Ds6 gives me such a hard time doing hw

amother

OP ↓

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 11:25 am

Ds6 has hw daily. His English hw which is easy we get done fairly quickly. But Kriah, which definitely is newer for him and harder, is such a struggle. He’s all over the place, making up words, distracting etc. I get that it’s not easy for him although he can read it, but it needs to get done and I just can’t seem to get him to do the bare minimum.

Anyone have tips or suggestions?

amother

Vanilla

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 11:26 am

I give my kids a small treat after they do their homework when they are little. When they got a little older I do a homework chart where they earn small prizes of their choosing after they finish the chart.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 11:28 am

amother Vanilla wrote:

That used to work, not anymore.

mha3484 ↓

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 11:36 am

Have you talked to the rebbe? Does he feel he is understanding the material taught in class? Also are you trying to do homework straight after school when he sat all day? I find that when a kid doesnt understand the material or is too burned out from sitting they get silly like you describe.

For my own kids one needs to do homework after he's really decompressed from school and gotten a lot of movement in so we do it after dinner and a different one needed a lot of help from the school kriah specialist and once he was confident in himself his complaining went down a lot.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 11:56 am

mha3484 wrote:

I always let him play first. Yesterday I did it after playing two hours and eating. It’s just hard so he plays games. He does need a lot of help but practicing is the only way to get better!

↑ mha3484 ↓

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 11:58 am

I agree I am pretty lax on homework but kriah practice is really important, if he's lacking foundational skills it may be worth it to see if there are any resources for him at school you cant practice what you dont know or understand.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 12:03 pm

mha3484 wrote:

They have a Kriah specialist but they spoke to us that we need to practice with him too.

amother

Ghostwhite

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 12:06 pm

I don't insist they do all the kriah. We choose 2 letters/words from each line of the page or skip some of the lines or let them choose. I feel like at least they're doing some of it, even if it isn't all.
Ds is incentivized as school have a reward program for the kriah-each day they revise they get a sticker, which when they get 10 stickers or whatever, then they get a small prize.

↑ mha3484 ↓

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 12:32 pm

amother Ghostwhite wrote:

This is a really good idea especially if he's getting support in school. As his skills improve you can gradually increase the homework. I found also the rebbeim at that age really did understand when a kid was having a hard time and modified homework a lot.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 12:46 pm

mha3484 wrote:

I’m not really doing it for the Rebbe, it’s because I think practice is the only way this will get easier for him.

↑ mha3484 ↓

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 12:50 pm

Sorry my point was to start small and make him feel like he can do it. It may mean doing only a small part of the homework for a while but if he feels capable and like he can read he will want to do more. I find this method works the best if your getting him kriah help which you said you are. But for boys you don't want them to feel like I cant at this age because it will just leave them feeling lousy as school gets harder year after year and then you find their self image goes in a direction you don't want.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 12:52 pm

mha3484 wrote:

I hear you. I can try that. I’m always nervous giving this one leeway because then he has such a hard time doing more the next time.

↑ mha3484

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 12:56 pm

I would agree with you if he wasn't getting help in school. I assume either its one to one or small group. So someone with training in struggling readers is helping him and the practice at home is good but extra modify it to his ability.

oneofakind

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 6:46 pm

Chances are, he doesn't know the basics. Homework or practice is review and fluency. If he can't even decode, it's way too hard for him. Does he know the sound of each letter? Each nekuda? Can he read them together? Then come words.
Hatzlacha

amother

Phlox

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 6:57 pm

I don't do the full amount of kriah, I do the amount my kid seems to handle. So I either let them pick words or lines etc.. as it gets easier for them we add on more.

amother

↑ OP

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 7:17 pm

oneofakind wrote:

He does. He can read but it’s newish so not fluent at all.

amother

Cyan

Tue, Sep 17 2024, 7:23 pm

Just wanted to say you're not alone... Having similar struggles with my stubborn DD6. If anything is a little tricky she wants to quit. I won't let her because I don't want her to be someone that doesn't know how to persevere but it's so tough!

spikta

Wed, Sep 18 2024, 7:41 am

I do 5-7 minute timers with my kids, depending on how long they can focus. That way they know homework isn't endless, it has a very clear end time, and they can pull it together for those few minutes. I don't make them work beyond the timer even if we didn't cover everything. But I make sure to be as consistent as possible. 5 minutes a day every day no matter what. Even with such a short amount of time, because it's focused and consistent, they make progress.