Time Management Lessons For Middle School - It's About Time!

Dec. 26, 2010 - PRLog -- Time Management Lessons For Middle School

How do your kids handle time? Are they aware of the hands of the clock?--the digital numbers' flip?--or do they do what they do, whenever they can?

Most Moms & Dads learn how to work efficiently with time early on. Having kids requires a sense of intervals--between feedings, between diaper changes, between nap-times. But lots of kids might be missing the opportunity to learn this important skill, mostly because their parents handle the time-telling for them. When we tell them when to do what, we don't allow them to learn about time--or to become responsible for their own time management.

What does this have to do with "Homework"? The answer might be found in the answer to another question parents and kids have to consider: "How much time will homework take to complete?"

Our perception of time varies based upon many factors. Do we want to do what has to be done? Do we feel deprived if we must use our "free" time to do something we don't want to do? Do we imagine there a more desirable activity we want to do that interferes in our ability to concentrate on the lesser desirable task at hand?

Let's see a show of hands: Who really likes to study or do their homework? Who can think of something else they'd rather do? And Who thinks that effective 'time management is an important key to encouraging kids to willingly complete their homework? Following are some components of time management that can make the task of Homework easier for kids and YOU. Get Internet #1 - Time Management Lessons For Middle School @ http://timecure01.webs.com and find out how you can Maximize Your Time!

Younger students often suffer from "It'll take FOREVER" Disorder

Give a kid a task that he/she doesn't want to do and ask, "How long do you think it will take?" Most kids are likely to answer some version of "forever!" Lots of kids really don't have an idea about how long 10 minutes is--or how long 30 minutes is--or how long 60 minutes is. Their sense of time is subjective, influenced by their feelings about what happens during that time interval--fun activities are over in a flash and distasteful tasks take a long time.

The trick to encourage younger kids to complete their homework is to break the process down into chunks in which the kid can achieve success and satisfaction. This suggests that homework time should be broken down into subject components (ie spelling homework, math homework, or science homework). Each portion completed is cause for celebration and admiration. Also, when a kid achieves completion and success on one portion, he/she is more likely to willingly start out on another portion.

Younger kids are also very responsive to setting timers and a beat-the-clock competition. They find a comfort in the mechanical certainty of the clock or timer rather than the arbitrary sense of vague parental terms like "soon" or "in a minute" or "not too long". So, ask your child how long he/she thinks a homework project will take--and then set a timer for that amount of time.

Because kids usually over-estimate ('cause it'll take FOREVER!), they are encouraged when they discover they can achieve completion in less time (often much less time) than they thought. Then whoop it up, pat 'em on the back, and make a really big deal about their ability to use their time effectively. Get Internet #1 - Time Management Lessons For Middle School @ http://timecure01.webs.com and find out how you can Maximize Your Time!

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Tired of doing repeated things, ended up not having enough time?
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