Hey friends! Welcome back to another episode of Tip Tuesday! Today we’re talking about procrastination. It happens to all of us, especially with so today I’m sharing 6 easy tips that I’ve implemented to help stop procrastination in your homeschool!
Do you find your kids procrastinating instead of doing their schoolwork in a diligent and timely fashion? Do your kids dawdle, sharpen pencils, get water, then go to the bathroom and eventually get to their work only after chasing them down? Don’t worry your not alone!
I’d venture to bet that procrastination is probably found in most homes. And it can definitely become a problem for a homeschooling mama with more than one child to teach.
Like if you hypothetically have four children for example.
Fine, it’s not a hypothetical for me. I do have four children. And procrastination isn’t a hypothetical for us either! It was like an everyday occurrence back in the day.
Check out today’s Tip Tuesday video: 6 Tips to Stop Procrastination in Your Homeschool!
I’ve also written a post on this topic, so if you’d like to see more detailed information check out my post on How to stop your kids from procrastinating.
I hope today’s Tip Tuesday helps out some of you as well! As always if you have any motivational tips please make sure to leave a comment below or head over to our COAH Community and share your ideas!
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I hope this helps some of you out, I know getting started can be overwhelming! I wrote a book called Homeschooling 101 that will help answer all of your questions on how to get started homeschooling, choosing curriculum, creating lesson plans, etc. For more information on homeschooling check out my Homeschooling 101: A guide to getting started!
Great ideas! I particularly love the idea of using headphones to block out distractions. I always say that having a toddler around is the hardest part of homeschooling. 😉 Headphones may be just what we need to keep the distractions limited.
We’ve tried mixing up our schedules to help the day go smoother. While I tend to side with Mark Twain’s old saying “If it’s your job to eat a frog, do it first thing in the morning…,” my kids don’t agree. I’d rather get math out of the way but they aren’t morning people and by giving them their least favorite subject first, they began procrastinating. I have to do what works best for them and eating their frog for breakfast wasn’t the answer. 🙂
I’m like you and would rather get the tough things out of the way first. But I found that my son, who hates English, actually does better if I leave that one for last. He will get through all of his work, then can concentrate on the one that is harder for him. I used to make him do it first, but he would take forever and then not have anything else done at the end of the day. So you might try letting them get everything else out of the way first, then do math at the end when they can focus on it better. Just a suggestion 🙂 And no, I wouldn’t do frogs for breakfast either LOL!
LOL! We will definitely try mixing it up again. Oh, the beauty of homeschooling! 🙂
Couldn’t help but giggle when I watched this…it was a great video and I especially like the homework pile idea, but my first thought when I saw the title of the tip today was that you were talking about mom procrastination-lol
Maybe on another Tuesday. 🙂
I’m not sure why my smiley face looks so serious, but it was supposed to be a smile, I promise-lol
LOL! Right, probably another video all together haha! I’ll put it on my list!
I absolutely agree with this because I too thought (and hoped) the same thing about the procrastinating Mom! I have “hit the wall” with my schooling this year and would love to know how to keep going and how to prepare for next year! I think I will NEED this summer to do that! 🙂
That’s why we take a summer break! And I do have a post to help with mom procrastination coming up too! 🙂
I wanted to ask a follow up question to your timer suggestion. I, too, have a child who dawdles. It’s the bane of my existence. 🙂 Or at least is teaching me patience! I agree that the timer is a great way to motivate. At least in theory. What do you do when plenty of time has been allotted and yet the child still does not complete the work. I’ve moved on to other activities and then allowed her to come back and finish but it still is like pulling teeth.
Wow…this was great. Thanks! I will definitely be using some of these (like homework! oh man I love that idea).
I have two things I do that help a little with procrastination…
1. Have snacks and water AT THE TABLE (if you use a table). Wanting to stop because he was hungry or thirsty was a big time sap for my kiddo…and just having snacks right there saves tons of time for us. Helps with energy too.
2. Candy/Sweets at moments of frustration/struggle. Some parents may not think this is a good ides, but I actually started doing this after hearing a talk by a brain/learning expert (a scientist who studied the brain and how people learn.) He said that eating a small piece of candy or sugary snack right before doing a really tasking mental task could help get you through it, and I’ve found this works wonders when my kiddo is really struggling with a concept. Sometimes helps too when he’s just bored and being slothfull…the energy burst helps. I keep it small…a few M&Ms or skittles or something. But I know for some any candy just send kids through the hyperactive roof so not all could use this (but maybe fruit for a gentler sugar boost might work).
Great ideas! And I’m so thankful for your videos!
Praise God! Thank you so much! The timer worked! Now only 7 days of school left, so I am prepared for next year. My daughter loved the timer idea, she is 8, and said it helped her to stay on task!!!!!!
Yay!!! Success!!!