Everybody deals with procrastination at some point in their lives, even homeschooled students. Nevertheless, there is a big difference between the occasional bout of procrastination and a habit of procrastination that develops into a full-blown life time problem. It is something that the homeschooled student must avoid at all costs in order to be successful as a student and later on in life. Thus, those parents that homeschool their children need to keep a wary eye out for behaviors associated with procrastination and teach their homeschooler how to overcome the hurdles that procrastination can create for them.
The symptoms of procrastination will be easy to identify in your homeschooler: a high distractibility factor, a slow turn-around factor in the way of produced work, the mounting pile of excuses offered because work is uncompleted. These are the signs of procrastination not only in homeschooled students but in every student that engages in procrastination. Yet, procrastination can be extremely detrimental to the homeschooled student because, often times, the homeschooled student's workload is a bit heavier than the workload of students attending public schools. Ultimately, it is easier for the homeschooler to wind up significantly behind if they partake in procrastination one time too many.
The homeschooled student can be taught to successfully avoid procrastination when parents teach good study skills and organizational skills to the child. The homeschooler should be encouraged to study without any distractions at a set time each day in a quiet study area. Moreover, the homeschooled child should be taught how to set priorities and such priorities should include studies as their first one. Homeschool students also need organizational skills so that the temptation of procrastination will not appeal to them. A good time management strategy is effective in eliminating procrastination as long as the homeschooler is willing to stick the designed time plan.
Parents should allow ample time for leisurely pursuits so that the homeschooler will not feel the need to procrastinate. Leisure time is just as crucial to the homeschooler as study time. A good balance between down time and study time should be created for the homeschooler and a homeschooled child should be included in the time management creating process. If the homeschooled student is taught how to effectively manage their time, they will be less likely to procrastinate and more willing to participate in scheduled events.
________________________________________________________________
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because "our current system of education has broken its promise..." Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.
Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.