to them. I am afraid that I am going to have to make DD miss soccer practice to get it to sink in she has to get her work done. I just hate imposing a consequence that affects others but I will if I have to.

 

I told DS tonight that he would not be going to his BFF's house (he goes over there pretty regularly) or on the upcoming church retreat if he was behind at all on his school work. I think he realizes I mean it.

 

It does help to know it is not just my children! :P

[Amy in NH]

Yes, when the older boys were younger they would do the same thing. I started using a timer. After I explained the lesson, they were given 20 minutes to complete the assignment before we moved on to the next subject. Any seat work they had left became "homework" to do when lessons were finished.

 

They could have free time/play time/x# minutes of computer time after the homework was finished.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I had this in a limited form back when ds was in 2nd grade. What he didn't get finished was homework done with dad in the evening. His father was not happy and is not a patient teacher. Problem ended in one evening.

[Trish]

heh. I feel your pain. If I give them unlimited time, our day can stretch on for 12 hours!

 

So, I don't give them unlimited time. I give them a reasonable amount of time. If they need help, I offer help. If it doesn't get done in a timely fashion, we move on.

 

Then, they can choose to do what wasn't done as "homework" (then I don't help them, they get to ask dad!), or they save it for tomorrow. But THAT means NO privileges are given, they don't get a TV show and a snack. No computers. Basically they can play with the cats, play a board game, read a book.

 

Things have been going a LOT faster.

 

:D

[CalicoKat]

Ugh, I feel your pain.

 

Last year school too f o r e v e r and we were still behind.

 

This year I'm doing something different.

 

I've written their independent subject assignments in their planner for them to do AFTER we've done Bible, History, Science, and Music together.

 

So I get first dibs on their time. I usually finish up with them just before lunch. They're pretty motivated to get their stuff done because they see the day moving along and the afternoon slipping away.

 

They have to sit at the dining room table or kitchen counter so I'm able to see them working (or not).

 

AFTER they've finished their work for the day THEN they get to do what they want with their remaining free time. And of course you never know what fun things come up at the farm & with the gparents here very active in their lives. They don't want to get left behind to finish their homework! :auto:

 

We're 3 weeks in and this is working much better for us. Teacher led subjects first. Independent on their own minute, not mine.