How To Help Your Child Concentrate During Homeschooling
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How To Help Your Child Concentrate During Homeschooling
Working from home has provided many benefits for adults but one thing that many have found difficult is the motivation to do it and it has taken a long while to get into good habits so that they can work well and concentrate without getting distracted by the dishwasher finishing, the front door going or the mess that needs clearing up. If you think about how hard it is for adults to concentrate, then it’s even harder for kids when they are being homeschooled. They associate their house with home life, with fun activities, weekends and evenings, and not with doing their school work all day. Many children need help to concentrate and here are a few ways you can do it.
Play Games
When you’re homeschooling, you can’t stick to the same lessons that your children would be having in school, some just do not work the same as solo-lessons or translate that well from a classroom. According to Age of Learning, you can use concentration games such as crossword puzzles and card games that require memory and help to build concentration.
Set Out A Clear Plan
Children get used to their routines quickly, they know that they have PE on a Tuesday or music on a Wednesday so they know what to expect for the day. Make sure you tell your child what to expect from homeschooling each day so that they know how much and what they have to do. Create a checklist and cross things off as you complete them.
Keep your lessons short
Keep your lessons to 20 minutes long if they are working independently, any longer than that and the time is just wasted. Then if you’re doing a lesson where you are working together or part of it is instruction then make sure it’s no longer than an hour.
Have Plenty Of Breaks
Doing schoolwork and learning new things hard going for your little ones and their young brains need a break. Give them breaks where they can go and run around outside or playing in their room so that they’re getting a complete break and doing something different.
Slow Down
If you feel that your child is losing focus then you should try slowing down the pace. It might be that they just aren’t ready for it and you need to take it slow. If you push them harder, it will only have the opposite effect.
Include Learning Experiences.
As mentioned, some lessons just don’t translate from the classroom to home, and putting your child at the kitchen table all day with text books just isn’t going to be effective. Try to include learning experiences where you can. Instead of going through a book about nature, get outside and see it for yourself. If your child is having a hard time in maths, take them to the shops with you and put it into practice. Think outside the box and have some fun.
Use Incentives.
It’s a strange time for everyone right now and as much as you don’t want to be homeschooling your kids, they don’t want it either. They get no benefits from lockdowns and restrictions from COVID, they just don’t get to see their friends, so if you need to use incentives to get your kids to do their work then so be it. You could use snacks, activities, games, or TV to incentivize them or use a timer to show them how long they have to work.
