How can I help DS learn to "focus" at school?

[blithedance]

Have just got DS's school report - he's in YR1. They have mentioned something which we know anyway - he is reasonably bright but doesn't always apply himself or concentrate very well. He's also a bit of a daydreamer and I suspect the last to get dressed after PE etc. I'm guessing "trouble concentrating" is teacher-speak for "has to be told what to do 50 times".

For instance at the school play last week I could see he was away with the fairies, fiddling with his mask, looking all round the room.

Now I am really not trying to push him or force him into a mould but really how might I gently teach him to be a bit more focussed when the occasion calls for it, that's a life skill really. I am not the most focussed person myself and it's not easy when it's against your temperament, but I'd hate to think he wasn't reaching his potential in life for want of some, I don't know, training for want of a better word.

When I asked him if he had trouble doing his work he said school was too noisy...

Am I making any sense? Any ideas?

ahhh i have no idea but he sounds just like i was at school and no-one did anything that made me any better!!!

Ds (year 1) report

'needs to ensure he listens attentively..'

'requires support and encouragement to follow instructions'

'needs to listen rather more'

although also

'he can listen more attentively when he puts his mind to it'

All written by the same teacher. I reckon the last one hits the nail on the head - make the lessons interesting and most children will listen and focus.

Does your ds do any out of school activities? Ds does various sports which do require him focusing and is good practice for school.

I'd have a chat with the teacher - they must deal with this a lot so maybe they have some ideas.

Thinking about the classroom environment might help. Here's a few ideas, some of which would be easy to put into place, some harder and would need staff/governor support. I think all would benefit many children but you might have to think about how to present them.

Could he sit at the front so that he can focus on the teacher without seeing all the other children in front of him all the time?

Could they consider setting up a quiet area, ideally in the classroom, which doesn't have millions of display items up, and is generally less stimulating to be in? He could do some of his work there. A lot of children who are developing typically might find this useful as well, and many children with special needs would; perhaps they could consider creating a less overstimulating classroom generally - I think working in ds's classroom must sometimes be like trying to meditate in a fairground.

If I were you, I would have a look at any helpful sites about ADHD - I am NOT suggesting in any way that a bit of trouble attending in Year 1 is anything other than totally typical, nor am I trying to suggest that anyone who has a child with ADHD can fix it by looking at a few websites... but since poor attention is often a feature of ADHD, the sites might have some useful ideas.

E.g. regular refocusing - setting the goals for a task first, then asking as you do the work towards it to check whether your son has remembered what the goals are - 'let's get dressed for school' - 'where are we going to go once we're dressed?' Prob a bad example and I haven't got the references for it to hand, sorry. Will try and htink of more stuff.

Sorry, lost track of all the ideas I was allegedly going to post- my own attention skills are limited sometimes....

Classroom amplification. It's a biggish deal as a system for a classroom would cost about £1000 but the impact on educational outcomes is supposed to be amazing. Really good for kids with any sort of hearing loss, but many many children with developmental problems have difficulty processing auditory info, and it has potentially good impact for them too. Google it and have a chat to your teacher and governors.

jigsaws.

when done frame them

My ds (Y2) had much the same report in Y1. We have tried countless things as outlined by other posters - and he has improved but the thing that I believe has had the most impact is time! That and a bit of pre-teaching at home, so he already knows a lot of what he is being taught and that has allowed him to engage in the lesson without making so much of an effort. It has also given him more confidence as a learner. I'd liken it to being given a push to start and once he's been given a push he can peddle along quite nicely, but that initial effort can be too much like hard work so they switch off. Adding the first layer of knowledge at home in a quiet environment, with one to one support, is making all the difference.