I KNOW this is a common problem, and WHY so many boys get accused of being ADHD. I would be very thankful for any tips or experiences. So many boys are frustrated with a variety of traditional school tasks, and in the case of my 13 yo and an 11 yo friend, wrecks the educational experience as they see their younger sisters sail on past. I know I ought to be teaching math through construction projects or something wonderful like that, but since I'm not able to pull it off, we're left with the usual tools; traditional math program (Saxon), IEW for writing (compassionate for the uninspired writer, I think) and now trying TOG (yay!)

My kid seems distracted by music, altho' I think some boys benefit from it. Maybe going off to exercise for a few minutes is a good idea, altho' my boy declines to think it helps. I know there's an element of need for self-discipline here, but any other tips or success stories would be very exciting.

First of all, I needed to come to the place where I could look at my dss (ages 8 & 10)as God sees them. After all, He created them this way, so there must be a purpose. We break our day up into 1 hr. segments, w/ breaks in between. They jump on the mini trampoline, do push ups, etc. in the winter. I esp. do this before their math lesson. In the summer I have been known to actually tell them, "Okay, go outside and run 4 laps around the house!" The other thing I do is let them do their work where they are most comfortable. You can find my youngest under the table, hanging upside down off the sofa, etc. My oldest may be outside sitting in the branches of the tree. They are of course held accountable for all of this. When break time is over, it's over. Another thing is that if it takes them until bedtime to get it done b/c they've allowed themselves to be distracted, that's the consequence of their actions. It's important to have them take responsibility. Their employer isn't going to buy their excuses after all! It's not always pleasant, but over the years it has gotten better. Hope this helps!

Hi Erika,
Your post brings back many memories! I have three boys, one of which was *very* easily distracted, one of which had the energy of three other children plus himself, and one that *wanted* to focus, but couldn't because of his older two brothers.

Here are a few other ideas for you that I used.

1. When they were the ages of your kids, I gave them only the worksheets/books/assignments that they needed for that moment. When they were done with that set, I gave them another.

2. I myself would have preferred full color worksheets, but I found that was highly distracting. So, all workpages were in black and white.

3. We stopped mid-morning for a group activity of some sorts, which gave me the opportunity to help bring them back into focus. Often this was a read-aloud (we always did them, whether at this time of day or not), but sometimes it was a hands-on project or educational game. For TOG, every time a new state entered the union in our studies, they put together a puzzle in which the pieces were shaped like the state itself. They got to where they could figure out which state they had with their eyes closed.

4. Sometimes I included exercise as a part of the day's lessons instead of written work. For instance, we played "mother may I" frequently. They had to answer a question correctly (such as a problem on their math assignment so they wouldn't have to write it) before they said "mother may I." Another one we did was jump on the trampoline. As they jumped up, I asked a question. As they came down, they had to answer. When they faltered, the next child got a turn. I could go on and on with these type of suggestions. I think we tried everything.

5. When nothing at all seemed to work, I relied on something I read about that helps the brain to engage. You begin with the child standing up. Without moving any other part of his body, he casts his eyes as far up to the left as he can, then immediately as far up to the right as he can, then back to the lower left, then to the lower right. Do this a couple of times. After that, they do exercises that alternate sides of the body. Marching is a really good one, or running, but have them swing their arms opposite whichever leg is up.

Well, there you go. A couple of ideas that you might can glean from. I'm interested in hearing what other people do too. It always brings a chuckle because I remember the struggles, but also the joys of teaching all boys!

Blessings,

Thanks! I sent my boy marching today. He suffers from chronic creativity...always planning the next Lego robot, and distracted from math especially, altho' he's gonna need it to become the engineer he was clearly born to be. We'll muddle through! Gotta love him for who he is, and hope I don't lose my marbles on the ride....

Thanks for your thoughts, ladies...Erika

Erika-

My youngest would rather play w/ Legos than anything else. He's always inventing new contraptions and has a droid robot as well as an NXT Mindstorm, so I know where you're at! Use this to get his attention. Find books at the library on Lego building. I used Legos instead of Unifix cubes when he was younger. Be creative w/ him. Another thought - we use a book called Brain Gym which has activities to promote focusing. These take just a few minutes at a time and we've seen results.

Oooh, Brain Gym sounds good.