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Post by dockmaster on May 15, 2020 2:00:41 GMT
I go to college full time and when they closed the colleges we all went to on line. I had 3 teachers who didn't change much at all. 1 was a hybrid class that was half online anyway, the other was college algebra. My aldgebra teacher just moved his lecture to a video conference call and we carried on smartly.
My other 2 classes were a nightmare. I dropped the Anthopology class when he told is if we needed to contact him to call his son's phone and leave a message. The world lit teacher changed from us writing 4 papers for the semester to a paper a week. It was like she thought we had nothing better to do than write for her class. Oh and she never graded anything. When I uploaded my final on Monday I had know idea where I stood in her class.
All this to say, some teachers don't realize how much work they are giving. He is probably overwelmed, I know I was reading his daily list
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paigepea
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Post by paigepea on May 15, 2020 2:30:02 GMT
That is a lot of work for one day, IMO. I mentioned on another thread that parents - through no fault of their own - have no idea of the role that small group/peer teaching plays in chugging a class through the day. Kids get a lot of social interaction through asking each other what page was that on, how do we do this, etc. They will ask each other even if they already know, just to have that little interaction. They need it. That's not to fault parents or teachers or anyone for the things that are going on right now, but it's a simple fact that most kids that age do not really work independently, especially day after day and week after week like this. Modern elementary classrooms are rarely completely quiet (as perhaps some of us remember them being from our own school days). Kids are encouraged to share their work, ask questions of each other, etc. - it's all part of the student-led, inquiry-based learning approach that we use in modern education. So my guess is your son is missing that aspect of being in school, even though he can't necessarily verbalize that's what he misses. (I could never have homeschooled my kids. I would not enjoy sitting there with my kids while they work. I enjoy starting the lesson, leading the large group, and then listening in on student interactions as they learn from each other. I'm there to guide and correct if needed, not usually to act as a student's peer in the learning process.) I realize none of this is particularly helpful to you except perhaps as an insight into what is going on. Is it possible for him to work with his school friends via a small group Zoom call? Maybe that would help with the activities he least enjoys. My dd 11 does this. She’ll sit with a friend on FaceTime for an hour not talking but with both of them doing work.
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paigepea
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Post by paigepea on May 15, 2020 2:31:18 GMT
I’ve heard from a friend with a ds who is 9 that a dad arranged a zoom call with a few friends for them to get together and do their homework / ask each other questions. This might be worth trying once or twice a week to see if it helps.
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paigepea
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Post by paigepea on May 15, 2020 2:35:02 GMT
I’m not sure it’s an appropriate expectation to want an 8 yr old to do his work on his own. When people ask this question in homeschool groups, the unanimous answer is parents sit with elementary kids while they work. I don’t expect him to do the entire day on his own, but if I could get him started on something and then be in the vicinity while he finishes so that I could answer questions, that would be fine. That is how it was for the most part (besides the hugs during the videos) in the beginning. Maybe in the beginning the concepts were things they had worked on at school and now it is new, especially math? But that doesn’t explain why he doesn’t want to watch other videos, read, write spelling words, etc. As of right now I do still sit with him but he is refusing to start or complete the work. Last night I tried to have dh work with him since he had refused all day, but that didn’t go well, either. Their day looks like this: Daily video from the teacher explaining what they will do that day and a question of the day to respond to. Reading (for today)-practice spelling words, watch a video about possessive nouns then do the accompanying worksheet; read a story from their anthology book; read 20 min; optional videos about being an astronaut. Writing—daily journal prompt Math—watch video and do worksheets; math facts practice Social/science—watch a video about seeds and how they travel; check in on the seeds the class is growing Specialists (music, reading and gym) all have activities to complete. Besides the videos, their work is all done on paper. This sounds like a lot of independent work. I would guess your son is missing synchronous work with his peers / teachers. It’s a lot easier to be motivated when everyone is in the same boat. It’s nice the school is providing the work but too bad none of it is synchronous. Independent work is easier when mixed with synchronous time / fun time with classmates and teachers.
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Post by silverlining on May 15, 2020 3:17:20 GMT
That seems like a lot for an 8-year old. It might be possible with a parent sitting with him, but you have 4 kids and a job and a dh who's gone during the day. I feel like you need a break and so does your son.
I would think about what skills my kid really needed to work on daily, and focus on those in 15 minute bursts. And then think about a way maybe to individualize it a little bit. If the reading anthology is boring for him, could he practice reading by reading Sports Illustrated for Kids, or a simple biography of a baseball player? If the math facts worksheets get tedious, could he play yahtzee and add up his own score? If the journal prompt isn't appealing today, could he write about being jealous of his brother?
If this is not for credit, I think you should be kind to yourself and to him. Talk to him about what's most important to learn, and the different ways he can learn it. He's young and you don't want him to hate learning just cause he doesn't like this style of learning, and you don't want these long days at home to be full of power struggles.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on May 15, 2020 3:58:23 GMT
Where does he do his work at? Would a "special" location help him? Make him a desk area that looks like yours? Do you make a big deal about it being schooltime? Or maybe flip it and tell him he's now employed and has to work from home. (I forget how they are at 8 so feel free to tell me to shut it ) We had been doing it in the kitchen. We start at the same time that my other kids start, although they are all in separate parts of the house. Late last week he wanted to do his work in the living room so I have been letting him do that because at first he seemed more focused when sitting in the living room chair. But now I am not sure about that. I think having the dedicated spot with his supplies all together was better. I bought the timer that paigepea suggested so hopefully that helps. I think it will be good for setting limits on other things as well.
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Post by cade387 on May 15, 2020 4:21:33 GMT
Try giving him breaks in between subjects. Maybe start with an easy subject. For my 7 year old the easiest is spelling. So I would tell him, “do your spelling and then you can take a 15 min break on your tablet” or some other highly preferred item. Set a timer. When the timer goes off he has to hand the tablet over, and start another school work. After he does that one, another 15 min break. Once all the school work is done for the day he gets to do whatever. If he doesn’t do his homework he doesn’t get access to his highly preferred item(s). Try again tomorrow. Don’t cave, don’t give free access to those highly preferred items if he fails to work. He will come around. We have been doing this for 8 weeks. Still a nightmare scream fest most of the day.
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Post by aprilfay21 on May 15, 2020 14:27:25 GMT
My 3rd grader (9 in 3 weeks) is doing the same exact thing. I know part of it is his anxiety, and I believe some mild depression from all of this, and severely missing his friends and teachers. It doesn't help that his siblings at home are all younger and aren't doing work like he is. He literally cries at the drop of a hat and mopes all day long. He has 4 days left to get caught up on a 2 inch thick stack of assignments.
It's really hard because we own 2 businesses and have 3 other small children at home (11 months, 3.5y, and 5.5y) so I can't just sit with him like he wants me to.
His reality is he may be repeating 3rd grade. :-(
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