Concentration Hacks I Wanna Try to Help Make Homework Less of a Struggle

We have two kids that are nine and seven-years-old and both are starting to get really busy with homework and sometimes it goes really smoothly but last night it was not, It was HELL!!!!! 


They came home and were acting like nuts, the only logical answer for it being so hard last night was there was a full moon or they were fed an entire cake from Costco at school.

 Isaac had spelling words, probably 20 words and what should have taken five minutes ended up taking an hour.

Olivia is in fourth grade which means she has 30 minutes of homework a night and it was such a pain I'm now not even sure if she actually got it done. Since I'm pretty sure my computer and phones listen to everything going on in our house an article popped up with some great advice for helping kids concentrate with some good lifehacks. 

  • Set up “Work Hour” for the whole family - Remember sitting in crowded dorm room study halls back in college? Create that same energizing environment at home by having everyone sit together and quietly work independently.
  • Give your kids “complaining minutes” - When your kids are whining and need a release, give them one “complaining minute” to get it out. Set the timer and for 60 seconds they can vent about anything they want, but when time’s up, it’s back to work - no moaning allowed.
  • Change up the environment - If your kid is feeling fidgety or stuck working at their desk, let them try a out new location around the house for a change. Study coach Ana Mascara says switching environments also helps the brain realize what you’re studying is important. And a change of scenery is always nice.
  • Let your kid be Batman - No, really, literally let your child wear a superhero cape. A study finds that when four- and six-year-olds dressed as a familiar character, they stuck with a repetitive task significantly longer.
  • Try the Pencil Game - Child psychologist William Hudenkosuggests the refocusing technique and it’s pretty simple. Give your child a set of two or three pencils and teach them to switch them when they’re feeling distracted. It’s not about which pencil they use, but changing them tells the brain, “Oh, I’m distracted, I need to get focused again.”
  • Put homework time immediately after play time - Study after study shows academic improvement and exercise are linked. Let your kid run around and play for half an hour, then once the wiggles are out, they’ll be more ready to hit the books.

Lifehacker


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