How to self-teach your child to focus and pay attention?

[cherrygal]

Read about many expensive mind training schools such as Shichida, Little Neuro Tree and Brainfit that supposedly teach kids to think and focus etc.


Has anyone successfully trained your young kids (esp boys) to focus on schoolwork, and sit down quietly to read/study on their own accord, without sending them to those schools?

Please share?

[kingster]

cherrygal:

Read about many expensive mind training schools such as Shichida, Little Neuro Tree and Brainfit that supposedly teach kids to think and focus etc.


Has anyone successfully trained your young kids (esp boys) to focus on schoolwork, and sit down quietly to read/study on their own accord, without sending them to those schools?

Please share?

i need to know too. my son's attention span is horrible... hai....

[tamarind]

My son used to have an attention span of less than 3 minutes. Now he is able to sit for a few hours reading books or writing at home, on his own initiative and without any supervision.


He has never any mind training schools. In fact, he is not attending K2 this year, I kept him at home due to his health problems.

My strategy is this :

First teach him to read very well, so he can read books with over 200 words a page effortlessly. I started teaching him at home since he was about 3 years old. Check out my methods here : http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-teach-phonics.html. Since his attention span was so short, I only spent less than 15 minutes teaching him everyday.

Now at 6 years old, he does not mind doing P1 work because he finds it quite easy. He is able to spell over 90% of his sister's P1 spelling list without the need to practice, thanks to phonics. He is able to write English compositions independently.

My second strategy, is to find things that interest him. He prefers non-fiction books, so I bought him many Children's encylopedia with wonderful pictures and lots of words. He can spend hours reading these books, and then writing out what he has learned from memory. I also bought him toys like Lego, Knex, ZOOB, and also encourage him to fold origami objects, all of which are excellent for developing his fine motor skills and concentration skills. He spends most of his time playing with these toys. I have never made him practice writing words many times a day, but his handwriting is now very neat.

A very experienced teacher from UK once told me, that a child will naturally pay attention, when he is given things that interest him.

If we want to improve a child's attention span, parents must put in effort to teach the child everyday, and also learn about what are the most effective methods to teach a child. For example, many parents are still making their kids practice writing a word many times to learn the spelling. The fact is that a child who has a strong foundation in phonics can spell any word without practicing.

Most importantly, do not get angry with the child, give him lots of encouragement. My son used to read only one page everyday, I cheer and clap loudly every time he finished reading a page. That really motivates him to work harder.

[sleepy]

cherrygal:

Has anyone successfully trained your young kids (esp boys) to focus on schoolwork, and sit down quietly to read/study on their own accord, without sending them to those schools?


Please share?

I think playing musical instrument helps. I noticed my dd's attention span increased substantially. When she was younger, wow very hyper. Now can play piano for an hour and read the entire Enid Blyton book at one go.

[smurf]

Hi TAmarind,


Just w ant to know, where did you get children encyclopedia? :?

[tamarind]

smurf,

I bought some from amazon.com, like this one :

http://www.amazon.com/New-Childrens-Encyclopedia-DK-Publishing/dp/0756651972/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1289553299&sr=8-15

Some from thebookpeople, my son is crazy about this book:
http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_product_tbp?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=100&productId=193366

Local bookshops also sell many children's encyclopedia, though prices are generally expensive.

[24hr-mum]

my son was hyper from birth, even until now. but he already much better.

he started to be able to sit down to do something - when he started to like drawing - actually started with tracing - at 4 years old - draw pic of train n cars (thomas train). gradually he developed drawing skill and can sit down n do something quitely

but he had gone for brainfit studio’s braingym prog that corrected his visual-motor and hence handwriting. that enabled him to develop ability to draw. prior to that he cant even doodle

[24hr-mum]

kids are hyper but when found something interesting, can focus.

(that means not adhd)

[smurf]

Thanks Tamarind!!


Have been trying to search for good encyclopedia for my boy, but just couldn't find good ones.

Another question, does Amazon still pack books in very big box? I dun want to pay for volumetric weight...

[tamarind]

smurf:

Thanks Tamarind!!


Have been trying to search for good encyclopedia for my boy, but just couldn't find good ones.

Another question, does Amazon still pack books in very big box? I dun want to pay for volumetric weight...

smurf,
For Amazon, one trick is to buy one or two books at a time, they will usually wrap up the books very compactly. vpost will add up the weight of the books.

For very thick and heavy books, I use direct shipping from amazon, which can work out cheaper.

You can also try this website that includes free shipping to Singapore.
http://www.bookdepository.com/book/9781405336581/The-New-Childrens-Encyclopedia

Prices are more expensive than amazon.com, but if the book is very heavy, it may be worth it. Note that USD exchange rate is now under 1.4, so it is a good time to buy books from USA.

We are off topic