What I Discovered About Timed Drills
Yes, we were doing school in bed all snuggled up with our dog.
Tests and drills! I disliked them both!
I was one of those students that knew the material well, but once the test came, I'd choke. So, when my daughter has a test, I do my best not to be obvious about my dislike of tests and make the experience as pleasant as possible for her.
Then Math Drills happened! I noticed that when we began doing Math Speed Drills she would get pretty worked up and totally missed problems that she definitely knew. After a couple of tears and days of trying to figure out how to get over this stress, it occurred to me that it was not the drill itself that was stressing her out, it was the fact that she was too aware of the time factor. In other words, this proves that she is my daughter!
So, for the next drill I told her that I was not going to time her. Wow! She did her drill in under a minute! (I know, I know! Yes, sorry, I lied! I was secretly timing her!). I did tell her afterwards that I timed her and that she scored 100% in under a minute. She was quite surprised! Now we take turns. Sometimes I time her and sometimes I don't, but I never tell her when. She likes it and does not stress about it anymore. This is one of the many beauties of homeschooling. Instead of continuing to stress about something your child is struggling with, you can take time to figure things out and make sure she is learning in a comforting environment. It also shows our kids that we can problem solve together and come up with useful solutions without altering the importance of learning. I just love homeschooling!
