For the kid who can, but doesn't....

[stephanie]

I'm sure there's been many conversations here about these kinds of kids so here's one more!
Ds10 is very bright and really just gets everything. His only struggle is his attention in math. He gets the lesson, knows how to do it, but takes for-ev-er! Every minute I have to turn around and say, "Get focused." Then he snaps out of it...for another minute. I don't see this as an ADD kinda thing, because it's only in math. We use R&S,and it can be monotonous, but he really needs that. I don't require him to do every one of the problems either...I circle the ones I know he needs to work on. So I'm looking for suggestions for him to help him not be so distracted. I've moved him to a different part of the school room, turned his desk, put him in the house, but he still gets distracted. He's funny because he's very aware of this and says he just doesn't know why. I'm wondering if I should only have him work for 20-30 minutes, focused, instead of completing the assignment? I'm just afraid we'll get too far behind with that approach. Suggestions, please!

[Cadam]

If he stayed focused maybe he could get the lesson done in 2- 20 min segments.

[Rebecca in VA]

Here's what I would do: (1) Copy the problems he needs to do onto a separate sheet of paper, leaving plenty of white space for him to solve the problem (basically making a worksheet for him). (2) Sit with him, and when he pauses, ask him a question about what his next step will be. Don't give him time to daydream.

Hope this helps!

[KLA]

We have certain amount of time allotted for math (1 hour) and its plenty. We stop after that and what's not done is done in the afternoon during his free time. This helps most of the time.

Sometimes I offer a reward if its finished in the allotted time, like a chocolate or 15 minutes of computer time.

Not novel or anything but it works sometimes. Much of the time I do what the other poster said and sit right next to him not allowing him to daydream. Take heart - I have heard that things drastically improve when the hormones start to kick in. Testosterone is a motivator! :001_smile:

[cougarmom4]

My ds11 is very similar to your son! Quite capable, but can get so distracted by anything that is more exciting than his math. The other day, I pulled out two whiteboards and we had a race--I did the math problems at the same time he did. He loved it! And it helped me to see that he does indeed know how to do the work.

I've also tried a reward if work is done by a certain time--sometimes that helps to motivate him. A few times I've even given him half of the assignment--let's say odds--and if he doesn't have it done by a certain time he has earned the evens to do as well.

I'll be watching to see other ideas!

Hang in there!

[Stacy in NJ]

Reward him for getting his work done quickly and accurately. What does he really want to be doing? What's his currency? Get a timer and set it for a realistic amount of time for the lesson (45 minutes/1 hour), and tell him he'll get X if he completes the assignment before the timer goes off with fewer than 2 or 3 errors on the math. If he's able to do it, give him the reward and celebrate. If not, try again tomorrow. Don't prode or remind.

ETA: If he's not done within the alloted time, set it aside, its just become "homework" for his free time. Move on to the next subject.

[dmmosher]

Have you tried sitting right there and just waiting? I don't know why this is, but some children NEED the silent support while doing certain assignments. Even if you're just reading or making your grocery list, it might be just the thing to keep him focused.

[stephanie]

All great ideas, thanks! I do usually sit with him because he does do his work very quickly when I'm sitting next to him. He asked me today if I would sit with him because it makes him work better, but with 3 other dc that I'm schooling it's hard to sit with him every time. Today I did the first page with him orally because they were those kinds of problems that could be done orally, and he was responsible for the next page...circled ones only. It still took in and hour and a half. He just sat there, daydreaming about his PS3, Valentines Day, and about a million other things that he mentioned. I would love to reward him with some time on his game, but that ends up being a huge problem. All 4 of them end up wanting time on the game which is in the house (we're in a school house), and it ends up being a PITB. I'm going to figure something out with all of the suggestions yall gave me. Thanks!

[stephanie]

My ds11 is very similar to your son! Quite capable, but can get so distracted by anything that is more exciting than his math. The other day, I pulled out two whiteboards and we had a race--I did the math problems at the same time he did. He loved it! And it helped me to see that he does indeed know how to do the work.

I've also tried a reward if work is done by a certain time--sometimes that helps to motivate him. A few times I've even given him half of the assignment--let's say odds--and if he doesn't have it done by a certain time he has earned the evens to do as well.

I'll be watching to see other ideas!

Hang in there!

Good idea with the whiteboards!

[Alana in Canada]

This doesn't always work either, but I have made math the last subject of the day. That way when he's done, he's done school for the day.

That said, it still took my daughter four days to get through the same two math pages! (She was sick for two of them and tired for the rest, but still!)

[WendyK]

My son sounds very similar. I give him a time limit. I say "you must be done in 20 minutes" (or whatever). I always give plenty of time, but that little bit of pressure seems to help him focus. I don't know what it is! Sometimes he asks me to set a time limit.

[PollyOR]

Hmm...it does make it tough when you have other children who need you. We also use R&S. I doubt you would want to do it our way, but I thought I would throw it out there.

I write out problems from the lesson on a chalkboard (ones that can't be done orally) and dd does those first thing in the morning. When we do the actual lesson, we do all of the problems orally. With me beside her, she works the word problems on a chalkboard. Then we're done. Our time together can take 20-30 minutes, but it makes things go much faster for her. She would hate math if she had to write out all of the problems.

Good luck with finding the right solution for your son. :)

[stephanie]

Hmm...it does make it tough when you have other children who need you. We also use R&S. I doubt you would want to do it our way, but I thought I would throw it out there.

I write out problems from the lesson on a chalkboard (ones that can't be done orally) and dd does those first thing in the morning. When we do the actual lesson, we do all of the problems orally. With me beside her, she works the word problems on a chalkboard. Then we're done. Our time together can take 20-30 minutes, but it makes things go much faster for her. She would hate math if she had to write out all of the problems.

Good luck with finding the right solution for your son. :)

We kind of do that now as well. I will take problems from the worksheet and do we will do them in the board together. Then I will skip those problems on his worksheet. I'm actually excited today to try to apply some new techniques. Yesterday he said he hated math, and that really bothered me. He's always loved math, but this time bit is discouraging him.

[AllSmiles]

I might try a couple of things

1. Go over the lesson with your son, and then have him work the problems on the 1st page. Later in the day, have him work the assigned problems on the 2nd page.

2. Decide on how much time you are willing to spend on math during your normal school hours. Whatever he is not able to complete within that time would become homework.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Wasn't there a thread on the old boards about using a chess clock to time the minutes your child spends dawdling and the minutes he spends working on a problem? I used my iPod's timer to do this with my dawdling writer, months ago, and it worked like a charm. He could see clearly how much time he was wasting and how much sooner he could be free. My kiddo was younger than yours, though.

[hsingscrapper]

I think I posted something similar to this on a thread about a wiggly little one and trying to get work done with the older.

Is your ds10 the oldest? If so, what about having him start earlier than the other dc? If you give him an hour for math, then have him start at 8. When it comes to 9 then he can be done with math for the day and start on items that maybe don't need as much direct interaction from you.

Would that work? Or, give the other dc a bit of busy work like handwriting while you work with him.

One other idea if dh is available to you at all during the school day, is to have dh be on hand to assist the other dc while you work on math with your ds10.

I hope one of these ideas works for you. Let me know how it goes. My oldest likes to start earlier than his brother because it gives us a chance to work on math together. He still needs me for grammar but most everything else, he can work mostly solo on.

[stephanie]

Just a little update on our math...

Today we did math together...a little bit. We did the race to see who could get the problems done fastest on the white board, which he had a blast at! Then we did a few orally. Finally, he had problems left on the last page which he wanted to be timed for. So guess what? He completed ALL of them in 10 minutes, and did his speed drill in 5! Total time on math=30 minutes!!! Yippee! Let's hope it lasts!

Thanks again for all the suggestions...they really helped!!

[brownie]

I heard a talk by a counselor for the gifted say that using the word 'focus' makes the blood rush right out of their head! Instead you could 'check in with him' every few minutes and ask him to self-assess his energy level and level of focus. See if you can get him to self-monitor better.

Brownie

[PollyOR]

Just a little update on our math...

Total time on math=30 minutes!!! Yippee! Let's hope it lasts!

:hurray:

[one l michele]

His only struggle is his attention in math. He gets the lesson, knows how to do it, but takes for-ev-er! Every minute I have to turn around and say, "Get focused." Then he snaps out of it...for another minute. I don't require him to do every one of the problems either...I circle the ones I know he needs to work on. So I'm looking for suggestions for him to help him not be so distracted. I've moved him to a different part of the school room, turned his desk, put him in the house, but he still gets distracted.

he's an extrovert. If he feels secluded, he's focused on that and sees it as punishment, thus even more less likely to focus. Often when math is taking forever, it's because it's work due to them not having their math facts down. When we do school I'm ~4' away from ds the entire time. When I notice him checking for toe fuzz or looking out the window, I call him over to my desk, we work on a few together, then I send him back to his desk. I'm also not a fan of crossing off problems, we use Horizons in entirety. I think all that practice naturally makes them faster. You may want to add math drill, perhaps this one: http://www.mathusee.com/drill.html and cut back to one side of the page for a little while. Some kids need help concentrating on those things they aren't passionate about.

[mom2abcd]

I heard a talk by a counselor for the gifted say that using the word 'focus' makes the blood rush right out of their head! Instead you could 'check in with him' every few minutes and ask him to self-assess his energy level and level of focus. See if you can get him to self-monitor better.

Brownie


Interesting! I've heard it suggested to have kids help you chart their day as to their most productive times, etc. I really should do that. The weird thing is I think dd13's most energetic time is from 10-11pm.