Children with bursting lights of energy are full of ideas. Those with verbal capabilities can express their theories regarding the conversations and behaviors of children and adults surrounding them. They have ideas for how things work together. They also have hypotheses about why things may not work together in different contexts. It’s quite fascinating. These same children want to test their hypotheses in the process of answering a question on their homework assignments. While their desire to experiment and iterate is honorable, getting them back on track to complete their assignment can be difficult – and even exhausting – for some parents. Today’s article will help you assist your child to get back on track during homework time. But here’s the thing: the solutions I offer in this article are not quick fixes to attention differences, daydreaming, “avoidance rituals,” or “stalling procedures.” My solutions honor the child and the adult working with them. They also require forethought and consistency. Every tip I’m offering you, I do with my students.
Let’s get into them.
Play a pre-homework game of chaos, rigidity, and calm.
It’s like Simon Says, but the children (usually ages 6 to 8) show you what chaos looks like, what rigidity looks like, and what calm looks like. This is very important because it helps them practice shifting gears physically, which is a manifestation of cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility aids children in exploring alternatives to reaching their goal. [1] This activity also relies on self-control, a very important skill and attribute for reaching goals. [2] Shifting between the movements helps children build internal self-awareness. With internal self-awareness, children pair self-control with self-knowledge to create results [3]. At 6-, 7-, and 8-years old, many high-energy children are still learning what the movement differences feel like in their bodies. Knowing the difference helps them to be conscious of their movement.
Use the pre-homework game warm-up to help kids practice getting back to center during homework time.
When your child is aware of the different states, you can use the name of these physical states to draw their attention to their bodies and reactivate for the task. For example, when your child starts to talk about doing something else while doing homework, call a brain break. Tell them to show you chaos. Chaos is totally wild and gets the energy out. Rigidity is stiff. They can pretend to be frozen, a dead bug, or a dry noodle. Calm is peaceful. They can show you their moves. I demonstrate rowing my boat gently down the stream. When you see them getting wiggly, name it and tell them how much time you have left before homework time is finished. Remind children they are “running towards the finish line.” It’s an encouraging reminder for them and for you.
Take note of the statements your child expresses when they are veering away from the homework topic. Writing down what they say helps you to prepare a response that is thoughtful, immediate, and effective. The more you prepare, the more effective you’ll be. You know what your child needs to hear to get back on track. But if you’re using too many words when redirecting, use less words. I also recommend using “let’s” statements. These statements include but are not limited to, “Let’s stay on track.” “Let’s focus for the next 6 minutes.” “Let’s slow down and understand the question.” Using the word “let’s” signals co-learning and a shared experience to your child. It’s emotionally enriching.
Limit unrelated questions and answers to 120 seconds to teach prioritization and task completion. When your child is recalling information and connects it to the homework, she may say something like, “This reminds me of…” Ask her what it reminds her of. Remember, we want children to practice remembering. (See my last article, Power Up for Homework Time with Pre-Homework Conversations.) Like ours, their brains seek patterns and generate patterns while creating meaning of the content. [3, 4] If your child says, “This reminds me something my teacher said,” let her expound. Ask what and when questions to help memory recall. It could help you complete the homework.
Observe your child when he says, “What if we try it this way?” Give him one or two minutes to show you this idea if your patience permits. The idea may relate, and you could be pleasantly surprised. You can also ask, “Will this help us complete the homework? Or will it take us off track?” This type of inquiry helps the child consider the value of his solution as it relates to the homework. Their effort to answer is a demonstration of higher-level thinking development. Affirm that you want to hear his idea, but you want to complete the assignment first. That way, he can share afterwards.
My next article will help you help your older children in middle school and high school build self-awareness and cognitive flexibility with physical agility exercises.
Sources:
- Wang, S & Aamodt. S. (2012) Welcome to Your Child’s Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College Bloomsbury USA.
- Knapp-Ines, K. S. (2024) Executive Functioning: Helping Children Learn Skills for Life. https://www.brownhealth.org/be-well/executive-functioning-helping-children-learn-skills-life
- Baniel, A. (2012) Kids Beyond Limits: Breakthrough results for children with autism, Asperger’s, brain damage, ADHD, and undiagnosed developmental delays. Penguin Group USA.
- Mattson, M. P. (2014) Superior pattern processing is the essence of the evolved human brain. Frontiers in Neuroscience doi: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00265
- Caine, R. N., Caine, G., McClintic, C., and Klimek, K. J. (2015) 12 Brain/Mind Learning Principles in Action. Corwin 2015.
Ashley M. Blanco 