Some children can finish an hour’s worth of reading in half an hour, and others can turn a ten minute writing assignment into an hour’s work. Children work at different speeds. Some are quick, and others who seem slow, are actually very methodical learners who need to work things out in their heads before they share it with you. How can you as the homeschooling teacher help speed up such children? Here are a few ideas that may work.
Use a Timer
Methodical thinkers will try and work out all the possibilities in their head before completing the task at hand. When they are aware that they have a limited time available to complete the task they will work in the time given to them. Although while some homeschool students seem to find timers a useful tool to organize their time, others find it stressful to run against the timer and can not focus on what they need to do. Use a timer once or twice to figure out which way your children react before you decide to use it regularly.
The Reward Bribe
The incentive of a reward for completing the work in a specified time limit may also work well with some students. This bribe could be something as simple as a special treat for lunch, or something as methodical as adding a dollar towards saving for a toy they may want to buy. The idea is to give them specific time blocks such as half an hour to finish a word puzzle, or one hour to write a book report, and when they manage to complete the task in the allotted time they become eligible for the reward.
Follow the Check List
When they know the exact structure of the day and what all they need to learn, such children may be able to focus their attention better on the tasks that they need to accomplish. It may be worth the time it takes to type out and print a daily assignment sheet and hand it over to the homeschool student who tends to be a little slow. Try it out in the classroom for a couple of days to see if it works.
