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Life in 2020 has been a challenge, but has also been a time of healing and learning like we have never had before. Problems in the family that we have never “had the time” to address have been shoved into our laps and demanded to be faced. Attitudes that needed adjusted, tasks that have been avoided, lack of motivation, a need to be grateful- just to name a few.
As the new school year approached and we wondered what life was going to look like, my family made the decision to homeschool this semester. Yet, we have always had problems just with even one sheet of homework! How on earth would we get our boy to sit down and complete a day’s school work every day?
Many adjustments have we made and tools have we discovered to help us through this new season. My personal favorites have been:
TimeTracker Timer
Essential Oil Diffusers
Spotify
Canva
Homemade Hot Chocolate or Tea
Coping Skill Sheet
Setting Realistic Time Goals Worksheet
Gum
I am in the middle of writing a Homeschool Series including each of these tools that I have stuck in my Homeschool Tool Box. If you missed the first in this series, Using Timers for Homeschooling (And Life) For Kids With Autism, be sure to go back and read it. I wrote it first because it is the one that has made the biggest impact on our homeschooling this year!
Today, I am talking about an epiphany that I had in about our second week of schooling. My boy was getting overwhelmed before he even started working because he was coming up with CRAZY times that he expected his work to take. Sometimes, he would overestimate and melt down when it took longer than he expcted. Other tasks, he would not begin without melting down 5 minutes in because he thought it was going to take (he literally would quote) a number of hours.
After thinking on this, I decided to make a Printable Worksheet for him to be able to track how long he expected an assignment to take compared to how long it really took. After making the worksheet, I printed it off and had him come up with a time that he thought each assignment for the day would take and write it down in the appropriate column. Then, I handed him his timer and before each assignment, he set the timer for the allotted time, choosing how long of an alert he would like. He set the timer and raced to finish before the alarm beeped.
It was like magic! He loved having that slice of freedom and control over timing. He would shout, “DONE!” as he completed each assignment; quickly reaching for the timer to pause it and write how long it actually took. Within one week of him filling out this sheet with the time that he expected and how much time was left on the timer, his estimates became much more realistic and his demeanor approaching his work much more relaxed.
This process (particularly the recording of the times) has made a huge improvement in the atmosphere in our school area. It has not only aided in teaching him not to overreact to time estimates that he comes up with. Racing the timer is inspiring him to work harder and faster. He gets a thrill out of getting to write down less time in the Reality column than he had written in the Estimate column.
Using the Timer with the Setting Realistic Time Goals Worksheet has shifted our boy’s focus from the size of the task to beating the timer and intensified his concentration on his work. We also have fewer occurrences of him getting out of his chair, and him getting distracted or frustrated during his work. I have been very proud to see his rapid improvement in judging time and managing himself.
You can email me at caregiverskeeper@yahoo.com to get the Printable, if you are interested in trying this with your loved one. Let me know if you try it! I would love to know if this helps you as much as it did us. Please share any suggestions for other ways to use this or improvements that you make on the Printable.
Caregiver’s Keeper 