Comments on: Keeping Students Organized for Academic Success http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/index.php/201001/keeping-students-organized-for-academic-success/ A Publication for Parents of Children with Learning Differences Sun, 05 Feb 2012 04:36:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Shahnoor Dharamsi MS, OTR/L http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/index.php/201001/keeping-students-organized-for-academic-success/comment-page-1/#comment-114 Shahnoor Dharamsi MS, OTR/L Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:20:13 +0000 http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/?p=766#comment-114 Hi Julie, Most kids usually need a break to unwind after the school day. Have you considered using a timer to provide a short 30-45 minute unwinding break? Another option is making a schedule of the homework that needs to be completed and the approximate amount of time that each assignment will require. By visually looking at a schedule, you and your daughter can prioritize how much time will be required to complete the homework. I find to do lists and schedules work really well to help kids stay on task. Sincerely, Shahnoor Dharamsi MS, OTR/L Pediatric Occupational Therapist Hi Julie,
Most kids usually need a break to unwind after the school day. Have you considered using a timer to provide a short 30-45 minute unwinding break? Another option is making a schedule of the homework that needs to be completed and the approximate amount of time that each assignment will require. By visually looking at a schedule, you and your daughter can prioritize how much time will be required to complete the homework. I find to do lists and schedules work really well to help kids stay on task.

Sincerely,
Shahnoor Dharamsi MS, OTR/L
Pediatric Occupational Therapist

]]> By: Gayle Born, M.Ed. http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/index.php/201001/keeping-students-organized-for-academic-success/comment-page-1/#comment-102 Gayle Born, M.Ed. Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:00:30 +0000 http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/?p=766#comment-102 Students NEED a break after school. I suggest setting an after school schedule and following it, e.g. 4:00-5:00 break 5:00-6:00 Homework *If your child has difficulty staying on tasks, she may need to work for 15-20 minutes...take a 7 minute break....and come back to it. Students often can attend for 15-20 minutes at a time, but need the 7 min. break, and then can resume. In the long run it doesn't take that much longer and is MUCH more pleasant than trying to force them to maintain a steady stream of attention to task. 6:00-6:45 Dinner 6:45-7:30 homework (hopefully she doesn't have more than an hour or 1 1/2 hr. of HW in the 4th grade. Let her check off her daily schedule. Before beginning HW...take a look at the HW she has written in her agenda. Help your child learn to "guesstimate" how long each assignment will take. Write the guesstimated time at the top of the paper. See if she can "beat the clock". You will need to use a silent timer for this. Do the assignments that are easiest first and get them out of the way. Set up a reward chart for following through with HW for the week. Agree on what the reward will be. You must include your child on this...she will only work for something that she cares about. This should be something like having a friend over on Satuday or a trip to Brusters...NOT big rewards. I hope this helps! Gayle Born Students NEED a break after school. I suggest setting an after school schedule and following it, e.g.
4:00-5:00 break
5:00-6:00 Homework *If your child has difficulty staying on tasks, she may need to work for 15-20 minutes…take a 7 minute break….and come back to it.
Students often can attend for 15-20 minutes at a time, but need the 7 min. break, and then can resume. In the long run it doesn’t take that much longer and is MUCH more pleasant than trying to force them to maintain a steady stream of attention to task.
6:00-6:45 Dinner
6:45-7:30 homework (hopefully she doesn’t have more than an hour or 1 1/2 hr. of HW in the 4th grade.

Let her check off her daily schedule.
Before beginning HW…take a look at the HW she has written in her agenda.
Help your child learn to “guesstimate” how long each assignment will take. Write the guesstimated time at the top of the paper. See if she can “beat the clock”. You will need to use a silent timer for this.
Do the assignments that are easiest first and get them out of the way.

Set up a reward chart for following through with HW for the week. Agree on
what the reward will be. You must include your child on this…she will only work for something that she cares about. This should be something like
having a friend over on Satuday or a trip to Brusters…NOT big rewards.

I hope this helps!
Gayle Born

]]> By: Michelle Cooper http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/index.php/201001/keeping-students-organized-for-academic-success/comment-page-1/#comment-99 Michelle Cooper Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:38:35 +0000 http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/?p=766#comment-99 Julie, For children such as your daughter, timers are a must! You and she need to first come up with an agreed upon time frame for how long of a break she gets when she comes home. If she needs breaks while doing her homework, that's fine. Some kids need that break and then are able to refocus back on their studies to be more productive. Set a rule that she will study for 20 minutes, then gets a 10 minute break - or whatever the 2 of you agree upon. Set the timer for the start of each period, including the breaks! When the timer goes off, it's time for the next segment. Reward her for following these guidelines and respecting the timer. Good luck! Michelle Cooper Julie,
For children such as your daughter, timers are a must! You and she need to first come up with an agreed upon time frame for how long of a break she gets when she comes home. If she needs breaks while doing her homework, that’s fine. Some kids need that break and then are able to refocus back on their studies to be more productive. Set a rule that she will study for 20 minutes, then gets a 10 minute break – or whatever the 2 of you agree upon. Set the timer for the start of each period, including the breaks! When the timer goes off, it’s time for the next segment. Reward her for following these guidelines and respecting the timer. Good luck!

Michelle Cooper

]]> By: Amy B. Sherman, SLP http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/index.php/201001/keeping-students-organized-for-academic-success/comment-page-1/#comment-96 Amy B. Sherman, SLP Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:17:41 +0000 http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/?p=766#comment-96 Julie, I wanted to take a moment to answer your excellent question. I do agree that everyone needs a break after working so hard to focus and "get through the day" of school. Having a good, nutritional snack (apple w/peanut butter, a turkey roll-up) will be important and then give her a set, timed amount to do something enjoyable. So that it does not fall on you as the "bad guy" telling her fun is over, set a timer. When it goes off, homework begins. BUT, she gets to have a plan of what she'll get to do (she chooses within your guidelines) when the "Homework Harry alarm/timer" goes off. There is a reward or break for her for staying on task and getting something done! Another thought is to have an open discussion as to WHY she has a hard time getting started and staying on task w/work. There may actually be a physical reason that needs attention. Getting to the bottom of the "problem" may require testing and even looking at her vision and visual processing, and possibly looking into some training (I highly recommend Learning Rx program). I hope this feedback is helpful! I wish you success with this process! Julie, I wanted to take a moment to answer your excellent question. I do agree that everyone needs a break after working so hard to focus and “get through the day” of school. Having a good, nutritional snack (apple w/peanut butter, a turkey roll-up) will be important and then give her a set, timed amount to do something enjoyable. So that it does not fall on you as the “bad guy” telling her fun is over, set a timer. When it goes off, homework begins. BUT, she gets to have a plan of what she’ll get to do (she chooses within your guidelines) when the “Homework Harry alarm/timer” goes off. There is a reward or break for her for staying on task and getting something done! Another thought is to have an open discussion as to WHY she has a hard time getting started and staying on task w/work. There may actually be a physical reason that needs attention. Getting to the bottom of the “problem” may require testing and even looking at her vision and visual processing, and possibly looking into some training (I highly recommend Learning Rx program). I hope this feedback is helpful! I wish you success with this process!

]]> By: Montie Stone http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/index.php/201001/keeping-students-organized-for-academic-success/comment-page-1/#comment-94 Montie Stone Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:44:20 +0000 http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/?p=766#comment-94 This is a common problem yet it is difficult to answer. Each child is so different that I can only offer what works for my 4th grade daughter. Like your child, she needs a break after school. I make sure this break has a definite end time so she knows ahead of time when she needs to start her homework. A short break is best so she does not get too involved in another more enjoyable activity. I usually give her a healthy snack and let her watch one 1/2 hour television program. Before she starts her homework I have her tell me what she has to do. This gives her a chance to think through what is ahead and which she wants to tackle first. We also talk about what she wants to do when she finishes so she has something to look forward to. 4th grade was a huge adjustment for us. This is the first year that she switches classes, has 3 teachers and much more homework. We began the year with many meltdowns and tears shed. Once she realized that homework was a reality that she had to face and that play afterwards was still possible, our days became much more peaceful. Establishing a routine and a reward system has been my solution. Many children find security and are more focused once they have set times and places in which they can work. This is a common problem yet it is difficult to answer. Each child is so different that I can only offer what works for my 4th grade daughter.

Like your child, she needs a break after school. I make sure this break has a definite end time so she knows ahead of time when she needs to start her homework. A short break is best so she does not get too involved in another more enjoyable activity. I usually give her a healthy snack and let her watch one 1/2 hour television program.

Before she starts her homework I have her tell me what she has to do. This gives her a chance to think through what is ahead and which she wants to tackle first. We also talk about what she wants to do when she finishes so she has something to look forward to.

4th grade was a huge adjustment for us. This is the first year that she switches classes, has 3 teachers and much more homework. We began the year with many meltdowns and tears shed. Once she realized that homework was a reality that she had to face and that play afterwards was still possible, our days became much more peaceful.

Establishing a routine and a reward system has been my solution. Many children find security and are more focused once they have set times and places in which they can work.

]]> By: Julie Corsini http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/index.php/201001/keeping-students-organized-for-academic-success/comment-page-1/#comment-91 Julie Corsini Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:28:47 +0000 http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/?p=766#comment-91 do you have any tips for getting my 4th grader to stay on task while doing homework. she wants a break when she comes from school but difficult to get her started and stay on task. any suggestions? do you have any tips for getting my 4th grader to stay on task while doing homework. she wants a break when she comes from school but difficult to get her started and stay on task. any suggestions?

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