Oy

[yendi]

I just checked Elayna's math homework. She got 13/30 problems wrong. There are 1x2 digit problems (3x86, for example). It would be one thing if this was too hard for her. But almost all of her mistakes are careless. She's either forgetting to carry the tens digit, or just plain making a careless addition mistake. The problem isn't that she doesn't know it; it's that she's overconfident and sloppy. When I told her how many she got wrong, she told me, "At least it wasn't that many." I explained that this would be a failing grade, which shocked her.

Anyone know how to motivate an incredibly smart but also not very careful child?

Edit: Upon redoing the ones I circled, she still had six wrong. Again, all sloppy. She's got another one of these assignments on Wednesday. We'll see if she puts in a better effort then.

Comments

[branwynelf.livejournal.com]

If you find something that works, let me know? I promise to do the same in reverse. *sigh*

[tygerlilly.livejournal.com]

Oh it drives me crazy when my kids fail a multiplication test due to careless errors - when I know that they know it. I'm a believer in multiple intelligences - not sure if you are. But one thing for bodily - kinesthetic students that I've picked up is getting a soccer ball and writing random numbers on the different segments, filling the ball up. When she catches the ball, whatever her thumbs land on are two numbers she can multiply together (or divide or whatever you want). You can make a game out of it - It may be more entertaining for her. Just a thought.

[mooseloon.livejournal.com]

give her a *minimum* time to do her worksheet/homework. My parents used to do this with me, as i'd do the same thing. Knowing that you have to sit there staring at the sheet if you finish early ANYWAY tends to make one rush less.

[atrophying]

My parents/teachers used to bribe me with non-tangible things. Seriously. Additional computer time, additional books from the library, that kind of thing. I've also seen minimum time limits recommended, which works well (my parents had a span of time set aside every day, and if I didn't have enough homework to fill that time, then they had educational video games and the like to fill that time).

The biggest thing that helps, though, is to understand *why* Elayna is making these mistakes. Does she view it as busywork? Does she have something else that she wants to be doing? Does she want to move onto another concept in that class, and is frustrated that she can't? If you know exactly why she's making these errors, then it's a lot easier to find the proper motivation.

[ninjakitten]

Does she =like= math? I never liked it, despite being good at it, and I'd rush through it to get it over with...

I like the minimum time limit idea. Another thought is rewards for perfect (or no more than one wrong) homework assignments -- something she actually wants, but nothing too big. Or, alternatively, punishments for the opposite, but, well.

Honestly, the main thing my parents ever did was openly expect nothing less than 'A's from me. Poor grades were just not an option, and they were Very Disappointed when I was careless... it does work, overall. *^_^*

I tended to be sloppy with things I felt were a waste of time -- which included if I had a chance to fix the homework in class, or if it wasn't collected/graded, or only graded as 'done' or 'not done'. If you're grading it, that might suffice.

This is a good time to work on instilling her with a good work ethic, doing things right away, quickly, and well, I think... easier said than done, but it's hard to stop slacker habits once they start. I should know. *^_^*

Anyway, I don't know if any of that would help at all; I don't have kids, I just remember back then.

[unwilly.livejournal.com]

Cattle prod
Candy/Healthy Snack rewards. I hear that Begging Strips are good. HEh.
More one on one time with you or 'song.
Sticker board that marks progress, and when a row is complete she gets and activity:
library visit, trip to the playground, friend over for a night ect.
Math challenge: You and she compete to see who can get the most right. If she ties or beats you, then you have to do something silly to amuse her.

[dydan.livejournal.com]

I wish I knew!
My stepson is extremely bright. Every parent/teacher conference I have attended sounds the same. "David is the smartest child in the class (pause) ...but he never turns in his homework."

This has gone on since ummmm...kindergarten. His problem is that he is bored and not challenged in school, so he blows off the homework (usually by ditching it or burying it in assorted places in his bedroom).

Some days I want to beat the boy...but then I remember how anylytical he is. He's so busy being in his head that everything else falls to the wayside.

I have yet to come up with the Magic Parental Cure for that little "phase".

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

All I can really add is sympathy. I was always a smart but disinterested student in a lot of ways, too. Never fond of maths.

Erm... bribery? The challenge of whumping somebody else at the thing? [helpless shrug]

have her...

[simplykimberly.livejournal.com]

check her own work. Seriously, that helped my almost 10-year-old decide to take the time. When I would tell him "you missed 13 - go find them" and he had to. All of a sudden HE found the value in doing it right the first time.

Good luck!

[hotcoffeems.livejournal.com]

All of the above are great suggestions. I'd implement each and every one of them until one sticks.

But if all else fails (and this is perhaps drastic)...I'd consider having her turn it in filled with the careless mistakes. Sometimes the shock of actually seeing the shit grade in red ink pen is a powerful motivator if a kid's just being lackadaisical.

OTOH, I will tell you that as bright as I was as a kid, I really, really really had problems with math classes. People (teachers, parents) assumed I was not trying since I was "so smart," but I genuinely struggled with it. I reckon I was actually math-impaired, if that's possible.

[alecto23.livejournal.com]

This isn't quite the same thing, but might be adaptible.

When I was having trouble doing math problems, I found it really helpful to start explaining it to someone else—usually my brother. Often, the process of explaining what I was doing helped me actually see the answer before he had the chance to tell it to me.

Maybe try having her explain what she's doing, force her to actually think about it and verbalise it—get both hemispheres of the brain going at once, too.

But I also agree with the people who have pointed out that unless you understand why she doesn't do them properly, you probably won't get very far. Is she bored? Does she hate math? Does she think it's too easy? Depending on the answer, one of the other solutions suggested might work—for example, if she thinks it's too easy, the strategy suggested of having her turn in the work incorrect and get it back circled in red ink everywhere might just do the trick. That probably won't work if she hates it, though.

Just my $0.05.

Raise the bar...

[nailedshut.livejournal.com]

It could be that the challenge is not sufficient.

Give her one of the problems that she got wrong, and teach her how to do them in her head. Sell it as a "trick" and suggest that it is a fun game to do in addition to the pencil and paper routine.

You might also want to press the rebel button by implying that doing it in your head is forbidden, and should only be done in addition to the old fashioned way.

My folks instilled this in me, and left me with the impression that *any* way you got the right answer was good, but showing your work was a simple concession to "The Man" to get good grades.

Good luck!

[dindin.livejournal.com]

When you figger it out, let me know. I still rush through stuff that I think is "easy"...::shake::

[yendi]

That's a great idea, but not practical for us, as she does a good deal of her homework at her after-school program (and I don't want to make her wait until 5:00 before she can start her homework, especially on nights when she has karate). Also, although she's careless, she usually does spend a lot of time on the work. She's good at sitting there staring at the sheet. :-)

[yendi]

We do some bribing for her reading (every half hour of reading earns her more tv time). I suspect that of the possible motivations you cite, wanting to finish it so she can do fun stuff is her big motivation.

[yendi]

I think that may be a part of it -- she's very good at math, but she doesn't enjoy it as much as she used to (although I think a good part of that is peer pressure, too). My one problem with expecting nothing less than 'A's is that, well, that's what I went through, and the crap I got made me less likely to keep trying, and a lot more resentful. I do expect Elayna to try for nothing lower than an A, but I don't want a reward/punishment system built on things outside her control (mind you, this assignment is something within her grasp -- I'm talking long-term here).

But yeah, pusing the work ethic now (when she's not getting letter grades or stuff that alters her chances later on) is what I'm trying to work on with her.

[yendi]

I may try that. I was using a variation of that last night when I was showing her the mistakes the second time, asking her to explain what 8x4 was, then showing her the problem 8x124, where she wrote down an answer ending in a 3). As for motivation, it's really a matter of her just not liking to spend time on work, when she could be goofing off. I really wish it were boredom or it being too easy.

[yendi]

I like that idea. I'm not going to try it on Wednesday's homework (I'll try the one where she has to correct things herself), but if she continues to slack, I may go for it.

Re: have her...

[yendi]

I love that idea! That's what I'm going to try next time.

Re: Raise the bar...

[yendi]

I like the rebel idea. I may try to get that one to work.

[astrophysicat.livejournal.com]

I only know her through LJ, so I could be way off, but if what she'd rather do is goof off, I'd say it is through lack of interest. And for someone as bright as her, interest is created through challenge. I think your method of trying to get her to explain the concept rather than thinking of it as a stupid set of manipulation rules is the right way to go. If you can engage her analytical, story-telling side in working out the concept, then maybe she won't be so bored. And definitely the ability to check her answer for plausibility will serve her incredibly well in the future.

my two cents.