How do you keep your kids on track?

[tinag]

My kids get behind sometimes and it drives me nuts. I try and stay on top but not always easy with 4 kids and everything else we do.

What is the best way to keep the high schoolers accountable themselves? My dh is tired of hearing me complain and asked me to come here and get suggestions. Smart man.:D

[Jenn in CA]

*Daily accountability: All work (including chores, music practice etc.) must be completed before they get any free time or fun stuff (screen time).

 

*Weekly accountability: All work not completed by 5PM Friday will be done that weekend, and no video games until it's done. They do have some freedom to decide what work to do on what days, as long as it's done by the end of the week.

 

Basically, I find the thing they love (computers, video games, music, iPods) and they can't have it until their work is done!

 

If a day is especially bad, the next day (or three) they might not get to listen to their music during school, or something like that.

 

If your kids don't have iPods... I highly suggest buying them each one because they are great to take away!! ;-)

 

PS. My kids are about your kids' ages, so I'm totally feeling your pain. :-) Mine are 15, 14, 9, and 3.

[Sharon in MD]

My ds, a senior this year, has been using an excel spread sheet, that I generate as part of my lesson planning, as a check off sheet. I print off a week at a time for him. He checks things off and can see what is coming ahead of time.

 

He also uses a day timer type of thing to keep track of how long he's spent on a subject...he writes down when he starts and finishes a subject. We had to start doing this because he is a real time loser....it helps him to stay on track. If for example, he knows he is to spend an hour working on math, and he sits down to it at 10 and logs in....then gets up to go to the restroom at 10:15 and doesn't come back till 10:45.....well, now, there goes half an hour....what a shocker. It has helped him to become aware of where his time goes.

 

We also have a rule here that school is done when the work is done. I do make exceptions for things outside his control, but we've found it to be a great motivator. Around here, things not finished by Friday are allowed to be carried into the weekend, but only with a plan for how and when they will be accomplished over that weekend.

 

I'm really trying to push him to do more of the planning, but it is something you have to teach most kids how to do....goodness knows I sure do loose a lot time playing around here!

[Gwen in VA]

I hate it when my kids get behind in school!

 

Our approach --

 

1) We assign enough work that if we required all work to be completed before any outisde activities, my kids would end up missing a LOT of outside activities! We try for a balance between school and outside activities, but we try not to use "beneficial" activities (Scouts, CAP, volunteering fife and drum, etc.) as leverage. We WANT our kids to do these activities!

 

2) I check to see where the kids are at lunchtime and then near dinnertime. If not much is happening --

 

a) Is it because of too much outside stuff? (Dentist visits, phone calls...)?

 

b) Is it because the teen isn't using the school time well? If I think that is the issue, I have the kid time how long he is spending on each subject. Usually they are surprised by how much time they are wasting and the exercise helps refocus them.

 

c) Is it because of too much work? Have the kid keep track of time. I always have promised my kids that if they do an hour per day in a subject for a week and still are behind in that subject that I will reduce the load in that subject a bit. (This has only happened once or twice.....)

 

d) Would some physical exercise help? My third, a boy, needs an exercise break at least once in the morning. We go out and throw a frisbee around for 15 minutes and he goes back to school with a totally new attitude.

 

3) My older kids basically did schoolwork all the time they weren't doing other activities. The activities WERE their free time -- they chose to spend their free time sewing or taking tuba lessons or horseback riding or whatever. That's their choice, but the schoolwork still needs to get done!

 

That means that schoolwork gets done at night and on the weekends -- not just during the day.

 

Best wishes -- figuring out how to handle undone work is SO hard!

[Jane in NC]

Cattle prods?

 

School does not end at 3 PM. My son may take a break around 3 or 3:30, but usually gets back to his work before dinner. (He is working on Latin as I write this.)

 

It seems that some high schoolers have a problem accepting that their school day includes a couple hours of homework--it goes with the territory even if your student is incredibly organized. (This is particularly true if your student is doing an AP course.)

 

As others have said, physical activity breaks are needed.

 

I like to give my son his schedule for the week and let him determine how he wants to tackle things. But I don't wait until Friday to check his progress. Towards the end of the afternoon, I look over that day's accomplishments, noting if too few math problems were done or if he has some problems with anything that need addressing. Waiting until the end of the week to fix problems can leave a student with too much remedial ground to cover. Thus I like to keep a watchful eye, although at a distance.

 

Jane

[Sandy in Indy]

Cattle prods?

 

 

I keep asking for one of those for Christmas.... :D

[Cedarmom]

We do Homeschool Tracker (software program) He checks off his assignments as he does them. I check his work weekly. If he is being responsible, he can take breaks to play Wii or computer whenever he wants during the day. However, if he is not getting his work done that privilige is revoked, and it is like the other posters say, no fun stuff until school is done. When I let my son schedule his own time, he usually works more productively. He is a junior in high school, and I want him to know howto manage his time well. Also, I do not help with school work after 9:00. If he wants to do school at 11:00 thats fine, just don't expect this momma to be alert.

[Moni]

I agree

 

It's important that the periodically have a taste of The Good Life

so they have some motivating factor there.

 

So they have to be Given Stuff (activity, opportunity, stuff, iPod, computer time, car keys, whatever it is) so that you can take it away.

 

And if it's always taken away, they can get to the point of What's the use; they never have any Good Life anyway; why try . . ho hum . . .

 

That's why I find it's important to call a Mom's Privilege and sometimes treat them to the Good Life once in a while (even when they don't deserve it) . . . . .so they can remember what it is that motivates them. \

 

 

:lurk5:

 

[Moni]

I agree

 

It's important that the periodically have a taste of The Good Life

so they have some motivating factor there.

 

So they have to be Given Stuff (activity, opportunity, stuff, iPod, computer time, car keys, whatever it is) so that you can take it away.

 

And if it's always taken away, they can get to the point of What's the use; they never have any Good Life anyway; why try . . ho hum . . .

 

That's why I find it's important to call a Mom's Privilege and sometimes treat them to the Good Life once in a while (even when they don't deserve it) . . . . .so they can remember what it is that motivates them. \

 

 

:lurk5:

 

Daily accountability: All work (including chores, music practice etc.) must be completed before they get any free time or fun stuff (screen time).

 

*Weekly accountability: All work not completed by 5PM Friday will be done that weekend, and no video games until it's done. They do have some freedom to decide what work to do on what days, as long as it's done by the end of the week.

 

Basically, I find the thing they love (computers, video games, music, iPods) and they can't have it until their work is done!

 

If a day is especially bad, the next day (or three) they might not get to listen to their music during school, or something like that.

 

If your kids don't have iPods... I highly suggest buying them each one because they are great to take away!! ;-)

[Jenn in CA]

Our antidote to "why try... I never get my privileges anyway" is to add on More Work in addition to loss of privileges. Either more schoolwork, or sweaty house/yard work.

 

That will usually get them through the Slough of Despond. Heh heh.

 

Oh, and if a child "forgets" and gets on the Internet or whatever before finishing his work... well, we have ways to make them *not* forget next time. They'll usually lose whatever privilege they were enjoying for that day.

[tinag]

This is very helpful to me and my dh. He really liked a lot of the ideas and is going to help me implement them! :)

[Moni]

Our antidote to "why try... I never get my privileges anyway" is to add on More Work in addition to loss of privileges. Either more schoolwork, or sweaty house/yard work..

 

So, considering the extra yardwork and house chores, the "good life" turns out to be being On Task with Academics? :-)

 

So do you let the academics get further behind while they do the house and yard chores then? I'm curious.

So they just get further behind, no privleges and do house and yard chores instead?

And that motivates them to catch up on their schoolwork?

 

Well, whatever works. If more negatives on top of the despondency works, that's good.

I was more addressing if they are dejected already and you add more to their depressed state, it doesn't always work out to be motivating but even more non-motivating.

[lwilliams1922]

:lurk5:

 

I'd love to chime it...Howver it's Thursday and dd 12 is still working on TUEDSAYs work!

 

I try to give her some space at the start of the week. Once she falls behind (stating into space, long bathroom breaks,whispering to the 1 yr old, whining about the 3 yr old ,rambling about ANY and EVERYTHING, ...) little by little I have to turn into the warden. :(

 

Someone PLEASE tell me that responsiblity will kick in.