How to motivate?

November 8, 2006

Hi,

Let me get straight to the point. How do I motivate Amita to finish

her work and just be interested and motivated at school? She is

staring around sitting at her desk or just dreaming or doodling but

not completing her task. Intense prodding seems to be necessary. Of

course she has a short attention span when it is not of interest to

her otherwise she will sit and read for hours. Academically she is Ok

right now but she can shine if she gets this. It is intensely

frustrating for us. Can you guys come up with some creative solutions

for me?Or maybe you already do something creatively encouraging?

Let me know.

Deepta

Mom to 2nd grader Amita

November 8, 2006

Deepta,

Kennedy and I " play school " . When she comes home, she has play time for 20

minutes. She needs that de-stress after working so hard at school. We have

a bell, when the bell rings, she knows it's time for " school " . She even

calls me Mrs. Weir (she came up with that). We do one subject (she usually

has about 5 subjects per night), or two if they're really short, then it's

" recess " and she runs downstairs to play for recess. I set the bell for

another 15 minutes or so, start supper, etc and when the bell rings, she

knows it's time for " school " again. I also have lots of stickers for her

and give her constant positive specific feedback , for example " I love the

way you're sitting up so straight and paying attention " or " You did an

excellent job making that e only half a space, way to go! " . She is a sucker

for positive feedback, so I use that a lot.

You could also try chunking it up more so that she can more easily see a

light at the end of the tunnel, for example, if she has 4 questions, tell

her " okay, let's do number 1 & 2 and then have a five minute break " . During

the break, you could do something really fun with her or let her do

something she loves alone while you work on something else. I find frequent

breaks are the key for Kennedy to get it all done as she usually has close

to 45 mins-1 hr per night of homework (gr. 3).

I also use a slant board from her vision teacher to prop books up for her, I

might help her organize her page a bit to make things a little easier (put

the numbers of the questions down the side, draw columns for her so she can

more easily visually see what goes where, etc). Just little things that

don't take away from the actual content of what she has to do, it just helps

her get it done a bit quicker as she might take significantly longer to do

those little " organizing " type things as other children at home. I know she

does them independently at school so it's not like I'm not letting her learn

those skills but we also have to have a home life of sorts!

Other times, when K is way off task, or asking repeteadly " can I play? can I

play now? " I will get out a paper, and tell her for every five minutes she

works and doesn't ask, she gets a " play sticker " and that equals extra

recess time (1-2 minutes per sticker depending on how much we have to get

done). I very quietly but very visually go over and emphatically place

another sticker on the paper so she notices and she quickly puts her head

right back down and gets back to work to earn more " play time " . This won't

work for everyone and it's only when I need it really bad that I use it, but

it works for us. It could be used to earn Amita " whatever " time depending

on what she likes.

Hope these help a bit!

www.chargesyndrome.info

>

> Hi,

> Let me get straight to the point. How do I motivate Amita to finish

> her work and just be interested and motivated at school? She is

> staring around sitting at her desk or just dreaming or doodling but

> not completing her task. Intense prodding seems to be necessary. Of

> course she has a short attention span when it is not of interest to

> her otherwise she will sit and read for hours. Academically she is Ok

> right now but she can shine if she gets this. It is intensely

> frustrating for us. Can you guys come up with some creative solutions

> for me?Or maybe you already do something creatively encouraging?

> Let me know.

> Deepta

> Mom to 2nd grader Amita

>

--

" It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in

delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. " --Carl Sagan

November 8, 2006

Hi,

Love your suggestions.I do help her with columns/organizing etc at

home. I think that like you implementing a consistent reward system

would help her at home. She is having the same problem at school. Do

you have any suggestions for that? I may just need to sit down with

her teacher and come up with some reward system for her class/ seat

work.

Thanks again. I worry too much and then when her teacher mentioned

it again!! this morning,I was just feeling very frustrated. After

all its just 2nd grade. I think I need to relax and reCHARGE and

restart.Please do post any suggestions that you have for school also.

Deepta

> >

> > Hi,

> > Let me get straight to the point. How do I motivate Amita to

finish

> > her work and just be interested and motivated at school? She is

> > staring around sitting at her desk or just dreaming or doodling

but

> > not completing her task. Intense prodding seems to be necessary.

Of

> > course she has a short attention span when it is not of interest

to

> > her otherwise she will sit and read for hours. Academically she

is Ok

> > right now but she can shine if she gets this. It is intensely

> > frustrating for us. Can you guys come up with some creative

solutions

> > for me?Or maybe you already do something creatively encouraging?

> > Let me know.

> > Deepta

> > Mom to 2nd grader Amita

> >

>

> --

> " It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to

persist in

> delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. " --Carl Sagan

>

November 8, 2006

,

You are brilliant!

pam

> Deepta,

> Kennedy and I " play school " . When she comes home, she has play time for 20

> minutes. She needs that de-stress after working so hard at school. We have

> a bell, when the bell rings, she knows it's time for " school " . She even

> calls me Mrs. Weir (she came up with that). We do one subject (she usually

> has about 5 subjects per night), or two if they're really short, then it's

> " recess " and she runs downstairs to play for recess. I set the bell for

> another 15 minutes or so, start supper, etc and when the bell rings, she

> knows it's time for " school " again. I also have lots of stickers for her

> and give her constant positive specific feedback , for example " I love the

> way you're sitting up so straight and paying attention " or " You did an

> excellent job making that e only half a space, way to go! " . She is a sucker

> for positive feedback, so I use that a lot.

>

> You could also try chunking it up more so that she can more easily see a

> light at the end of the tunnel, for example, if she has 4 questions, tell

> her " okay, let's do number 1 & 2 and then have a five minute break " . During

> the break, you could do something really fun with her or let her do

> something she loves alone while you work on something else. I find frequent

> breaks are the key for Kennedy to get it all done as she usually has close

> to 45 mins-1 hr per night of homework (gr. 3).

>

> I also use a slant board from her vision teacher to prop books up for her, I

> might help her organize her page a bit to make things a little easier (put

> the numbers of the questions down the side, draw columns for her so she can

> more easily visually see what goes where, etc). Just little things that

> don't take away from the actual content of what she has to do, it just helps

> her get it done a bit quicker as she might take significantly longer to do

> those little " organizing " type things as other children at home. I know she

> does them independently at school so it's not like I'm not letting her learn

> those skills but we also have to have a home life of sorts!

>

> Other times, when K is way off task, or asking repeteadly " can I play? can I

> play now? " I will get out a paper, and tell her for every five minutes she

> works and doesn't ask, she gets a " play sticker " and that equals extra

> recess time (1-2 minutes per sticker depending on how much we have to get

> done). I very quietly but very visually go over and emphatically place

> another sticker on the paper so she notices and she quickly puts her head

> right back down and gets back to work to earn more " play time " . This won't

> work for everyone and it's only when I need it really bad that I use it, but

> it works for us. It could be used to earn Amita " whatever " time depending

> on what she likes.

>

> Hope these help a bit!

>

> www.chargesyndrome.info

>

>>

>> Hi,

>> Let me get straight to the point. How do I motivate Amita to finish

>> her work and just be interested and motivated at school? She is

>> staring around sitting at her desk or just dreaming or doodling but

>> not completing her task. Intense prodding seems to be necessary. Of

>> course she has a short attention span when it is not of interest to

>> her otherwise she will sit and read for hours. Academically she is Ok

>> right now but she can shine if she gets this. It is intensely

>> frustrating for us. Can you guys come up with some creative solutions

>> for me?Or maybe you already do something creatively encouraging?

>> Let me know.

>> Deepta

>> Mom to 2nd grader Amita

>>

>

--

Pamela J. , M.A., CAGS

Licensed Educational Psychologist

Deafblind Program

Perkins School for the Blind

175 N. Beacon St.

Watertown, MA 02472

November 8, 2006

Thanks Deepta & Pamela!

Deepta, find out what is a reinforcer for her (reading, watching TV,

computer time, etc) and even if you just give a " little " reward time in

between productive chunks of work, I'm sure it will help as it gives her

something to work for. You want her to approach those positive rewards and

not have her worry about avoiding negative ones!!

Hope this helps, I'll post more later (my parents are on their way bringing

my birthday supper so I need to clean - ACK!!!)

>

> ,

> You are brilliant!

> pam

>

> On 11/8/06 11:45 AM, " Weir " <kawfolks@...<kawfolks%40gmail.com>>

> wrote:

>

> > Deepta,

> > Kennedy and I " play school " . When she comes home, she has play time for

> 20

> > minutes. She needs that de-stress after working so hard at school. We

> have

> > a bell, when the bell rings, she knows it's time for " school " . She even

> > calls me Mrs. Weir (she came up with that). We do one subject (she

> usually

> > has about 5 subjects per night), or two if they're really short, then

> it's

> > " recess " and she runs downstairs to play for recess. I set the bell for

> > another 15 minutes or so, start supper, etc and when the bell rings, she

> > knows it's time for " school " again. I also have lots of stickers for her

> > and give her constant positive specific feedback , for example " I love

> the

> > way you're sitting up so straight and paying attention " or " You did an

> > excellent job making that e only half a space, way to go! " . She is a

> sucker

> > for positive feedback, so I use that a lot.

> >

> > You could also try chunking it up more so that she can more easily see a

> > light at the end of the tunnel, for example, if she has 4 questions,

> tell

> > her " okay, let's do number 1 & 2 and then have a five minute break " .

> During

> > the break, you could do something really fun with her or let her do

> > something she loves alone while you work on something else. I find

> frequent

> > breaks are the key for Kennedy to get it all done as she usually has

> close

> > to 45 mins-1 hr per night of homework (gr. 3).

> >

> > I also use a slant board from her vision teacher to prop books up for

> her, I

> > might help her organize her page a bit to make things a little easier

> (put

> > the numbers of the questions down the side, draw columns for her so she

> can

> > more easily visually see what goes where, etc). Just little things that

> > don't take away from the actual content of what she has to do, it just

> helps

> > her get it done a bit quicker as she might take significantly longer to

> do

> > those little " organizing " type things as other children at home. I know

> she

> > does them independently at school so it's not like I'm not letting her

> learn

> > those skills but we also have to have a home life of sorts!

> >

> > Other times, when K is way off task, or asking repeteadly " can I play?

> can I

> > play now? " I will get out a paper, and tell her for every five minutes

> she

> > works and doesn't ask, she gets a " play sticker " and that equals extra

> > recess time (1-2 minutes per sticker depending on how much we have to

> get

> > done). I very quietly but very visually go over and emphatically place

> > another sticker on the paper so she notices and she quickly puts her

> head

> > right back down and gets back to work to earn more " play time " . This

> won't

> > work for everyone and it's only when I need it really bad that I use it,

> but

> > it works for us. It could be used to earn Amita " whatever " time

> depending

> > on what she likes.

> >

> > Hope these help a bit!

> >

> > www.chargesyndrome.info

> >

> > On 11/8/06, deepta_69 <deepta_69@... <deepta_69%40yahoo.com>>

> wrote:

> >>

> >> Hi,

> >> Let me get straight to the point. How do I motivate Amita to finish

> >> her work and just be interested and motivated at school? She is

> >> staring around sitting at her desk or just dreaming or doodling but

> >> not completing her task. Intense prodding seems to be necessary. Of

> >> course she has a short attention span when it is not of interest to

> >> her otherwise she will sit and read for hours. Academically she is Ok

> >> right now but she can shine if she gets this. It is intensely

> >> frustrating for us. Can you guys come up with some creative solutions

> >> for me?Or maybe you already do something creatively encouraging?

> >> Let me know.

> >> Deepta

> >> Mom to 2nd grader Amita

> >>

> >

>

> --

> Pamela J. , M.A., CAGS

> Licensed Educational Psychologist

> Deafblind Program

> Perkins School for the Blind

> 175 N. Beacon St.

> Watertown, MA 02472

>

--

" It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in

delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. " --Carl Sagan

November 8, 2006

Today is your birthday????

How did you keep that a secret from us? Happy birthday, oh one who keeps us

in order.

pam

>

> Thanks Deepta & Pamela!

> Deepta, find out what is a reinforcer for her (reading, watching TV,

> computer time, etc) and even if you just give a " little " reward time in

> between productive chunks of work, I'm sure it will help as it gives her

> something to work for. You want her to approach those positive rewards and

> not have her worry about avoiding negative ones!!

> Hope this helps, I'll post more later (my parents are on their way bringing

> my birthday supper so I need to clean - ACK!!!)

>

> On 11/8/06, Pamela <pamela.ryan@...

> <mailto:pamela.ryan%40perkins.org> > wrote:

>> >

>> > ,

>> > You are brilliant!

>> > pam

>> >

>> > On 11/8/06 11:45 AM, " Weir " <kawfolks@...

>> <mailto:kawfolks%40gmail.com> <kawfolks%40gmail.com>>

>> > wrote:

>> >

>>> > > Deepta,

>>> > > Kennedy and I " play school " . When she comes home, she has play time for

>> > 20

>>> > > minutes. She needs that de-stress after working so hard at school. We

>> > have

>>> > > a bell, when the bell rings, she knows it's time for " school " . She even

>>> > > calls me Mrs. Weir (she came up with that). We do one subject (she

>> > usually

>>> > > has about 5 subjects per night), or two if they're really short, then

>> > it's

>>> > > " recess " and she runs downstairs to play for recess. I set the bell for

>>> > > another 15 minutes or so, start supper, etc and when the bell rings, she

>>> > > knows it's time for " school " again. I also have lots of stickers for her

>>> > > and give her constant positive specific feedback , for example " I love

>> > the

>>> > > way you're sitting up so straight and paying attention " or " You did an

>>> > > excellent job making that e only half a space, way to go! " . She is a

>> > sucker

>>> > > for positive feedback, so I use that a lot.

>>> > >

>>> > > You could also try chunking it up more so that she can more easily see a

>>> > > light at the end of the tunnel, for example, if she has 4 questions,

>> > tell

>>> > > her " okay, let's do number 1 & 2 and then have a five minute break " .

>> > During

>>> > > the break, you could do something really fun with her or let her do

>>> > > something she loves alone while you work on something else. I find

>> > frequent

>>> > > breaks are the key for Kennedy to get it all done as she usually has

>> > close

>>> > > to 45 mins-1 hr per night of homework (gr. 3).

>>> > >

>>> > > I also use a slant board from her vision teacher to prop books up for

>> > her, I

>>> > > might help her organize her page a bit to make things a little easier

>> > (put

>>> > > the numbers of the questions down the side, draw columns for her so she

>> > can

>>> > > more easily visually see what goes where, etc). Just little things that

>>> > > don't take away from the actual content of what she has to do, it just

>> > helps

>>> > > her get it done a bit quicker as she might take significantly longer to

>> > do

>>> > > those little " organizing " type things as other children at home. I know

>> > she

>>> > > does them independently at school so it's not like I'm not letting her

>> > learn

>>> > > those skills but we also have to have a home life of sorts!

>>> > >

>>> > > Other times, when K is way off task, or asking repeteadly " can I play?

>> > can I

>>> > > play now? " I will get out a paper, and tell her for every five minutes

>> > she

>>> > > works and doesn't ask, she gets a " play sticker " and that equals extra

>>> > > recess time (1-2 minutes per sticker depending on how much we have to

>> > get

>>> > > done). I very quietly but very visually go over and emphatically place

>>> > > another sticker on the paper so she notices and she quickly puts her

>> > head

>>> > > right back down and gets back to work to earn more " play time " . This

>> > won't

>>> > > work for everyone and it's only when I need it really bad that I use it,

>> > but

>>> > > it works for us. It could be used to earn Amita " whatever " time

>> > depending

>>> > > on what she likes.

>>> > >

>>> > > Hope these help a bit!

>>> > >

>>> > > www.chargesyndrome.info

>>> > >

>>> > > On 11/8/06, deepta_69 <deepta_69@...

>>> <mailto:deepta_69%40yahoo.com> <deepta_69%40yahoo.com>>

>> > wrote:

>>>> > >>

>>>> > >> Hi,

>>>> > >> Let me get straight to the point. How do I motivate Amita to finish

>>>> > >> her work and just be interested and motivated at school? She is

>>>> > >> staring around sitting at her desk or just dreaming or doodling but

>>>> > >> not completing her task. Intense prodding seems to be necessary. Of

>>>> > >> course she has a short attention span when it is not of interest to

>>>> > >> her otherwise she will sit and read for hours. Academically she is Ok

>>>> > >> right now but she can shine if she gets this. It is intensely

>>>> > >> frustrating for us. Can you guys come up with some creative solutions

>>>> > >> for me?Or maybe you already do something creatively encouraging?

>>>> > >> Let me know.

>>>> > >> Deepta

>>>> > >> Mom to 2nd grader Amita

>>>> > >>

>>> > >

>> >

>> > --

>> > Pamela J. , M.A., CAGS

>> > Licensed Educational Psychologist

>> > Deafblind Program

>> > Perkins School for the Blind

>> > 175 N. Beacon St.

>> > Watertown, MA 02472

>> >

--

Pamela J. , M.A., CAGS

Licensed Educational Psychologist

Deafblind Program

Perkins School for the Blind

175 N. Beacon St.

Watertown, MA 02472

November 8, 2006

Happy B'day, !!!!

Deepta and Amita

> > >>

> > >> Hi,

> > >> Let me get straight to the point. How do I motivate Amita to

finish

> > >> her work and just be interested and motivated at school? She

is

> > >> staring around sitting at her desk or just dreaming or

doodling but

> > >> not completing her task. Intense prodding seems to be

necessary. Of

> > >> course she has a short attention span when it is not of

interest to

> > >> her otherwise she will sit and read for hours. Academically

she is Ok

> > >> right now but she can shine if she gets this. It is intensely

> > >> frustrating for us. Can you guys come up with some creative

solutions

> > >> for me?Or maybe you already do something creatively

encouraging?

> > >> Let me know.

> > >> Deepta

> > >> Mom to 2nd grader Amita

> > >>

> > >

> >

> > --

> > Pamela J. , M.A., CAGS

> > Licensed Educational Psychologist

> > Deafblind Program

> > Perkins School for the Blind

> > 175 N. Beacon St.

> > Watertown, MA 02472

> >

>

> --

> " It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to

persist in

> delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. " --Carl Sagan

>

November 8, 2006

Thanks Deepta, Amita & Pam

Lis

>

> Happy B'day, !!!!

> Deepta and Amita

>

> > > >>

> > > >> Hi,

> > > >> Let me get straight to the point. How do I motivate Amita to

> finish

> > > >> her work and just be interested and motivated at school? She

> is

> > > >> staring around sitting at her desk or just dreaming or

> doodling but

> > > >> not completing her task. Intense prodding seems to be

> necessary. Of

> > > >> course she has a short attention span when it is not of

> interest to

> > > >> her otherwise she will sit and read for hours. Academically

> she is Ok

> > > >> right now but she can shine if she gets this. It is intensely

> > > >> frustrating for us. Can you guys come up with some creative

> solutions

> > > >> for me?Or maybe you already do something creatively

> encouraging?

> > > >> Let me know.

> > > >> Deepta

> > > >> Mom to 2nd grader Amita

> > > >>

> > > >

> > >

> > > --

> > > Pamela J. , M.A., CAGS

> > > Licensed Educational Psychologist

> > > Deafblind Program

> > > Perkins School for the Blind

> > > 175 N. Beacon St.

> > > Watertown, MA 02472

> > >

> >

> > --

> > " It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to

> persist in

> > delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. " --Carl Sagan

> >

November 9, 2006

-

What an awesome plan! I love everything about your technique! Thanks for

sharing it - beneficial for all of us somewhere down the road, if not right

now.

Michele W

Aubrie's mom 8 yrs

_____

From: CHARGE [mailto:CHARGE ] On Behalf Of

Weir

Sent: Wednesday, November 08, 2006 10:46 AM

To: CHARGE

Subject: Re: How to motivate?