I should add that she is very bright, and is not really behind other kids her age. I just worry that this is becoming a habit.
Answers:
You could try to give her incentives, for example if she completes her worksheet by 10:30 she can go to the park for awhile, or even set long term incentives, if she completes all of chapter 3 by July 25 she can have a free day to go swimming or something. Hopefully after a period of time incentives will no longer be needed, she'll just know that if she completes her work by a certain time things will go her way and she'll be rewarded.
Maybe instead of worksheets you can try activities that are more "hands on".
Homeschooling isn't just teaching math or english, it's about teaching life skills as well, such as the lesson that Hardwork pays off in the end.
Sit down wit her and help her talk to her ask her wat she is interested comunicate wit her or have her get a cute tutor that might make her stey on track....
most kids who struggle with math really dont understand what they're doing. and for most math then gets really boring. i love kids and i love math. try an alternate way of teaching it to her. make it more exciting and try usuing objects associated with it instead of JUST pencil and paper.
you said she's 7 so try doing multiplication with MnM's
example 3x5... get groups of 3 mNm's and make 5 piles. ask her how much there is.. she'll catch on and eat some yummy candy.
ps if you dont like the candy idea try gummy bears. she'll want to go straight to math all the time :)
do math on the sidewalk with chalk or on a window with dry erase markers- make it fun
If she is having increasing problems concentrating then you need to see a professional about this. Letting a problem escalate is only harmful to both you and her.
Perhaps the math is too easy for her and she is bored. Maybe the little breaks need to have more purpose. Like she can take a 5 min break after she finishes 5 questions, or 10 min after 10 questions. Over time she will learn that finishing her HW right off is better than taking breaks.
The MnM idea sounded pretty good. Perhaps she learns better if its presented in a more practical way, in a more tangible way, hands on kinda.
She may need to learn in a different way, especially with as young as she is. I had the same problem with my son at age 7. He would take FOREVER to finish a math worksheet...he knew the stuff, he just plain hated the worksheet.
I found that letting him do it in a different way helped immensely. He's very kinesthetic and auditory, so at age 7, the sit-in-a-chair-and-write-thing... approach didn't work for him. What I did was to laminate flashcards and stick them up all over the house with poster tacky-stuff. I gave him a dry erase pen and told him to go for it. He finished 50+ problems in 3 minutes, got them all correct, and thought it was more fun than skateboarding :-)
Now, at 9.5, he's practically independent with the majority of his subjects. He takes a look at his assignment planner, takes out the work, and does it. He puts it back in his cubby to be graded or edited. He knows when he needs to sit down and focus - these subjects are 15 minutes or less if he focuses and gets them done - and then he knows he's done. We have other subjects that I work with him on, ones that need experiments, projects, or discussion, but seatwork subjects - math, language arts, geography, writing, spelling, reading - are completely independent. Because I didn't push him to do this too soon, he's fine with doing it now.
It's ok to let her learn in whatever way works best for her, especially this early. As she gets older, she will start moving more toward being able to sit still and write - she just may not be there yet. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's not a sign of a problem on her end, she's just not being challenged in a way that makes sense to her. And honestly, at age 7, if she doesn't see the point why would she want to give it her all?
I would really try some hands-on type of stuff - she may really like something like Math U See. Hope that helps!
This is a very common problem. Part of the problem may be the simple math: if it's too simple, it's boring. Another part of the problem could be that it may seem simple to you, but she doesn't actually get something from it and is afraid to do it and get things wrong.
Have you tried talking to her about it? "How do you feel about math? What could make math better? What's going on with math that it takes a long time to get the questions done?" Especially if it's just the one subject.
Another thing to do would be to set a timer and make it kind of a game: "Can you finish the questions before the time is up?" Of course, you should probably only start this with questions that can DEFINITELY be finished with a 15-minute period. Staying fully concentrated on something you don't like for longer than 15 minutes at that age is very difficult. I've worked with older kids who find doing even the 15 minutes difficult, but it's something very manageable.
Also, consider a different approach for the math (this is going under the assumption that just math is the problem). Maybe just doing worksheets has really become boring to her and something different for math is needed. Check out Singapore Math, perhaps. They're colourful and not overloaded with questions.
Other things to consider: she may be testing the limits and seeing just what is firm with you and what might not be; she's unhappy about something else and it's playing out in the schooling; she's not getting enough sleep or even water; if this is work she's expected to do on her own, sitting next to her and 'taking turns' or just her getting some immediate feedback may be enough to keep her on task.
Perhaps your daughter's symptoms point to something other than lack of concentration. I had similar issues with my 7-year-old son although to a much lesser degree. I had my son tested at a children's hospital, and they said he is cognitively gifted. (Also, I discovered that a child can be both gifted and have ADD/ADHD and what people often think of as ADD/ADHD can actually be manifestations of giftedness.) Now, I understand the boredom factor, have to teach/direct more creatively, and have to give my son more challenging work. His developmental pediatricians, the neighborhood school, and I will work as a team to help my child reach his potential.
I would say try the other suggestions that have been given to you, but if they do not make a difference, please have your daughter evaluated by a developmental pediatrician. This will save you and her a lot of needless frustration.
There is nothing wrong with taking a break, and revisiting how to approach schooling.
Not every child sits down and does work sheets; it is okay for practice when needed, but otherwise it is just busy work, and honestly often worksheets give parents the piece of mind that they have done something; it's visible; instead of saying we played games, we traveled the world on the travel channel, or we discussed politics while watching c-span, just to mention a few.
I would not recommend a rewards system, gold stars, or little extras and such; these do nothing to teach the child how to motivate themselves.
Rewards become the goal instead of learning.
Rewards have to get bigger to keep the child motivated, and actually in the long run achieve only the opposite.
(Punished by Rewards;by Alfie Kohn).
There are many more ways to learn, games, DVDs, read books aloud, use the computer; let her practice on the many fun sites.
Learning is no confined to text books, curriculum guide lines, or work sheets.
Home schooling can be, and should be an alternative to all these.
Also look into Usborne books; the Internet linked ones.
We really enjoyed their children's world cook book, it became, a lesson in cultures, geography, shopping, making lists, organization, budget, and of course cooking.
Best of all were daddy's compliments for a tasty meal.
Want to see a girls smile from ear to ear, and boost her confidence; give it a try.
Here are two web sites that may help; we use them often.
The computer software is free, you only pay a small shipping and handling fee.
http://www.planetcdrom.com/free-homescho...
The games are a bit pricey, but so worth it.
http://www.educationallearninggames.com/...
Http://www.unschooling.com/
Is she challenged? You say she's bright and any kid that is not being challenged, and/or doing "seat work" just for the sake of it (b/c the curriculum says to do X number of problems or worksheets), will have the love of learning sucked out of them in no time.
Try setting a timer. Tell her if she's not done before it goes off, she has "homework" and will have to work during "play/family/TV time".
Perhaps doing a worksheet is not her learning style. If she's kinesthetic, try writing the problems on a sliding door or big window with dry erase markers. Or use sidewalk chalk outside. Use candy to make graphs, etc. Think outside the box. Also, just don't make her do it for the sake of doing it. If she knows the concept, move on to the next one. That's the beauty of HS'ing.
Also, your comment about making her "sit" is a red flag for me. Why can't she lay on the floor, or go outside on a swing? Also, you might try having her sit on a big ball - at her desk or with a clipboard on her lap. When my son was that age, a ball chair really helped him focus and stay on task.
Anyway, just some ideas off the top of my head.
Maybe worksheets don't fit her learning style. Aside from making everything as much fun as possible, sometimes staying near to see when the child begins daydreaming is helpful, then you can re-direct (that worked with my daughter). For other kids, having mom watching makes it worse, (for my son I have found if everyone leaves the room and he isn't getting attention from goofing off, he starts working.)
Having a fun thing planned after the worksheet will sometimes help too. "The sooner you finish math, the sooner we can go outside to play catch, so keep working honey."
If it comes down to disobedience, deal with it however you deal with disobedience in other areas. But first make sure it IS disobedience, it could just be distractability.
Some kids have trouble with largely paper and pencil work that seems to have no point. She might be more motivated to figure out math that has a purpose, such as building or making something. Even if you must do the worksheets each day (they have value, I know), you could explain that she will need to know how to do this in order to... make the quilt you plan to make. build the dog house. plan how much allowance to save for her new bike... know when she has enough money for her new bike. etc.
If you feel these worksheets are an essential part of the school day, then stay near to keep her on track, or if she seems more distracted by that than helped, do the opposite. Keep trying different things until you find what works.
PS I loved the idea of putting the problems on cards all over the room, my son would probably LOVE this game.
We started home schooling in 8th grade. My son was unmotivated throughout his public school life. Rewards and consequences made no difference for him.
I did notice that he did better with teachers who were relaxed and had lots of energy.
We started home schooling very relaxed with lots of online activities, videos, and audios. We did lots of reading in relaxed atmosphere without worksheets or tests on reading comprehension.
I would advise you to relax.
It is like the walking. Some children walk at 9 months, some wait until 2 years...but they all walk about the same by the time they are 6. She needs an education, but lucky you, you have 10 years to teach her all she needs to know before she goes to college.
Here is a math video. See if she is interested in watching.
The Zany World of Basic Math is free.
Added: I remember a home school dad telling about his daughter doing math problems. She asked him, "Daddy, will 5 plus 3 always be 8?" He soon realized that she knew her math facts and did not understand why she had to keep proving that she knew them. You may think about that. It may be what she is trying to tell you.
Maybe instead of worksheets, you could try a more hands-on approach. A friend of mine said her son just couldn't get certain math concepts until she tried Math-U-See Curriculum. Check it out and see what you think, the link is below...
I wouldn't say she is unmotivated, I'm going to say that since she's home schooled she probably would have heard that home schoolers can work at their own speed. So to answer you question she isn't unmotivated just working her own speed.
there are many ways o learning. it seems that your child is bored with math. right now, don't force her into doing the math worksheets that she has. make her love math! first try to determine where is she more inclined. is she verbal, musical? does she like to do more movement? arts? tailor your lessons according to how she learns and you will see her open up then you can go back doing the worksheets.
She may have a learning disability.
set up a point system and use it to reward her effort do not bribe her just give her something to work towards
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