Azure Jane Lunatic (Azz) 🌺 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
azurelunatic) wrote2003-08-06 05:11 pm
azurelunatic) wrote2003-08-06 05:11 pm
*smirk* LF vs. Homework: SCORE!
Little Fayoumis put his toys away with a minimum of crabbiness (he thought he was entitled to leave them out all over the floor; I said nay, he grumped) and sat down to do his work.
The strategy of making sure he knows where the lines go (solid on top, solid on bottom, dotted in middle) has been working well for him getting things in the right place. Finally convinced him that he does not have to go back with the eraser and get everything just so -- he'll be fine.
Am feeling guilty that I focused so much on getting things right in the distant past, because now we have to train him out of obsessing over that, and train him into getting things done.
He was having issues with itching again (I am convinced it's psychosomatic, given he doesn't do that at other times) and I told him what he could do that has seemed to be working -- try scratching, then write a letter, then if it's still itchy, try scratching again, and if that doesn't work, write another letter, then try scratching again...
It looks bizarre as all get-out, but it gets him writing and not stalling. Well, it is, a little, but it's in short bursts between writing efforts, and it has him quickly going back to the task at hand, which is what's desired. He can wiggle about all he wants as long as he gets the job done. I'm not about to torture him by forcing him to remain absolutely still while working. Stillness can come later. It's all about doing the work, now.
He was wiggly and not too thrilled with it at first, and told me that he was getting tired of doing it (after one line and a half), but I told him that he needed to learn how to sit and work on stuff for school, because he would be doing that at school, and he needed to practice that so he would be able to do it in school and would not get in trouble for not being able to do that. I told him I wanted him to make his day at school every day! He accepted that as a very good reason to be learning how to sit still. Then I told him I knew he could sit still and do stuff for a long time, because he could do that with video games! He just had to learn how to focus on the writing like he did on the video games!
That, he got. You can tell when he gets something, because he begins calling out other applications of the same principle. "Like I focus on chess!" he yelled gleefully, and listed off several more. "Exactly. Now, focus on your writing," I told him.
And I reminded him to keep working, and keep working, and keep working, every time it looked like he was starting to think about slacking -- while I was washing dishes, so I was not only present, but busy and not hovering -- and he got it done in less than an hour.
After a while, he stopped fooling around, and started really focusing on getting the work done, and he zipped through it. He'd call out, "Good!" at the end of a line, and I'd come over and verify that it was good, and show him how to do the next letters, where the top line went, where the bottom line went, and where the middle line went. Y was the trickiest of this set; the small y has the dangling tail below the line, which makes for some confusion amongst small fayoumi unless the precise spacing is pointed out. And I pointed it out, and he did it. He's historically had troubles with making the capital letters and the small letters the same size, but the lined paper, with guide lines drawn on the example letters, seems to be doing the trick.
Today was a much better day all told, as no drama got passed along to me. Yay!
The strategy of making sure he knows where the lines go (solid on top, solid on bottom, dotted in middle) has been working well for him getting things in the right place. Finally convinced him that he does not have to go back with the eraser and get everything just so -- he'll be fine.
Am feeling guilty that I focused so much on getting things right in the distant past, because now we have to train him out of obsessing over that, and train him into getting things done.
He was having issues with itching again (I am convinced it's psychosomatic, given he doesn't do that at other times) and I told him what he could do that has seemed to be working -- try scratching, then write a letter, then if it's still itchy, try scratching again, and if that doesn't work, write another letter, then try scratching again...
It looks bizarre as all get-out, but it gets him writing and not stalling. Well, it is, a little, but it's in short bursts between writing efforts, and it has him quickly going back to the task at hand, which is what's desired. He can wiggle about all he wants as long as he gets the job done. I'm not about to torture him by forcing him to remain absolutely still while working. Stillness can come later. It's all about doing the work, now.
He was wiggly and not too thrilled with it at first, and told me that he was getting tired of doing it (after one line and a half), but I told him that he needed to learn how to sit and work on stuff for school, because he would be doing that at school, and he needed to practice that so he would be able to do it in school and would not get in trouble for not being able to do that. I told him I wanted him to make his day at school every day! He accepted that as a very good reason to be learning how to sit still. Then I told him I knew he could sit still and do stuff for a long time, because he could do that with video games! He just had to learn how to focus on the writing like he did on the video games!
That, he got. You can tell when he gets something, because he begins calling out other applications of the same principle. "Like I focus on chess!" he yelled gleefully, and listed off several more. "Exactly. Now, focus on your writing," I told him.
And I reminded him to keep working, and keep working, and keep working, every time it looked like he was starting to think about slacking -- while I was washing dishes, so I was not only present, but busy and not hovering -- and he got it done in less than an hour.
After a while, he stopped fooling around, and started really focusing on getting the work done, and he zipped through it. He'd call out, "Good!" at the end of a line, and I'd come over and verify that it was good, and show him how to do the next letters, where the top line went, where the bottom line went, and where the middle line went. Y was the trickiest of this set; the small y has the dangling tail below the line, which makes for some confusion amongst small fayoumi unless the precise spacing is pointed out. And I pointed it out, and he did it. He's historically had troubles with making the capital letters and the small letters the same size, but the lined paper, with guide lines drawn on the example letters, seems to be doing the trick.
Today was a much better day all told, as no drama got passed along to me. Yay!
no subject
(I'm all for cheerleading good behaviour:)
no subject