Children do not perceive time in the same way that adults do. Studies have shown that children have a very difficult time segmenting time into parts. This is why the public school system concept of time broken into forty minute sections marked by a ringing bell is often counter-productive to a child’s learning. Just as the child is warming up to the activity and becoming involved, it’s time to change subjects. Maria Montessori described times where some children become completely engrossed in a stimulating educational activity, calling it “the great work.” She said that during these intense periods of learning, it is wrong to interrupt the child, regardless of timed school bells.
Homework and Children’s Standard Time
For a child younger than ten, a day is almost an eternity. When your son or daughter comes home from a full day of school, he or she conceptually feels the way you might after returning from a week-long business trip. For this reason, I don’t personally recommend that children be required to complete homework immediately after school gets out. Some parents insist that this is the best way, but I’ve found that my children, who have varying degrees of attention span, activity and impulsivity, do better with a break. I allow them to hang up their back packs and play or relax when they return home from school. This makes our home a welcome place for them, and also recharges their learning batteries for homework later in the evening. My children do their homework when dinner is over.
Homework sessions should be short… fifteen minutes for younger children and a maximum of forty minutes for older ones. A break, snack, or free activity should be allowed between these sessions to recharge the child.
Larks
We now understand that there are biological reasons why some children have more energy in the morning, and others in the evening. Internal circadian rhythms regulate our sleep and waking patterns, and even determine energy levels. Children who rise in the morning lively and spirited, ready to take on the day, are sometimes referred to as “larks.” Larks often do well in school because they are at their most eager learning phase just as school begins.
Owls
“Owls” are what we sometimes call children who have their energy later in the day. These kids may have a difficult time waking up in the morning, and seem irritable, distracted, and lacking in concentration in the morning. These children are sometimes erroneously considered to have attention deficits, learning disabilities, or are even described as “slow,” when in reality their internal body clocks are simply not geared for a typical public school day. Owls often are at their best phase for learning just as school is ending.
Use Your Child’s Internal “Clock” to His Advantage
Pay attention to your child’s energy levels over a period of time. When is she most cooperative? At what time of day is she eager to participate? When is he tired and irritable? Use your child’s internal clock to his or her advantage. Schedule homework sessions when your child is most receptive to learning. Work with teachers to provide understanding about these energy levels. As I have discussed in previous blogs, the more you know your child, and the more you understand about her individual learning style, the more you can help her to achieve her potential.
Kristyn Crow is the author of this blog. Visit her website by clicking here. Some links on this blog may have been generated by outside sources are not necessarily endorsed by Kristyn Crow.
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