Dear Loved Ones,
The after school schedule becomes a bit more complicated during the second month of a new school year. Clubs and sports are kicking in and our after school hours are slimming down. This tends to occur just in time for the more challenging and longer term homework assignments begin to surface.
Less time. More work. Sounds like a training course for adulthood, right?
We find ourselves in a tricky after school storm of interesting activities, increased need for additional time spent on make up work and test retakes.
I've also noticed a spike in school resistance and sick days during this phase. Our kids begin to feel like they just need a break. (They probably do.)
This week is the perfect time to talk about time. Read on to discover why our struggling students lack time awareness and how we can teach them to better manage their schedules.
Enjoy!
In my experience, students with executive function challenges, struggle with the concept of time. They just don't seem to feel or sense time as it ticks by. This is a problem, because if they don't feel time, they can't trigger that time related sense of urgency.... well, until the deadline is right in front of their nose.
They tend to be chronically late, last minute, and rushing. Sound familiar?
Is Your Student Time Blind?
If one of your frustrations is a seemingly, total absence of urgency towards deadlines, then you likely have a time blind student on your hands.
With time blind students, the mental, emotional, motivational alarm bells just don't naturally activate. And (as I'm sure you know) telling them about how they should be feeling that urgency, doesn't seem to spark it either. It is so frustrating.
Let’s tackle time management in the only way that makes sense to our struggling student's unique brains.
Time Blocking
Time blocking allows our time blind students to SEE time, in order to FEEL time, and hopefully trigger that much needed time related urgency.
We will make time visible by representing time with equal intervals of space. For example, the analog clock does that nicely for us. Analog clocks use space to tell us where we are in time. How much time is behind us, and in front of us.
The Time Map
Use a paper week view schedule with time intervals. I really like this one, or you could print my Weekly Time Map (above).
Keep this one with the homework station. We use this one to really think through how to use the hours in the upcoming week.
Beware of white space. White space registers as free time, so if you have an expectation for that time, be sure to write it down/color it in.
Preplan time management weekly:
Commitments - Shade in commitments such as school, clubs, sports, practices, tutoring, coaching, dinner with gradparents, counseling, doctor appointments, etc.
Travel & Prep - Don't forget to block out the time that should be spent getting ready, and time spent driving. Don't assume that your struggling student will automatically think of this.
Homework Time - Now we can plan our dedicated school work time. I suggest no more than 10 min. per grade level (ex. 6th grade = no more than 60 min.).
Chores Time - Allow your student to weigh in on this one too. Consider writing the chores on the side and allowing your student to fill in when they will do what.
Let’s get on the same page with our struggling students regarding time, in the only way that makes sense to their unique brains. Visually.
We can't change our struggling student's ability to sense time, but we CAN help them SEE it. When our brains struggle to do something internally, we simply find a way to do it externally. Time blocking is just that.
Continue to use this strategy weekly to build those life long habit around managing time visually.
