12 yods taking all.day.long. to do school.....

[hisacorn]

I'm desperate for some ideas/thoughts/advice.

 

12yods is a great and smart kid. He has never loved school, but this past year especially, he loathes it. And lately, it is taking him literally all day to complete it.

 

Here is what we do: {He is in 7th grade}

 

Balancing the Sword Bible: Read a chapter and answer the questions. {Typically, there are 3-4, and they are factual in nature, not application.} Then I read from Thru the Bible about that chapter. {It's a commentary.}

 

Saxon 8/7 Math: He watches the Saxon DVD, does a timed practice test, all lesson practice problems, and 10 of the mixed practice problems.

 

Rod and Staff English 6: Read the lesson and if there is a worksheet, he does that. If not, I assign the Written Exercises {sometimes not every one}.

 

Geography: Maps, Charts, and Graphs: 2 lessons a week. Online geography games.

 

Science: Reading books about a subject and then in a notebook writing 3 things he learned or found interesting.

 

History: Same as Science

 

I am up for any/all types of advice....from scheduling, change in curriculum, ANYTHING.

 

He is a very sweet hearted boy and usually wants to please God and his parents. He just seems "stuck" in this stronghold and I need to get him out of it. For both our sakes! :P

 

Dh and I have both talked with him and explained that we WANT him to have time to go out and skateboard, etc. We both also explained that he is not the only person that I have to care for...meaning I have a home, other kids, my husband, my mom who I care for, and just that I am also a person who wants and needs some time to do something I enjoy like crafts, etc. {And that HE needs time for things he enjoys, too.}

 

Thank you for any/all thoughts!

[Faithr]

Well, it's a lot of reading and regurgitating.  Sounds like it could get pretty dull if you aren't that kind of learner.  Is he more of a hands on type or would he rather be taught by a person rather than a book, so he could ask questions and get some stimulating conversation in?

 

I would mix things up.  History could be listening to podcasts maybe or reading a text or book aloud together?  Maybe you could brainstorm with him and pick one subject where you could jazz things up a bit.  That might be enough to generate a little excitement.

 

I had five and we only separated out math and maybe reading levels.  Everything else everybody did together until they reached high school.  So if you have other kids you might want to go to more of a group style rather than everyone working on their own?

 

 

[Loesje22000]

Dd is not aware of time.

So last I set the timer, set next to her and required her to work as hard as she could, being focused and concentrated.

She was shocked how much more she could accomplish in 30 min.

 

Some students are task focused, others more time focused.

Dd need a clear: do that much in so much time.

 

She is 13yo afterall not 23.

[Ethel Mertz]

We have set times for subjects for our 7th grader. If he doesn't get something done in time, he sometimes has it for homework. Last night, he had Latin homework and tonight he has Math homework. I try not to give homework in more than one or two subjects. Most nights he has no homework at all.

 

If he dawdles, I remind him to get back on task. If he's talking about something that has nothing to do with homeschool, I ask that he talk about that later. 

 

I don't know if this is any help to you or not. How many hours is he doing school work?

[regentrude]

In 7th grade, we did five hours of school per day. My kids got to decide which subject they wanted to work on for how long, and with which of the (preselected by me) materials for this subject. They had to fill five hours with actual work, but could mix it up. (Exception: with DS I required daily math). After five hours of focused work, they were done. Subjects averaged out over the course of weeks or months.

 

Maybe your son would work with more enthusiasm if he had more opportunities to structure the day? If he could choose curriculum?

Is he working slowly because he knows it will take all day anyway and there is no point to it?

 

(Btw, Saxon was the most miserable experience for us and killed all joy in math in my very mathy kids.)

Edited February 19, 2016 by regentrude

[KAM]

I do think much of it is the age. I have a 13 y.o. and a 10 y.o. (both boys). My 10 y.o. (will be 11 next month) takes forever to finish his schoolwork. I literally have to stand over him all day to get him to do anything.  Last year, he whipped through all of his work very quickly and always finished before lunch. This year, it can take an hour to diagram five simple sentences, easily, and that is with me harassing him the whole time. 

 

My 13 y.o. was my dawdler last year - and this year he finishes everything on his list just about every day. We are using the same exact "schedule" as last year for both boys - which is basically, "here is your list, go do it in whatever order you want and then come talk to me". So, I really think it is the age. Not that that makes it any less frustrating. One thing I tell him, that seems to help, is to get 4-5 things together before he sits down to work. Funny enough, when he was sick with a bad cold last week (but well enough to do schoolwork) he worked so much faster - and I think it was because he was couch-bound and not getting up every two seconds to play with the cat, look for a book, get more paper, etc. I just stacked up his work next to him, and he never even had to move. 

[hisacorn]

Regentude and Texasmom33: What did you switch to in place of Saxon?

 

He is taking all day; from 9ish am until after 5pm. Now, of course, he wastes time as well. It's not like he is sitting at the table all that time.

 

I like the idea of having all school stuff at the table so he doesn't have to get up and down. Ds wastes a ton of time with just that!

 

And setting a timer...

 

Thanks, y'all! :)

 

 

 

[Carrie12345]

With multiple kids, I get easily sucked into "Read, then write. Read, then write."  with my 12 and 13yos.  It's boring. They eventually spend more time staring into space than reading or writing, they start to dream about public school, and everyone's days start to stink.

 

Science labs.

History projects.

Videos.

Games.

Interactive conversation.

 

Sometimes those things wind up taking all day, too, but in a much more enjoyable way!

[Ethel Mertz]

One other tip to avoid distractions:

 

I keep a mug of sharpened pencils within reach. This avoids DS making a trip to the pencil sharpener during which he gets side-tracked by petting the cats.

[FO4UR]

Use a timer.

 

Set it for 45min. He works diligently for those 45min.

 

Set it for 15 min.  Get him outside on the skateboard for 15min.  

 

Feed him a snack with a tall glass of water.

 

 

 

Set it for 45min.  He works diligently for those 45min.

 

Set it for 60 min.  Feed him a lunch with a tall glass of water, and get outside for the rest of the hour.

 

 

 

Set it for 45min. He works diligently for those 45min.

 

Set it for 15 min.  Get him outside on the skateboard for 15min.  

 

Feed him a snack with a tall glass of water.

 

 

Set it again if he still has work to do.

 

 

If you stop the work at 45min for an active break, the day will be much more productive.

[OneStepAtATime]

Well, it's a lot of reading and regurgitating.  Sounds like it could get pretty dull if you aren't that kind of learner.  Is he more of a hands on type or would he rather be taught by a person rather than a book, so he could ask questions and get some stimulating conversation in?

 

I would mix things up.  History could be listening to podcasts maybe or reading a text or book aloud together?  Maybe you could brainstorm with him and pick one subject where you could jazz things up a bit.  That might be enough to generate a little excitement.

 

I had five and we only separated out math and maybe reading levels.  Everything else everybody did together until they reached high school.  So if you have other kids you might want to go to more of a group style rather than everyone working on their own?

Agreed.

[AggieMama]

I would look into maybe alternating history and science days and maybe making them more interactive. There are a lot of great videos for science and social studies that teach the same content and you could shake up the output a little by including making projects, phamplets, posters, writing a song, etc. hisotry and Geography could be combined. For math you could always look into adding computer time through Khan Academyor Prodigy Game. In English you could work a little on creative writing by finding a creative writing curriculum. Have you child sit down with you and figure out what are areas he would like o learn more about and figure out how to study that.

[kbutton]

I totally agree with this. Letting dd change her schedule and ditching Saxon completely reinvented our homeschool day for the better. I do think some of it is just being 12 though so don't expect miracles!

 

That was my first thought as well. Both of my kids like interactive, and if it's stuff that they are not into, it really needs to have some kind of relational component or be truly "get 'er done" work where they don't have to provide original thought. I have one that is more my tech kid, and one that is more my humanities kid. The tech kid (almost 12, 6th grade) does straightforward stuff for history, for instance, because he just wants to be done. But the questions and things he works on for this are NOT requiring original thought--they are fill in the blank. As he ages, we will probably work on some essays in history, but history is not a make it or break it subject for him. When he finds a personal connection with material, he gets excited and talks about it on his own, or he makes connections via podcasts, videos, and field trips. That's enough for him. My humanities kid likes to discuss things, and by the time he needs to do original output, I think he'll be typing really well. For now, talking about some of it sometimes is all we do (he's little still). Even then, he really wants a sounding board for his thoughts who is alive and cares about what he says.

[...................]

Hmmm...I have had similar issues. From what I see there it looks like a pretty vast amount of read black and white book, regurgitate on paper, mostly alone with fairly little variety.

 

I think the tedium alone could affect his ability to concentrate, and motivation to more forward.

 

For example, he should be doing more writing and lit Instead of grammar. I would encourage you to look at Hewitt Lightning Lit 7th grade package. Reading an exciting book and writing thought provoking essays is a lot more interesting than the 6th year of grammar

 

For math I would encourage you to look at TT for next year, something more conceptual would be more exciting. It doesn't get ANY more tedious than Saxon. For Science you might look at the apologia online class. My son enjoyed the accountability although he disliked his specific teacher, she is now gone and the challenge was exciting for him.

 

Also as a side note does he have some outside activities and sports? Boys this age thrive overall when they are active by sometimes they have to be pushed into a direction.

 

Lastly when choosing curriculum picture you at 12, at the kitchen table and pretend you are living their life. That helps me choose stuff that is a lot more exciting! 😊😄ðŸ‘ðŸ»

Edited February 20, 2016 by Calming Tea

[Ellie]

I'm desperate for some ideas/thoughts/advice.

 

12yods is a great and smart kid. He has never loved school, but this past year especially, he loathes it. And lately, it is taking him literally all day to complete it.

 

Here is what we do: {He is in 7th grade}

 

Balancing the Sword Bible: Read a chapter and answer the questions. {Typically, there are 3-4, and they are factual in nature, not application.} Then I read from Thru the Bible about that chapter. {It's a commentary.}

 

Saxon 8/7 Math: He watches the Saxon DVD, does a timed practice test, all lesson practice problems, and 10 of the mixed practice problems.

 

Rod and Staff English 6: Read the lesson and if there is a worksheet, he does that. If not, I assign the Written Exercises {sometimes not every one}.

 

Geography: Maps, Charts, and Graphs: 2 lessons a week. Online geography games.

 

Science: Reading books about a subject and then in a notebook writing 3 things he learned or found interesting.

 

History: Same as Science

 

I am up for any/all types of advice....from scheduling, change in curriculum, ANYTHING.

 

He is a very sweet hearted boy and usually wants to please God and his parents. He just seems "stuck" in this stronghold and I need to get him out of it. For both our sakes! :p

 

Dh and I have both talked with him and explained that we WANT him to have time to go out and skateboard, etc. We both also explained that he is not the only person that I have to care for...meaning I have a home, other kids, my husband, my mom who I care for, and just that I am also a person who wants and needs some time to do something I enjoy like crafts, etc. {And that HE needs time for things he enjoys, too.}

 

Thank you for any/all thoughts!

 

Gosh, that seems like a lot of work all by his onesie.

 

Math: I would drop the timed practice test, and have him do all the problems in each problem set, and that's all. Does he *need* to watch the DVD? Because unless he's really bad at math, he should be able to read the lesson himself, with just a little face time with you if necessary. And I would only let him work for an hour at most. The next book after Math 87 is Algebra 1. Did you want him to do algebra that young? Because otherwise, you could let him work for 45 minutes, and he gets to stop wherever he is, and pick up the next day at that same place.

 

English: That's really not that much work, but he might appreciate some face time with you before he gets started (more than just telling him what his assignments are).

 

History and science: I would be so bored if I had to do that. :-( I'm thinking that he is terribly bored and unhappy about it, too, but because he's such a sweet child, he's trying to muddle on. But he hates it. And then he gets lectured, and he feels worse, because he wants to please God and his parents, but it is what it is: terribly dry and boring, uninteresting, not intellectually challenging. Why don't you try something like a Beautiful Feet Books study guide for history? If you did that, you could drop the separate geography.  And maybe something like Cornerstone Curriculum Project's "Science: The Search"?

 

[purplejackmama]

I don't mean to sound rude, but could he just be bored? This list looks extremely tedious and boring to me. Can you add in some fun stuff or lighten his load a little?

[Chris in VA]

I'd keep Saxon, follow Ellie's advice, or just each it yourself, and also split the lesson--have him get to the point of starting the main problem set, then tuck it aside and pick it back up later in the day, maybe in the afternoon after lunch. That way he'll come at it fresher and be more efficient with his time.

 

I don't know how many other kids you have, but I would try to do something far more interactive for science and history. What curricula are you using?

[hisacorn]

THANK YOU for all the replies and thoughts and ideas!

Please forgive me for not replying sooner; a different son was in the ER Saturday night and my mama is in the hospital with pneumonia...

You have all given me much to ponder...thank you for your candor, it's been eye-opening!

[OneStepAtATime]

THANK YOU for all the replies and thoughts and ideas!

Please forgive me for not replying sooner; a different son was in the ER Saturday night and my mama is in the hospital with pneumonia...

You have all given me much to ponder...thank you for your candor, it's been eye-opening!

Oh, dear!  I hope your son and mother will be o.k.!   :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[wintermom]

What works well for my gang is to have a tangible reason for finishing up their school work or a particular subject, such as a physical activity break (game of table tennis, play outside, go skating, trip to the library).  it also helps build in structure to the day. I, personally,  would be miserable if I had to simply slog through school work all day with no natural "end" to school/s subject, and the start of something fun. It's motivating for some people to have a "reason" to finish up some work; some are motivated by finishing the actual work and some are motivated to get done and move onto something else.

[hisacorn]

Again, thank you for all the thoughts, ideas, etc.

 

OneStep: Thank you for your sweet thoughts! Son should be fine; just needs to stop those nasty body building supplements. Mom is doing well and will hopefully be back to assisted living in 2 days.

 

I just wrote out the suggestions/ideas in a notebook. {I do better when I write things out.} I will be thinking of ways to implement them and ordering some new things in the next day or so.

 

Again, THANK YOU!!! :hurray: :thumbup: