Pay Attention Part 2
We already determined in last weeks blog, Pay Attention Part 1,that focus is what kids need to complete all learning tasks. “Paying attention,” is a natural state of being rather than some ambiguous skill.
Here are 3 ways to think about focus. Kids can build the ability to focus.
1. What does focus look like? Think of the champion athlete bouncing from leg to leg. Stretching before the biggest athletic event. Are they simply warming up? No, they are using physiological tasks to build mental focus. This may be your kid. Observe them and determine what they do to build focus. If they don’t have physiological responses to focus teach them some strategies. Breathing exercises, tapping, and other strategies can be developed to build focus.
2. Determine what tasks are strengths and weaknesses for your kid. Can your kid focus on building a complex puzzle, use building blocks, or craft for hours? To build focus you must identify how your child uses focus to complete learning tasks. It’s easy to build more focus for the tasks that are strengths. Add more complex and interesting tasks. As parents we do this easily. We start with the simplest toys to buying 1,000 piece building sets we could hardly help them complete.
Building focus for weaknesses our kids may have is short sessions and consistent practice. For instance, one of my kids struggled with learning math facts. The timed tests and instruction in school stressed her out. She compared her progress to other kids in class. We built stamina and consistent practice by working with her at home. If your kid struggles with reading, building focus may look like shorter more frequent reading sessions.
3. Environment is everything to building focus. Also how you interact with that environment to focus is important too. Think of the classic test scenario at school. Remember when you were little, spelling test time. Were you looking around the room, tapping your foot, tapping your pencil and starting to sweat? Personally, if I could get up and take a lap around the classroom or stand at my desk I could have focused so much better. Look at what environment your kid could focus in best. Ask questions about their classroom environment and how they perform.
In a nutshell, making your kid pay attention is not some learning skill that will give your kid the gift of academic success. Learning how to focus is the key to building academic success.
I would be concerned if you get feedback from school that your kid doesn’t pay attention. Follow up with this discussion on Focus and ask for some observational data.
If you need more support please reach out.
Melissa Saliva is a Reading Consultant and founder of Beacon Valley Literacy Services. She helps parents help kids with dyslexia.