Aubrey Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Twice in the last 2 wks, ds has opened his math book while I situate the babies. When I returned, he asked to do a different page of math than what was assigned. He'd found something new that was intriguing, & while my insides said NOOOOOOOOOOO! We can't do the math book OUT OF ORDER, I realized better & let him go for it. (yay) I've set the timer the last few days, & when he didn't finish something, the sky didn't fall in & the whole day wasn't spent nagging. For handwriting, he usually stares out the window & cries. So I set the timer for 5 min & told him he could have 1c for ea word he'd written when it dings. He's getting a page done now. For math, I set the timer for 30 min. After about 20, if he's been going really slowly, I might reset it for 15 (instead of just the 10 that are left) & offer him a nickle for ea problem that's done correctly (of the ones left) when the timer dings. (They're 3 digit by 2 digit multiplication problems, so it never costs me more than a quarter.) I've also designated 9:30AM - 2PM as school hrs. His behind is glued to the chair during those hrs, whether I have to get up for babies or not. He keeps his current novel there w/ him, & if he finishes an assignment before I get back, he gets to read. He's gotten all but maybe 3 math problems done every day since we started this! His attitude is so great! He finally wrote a really good narration on his own! And if you're freaking out at those hrs, that does include time to eat lunch & 30 min to play outside, so it works out pretty lax, I think. Today we didn't get spelling done. It was 2PM. I was able to *see* what we *had* done, though, & know that it wasn't for ds not working. So I let it go. You should have seen the look on his face. He couldn't comprehend just getting to go off & play. *I* feel better about it. I know he's getting more of what he needs *when* he needs it, instead of long days of school or long days of nothing. And I feel like school is more doable, since I've put time limits on it, I know I can get it done in about 3 hrs. That's easier to wrap my mind around than the nebulous "We have a lot to get done." :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in KY Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Sounds great, Audrey, I may take a page from your book about paying a penny per word. :D Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetpeach Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I'm definitely stealing your Penny Per Word idea! Thank you. We're starting next week with a hefty copywork project so this motivation will be key! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 That's great you are finding some things that work for you! It sounds like things are going well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in KY Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I just lost $0.85. :glare: Who knew he could, or even *would* write so much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.