Oh what to do??...my fifth grader is having major problems with his homework. He doesn't focus, doesn't seem to care and sometimes just doesn't get it. We have to sit next to him and do every problem otherwise he will have to redo worksheets 2 and 3 times. He is a smart kid when he applies himself. He is on the younger side of fifth grade. Help me...I don't want to do fifth grade again!! Should we get a tutor...punish him...I don't know where to go from here!
2006-09-20 12:59:23 · 28 answers · asked by Hydee 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Grade-Schooler
Have him checked with his Pediatrician to see if you are dealing with learning problems or ADD. also the stress of doing things right all the time, makes kids nervous and gittery. the problem may well be you, try a paid tutor. The Sylvan Learning Center is great for kids. Used it for one child out of 5. the center was a life saver and they run diagnostic tests. my son had a learning problem. what threw everyone was he was and is, a math WiZ. he can add multiply devide all in his head at accellerated math. he was given his own space, and it threw all of us off thinking him lazy and not understanding the level of his disability. he graduated high school! I can honestly say that I was not sure he'd make it out of grade school. 4 of the kids prior to him had mad eit. my days, much like yours, were spent spinning my wheels with what to do.frustrated and angry. Now with the net we can connect people so much easier....Good luck! hug your son and tell him you will help him through this troubling time. he must feel just as bad as you that he can't perform and is not "getting things" I know this must break your heart, he's your child and needs help.
2006-09-20 13:21:44 · answer #1 · answered by Beamer 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh, deja vu! Also had a fifth grade son, do the exact same thing. I discovered he really didn't have a grasp on the material. Since he had gotten lost at the beginning, he wasn't making progress. Unfortunately, the class work still marched on, and he got left behind. That made him feel stupid, and he gave up even really trying. Since he wasn't a troublemaker in class, and the teacher had a classfull, she just left him be. We stuggled with the homework for almost a month before I finally went to the teacher about it. Problem was, she was in no position to be helpful, and really wasn't that interested.
Providing his trouble is that he genuinely doesn't understand the work, and you can afford a tutor, that may be the best solution. We couldn't afford one, and there wasn't one available close to where we lived anyway. Rather than leave him to fail, we ended up homeschooling. I don't suggest that as a solution for everyone, as you have to decide if you can and want to. With our son it worked out for the best. He caught up to grade level within a few months, and even ended up finishing the course ahead of schedule. Since he and I could work at his pace, he didn't have to struggle and get left behind. He didn't feel like a failure anymore, and his overall attitude improved radically.
Although at first we did punish him by not allowing television, etc, it didn't seem to help any. In hindsight, I think it just made the situation worse. He felt like nobody was interested in helping him, and knew he couldn't do it on his own. Once he saw that we were trying to help him, though, he really did try. We already knew he wasn't a morning person, and unfortunately they did the math first thing of a morning. The teacher did 100 problem drills at 8am, and then went into the math lesson. Since she couldn't alter her schedule, and he wasn't going to do better with it, we were really stuck. Once we started homeschooling, though, I shifted the math to later in the morning. I discovered if we did math just one hour later in the morning, his comprehension level was much higher. We also added a few computer learning games for him to use/play in the afternoons after his work was finished. They did the same drills, but it was more enjoyable than the teacher's old 100 problem mind-numbing drills first thing of a morning.
I don't know if any of this will help you, but I wish you luck. Mostly it's just finding whatever will help the child suceed, and try to find a solution before he absolutely gives up. It may be he's bored and the work doesn't challenge him, or it may be he is just not catching on to the way the teacher is presenting it. It may be like our son, and have a lot to do with the timing. Don't lose heart, you'll find the right solution for yourself and your son, I'm sure.
2006-09-20 13:41:09 · answer #2 · answered by The mom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Believe me. Punishing won't help. A tutor can be expensive but if you are able to get an older child (maybe 4 grades higher) to tutor him (they work for cheap), they may help to provide that added support. But if he really does not know the material, you may need a tutor who is really knowlegeable in the area he needs help in. I know it can be frustrating, especially when you know he is capable, but keep searching if that doesn't seem to help.
And from personal experience, those places like Sylvan or Score are black holes of money, with slow results.
2006-09-20 13:06:56 · answer #3 · answered by Speaking_Up 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well it is a good idea not to do any extra activities after school till he can buckle down. He may be bored with the work and needs a much bigger challenge! Talk to his teacher and see if they can sneak in some 6th grade work and see how he works with that! If he is truly having issues maybe a tutor would be a good idea!! Good Luck!
2006-09-20 13:03:57 · answer #4 · answered by kolowski4 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get a tutor. high school students are always looking for jobs and a program at my school hooks up the students with tutors and the tutor decides on the pay. its great, my sister is tutoring a girl right now. you should see if the highschool in your area has something like that. good luck...
and i think what 'friddy' means is there are tricks for different math things, like an acronym for order of operations... thats pre- algebra stuff tho.
2006-09-20 17:29:32 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should get a private tutor that could come at home. I think your kid needs more help than punishment. Also, you could encourage him to apply himself on homework by giving him some kinda reward each time he does great at school, for the first week, then reduce rewards to one per week (on weekend for example) to one per month or at the end of each semester. Learning support + reward for his progress could really help.
2006-09-20 14:37:51 · answer #6 · answered by ?T?T?? (leticia_chatre) 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is there a problem with the teacher or does he just not care. We had to phyiscally walk stepdaughter into classroom to make sure homework got turned in. Didn't the school year just start, work with him and get a tutor.
2006-09-20 13:32:04 · answer #7 · answered by chiefs fan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
DOnt punish him if he tries his best. Thats the most important thing. You should get him a tutor so he understand the work better or he can do Kumon or Sylvan Learning Center or something like thaT. hE has to have the info broken down to understand it. and there are patterns and things that help like for math " Please Excuse My AUnt Sally" he hasnt gone that far in school to learn it but just something like that. The P in please stands for parenthesesis and so on like a little lingo for him to know.That breaks the situation in steps so he can do it. You should also help him understand.Maybe he thinks to hard then doesnt understand or gets easeily distracted. He has to focus.
2006-09-20 13:23:23 · answer #8 · answered by heyitspreeti 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I hear you. I went through the same thing last year with mine and I'm doing it again this year. If he's really trying, use the reward system where he can earn things he likes by doing his homework. They don't have to be big things, just things like an extra half hour of TV or a family movie night or outing. If he's just screwing around and trying to get out of it (my scenario) then take away things like TV privileges or computer time. Good luck!
2006-09-20 13:11:24 · answer #9 · answered by Tammie C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hire a tutor. Costco this week had a Sylvan home program for $92. I think it would be worth it so your son doesn't have to repeat a grade. It also comes with a certificate for a free learning assesment at one of their centers.
2006-09-20 13:02:29 · answer #10 · answered by Ryan's mom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋