Soooooo Lazy!

[Munchkins_mama]

How do I get DD9 to not be lazy? She started crying this morning because I wouldn't let her skip the 1x and 2x on her times tables. She says they are too easy and boring. So, instead of just doing them quickly and getting them done;since they are so easy, she cries about it longer then it would take to just write them! It is so frustrating! She is always trying to take the easy way out and is learning nothing. Any advice?

[5wolfcubs]

Is she just starting multiplication? I would not make my 9yo ds write 1x and 2x unless he was just learning those facts. He can use that energy for stuff he doesn't know well yet!

 

If she is just learning, how about letting her do those two orally and write any she misses?

 

A child not wanting to do something that seems pointless (because it already known and known well) doesn't necessarily mean lazy.

[Munchkins_mama]

I'm not really sure what she knows at this point. This is our first year of homeschooling. I gave her some basic, real life, math questions this weekend and she looked at me like a deer in the headlights. She obviously knows the 1x and 2x but that isn't the entire point of this exercise. She needs to learn that she is going to get as much out of it as she puts in. It's not just with the times tables. If I give her a lesson in math, she skips the directions and jumps right in. That leads to her being totally frustrated and the lesson taking forever where she could have just read the instructions and done if in half the time. She wants to take shortcuts all the time, in everything in schooling. She has always been so ahead of the game in ps, that she never had to try. I don't know how to get her to try.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Last year it really helped me and my kids when we sat down and had a long talk about the point of doing school and learning things. I told them that I wasn't making them do things to be mean, but that these were all important skills that they would need one day when they grew up and lived on their own. I asked them what they wanted when they grew up. Did they want a house? Did they want to get married and have kids? Did they want to have a car? Did they want to go on vacations? We talked about how all these things cost money, and that you need a job to get money, and how you need certain knowledge and skills to get a job. I explained that this is the reason they need to do the work I'm giving them. For some reason, they took it to heart, and we have a lot less whining, complaining and fooling around.

[saraha]

That sounds like one of my daughters. She gives something aproximately 10 seconds to make the answer known, then she starts in. It is especially a problem with story problems in math. If she can't figure out the answer in under a minute, she is having fit. She has never been to ps before though. So I am hoping to glean some wisdom from this thread.

:lurk5:

[Rosie_0801]

. She obviously knows the 1x and 2x but that isn't the entire point of this exercise. She needs to learn that she is going to get as much out of it as she puts in.

 

I don't get it. If she knows her one and two times tables, she could put in 110% of effort and still get nothing out of it because there is nothing left to get. She's got it already.

 

Rosie

[Cassy]

I don't get it. If she knows her one and two times tables, she could put in 110% of effort and still get nothing out of it because there is nothing left to get. She's got it already.

 

Rosie

 

:iagree: I don't believe in laziness, with my boys it's usually down to a lack of motivation. If she already knows her one and two times tables where's the motivation to do the work? I think this applies especially to a bright child, they need a challenge, they need to see the point.

 

For us motivation has to be managed on an almost hour by hour basis - "Get your math done, then you can play on the computer for 15 minutes", "If you haven't finished science then you won't be able to go out and play with friends", etc. Sometimes I feel bad, it's all bribery and corruption :D. However, until they can manage their own motivation then I think it's something I have to do.

 

Best of luck

[5wolfcubs]

:grouphug: The first year is hard. And the subsequent years (and kids!) all have their own challenges!

 

I agree with Rosie & Cassy. Laziness is more along the lines of seeing the benefits and still not doing it. Lack of motivation is something else entirely.

 

As for not reading/following directions, I think that is a learned skill. If you aren't teaching the math lesson, you might try having her read the directions aloud to you before sending her off to work.

[Anita in NC]

Usually when someone moans about things being easy or repetitive I just tell them that cooking and doing dishes is pretty easy and repetitive and that I'm going to stop doing it.

 

Usually straightens them right out. Boys do not like the thought of missing meals. :D

[NanceXToo]

I don't get it. If she knows her one and two times tables, she could put in 110% of effort and still get nothing out of it because there is nothing left to get. She's got it already.

 

Rosie

 

:iagree:

 

Your daughter is right. It IS boring going over and over something that she's already got down pat. What's the point? That's just mindless busywork, wouldn't you rather she be learning new material and/or engaged and interested in what she's doing, rather than having a power struggle over something she's probably had down pat for a couple of years now?