My sweet daughter is really struggling at school. I've had long conversations with her, her teachers, and my hubby. We've tried to approach it at every angle and nothing seems to change. We thought it was her handwriting, but that's not it. It's definitely not that she doesn't understand or know the answers. She simply doesn't focus or do the work altogether. It took her 40 minutes to write the answer to one question tonight. Have any of you dealt with the same issues? What solutions did you have? Are there places that help with study skills? I'm not worried about testing her for ADD. I think it's just pure laziness and not wanting to do the work. Her teacher is working on some ideas to help motivate her to do her work, but I wanted to see if there were things we could do at home to also reinforce what's being done at school. Any thoughts, suggestions and advice welcome! TIA!
I really doubt it's pure laziness. She may be overly concerned about making mistakes. She may have fine motor issues. Has the teacher tried using a timer? Tell her she has to write one sentence before the timer goes off.
Don't completely discount ADHD or some other problem like that. It wouldn't hurt to have her evaluated. My mom told me I was lazy when I was growing up, and it did A LOT of emotional damage. She would much rather believe that I have a character flaw that can be solved by the good ol' American work ethic as opposed to something actually being "wrong" with me. Guess what. I was diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive type; Im not hyperactive) when I was a junior in college. Think of all the grief and hurt everyone could have avoided if we would have known that 15 years earlier. I'm not saying it's ADHD. I'm just saying don't dismiss it entirely. Do some research on the different types and other potential issues like it (sensory processing, etc.), and take it from there. As far as study skills, you might hire a one-on-one tutor specifically for that. Also, I think places like Sylvan do study skills sessions.
she needs to be assessed. she may be profoundly gifted, which ironically makes them incredibly slow on finishing many types of work. also if she doesn't see the point of the assignment (which is probably true that it is just busy work) she's going to fight you tooth and nail to work on it. she may have a learning disability. she may be adhd. you may have to pay for these assessements out of pocket if you want them done in a reasonable time period. I have a friend that the school district fought her on testing one of her kids - they don't want to add to the special ed group for a lot of political and economic reasons.
i'd start with NO homework. that may seem like you're letting her off the hook. but first, she shouldn't have homework in second grade (despite all the schools giving it) and second - how well do you focus after a full day at work? thought so - takes you twice as long on anything you bring home too. after a week of that, see if she's doing better in class. it's not getting done anyway, so all you have to lose is lots of frustration and tears. do explain that you expect her to work extra hard during school in exchange for having afternoons free.
quite frankly, she shouldn't need tutoring for "study skills" in second grade. her teacher should be presenting and making the work fun and it should get done at school.
you don't say if she has a hard time focusing on things other than academics. that would be a huge clue to discuss with the teacher.
other resources would be your school's social worker and your school's special ed teacher. also if your school has an instructional coach (for the teachers) this person should be consulted. they frequently have strategies that classroom teachers have no clue about.
good luck
My MIL is a special education teacher. She has identified many kids in her school who are very bright, but have a learning disability (or they learn differently). While not any kind of attention disorder, it could be another type of learning disability (apparently there are MANY and many levels of severity).
Other than that, I'd check into a professional service that helps with study skills as Lauren V mentioned like Sylvan.
Best of luck to your sweet daughter. It is can really wear on a student when they try and try and try and don't get the results they are working for.
There are all types of issues that could be involved here. My son is ADHD, but he is also dysgraphic (difficulty with handwriting) and has a processing disorder. He is also very gifted academically. He is now 17 and we have been battling these things his whole life. He has always had trouble with repetitive "busy work" and anything like copying from the board or even another piece of paper. He does much better if he can type. I would try several different approaches to see what she is really resisting or not focusing on. For instance, if you ask the questions verbally, can she answer them? Does she like to draw or color or does she dislike anything like that? Is there certain types of work that she seems more interested in than others or is it all school work in general. Does she do better if you sit with her and help her stay on task or does she need to be left alone. Does she respond to rewards? Is she tired and not really wanting to do anything or does she seem to be active and wanting to play? Is it too much homework for her age? Is she feeling overwhelmed? Is she not doing her work at school also or just at home?
Try doing her homework in different places. Some kids actually perform better if they are standing up or laying down on their bed. Some kids work better with music playing. Some need lots of light and others need soft lighting. Does she work better as soon as she gets home, before dinner, after dinner?
I would definitely consider having her evaluated, because even though she is only in 2nd grade, she is setting a pattern for the remainder of her school years. I know it may seem unreasonable for a 2nd grader to have homework, but this is the norm now. I would be cautious about assuming it is laziness, as that can be damaging to her self esteem.
