Gadgets and studying

[satchie]

Hi.  I have a 6 yr-old son attending grade 1 at a nearby school.  His schedule is 6:45am to 1:45pm from Mon-Thu and then up to 12noon every Fri.

I'd say that he picks up lessons fast.  One of my main concern is his ability to focus on things that he is doing.  For example, it takes us 45 mins to a little over an hour, at times, to finish lunch or dinner at home.  It is very time consuming to complete his assignments.  He can't seem to complete the enumerated items without being told to answer the next question.  Becomes a problem since as a grade 1 pupil, his list of assignments is now longer than what it used to be.  He is always focused on playing anything and it is really concerning me a lot.

What measures do you do with your playful kid to balance their activities?

As a side question, would you consider giving your kid access to viber/wechat?

[ri-anne]

my 7yr old daughter is a bit like your son.
-what i do is may schedule for studying and doing assignments. afterwards, she can play.
- ineexplain ko na kailangan nya mag-focus para matapos na kaagad yung kailangan nyang gawin.
-after each subject (kung more than 1 hw), may break in-between.
-and after each hw she has finished, todo puri talaga!! siempre para ganahan gumawa ng hw diba?!

pero napansin ko na nagffocus sya talaga sa  hw nya kapag:
-she's interested in the subject or topic
-she's well-rested or hindi inaantok or pagod
kaya i let her take a nap in the afternoon. Before, hindi. kasi i was thinking mahirap patulugin sa gabi. but i was wrong...lol!

patience talaga on our part.

regarding your last question, no. i rarely let my kids (7&4) use the ipad, even if they have their own (courtesy of their dad). my 7 yr old gets to use the computer only when she has assignments online. off-limits sila sa handphones namin ng dad nila.

i'd rather let them play at the playground, or play with their friends, or draw or make arts and crafts. pero actually minsan kunsintidor ang daddy & he lets them play minion rush (dati candy crush o kaya temple run) when im not around 

anyway, that's just my pov

[mikelly]

Same thing that I am experiencing with my daughter.  What I did was we made an agreement not to use any gadgets from Monday to Thursday and she can have it Friday to Sunday. In that way, she would be able to concentrate with the homework or if done, it's either she can read her favorite books, write in her journal or play with her toys so she can rediscover herself from other things she has potential with.  Because of the gadgets kasi, they tend to forget being creative from their own imaginations.  Just like in creating arts or drawings, they hurry themselves up just to play with the gadget after but not putting their time and heart into it instead. 

I think by this kind of agreement that I have with my daughter, she could concentrate more with the homework she would have for the day and could rest their eyes as well from all the games they have in their gadgets.  I just hope that this will work for us.

[marose17]

My children can only use gadgets and watch tv on weekends.  Strictly off limits during weekdays.  They  read books, draw, play with their toys and board games and write stories in comics format after doing their homework.

I'm glad that their school (Ateneo) is old school when it comes to gadget use.  I know that some schools have computer lessons already at grade 4 (or even lower grades).  AGS at grade 4 has no formal computer lessons though teachers use the computer to enhance the lessons from time to time.  For me, there is no rush to learn these things.  I'd rather have my children play toys and board games and read books than be on the computer or Ipad during their free time.

[Kailarueluka]

i still prefer the basic printable worksheet for my 2.6 years old daughter
she does her coloring and tracing on that.

she has this pen that talks called e-tutor
i used it for her to learn mandarin every 30 mins daily

if i see that she is not interested i immediately stop and proceed to the next activity.

we are more on educational play learning like puzzle, play doh, water balls, magic slate, magformers, and more montessori activity stuff

[twelvth_goddess]

My daughter is in 1st grade and is going through adjustment period with the number of subjects and the assignments. Due to this, we also became stricter with her study periods. After resting from school, my husband picks her up from my mom's house and they do homework/review together.

She is only allowed 30 minutes of TV time right after she takes a bath for the night. That is if they finish with school work early. Her bedtime is at 830PM and we run a strict schedule cus my husband and I are full time working parents without a helper. We allow her to play outside or swim only on weekends.

[kiz_me1109]

My son is also on his first grade but we have a different study habits for him. He still plays with his tablet during weekdays. He plays Minecraft (not the online game). He likes building houses, buildings, etc so we let him do that but only for 30 mins during school days. After that, he can play with his Legos or watch cartoons. At 8 am, it's study time. Study time per day is just an hour. But, if it's exams week, he is not allowed to play with any of his gadgets. During exams week naman, i make a sample of Worksheets per Subject based dun sa mga short quizzes and long Tests nila. And then, I let him answer it all by himself. Kung ano yung mga mali niya sa mock test namin, doon kami nag f focus. So far, nag w work siya sa amin.

[KVsWahmmy]

My kid is also in Grade 1, and nung first quarter, major adjustment talaga in terms of dami ng lessons, expectations and demands ng teachers, and the overall learning environment. Preschool kasi was light, fun, play while learning, learn while playing - Grade 1 is seryoso na, more subjects, teachers require more from the students - kahit ako nag-adjust eh.

Now that we're in the 2nd quarter, this is what we do:

*Have a solid, written schedule to follow indicated on the whiteboard on her study desk. This serves as her guide on what she'll be doing when she gets home. PM sched sya so evening and morning ang scheduling ko.

*I changed my teaching style. Dati I explain to her, now, I have her explain to me what she learned and how she understood a lesson instead. This way nalalaman ko yung level of understanding nya ng isang subject, and what I have to help her with pa.

*I make reviewers that are more difficult than her quizzes and tests. This way, she'd be prepared to handle trickier items moving forward. It also tests her level of understanding ng isang lesson.

*I let her have daily playtime before and after ng study time namin sa bahay. It helps her relax her mind before and after studying.

*NO gadgets on school days. Friday night lang to Sunday, and still monitored and controlled even on weekends. She plays Minecraft kasi (not the online version din. But she's really good at it! Amazing mga nabubuild nya), and I know it gets really addicting, so kailangan talagang mamonitor mabuti.

*The only thing I let her watch on weekdays are Jollibee YouTube videos. Hehe. Mga lessons in Filipino kasi ang topics, and she really needs better understanding pa pagdating sa Filipino. The way the videos teach it (with songs and stories) is really helpful, mas naaalala nya and mas naiintindihan.