Day 132
15/09/09 10:11 Filed in: Diary
How do you motivate your child to want to learn? At what age does it become more critical? Do you actively encourage them to learn by giving them extra lessons or do you just let them play and find their own way?
The girls both seemed in a good mood today when I collected them from school. Their high spirits seemed to diminish though as we got further down the road. Maybe school is better than being at home? Then again...read on!
Youngest started walking more slowly, (maybe she still needs the buggy sometimes?), and eldest started avoiding any questions about school. When I asked eldest about her swimming lesson she said it was boring. When I looked in her bag to check for any school letters I saw she had no reading book in there. When I asked her abut it she said she left it at school. She couldn't be bothered to bring it home! I must admit at that point I started on a bit of a rant. Telling her how important learning and school is and how without it she would be lost.
I find these conversations are becoming more and more regular and I don't know how to tackle it. I keep trying to impress on her that if she didn't do maths, or numeracy, as they call it now, she wouldn't be able to count her pocket money and wouldn't know what she could buy with it. If she didn't do reading, or literacy, she wouldn't be able to read books or road signs or anything. However no matter how necessary I try to make school sound she just isn't enthusiastic.
Don't get me wrong she doesn't hate school. She loves seeing her friends and even likes some of the lessons. However she won't admit it most of the time. If you ask her what her favourite lesson is she will often say break time. Eventually when pushed she will say she likes design and technology and working on the computers.
She is doing alright at her lessons and tests but not brilliantly. She seems to have the imagination for writing, but does not take the care to make sure her spelling and punctuation is correct. She struggles with her maths a bit. Finding it difficult to do simple arithmetic sometimes. I can't tell if she struggles because she just doesn't get it. The wiring in her brain hasn't made enough connections for her to grasp it all yet, and maybe they never will. Or whether she is just disinterested and apathetic.
When I ask her about it she claims she does listen to the teacher and concentrate on whats being said but she doesn't always understand. However I know her previous teacher believed she kept going off into a world of her own. One of her biggest problems when it comes to tests is her speed. She takes too long writing a story or answering the maths questions that she never finishes the test. So even if the work that she has done is brilliant she can never get very good marks when the teacher or examiner has only a partial answer to go on.
So how can I get her to speed up, concentrate on the task in hand and be more enthusiastic? I have looked at web sites for inspiration. After all she does like going on the computer. We even found one recently that concentrates on maths in a fun way. First of all she tried it at the level they quoted as right for her age. She struggled to do the questions. I know that if she is struggling and nobody is with her she will give up and drift onto looking at something else. So I dropped the level of difficulty right down and stayed with her while she did it. She did start to pick it up quickly and we were soon able to take it to the correct level again. Although she was reluctant to do so, preferring to stay on a level that she knew she could do, even though it meant there was little or no challenge in it for her. After a while we had to stop doing it because it was bed time. We haven't been back on it since. There was nothing wrong with it. The opportunity just hasn't been there. Maybe that is part of the problem. Maybe I am just as much to blame for not consistently getting her to do new challenges. For allowing her to just play with her sister when she comes home. The trouble is I am always in a dilemma regarding how much to push her. She is only eight. Should she be allowed to just play whatever she wants when she is at home? Or should we as parents be encouraging her to improve herself all, or at least some, of the time? Even if it means we have to work with her to do it and we also have to find something for youngest to do. Maybe I need to start dedicating one of the evenings after school to fun learning. Find ways to improve her abilities and concentration but in a fun way. It will mean I have to sacrifice some TV time whilst I catch up on the business work I will have missed, but that is a small price to pay if it means eldest has a better time in school and a better start in life. I know nowadays that having qualifications doesn't guarantee you a good well paid job, or even one that you enjoy, but it still has to be better than having none at all, doesn't it?
If anyone has any proven ideas of how to encourage a young child to learn please let me know. Or if you have encountered similar issues yourself add your comments and we can ponder the problem together.
Youngest started walking more slowly, (maybe she still needs the buggy sometimes?), and eldest started avoiding any questions about school. When I asked eldest about her swimming lesson she said it was boring. When I looked in her bag to check for any school letters I saw she had no reading book in there. When I asked her abut it she said she left it at school. She couldn't be bothered to bring it home! I must admit at that point I started on a bit of a rant. Telling her how important learning and school is and how without it she would be lost.
I find these conversations are becoming more and more regular and I don't know how to tackle it. I keep trying to impress on her that if she didn't do maths, or numeracy, as they call it now, she wouldn't be able to count her pocket money and wouldn't know what she could buy with it. If she didn't do reading, or literacy, she wouldn't be able to read books or road signs or anything. However no matter how necessary I try to make school sound she just isn't enthusiastic.
Don't get me wrong she doesn't hate school. She loves seeing her friends and even likes some of the lessons. However she won't admit it most of the time. If you ask her what her favourite lesson is she will often say break time. Eventually when pushed she will say she likes design and technology and working on the computers.
She is doing alright at her lessons and tests but not brilliantly. She seems to have the imagination for writing, but does not take the care to make sure her spelling and punctuation is correct. She struggles with her maths a bit. Finding it difficult to do simple arithmetic sometimes. I can't tell if she struggles because she just doesn't get it. The wiring in her brain hasn't made enough connections for her to grasp it all yet, and maybe they never will. Or whether she is just disinterested and apathetic.
When I ask her about it she claims she does listen to the teacher and concentrate on whats being said but she doesn't always understand. However I know her previous teacher believed she kept going off into a world of her own. One of her biggest problems when it comes to tests is her speed. She takes too long writing a story or answering the maths questions that she never finishes the test. So even if the work that she has done is brilliant she can never get very good marks when the teacher or examiner has only a partial answer to go on.
So how can I get her to speed up, concentrate on the task in hand and be more enthusiastic? I have looked at web sites for inspiration. After all she does like going on the computer. We even found one recently that concentrates on maths in a fun way. First of all she tried it at the level they quoted as right for her age. She struggled to do the questions. I know that if she is struggling and nobody is with her she will give up and drift onto looking at something else. So I dropped the level of difficulty right down and stayed with her while she did it. She did start to pick it up quickly and we were soon able to take it to the correct level again. Although she was reluctant to do so, preferring to stay on a level that she knew she could do, even though it meant there was little or no challenge in it for her. After a while we had to stop doing it because it was bed time. We haven't been back on it since. There was nothing wrong with it. The opportunity just hasn't been there. Maybe that is part of the problem. Maybe I am just as much to blame for not consistently getting her to do new challenges. For allowing her to just play with her sister when she comes home. The trouble is I am always in a dilemma regarding how much to push her. She is only eight. Should she be allowed to just play whatever she wants when she is at home? Or should we as parents be encouraging her to improve herself all, or at least some, of the time? Even if it means we have to work with her to do it and we also have to find something for youngest to do. Maybe I need to start dedicating one of the evenings after school to fun learning. Find ways to improve her abilities and concentration but in a fun way. It will mean I have to sacrifice some TV time whilst I catch up on the business work I will have missed, but that is a small price to pay if it means eldest has a better time in school and a better start in life. I know nowadays that having qualifications doesn't guarantee you a good well paid job, or even one that you enjoy, but it still has to be better than having none at all, doesn't it?
If anyone has any proven ideas of how to encourage a young child to learn please let me know. Or if you have encountered similar issues yourself add your comments and we can ponder the problem together.
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