Fidgeting

[Janell]

my son is 5 and in kindergarten this year and we do school for about an hour(phonics/math/writing) that is no including things like calendar time, art projects, reading etc... I do phonics for about 15 min. then let him take a break for a few minutes while I get out things for math or writing. then we do the math and then i have him take another little break.

 

The problem is, is that he is constantly moving whether that be playing with his pencil or hanging off his chair, or just generally not sitting still and paying attention. Now I know he is learning because he can tell his dad what he learned during the day during dinner so I know he is getting something out of it. but I just don't like all the fidgetting.

 

Do you think it's good to let him just do what he wants as long as I know he is learning or should I get him into the practice of sitting still while he's little. I realize he can only sit still so long, that is why I do so many breaks and let him run around and play while i'm getting the next thing ready.

 

I told him that if he was in a school classroom his teacher would make him sit still and not disrupt others. I just feel like i need to make him sit still so he learns to do it. he goes to other places like sunday school/church and things like that where he's expected to sit still so i just dont know if i'm doing the right thing by forcing him to be still while we are doing school.

 

Do you let your kids fidget around while you're teaching? How do you get them to sit still for 10-15 min. at a time?

[hsingscrapper]

I feel for you. My boys fidgeted at that age. Drove me nuts!!

 

One thing that helped was to let them play for 30-45 minutes between breakfast and school starting. Another option is to take him for a walk. Our grocery store is about 6 blocks one way. Very handy!

 

I think it's impossible for boys that age to sit still but hopefully that helps!!

[Grover]

I sit DS on a sensory cushion and it takes all the wiggles away. I know if he's not on it because he falls off his chair at least 3 times a minute.

[Tanikit]

My DD is 5 and also cannot sit still - there is absolutely no way I could expect her to sit still for an hour even if she had breaks inbetween. She rocks on her chair (and even falls off it often), fidgets with pencils and crayons and appears not to be paying attention but she does seem to know how to do the work. Very often when she is just doing a math worksheet I will leave her to do it alone because I cannot handle the fidgeting and despite the fidgeting she gets it done. Maybe it is a personality or age thing - look forward to hearing what others have to say. I think if I tried to get my DD to sit still nothing would be accomplished except a fight about the sitting.

[GoVanGogh]

DS is almost 11.

He was non-stop motion at age 5.

I consider it one of the biggest blessings of homeschooling - that I allowed him to fidget and that he wasn't expected to sit still at a young age.

Never before in history have we expected children as young as five to sit still for lessons. Many parts of the world still don't attempt to educate 5-year-olds. There is a reason for this. It is unnatural and against their very nature.

 

You said you know he isn't paying attention but he can tell his dad about school. That means he is probably an active learner. He IS paying attention if he can tell his dad about his lessons.

Get down on the floor with him and allow him to move around while you read to him. Have him pause to look at the pictures from time to time.

Do lots of nature walks.

Move school outside on nice weather days.

Do lots of hands-on learning.

Let him have a quiet fidget toy in his hands, such as a Lego, small car, etc.

 

They will outgrow the fidgets or learn to control them on their own over time. Don't make it a battle now, where he grows to hate school time.

[Haiku]

not sitting still and paying attention.

 

These two things are not related. Sitting still does not mean paying attention and vice versa.

 

but I just don't like all the fidgetting.

 

My son fidgets and I hate it. But that's my issue. It's what works for him. He's in 4th grade now and I have given up the idea that I can force him to sit still.

 

I told him that if he was in a school classroom his teacher would make him sit still and not disrupt others.

 

If he were in a good school, the teacher would not make him sit still. The teacher would work with him so his need to move could be accommodated. I'm not slamming you by saying this, but progressive schools have realized that forcing children to sit still and silent does not work for all kids. A perk of homeschooling is that we can teach our kids, not manage a classroom.

 

Do you let your kids fidget around while you're teaching? How do you get them to sit still for 10-15 min. at a time?

 

Yes. And I don't try. I let them do what they need to do as long as they aren't drowning me out.

 

Tara

Edited September 23, 2012 by TaraTheLiberator

[Farrar]

Just seems normal to me. At that age, my kids listened better when they were moving. I think the trick is to figure out where the line is between being a distraction and a help.

[PeterPan]

Well I worked in K5 and 1st grade all through college as a teacher's aide, so I got to watch K5 every day for 3 years, fun, fun! No they don't make them sit still, even in a conservative christian school. A good teacher rotates through and keeps it all pretty fast-paced. They color for 5 minutes, then they go play around the room for 20. They sit through calendar time for 5 minutes, then they do clapping songs. They do a math lesson with puppets, then they go out for recess. High activity, low activity, something quiet, then something moving, clapping, or loud. Shorter lessons, nothing boring.

 

He may just be a kinesthetic learner. If you look at tm's like BJU's that are written for a classroom, you'll find in those lower grades they include activities for multiple modalities. It's really important for some kids. You should google learning style inventories, as there are a number of good ones these days. I think the HSBC had a deal on one for $5 that people were liking, or others are free. At that age you *can* be seeing signs of adhd, and that's definitely how it could show up. Or you can just be seeing signs that he's very kinesthetic. My ds (turning 4 in a couple weeks) tests as a kinesthetic learner. My dd is not. So with her, the need for short lessons and the figeting were signs of sensory issues (you can do OT for it), attention, etc. But with my ds he's calmer and doesn't figet. He'll sit for 7 or 8 minutes with me, then he jumps on the trampoline or swings on the indoor swing near our work space. Then he comes back and works some more. We call it working off his steam. And because he's a kinesthetic learner, I try to have motion in his lessons.

 

I think it's ok to practice sitting still, but I wouldn't connect it to school work. Church is a good time to practice that, or some people practice at home, building up in small increments. Both of my kids sit still in church, despite their bents. I don't think it's necessary to sit still for his school work, but it is useful to figure out WHY he's not sitting still. He may need more kinesthetic teaching methods during the lessons. He may need a figet toy. There are TONS of great figet toys (silly putty, these snaky things that move as you twist them, unifix cubes, etc. etc.). He may need to get his steam out before you start and have options inbetween. We're loving having the indoor mini rebounding trampoline and the Sky Chair swing. Should have done those ages ago! You can also do hopper balls (the kind with a handle you can sit on and hop) during your breaks between subjects. I used to have dd run around the house or do laps in the basement. The toys are more fun. :)

 

I wouldn't assume it's necessarily a gender thing, because most of the boys in our K5 classes sat just fine. You're seeing something intrinsic to him, and if you shove him too hard into someone's paradigm, you'll just regret it. You want to work *with* him. Don't make decisions based on fear. Just work with him. BTW, there are other things that can cause degrees of wiggles. If a dc has a processing problem (auditory or visual), it will sometimes show up behaviorally. Food allergies or intolerances can show up that way. Giftedness and BOREDOM can show up that way. Just work with him. You're going to figure it out. :)

Edited September 23, 2012 by OhElizabeth

[NittanyJen]

Let him sit on a hippity hop or a therapy ball (small enough to plant his feet on the floor). Set it against a wall or stable piece of furniture so he doesn't topple backwards, and wind a blanket around the base so he doesn't hop away :).

 

Then he can sit and bounce in place while he works (I sometimes set up a TV tray as a desk if he needs to write). Mine is now 9 but has other issues that cause a need to wiggle. We also sit on patio furniture, floor cushions, blankets in the grass... He still knows how to behave as expected in church, Sunday School, at the dinner table, group classes, etc.

 

I wouldn't force him into a seat. Let him think about what you are teaching him and not how uncomfortable he is.

[RootAnn]

:iagree:

 

My oldest couldn't sit still for very long. By the end of her K year, I could get her to sit for handwriting for 15 minutes.

 

We did a LOT of moving around for math.

 

The fidgeting annoys me, but I mostly deal with it. (DD#3 likes to hop around, do cartwheels, and stuff. Bugs the heck out of me. I have to force myself to incorporate those movements into her normal work - "Copy three words, go hop around the room once." Sometimes, it gets to me & I tell her to "sit still." But most of the time, I try to let her be.)

 

Good luck. :-)

[Janell]

I sit DS on a sensory cushion and it takes all the wiggles away. I know if he's not on it because he falls off his chair at least 3 times a minute.

 

First of all that made me laugh because DS is constantly falling off his chair/rocking on his chair/hanging off his chair. :D and secondly, i have no idea what a sensory cushion is but it sounds interesting and I need to go google that!!

 

 

You said you know he isn't paying attention but he can tell his dad about school. That means he is probably an active learner. He IS paying attention if he can tell his dad about his lessons.

 

Let him have a quiet fidget toy in his hands, such as a Lego, small car, etc.

Don't make it a battle now, where he grows to hate school time.

 

I meant to say, he must be paying attention because he can tell his dad aobut what he learned at dinner time.

 

That is a good point about giving him something to fidget with to center it on one thing instead of everything.

 

GOod point about not making it a battle now where he grows to hate school. I'm going to have to put that on a post it note to remind myself!!

 

 

 

He may just be a kinesthetic learner. If you look at tm's like BJU's that are written for a classroom, you'll find in those lower grades they include activities for multiple modalities. It's really important for some kids. You should google learning style inventories, as there are a number of good ones these days. I think the HSBC had a deal on one for $5 that people were liking, or others are free. At that age you *can* be seeing signs of adhd, and that's definitely how it could show up. Or you can just be seeing signs that he's very kinesthetic. My ds (turning 4 in a couple weeks) tests as a kinesthetic learner. My dd is not. So with her, the need for short lessons and the figeting were signs of sensory issues (you can do OT for it), attention, etc. But with my ds he's calmer and doesn't figet. He'll sit for 7 or 8 minutes with me, then he jumps on the trampoline or swings on the indoor swing near our work space. Then he comes back and works some more. We call it working off his steam. And because he's a kinesthetic learner, I try to have motion in his lessons.

 

I think it's ok to practice sitting still, but I wouldn't connect it to school work. Church is a good time to practice that, or some people practice at home, building up in small increments. Both of my kids sit still in church, despite their bents. I don't think it's necessary to sit still for his school work, but it is useful to figure out WHY he's not sitting still. He may need more kinesthetic teaching methods during the lessons. He may need a figet toy. There are TONS of great figet toys (silly putty, these snaky things that move as you twist them, unifix cubes, etc. etc.). He may need to get his steam out before you start and have options inbetween. We're loving having the indoor mini rebounding trampoline and the Sky Chair swing. Should have done those ages ago! You can also do hopper balls (the kind with a handle you can sit on and hop) during your breaks between subjects. I used to have dd run around the house or do laps in the basement. The toys are more fun. :)

 

I wouldn't assume it's necessarily a gender thing, because most of the boys in our K5 classes sat just fine. You're seeing something intrinsic to him, and if you shove him too hard into someone's paradigm, you'll just regret it. You want to work *with* him. Don't make decisions based on fear. Just work with him. BTW, there are other things that can cause degrees of wiggles. If a dc has a processing problem (auditory or visual), it will sometimes show up behaviorally. Food allergies or intolerances can show up that way. Giftedness and BOREDOM can show up that way. Just work with him. You're going to figure it out. :)

 

Thanks for those insights! I pretty much know nothing about different learning styles and how to teach according to that learning style. I am just starting out in homeschooling and i'm glad this has been brought to my attention now while I can do something about it. I'm am going to research these ideas for sure.

 

 

I'm so glad I have this board to go to about things like this. I learned a lot today!

[PeterPan]

First of all that made me laugh because DS is constantly falling off his chair/rocking on his chair/hanging off his chair. :D and secondly, i have no idea what a sensory cushion is but it sounds interesting and I need to go google that!!

 

 

GOod point about not making it a battle now where he grows to hate school. I'm going to have to put that on a post it note to remind myself!!

 

Yup!

 

 

Thanks for those insights! I pretty much know nothing about different learning styles and how to teach according to that learning style. I am just starting out in homeschooling and i'm glad this has been brought to my attention now while I can do something about it. I'm am going to research these ideas for sure.

 

 

I'm so glad I have this board to go to about things like this. I learned a lot today!

 

It's a learning curve for *everyone*. The key is not to let your learning curve go on too long unnecessarily. You're only teaching one kid, this kid. What a teacher does in a class she does because she has to fit the median or control a group. You have one child to make as supremely successful as he can be, and that's ALL THAT MATTERS. And his version of successful is going to be pretty unique, not like anybody else's mix. Embrace it. :)

 

http://store.schoolspecialty.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?minisite=10021 You can probably find knock-offs at amazon, but Abilitations is a great place to look. Our speech therapist uses the MovinSit (wedge) with my ds, and it's quite effective. Our dentist even has one in his chair, hehe, so they must be getting popular!

 

PS. Cathy Duffy has recommendations for different kinds of learners.

[GoVanGogh]

A good teacher rotates through and keeps it all pretty fast-paced. They color for 5 minutes, then they go play around the room for 20. They sit through calendar time for 5 minutes, then they do clapping songs. They do a math lesson with puppets, then they go out for recess. High activity, low activity, something quiet, then something moving, clapping, or loud. Shorter lessons, nothing boring.

:iagree:

My DS is older now, but I still structure our time very much like this. I alternate our subjects so we are moving around. We sit on the couch and read, we take our tortoise outside for some fresh air, we move to the table for writing, we move to the white board for spelling, we go look for butterflies in the garden, we go for a walk around the block, we stand at the kitchen window and identify what birds are out at our feeder, we go check the mail, etc.

We don't sit for any great deal of time. Really, how many jobs require workers to sit for long stretches of time? Not very many. So it isn't an important life skill that 5-year-olds need to start training now to learn how to sit at a desk all day.

I often think of something a professor once told my class, "The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure." In other words, once the child is focusing on how much their rear hurts from sitting, they are not listening and learning!

[Shelsi]

My ds is in 3rd grade and he NEEDS to fidget. If he's got a little car, lego guy, small ball, or a few legos to play around with while I'm reading to him or teaching him something then he will actually absorb what I'm saying to him.

 

If I don't let him fiddle with something then he won't really hear me at all.

 

Dh is the same way. If we're having a serious conversation he'll typically be organizing something like a box of files or photographs or something while we talk. He can't just sit there and be focused on the conversation.

 

I have however taught ds to sit still when needed. We talk about how it's necessary in certain situations/classes, etc.

[bttrflyvld]

I think that at that age they can't help it. My 4 year old does that a lot while we're doing our reading lesson. I've herd of having them sit on those yoga balls (but smaller for his size) lets them get their wiggles out while bouncing a little as they do their studies. I found this link http://life.gaiam.com/article/how-sitting-ball-helps-kids-focus-and-do-better-school Maybe this will help him. 8-)

[besroma]

DS is almost 11.

He was non-stop motion at age 5.

I consider it one of the biggest blessings of homeschooling - that I allowed him to fidget and that he wasn't expected to sit still at a young age.

Never before in history have we expected children as young as five to sit still for lessons. Many parts of the world still don't attempt to educate 5-year-olds. There is a reason for this. It is unnatural and against their very nature.

 

You said you know he isn't paying attention but he can tell his dad about school. That means he is probably an active learner. He IS paying attention if he can tell his dad about his lessons.

Get down on the floor with him and allow him to move around while you read to him. Have him pause to look at the pictures from time to time.

Do lots of nature walks.

Move school outside on nice weather days.

Do lots of hands-on learning.

Let him have a quiet fidget toy in his hands, such as a Lego, small car, etc.

 

They will outgrow the fidgets or learn to control them on their own over time. Don't make it a battle now, where he grows to hate school time.

 

:iagree:

[micheliala]

Okay, I can't believe I'm admitting this! :blushing: But I have been known to fidget when I'm learning too! Drives my husband batty. Now, not like my 5 yo... who btw sounds exactly like yours. I laugh at him when dh is teaching him because he will try to sit so still but something has to move or he will just plain fall off the chair! For me, I will do some kind of motion with my fingers or I don't know some kind of movement. But! Interestingly enough, I catch onto something faster that way. My dh thinks I'm not listening but I'm totally present and have all concentration on what he's saying. Can even usually give his words back to him verbatim. And yes, I have a somewhat busy, you could say, personality too! I'm not hyper, can sit still but I just move always in high gear. Even my thinking!

Anyway for my ds, if I'm trying to get some measure of stillness from him I usually hand him a toy to hold and work with in his hands. Keeps the rest of him still to be moving his hands. Or a crayon and paper to do squiggles on.

[JudoMom]

my son is 5 and in kindergarten this year and we do school for about an hour(phonics/math/writing) that is no including things like calendar time, art projects, reading etc... I do phonics for about 15 min. then let him take a break for a few minutes while I get out things for math or writing. then we do the math and then i have him take another little break.

 

The problem is, is that he is constantly moving whether that be playing with his pencil or hanging off his chair, or just generally not sitting still and paying attention. Now I know he is learning because he can tell his dad what he learned during the day during dinner so I know he is getting something out of it. but I just don't like all the fidgetting.

 

Do you think it's good to let him just do what he wants as long as I know he is learning or should I get him into the practice of sitting still while he's little. I realize he can only sit still so long, that is why I do so many breaks and let him run around and play while i'm getting the next thing ready.

 

I told him that if he was in a school classroom his teacher would make him sit still and not disrupt others. I just feel like i need to make him sit still so he learns to do it. he goes to other places like sunday school/church and things like that where he's expected to sit still so i just dont know if i'm doing the right thing by forcing him to be still while we are doing school.

 

Do you let your kids fidget around while you're teaching? How do you get them to sit still for 10-15 min. at a time?

 

Yes, I let them fidget. They're learning, so I try not to let it bother me. And they learn better when they can move because they aren't concentrating on sitting still. All my boys can quietly sit through church services (1.5 hours) and any other event that requires it, so they have the ability. FWIW, my 13 & 12 year olds don't fidget much anymore, but they often stand to do their work or hang off the couch upside down while I'm reading.

 

It does take awhile to get used to as the teacher (it used to drive me nuts with my oldest), but I can kind of ignore it now.

[Snow]

DS is almost 11.

He was non-stop motion at age 5.

I consider it one of the biggest blessings of homeschooling - that I allowed him to fidget and that he wasn't expected to sit still at a young age.

Never before in history have we expected children as young as five to sit still for lessons. Many parts of the world still don't attempt to educate 5-year-olds. There is a reason for this. It is unnatural and against their very nature.

 

You said you know he isn't paying attention but he can tell his dad about school. That means he is probably an active learner. He IS paying attention if he can tell his dad about his lessons.

Get down on the floor with him and allow him to move around while you read to him. Have him pause to look at the pictures from time to time.

Do lots of nature walks.

Move school outside on nice weather days.

Do lots of hands-on learning.

Let him have a quiet fidget toy in his hands, such as a Lego, small car, etc.

 

They will outgrow the fidgets or learn to control them on their own over time. Don't make it a battle now, where he grows to hate school time.

 

This is my DS as well and I totally agree letting him wiggle is healthy for him and one of the benefits of homeschooling. It's occasionally annoying when I'm trying to read to him and he's underneath a blanket rolling on the floor...but, if I stop and ask him what I just read, he repeats it back verbatim. So, I try to roll with it...i have plenty of other battles I can pick with him. ;)

[serinat]

It drives me nuts, but all of my kids are fidgety at 4-5, boys and girls. Boys move more, in my experience, but my two girls (7 & 9) still can't sit still.

 

One thing that works for me is making sure the child can sit in a chair that is his size (feet flat on the floor, bottom comfortably on chair). I am short and find that even I fidget more when I can't touch the ground. I have to move my body all sorts of strange ways to get comfortable.

[Ritsumei]

Well I worked in K5 and 1st grade all through college as a teacher's aide, so I got to watch K5 every day for 3 years, fun, fun! No they don't make them sit still, even in a conservative christian school. A good teacher rotates through and keeps it all pretty fast-paced. They color for 5 minutes, then they go play around the room for 20. They sit through calendar time for 5 minutes, then they do clapping songs. They do a math lesson with puppets, then they go out for recess. High activity, low activity, something quiet, then something moving, clapping, or loud. Shorter lessons, nothing boring.

 

He may just be a kinesthetic learner. If you look at tm's like BJU's that are written for a classroom, you'll find in those lower grades they include activities for multiple modalities. It's really important for some kids. You should google learning style inventories, as there are a number of good ones these days. I think the HSBC had a deal on one for $5 that people were liking, or others are free. At that age you *can* be seeing signs of adhd, and that's definitely how it could show up. Or you can just be seeing signs that he's very kinesthetic. My ds (turning 4 in a couple weeks) tests as a kinesthetic learner. My dd is not. So with her, the need for short lessons and the figeting were signs of sensory issues (you can do OT for it), attention, etc. But with my ds he's calmer and doesn't figet. He'll sit for 7 or 8 minutes with me, then he jumps on the trampoline or swings on the indoor swing near our work space. Then he comes back and works some more. We call it working off his steam. And because he's a kinesthetic learner, I try to have motion in his lessons.

 

I think it's ok to practice sitting still, but I wouldn't connect it to school work. Church is a good time to practice that, or some people practice at home, building up in small increments. Both of my kids sit still in church, despite their bents. I don't think it's necessary to sit still for his school work, but it is useful to figure out WHY he's not sitting still. He may need more kinesthetic teaching methods during the lessons. He may need a figet toy. There are TONS of great figet toys (silly putty, these snaky things that move as you twist them, unifix cubes, etc. etc.). He may need to get his steam out before you start and have options inbetween. We're loving having the indoor mini rebounding trampoline and the Sky Chair swing. Should have done those ages ago! You can also do hopper balls (the kind with a handle you can sit on and hop) during your breaks between subjects. I used to have dd run around the house or do laps in the basement. The toys are more fun. :)

 

I wouldn't assume it's necessarily a gender thing, because most of the boys in our K5 classes sat just fine. You're seeing something intrinsic to him, and if you shove him too hard into someone's paradigm, you'll just regret it. You want to work *with* him. Don't make decisions based on fear. Just work with him. BTW, there are other things that can cause degrees of wiggles. If a dc has a processing problem (auditory or visual), it will sometimes show up behaviorally. Food allergies or intolerances can show up that way. Giftedness and BOREDOM can show up that way. Just work with him. You're going to figure it out. :)

 

 

:iagree::iagree:There's a lot to agree with in this post! My Mom teaches K, and we talk about her classroom regularly. She usually does all the various things mentioned in OhElizabeth's first paragraph, and this year she's working on some other ideas because she's got a little guy with sensory issues in her classroom and some other kids with serious ant-in-the-pants. They are definitely NOT sitting for lengthy periods of times. Not most years, and especially not this year. It's not productive.

 

One of the reasons that I love Charlotte Mason's short lessons idea for the very little ones is that they *don't* have the whole sitting thing figured out. And that's OK. If they're learning, they don't need it. IMO, the silent, still classroom full of littles is unnatural and disturbing, and I wouldn't want my child there.

 

I second the suggestion of the fidget toys, particularly if the whole body movement bothers you. Or, you could work the physical movement into the lesson. Hero is not terribly physical, and he still enjoys doing things like jumping down a number line made from tape on the kitchen floor. We've done grammar and memory work while he bounced on the trampoline. We drew letters as big as him on the driveway in sidewalk chalk. He counted eggs and added them up when we made scrambled eggs. He plays with legos or eats lunch while I read history to him.

 

Once upon a time, I really struggled to do any homework in a quiet place. In college I'd turn on the radio so that I could think to do my homework. Quiet was seriously distracting and unnerving (I was the oldest of 8, and there were babies while I was in highschool), and I did NOT do my best work in silence. My guess is that your son will learn to sit still a little at a time, probably starting with stuff that's extremely engrossing. In the mean time, I'd suggest that you don't sweat it as much as possible.

[ItoLina]

My son is 5 and he NEVER sits still. I have just chosen to embrace this and even encourage it. If I incorporate moving into the lesson it seems that it actually helps him to focus longer.

 

For example, for math I have him jump on his bed (a matress on the floor) and skip count for each jump. I also have a big number line I made for the floor and to figure out 3+3 he would stand on 3 and try to jump 3 more spaces.

 

For reading I let him run around the house after every few pages he reads to me.

 

It has really helped a lot to just embrace it. There are of course some things that he just has to sit still for. I try to sandwitch those inbetween movement, and I still don't make him sit in his chair as long as he is standing at his desk and focusing.

[Janell]

You guys are great! thanks so much for all the suggestions. I'm so new at this that I hadn't even thought of all those things. I'll definently be trying out some of those things this week as we do our lessons.

[Soror]

These two things are not related. Sitting still does not mean paying attention and vice versa.

 

 

 

My son fidgets and I hate it. But that's my issue. It's what works for him. He's in 4th grade now and I have given up the idea that I can force him to sit still.

 

 

 

If he were in a good school, the teacher would not make him sit still. The teacher would work with him so his need to move could be accommodated. I'm not slamming you by saying this, but progressive schools have realized that forcing children to sit still and silent does not work for all kids. A perk of homeschooling is that we can teach our kids, not manage a classroom.

 

 

 

Yes. And I don't try. I let them do what they need to do as long as they aren't drowning me out.

 

Tara

:iagree:

 

But I have noticed with ds that there comes a point in his fidgeting that he doesn't pay attention. So, I try to pay attention and as long as he is still able to answer questions and do work I try to ignore his movements and fiddling with this and that. If he is not able to do that then he needs to put up whatever he has out and find something else.

[hsingscrapper]

I'll reiterate my point. Your dc, if attending ps, would not start directly after eating breakfast. There would be a delay for traveling there.

 

I get much less fidgety kids when I give them a half hour or hour after breakfast to play. Any more than that, and I lose them.

[Guest Colette O'Connor]

Fidgeting and moving (within boundaries) often improve kids' learning because they provide the brain with a type of movement it needs to concentrate, called "proprioception".

 

If you'd like to find out more about that, I have a complete free chapter that explains it called "The Secret Senses" posted at:

 

http://www.success-in-school.com/freechapters.php