dkholland Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Sorry if this has been discussed recently.... my ds (13, of course!) constantly rushes through his work just to get it done It is driving me crazy because he gives me sloppy work, but honestly, he can remember what he was supposed to learn. He rushes through his outlines, map work or drawings in history. He rushes to complete algebra problems skipping steps or doing them in his head. He rushes through vocabulary exercises and is always looking for the fastest way (less work way) of getting any assignments done. He can write a KWO for his middle ages IEW papers in less than two minutes. I hand back work constantly!!! He has big problems attending to details in any area of life so I am not surprised that his work is what it is. SO, I can hand back work in every subject (which I have done) and he really feels like he cannot please me. His other three brothers are nothing like him and want to do their best at least some of the time. He is a totally different boy and feels like he is stupid, can't do anything right because I am always finding fault with his work. But, there is a LOT of fault in his work. Anyone have an suggestions for slowing this kids down?? I admit I let something slide because I do feel like I am coming down on him about everything. I try to pick my battles. Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 The easiest and most effective way I've found to deal with this is to assign a specific amount of time for each subject. For example, dd14 has to work at math for a minimum of 60 minutes. If she completes a lesson in less time she has to move on to the next lesson...even if she only has 15minutes left. This has made her slow down and consequently pay closer attention to her work. It was tricky coming up with the minimum times but then I realized that this coming year she will be required to work anywhere from 120 to 180 hours a year per subject to earn a credit. (The lower end is adequate for elective subjects, whereas the upper end would be appropriate for heavier lab sciences, rigorous maths, or honors courses) I just broke down the amount of hours I assigned to each subject to determine how much time per day she needed to work on each subject. It will of coarse vary depending on if the student is working 5 days a week, 4 days a week, and so on. Hope that helps a bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Would a lot of what he is doing be considered "busy work"? If he is smart enough to remember the information without the extra work, is it necessary? I might evaluate the fit of the materials to his learning style and abilities (or just give him harder work to do). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hivemom Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Sloppy work must be re-done. That works at our house (so far, anyway). :) Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Changed Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 (edited) OP--I'm so glad you've asked this!! My DD12 is the same way, and I just haven't known what to do. The easiest and most effective way I've found to deal with this is to assign a specific amount of time for each subject. For example, dd14 has to work at math for a minimum of 60 minutes. If she completes a lesson in less time she has to move on to the next lesson...even if she only has 15minutes left. This has made her slow down and consequently pay closer attention to her work. It was tricky coming up with the minimum times but then I realized that this coming year she will be required to work anywhere from 120 to 180 hours a year per subject to earn a credit. (The lower end is adequate for elective subjects, whereas the upper end would be appropriate for heavier lab sciences, rigorous maths, or honors courses) I just broke down the amount of hours I assigned to each subject to determine how much time per day she needed to work on each subject. It will of coarse vary depending on if the student is working 5 days a week, 4 days a week, and so on. Hope that helps a bit! I like the time frame idea, but I'm at a loss how much time she should spend on each subject. Maybe I'll flip through the WTM and see if it has recommendations... Edited April 24, 2012 by vcoots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 OP--I'm so glad you've asked this!! My DD12 is the same way, and I just haven't known what to do. I like the time frame idea, but I'm at a loss how much time she should spend on each subject. Maybe I'll flip through the WTM and see if it has recommendations... For my younger dc...I had to take the time one week to sit with them for every subject several times during the week to get an accurate idea of how long it should take them. I didn't help, but just kept them moving forward while making sure they weren't cutting corners or being sloppy. I think once they reach 8th grade doing it the way I described in my previous post helps them ease into the time requirements of highschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniseibase Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I've tried the time frame idea, but if we ran into a lesson that my DD simply thought was too much work, she would sometimes try to 'run down the clock' and just dawdle until the hour was up, so watch for that if you go that route. What works best when she is being like that is good old-fashioned standing over her and nagging until she realizes that ALL she has to do to make mom leave her alone is get her work done properly :) However, mostly simply assigning a lesson and a time frame will do it for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkholland Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 Thank you for the ideas! I have thought that maybe pur curriculum is not a great fit for him and that maybe I should add harder work....hmmmm. I going to try the time idea today in history and see if I can even get 30 min out of him. Thank you all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasRachel Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Is he hurrying to get done so he can do something? Dd's math was horrible. Sloppy, wrong, and driving me crazy because we'd covered it before. I finally told her no piano until math was 100%. She now regularly makes 90 or higher on the first try. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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