Math Struggles

[amyc78]

My DS7 is struggling to get his math work done. I don't understand because he 'gets it' and he does well with it. But he takes so long to complete an assignment. I don't think its an attention span issue- He can sit happily and draw or do copy work for long stretches of time but with math, its a battle. We use MUS which I do not think is overwhelming in the amount of work at all... And I only ask him to complete 2 pages a day. He will literally sit at the table with those pages and in an hours time draw 18 species of dinosaurs on his math page and maybe do one problem. It is so frustrating!!

Any advice? I don't think we need to switch programs as he understands the concepts very well. I'm just not sure how to motivate him to get it done in a timely manner.

[Critterfixer]

First thing I'd do is make sure he only has time to draw one dinosaur, not eighteen.

Even at age 10, both my guys need me to keep them on track if they are letting their minds wander. At 10 it is mostly me checking in every 15 minutes or so, and always being available for a check on work, or help with a concept. At 7, it was certainly Mom at elbow for most of the time.

 

You might take a page out of Charlotte Mason's book too. She was big on learning to focus by concentrating hard for very short periods of time. There is something to be said for that. It may be a bit more of a bother to stay focused for say 20 minutes three times a day, but if he really worked for 20 minutes, he might well be able to get done, and spend the regained time drawing the rest of his dinosaurs.

 

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

My 8 yo is the same way with certain things, esp. math facts.  It's a mental battle.  If I sit over him, he can work quickly, but he gets easily distracted if it's not something he likes even though he can do all the work well.  Some of it is a mental block too of getting overwhelmed seeing all the problems and thinking he can't do it or it's too much.  Some of it is just goofing off.

[nwmama]

My DS7 is the same way. He only gets distracted with math, even though he gets it, and he doodles all over his paper before doing the actual work. I've finally decided to save math for last so neither of us feel like we're never going to finish and then I sit with him and remind him to refocus every time he gets distracted. I knit while I'm sitting with him so I don't get frustrated!

 

And I agree with critterfixer that Mason's idea of short bursts of focus work well, especially for boys! Have him do 1 page after the rest of his school is done but before lunch and do the other page after lunch?

[petepie2]

This is just like my DS7. He was doing Rod & Staff Math (with some Singapore thrown in). I had to do away with R&S Math because he would completely shut down by just looking at it. It's impossible for me to do math drills with him. He finished the year in Singapore, and next year we're going to try Math Mammoth. We had great improvement using Singapore, but the dawdling does still happen at times. It's usually when he needs to write a problem out (like for the textbook reviews). He hates doing that and will just sit and fiddle around rather than do it. I've found that rewards help.

 

I'll add that with our recent study of the Apollo Missions, I've taken to challenging him to "bring Apollo 13 home" by getting his math right. When he sits and dawdles, I tell him his astronauts ran out of air waiting on him to find the answer to bring the spaceship home. It does seem to spur him forward a bit.

[amyc78]

Thanks for the feedback, glad to know he's not the only one! He does much better if I sit with him the whole time but I can't always do that and I feel like he needs to develop the discipline to work independently some. What's frustrating is that I know he CAN do it and he does work independently very well on other things. Its not outright defiance, just more wasting time. I try incentives and consequences but it doesn't seem to help... I mean, it bothers him but it actually seems to slow him down more because he becomes preoccupied with the fear of losing whatever privilege 'doing his work in a timely manner' was gonna get him... I guess I just wonder what it is about math specifically that results in this procrastinating/mind wandering resistance...

[nwmama]

Thanks for the feedback, glad to know he's not the only one! He does much better if I sit with him the whole time but I can't always do that and I feel like he needs to develop the discipline to work independently some. What's frustrating is that I know he CAN do it and he does work independently very well on other things. Its not outright defiance, just more wasting time. I try incentives and consequences but it doesn't seem to help... I mean, it bothers him but it actually seems to slow him down more because he becomes preoccupied with the fear of losing whatever privilege 'doing his work in a timely manner' was gonna get him... I guess I just wonder what it is about math specifically that results in this procrastinating/mind wandering resistance...

 

It could just be that math isn't what excites him and the other subjects that he gets done quickly do excite him. Consequences don't seem to work as well as me sitting with DS. Could you arrange math time for when you can sit with him or make sure that if you aren't sitting with him that you are walking by every few minutes?

 

I like the idea of using Apollo 13 to keep him going. Or anything that he's interested in. "The Foot Clan are coming! Save the Ninja Turtles!" "Use the Force, Luke!" "The British are coming!"

[MerryAtHope]

 I don't think its an attention span issue- He can sit happily and draw or do copy work for long stretches of time but with math, its a battle. 

 

Think about trying to focus on something that bores you, or that you find tedious, or that you find difficult--and compare that to focusing on something that excites you, interests you--that you really want to do. It's much more difficult to focus and concentrate on one than the other, and the ability to focus on one doesn't automatically transfer to the other--that comes with time and maturity but will still be more challenging.

 

Thanks for the feedback, glad to know he's not the only one! He does much better if I sit with him the whole time but I can't always do that and I feel like he needs to develop the discipline to work independently some. What's frustrating is that I know he CAN do it and he does work independently very well on other things. Its not outright defiance, just more wasting time. I try incentives and consequences but it doesn't seem to help... I mean, it bothers him but it actually seems to slow him down more because he becomes preoccupied with the fear of losing whatever privilege 'doing his work in a timely manner' was gonna get him... I guess I just wonder what it is about math specifically that results in this procrastinating/mind wandering resistance...

 

Something I did with my kids to help them develop some focus was to say, "Let's see who can get done first--you with math or me with folding this laundry. Ready...go!" I made it so they could win if they tried, and they usually did. When they didn't, I sat with them for the last few minutes and let them speak while I scribed. Gradually I did this less until they were independent. I found it took less of my time to just sit with them than to keep checking back on them over an hour or more.

 

But on the subject of drawings...one year my dd drew Christmas trees and stars all over her math almost daily. (We had an angel to top our tree and she wanted a star, but brother didn't...she ended up making stars a couple of times over the years and we did have star-toppers some years!). But most of the time...she drew spider webs, ever since we read Charlotte's Web. She would look for patterns--repeated numbers, similarities in equations--and draw lines between them and when they intersected several times, she started the web.

 

I kind of miss her math drawings, though I love the young lady she is today! 

 

So...work on diligence, but save some of the best drawings...they don't last forever :).

[amyc78]

Thanks @merry! He loves it when I scribe for him, kind of awkward in Math but it does help him work so much faster. Lately I've made a deal with him- if he'll do the first sheet in a timely manner withou complaining, I'll do the second sheet with him orally. It's helping and he is very pleased with himself when he does it quickly.

And yes, I know I'm gonna miss the dinosaur drawings. (Although this week, we have shifted to birds of prey :)