How to get a boy to do his work.
So here is the issue I need advice on. As everyone knows, I homeschool a 6 year old boy (NerdBug). When I sit him right next to me and am on him like white on rice, he gets his homework done in about 1/3 of the time. So should I sit on him to get him to do it or let him fritter away his day? If he is left to spend forever, what activities should the homework replace? IE, we stop homework to eat, do chores but should all free time be up for grabs? He is only 6. By the way, if he just does the work with me it only takes 30 minutes to an hour a day.
Thanks in advance for the advice
Thanks in advance for the advice
Labels: Homeschoooling
posted by NerdMom at
10:30 PM
5 Comments:
Well...having a six-year-old boy who is homeschooled as well...I know just where you're coming from. He has the same issue.
Sometimes I sit right beside him, and count that as "mom" one-on-one time. I esp like to do that on days where I want him to Just Get It Done Already.
But other days, I set a distinct boundary--like he can't watch ____ on TV (which is his favorite show and comes on at a certain time) unless ____ is done. That seems to perk up the concentration a bit.
By
Unknown, at 12:21 AM
Great question! Six is still very young. I would think you will end up with a mixture of time. Some you will want to spend right with him, especially when you have time and energy in your schedule. Other times, you might be busy with house work or phone calls and he'll work on his home. If he fritters the time away, it's okay.
I'm right there with you, my five year old and (just turned) 7 year old are VERY distractable and can easily turn a very short assignment into an hour long process. :)
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By
Kathy in WA, at 12:43 AM
I could go either way. I can definitely see wanting to stay on top of him to finish his work - especially if *I* want (need?) to leave the house & go do errands or something.
On the other hand, though, I see the opportunity to have a running dialogue about managing time, and what we can or cannot do because of things that need to be accomplished.
By
Unknown, at 2:33 AM
Oh, we too have the same kind of six year old here. My personal opinion is that there is a lot to be said for balance and for variety! Some days, be the white. Some days, let him fritter the day away w/o reminding him what needs to be done every 30 seconds but giving him a deadline (say afternoon snack or daddy's homecoming time). Some days work with him to get a bit done at a time. Help him learn to budget his time. Perhaps find some rewards that can be used for the days that he gets it all done on his own in good time - rewards like getting to make cookies or a favorite snack that might take a bit extra time or getting to play a game or a few extra minutes of computer time. Whatever it is that will give him the message that it is beneficial to him to get the work done!
By
jen, at 12:43 PM
I'm not certain what "homework" means in the context of home-schooling, but I will say there is *enormous* variability with homework length in the younger grades.
At 6, my youngest took approximately 1.5 hours to complete what would be 10 minutes of homework for the median student and 3 minutes for the top students and none of it had anything to do with content mastery.
At 14, he's probably down to +35% of the median time, unless it interests him, in which case it's probably half the median time.
In my mind, there's a pretty big case for simply saying some kids (mostly boys grade 1-3) are simply not ready for homework. (i.e. the effort to learning ratio is simply too low.) More to the point, in these cases, the school is simply asking for something the student cannot meaningfully accomplish.
Of course, in a regular school, you have to weigh this against benefits of homework for the 3/4 of the students that can do it in a reasonable time, but in the homeschooling situation, I'd be tempted to drop it until such time as he's mentally and physically capable of doing the homework.
By
Anonymous, at 6:52 AM
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