Students may often interpret feelings of fatigue as boredom or a desire to escape the situation.
There are many different types of fatigue and, consequently, many reasons for it.
It is helpful to have some basic strategies in a “Parent Tool Kit”.
Then you may select a tool to help your student manage her feelings of fatigue during homework time.
- Provide a break that requires hard pressure such as chair push-ups, stretching or lifting a pile of books.
- Allow for a controlled movement break such as walking to another table to sharpen a pencil.
- Provide a visual break to help relax eye muscles by asking your child to look out the window at a distant target, count to five and return to task.
- Allow your child time for “vegging out” between tasks, perhaps with a short snack, it is helpful to use a timer that rings to indicate the end of break.
- Prioritise areas of emphasis, some students perform better doing the harder tasks first while other students perform better starting with the simpler tasks.
Some children experience substantial fatigue with the process of writing.
One suggestion from The Source for Dyslexia and Dysgraphia is to include exercising and stretching the fingers for a few minutes before and during the task.
Use of technology can compensate for fatigue as well as many other writing issues.
Monitor the amount of time your child spends on homework.
If you feel your child is requiring an excessively long time, keep track of the time and discuss it with your child’s teacher.
In some cases, you may wish to suggest that you limit homework to a certain amount of time and that the teacher give your child credit for what was actually completed.
In other situations, it may be advisable to decrease the amount of homework, such as having your child complete only the odd problems on a math page.
Submitted by Wynandus Bezuidenhout, Protea School principal.
