Why can't we get everything done?? advice please..

[4pillars]

It seems like we NEVER get everything done!! We do get math done, but then it gets hard to keep them on task. I have to continue to ask if they got ________(fill in the blank) done. It is usually a no, a sigh, and then they go back to work. However, it seems to take them forever, and we still do not get anything done.

Here is what was on my 11yo's assignment sheet today:
Rod and Staff Math
Rod and Staff English (done orally)
Daily Editing
Spelling (SWO)
Latin/Greek-English from the Roots up
IEW-SWI-B
Read a chapter from 2 different books
History- read lesson from MOH; write a brief paragraph for notebook
Science-Draw a diagram for notebook
spanish-rosetta stone on computer

Does this look like too much? She managed to get Math, English and spelling done. It is 3:30 and I had to prod her to go read... and it is unlikely that we will get to the other things on the list today. I really don't know what to do anymore. I feel guilty as it is that they are still doing school when public school is already out. SIGH... It do feel like I have to keep them on task all the time.

I just told them that they are expected to complete their assignments for the week, and if it is not done then they will be expected to get them completed on Friday (an off day for us) or on the weekend as homework.

Please let me know if I am being unreasonable. We are soooo behind in some subjects because we are not getting them completed.

help!!

[Julie in Austin]

I think that that is major foot dragging (unless she has major problems understanding the work).

I would probably come down hard on this--she probably has realized that if she drags her work out, there will be less to do. Then there would be no TV, friends, no NOTHING until the work was done--all of it.

[Alana in Canada]

Well, perhaps I'm off track here, but I've been re-reading Cathy Duffy--and I'm impressed (again) by how important it can be to have materials fit your child's learning style.

It looks like a lot of that work is on her own, alone. What is she doing when she isn't "working?" Is she playing with siblings? Playing on her own? Is she trying to talk to you?

I'm wondering if she doesn't just need more social interaction--and since you will interact with her if she's slow getting her work done, then she's getting what she needs that way.

As well, the material may just be boring her to tears. At 11 she may not know how to tell you that.

Just a couple of thoughts. We certainly have our problems getting work done, too!

[training5]

What time do you get started in the mornings? I'm too ashamed to say how late we start. Are they doing their assignments where you can keep an eye on them? I agree about crushing this one hard. Our rule is nothing else until schoolwork is done. There have been a few nights Dad came home to a table full of schoolbooks and two bent heads. May I suggest a timer? Set it for the amount of time you feel is reasonable for them to complete an assignment. If it isn't done, set it aside and move on. All unfinished assignments are done after school. I like what one Mom said about 'homework hour' on another post. See if that might work for you. One other thing I had to do at one point (mean MOM moment) was to tell them lunch would not be served until their schoolwork had all been done. Worked like a charm. I only needed to do that for a day or two and no more feet dragging.

[Lorna]

Something I have found helps is if you use different approaches to different subjects. For example we start with maths and English (sitting at a desk) but then I sit on the sofa and do Latin with Dd (or she does history) and Ds reads on his bed. We have a get together for elevenses. For French we all get together and do a lot orally - play games etc. After this I read history books with Ds and Dd gets to read on her bed.
We have lunch and go for a walk and do yoga.
We then do lots of hands-on type science with games and experiments (although normally with some written element too). This takes two hours or so. Twice a week we go for a walk to the swimming pool and science is either me reading a chapter of a book or a natural history DVD.
We have a very full day but because of the variety of approaches it rarely gets dull or seem too much. I think most curriculum choices are easy enough to adapt to different teaching styles.
I hope this is some help.
Best wishes,
Lorna

[Lenora in MD]

I agree that she may want to do some of her work with the family. In our house, we do individual seat work in the morning and group work in the afternoon. We have four kids, and I need to start by 8:30, or I can not get everything done that I need to by lunch. Also, her schedule looks a bit heavy in terms of language arts, she has english, iew, and writing a paragraph for history, in addition to spelling, vocab. and editing. My 11 yo would definitely melt down with all that. Maybe she doesn't have to do all those things each day? Could you alternate some things?

[Linda in NM]

Something I have found helps is if you use different approaches to different subjects.

We have a very full day but because of the variety of approaches it rarely gets dull or seem too much. I think most curriculum choices are easy enough to adapt to different teaching styles.
I hope this is some help.
Best wishes,
Lorna[/quote]

I like what Lorna said...admittedly, my life is easy with one 13 yos (who'd rather be playing hockey), but adding variety and coming in and out of participation with your child should work better...we start with reading aloud (together), then he does some research from Trisms, we get back together, and so forth...backing and forthing seems to keep us on track.

[clanbusby]

My dd9 is a procrastinator. She doesn't want to do her work. She just wants to be able to go play with her friends all afternoon without doing school work.

A kitchen timer helps keep her focused. I really have to be on the ball myself when we are using the timer. We go over her math lesson and then she has 30 - 45 minutes to work on her math. If it is not finished, (and we don't stop the timer when she has to go spend 10-15 minutes in the bathroom) she has to put that aside and move onto grammar. She will have 30 minutes to finish that and so on.

The time thing is hard for me, but ds11 is much better about keeping focused. Even with the littles running around wanting this and that.

[Alana in Canada]

Clanbusby: we use the timer for breaks. (I'm half way thru a ten minute one right now). It's a good way to stay on track, too, though I haven't used it for lessons. We do pretty much everything together and it would "preassure" my son too much.
But it's a great idea if you make it work. Good for you.

[BizyPenguin]

We've had this problem in the past too. It occured to me that my ds was just not getting the lead out in the morning. I instituted a no video game policy until all school work is done and that helped. I also realized that I had too many workbooks in our curriculum and this drove him crazy. I've since cut out our Bob Jones reading and workbook pages and replaced that with a minimum of 30 minutes of free reading from a book of his choice and that has helped tons. Talk to your child and see if she's struggling with anything in particular and also cut out all of her extras until she gets the work done. HTH!

[Excelsior! Academy]

We lump our short tasks together to get them done early. I'll have the girls do their copywork, piano, and DIVE movie for math in one block. This averages and hour. We have 3 things done early. Then we do our shorter group things like Latin, history, etc. Math is done after outside time in the afternoon. Math gets done quickly now, because they know it's free time after math. Have you tried a schedule like this?

[Eliana]

Depending on the child and the situation, I have two ways I might handle this kind of situation:

1) Set very small daily goals for a week, but make sure that not meeting them is just not an option. Let the child see how absurdly manageable it all is. When a kid has been shirking for a while s/he has both a bad set of habits to overcome and the tasks always grow in his/her mind so it seems almost pointless to even try because s/he'll just work all day and still never get it all done. (Careful reasoned argument about the amount of wasted time which could be used don't make it through at this stage with some children.) Break assignments in half, or even smaller. Your goal at this stage is to get the child back in the habit of meeting his/her daily responsibilities.

2) Choose one child, and sit with him/her as much as is needed for the whole day, redirecting him/her to task. Provide constant supervision, even when making dinner or changing the baby - s/he should be in the same room with you visibly working. Keep an eye out for roadblocks - is the work actually too hard? Too easy? Does s/he know/remember how to organize her work and get through his/her checklist?



I don't think the issue is whether or not your expectations are reasonable; the issue is that your kids have gotten into a bad pattern, and you need to help them break out of it. With slightly younger kids, I'd focus on family learning and get that going regularly, but your older two are a little old for that...

Also, I would drop all thoughts of 'behind', at least for now, and revisit your goals for the year once you have things up and running more smoothly.


It just occurred to me: is this a long-term problem? Did your kids used to be pretty on the ball, but have slipped? If they've just slipped, then a few weeks of really focused supervision should be enough to get everything running smoothly again and to ensure that it won't just all erode the moment your back is turned, but if they've never had the right patterns, you're in for a longer haul.

Good luck!

Eliana

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

When we don't get things done it is because we usually start late, or I am not consistent. I have to work a lot with my smaller kids (who have been ripped off by their older siblings being home) and when I don't focus on the older, at least one of them wanders-