Thoughts & Reflections
Consider jotting down a few notes, perhaps in a journal or notebook.
Last week, we focused on developing an ability to focus in young learners and also discussed additional tools to use with all learners.
Here are some thoughts and questions to consider:
Five-year-old, Jessie was excited to work on superpower time, especially since she got to wear her superhero cape. Jessie's mom sat next to her and they made a plan for Jessie to focus for two minutes on an activity of her choosing. Jessie was about 30 seconds in when she asked a question totally unrelated to her area of focus. Her mom sat there for a second unsure of what to do. Does she answer the question? Does she ask Jessie to wait until focus time is over? Was two minutes of focus too long? Does she stop the timer? Ahhh...
There is no right way of partnering with your child. There are a few ideas to keep in mind, though. We want kids to look forward to focus time. We want it to be a get to, rather than a have to. We want kids to be able to feel the control over the subject, the time, the place, etc. We are handing over choice and building awareness. We don't want them to feel wrong, incapable or embarrassed. It's all practice, it's all a conversation and a negotiation about what works and what doesn't. We want our kid to feel heard and that their opinions matter. Building a practice of open conversation and reflection on what's working and not working is far more valuable than sticking with a task for a predetermined number of minutes.
1. Try out superpower time. What works? What doesn't? What adjustments might be made?
2. Relate learning to real life. For example, explain to your child how you use arithmetic in your everyday life or understanding the science of how our bodies use food can help us make healthy choices. Meaningfulness gives us a reason to pay attention.
2. Where is your child's mind when it wanders? Where is your child's body when it wanders? Start to build the awareness in yourself and then in your child.
3. Keep handing over control to your child. Building self-agency and competence to manage one's life is part of our general wellbeing. Have conversations about those choices, thoughts and ideas and share ideas freely without judgement.
Happy Boldschooling!
Feel free to review last week's recording where we looked at dancing with dopamine or developing deep work.
https://www.boldschoolers.com/blog/dancing
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