Folks I need some suggestions..

[Anon]

Just a quick thought....some kids do get distracted because they are bored but some because they are simply lazy. I'm not saying that about his kids, but I know its that way about mine. They don't like to do "boring" things because they just don't want to do it. My son daydreamed through all his math fact drills last year and this year its a little harder for him to remember his math facts...it wasn't because he "knew them all" already, it was simply because it was "boring" although necessary.

Since each child is different, the parent must decide why the child is acting the way he is, and then reward/punish accordingly.

[Annie]

Hi. To answer Annie my husband didn't put him on a timetable as punnishment but to help him set smaller attainable goals. The time frame helps him stay on track.

Thanks for clarifying. I understood that. My "negative consequence" comments were not in response to the timer idea; I think it's a great one, if it works with his personality.

[brosmith]

This may be off topic and please do not think that I want to turn this into a curriculum debate.

I was an ACE teacher in a Christian school for 7 years (1980-84 and 1987-90). I saw first hand the 2 biggest problems with the curriculum: #1 - It is way too easy to cheat and #2 - It is not challenging enough. I believe that it may have been created for slow learners. It is definitely not for those who are preparing to go to college.

We started homeschooling in 1990 (our oldest was in kindergarten). We decided to use ACE because it was cheaply priced. After about 4 years of using ACE with our own children we decided to look at other curriculums. We tried Landmark (a big mistake) and ended up going back to ACE after a couple of years. We then tried a mixture of materials. In January 2000 we decided to go with Alpha Omega. We began using the Switched-on Schoolhouse computer curriculum for grades 3-12. For 1st and 2nd grade we use work booklets from different sources.

Switched-on Schoolhouse has been a great time-saver for us and a great help to our kids. It is also very economical. My inital $1000 investment (now it would be $3,000 for all the grades) has saved us approx $15,000 in curriculum costs. We have 10 children. Our oldest started using it in 9th grade. We have 4 children using the curriculum this year. It is a Bible-based multi-media curriculum that covers 5 basic subjects (Bible, Math, Science, History, Language Arts) as well as many electives. It is a very worthwhile investment.

[RayJr]

[quote="Kitagrl"]Just a quick thought....some kids do get distracted because they are bored but some because they are simply lazy. I'm not saying that about his kids, but I know its that way about mine. They don't like to do "boring" things because they just don't want to do it. My son daydreamed through all his math fact drills last year and this year its a little harder for him to remember his math facts...it wasn't because he "knew them all" already, it was simply because it was "boring" although necessary.

Since each child is different, the parent must decide why the child is acting the way he is, and then reward/punish accordingly.[/quote]

I love my son but he is lazy, that is alot of his problem. He is bright I just have a hard time making him understand that he has to work hard at things.and put 100% instead of 50%

[RayJr]

By the way so far I like the ciriculum, it seems pretty well put together I like the way it explains stuff, we r new to this and there may b better stuff out there, but anything is better than the public school junk they were learning. God Bless and thank you all for your suggestions, I have started hooking jumper cables to his earlobs and giving him 220volt jolts everytime he slows down. lol j/k only 110

[edyoukayshun]

Many good suggestions. Discipline is important. Curricula can make a difference, but are only tools, one may be better than another but any can get the job done. Consider that concentration has been found to average in a 1:1 minutes:years ratio. At 12 years try giving a brief break every 15 minutes, stand up and play a 30 second brain break game, then right back to it. Ask him what makes it hard for him, he's the one with the trouble. Just some thoughts from a new member, public school teacher, homeschool believer, ACE graduate that finished a bachelor's with a 3.94.