How to Cure Dawdling

Questions we must first ask ourselves when we think that dawdling is a problem include:

�Am I sure the work is not too hard, nor the lessons too long?�

�Is it the habit of dawdling, or have long lessons caused his mind to stagnate?�

If it is the need of refreshing after periods of concentration,, when you see him start to drift off, send him to run around the yard five times or fetch the mail, or do 25 jumping jacks or sit ups, then return to the task. He should now return to his lessons with renewed vigor.

If you are satisfied that the lessons are not too hard nor too long, then it is a matter of training.

The length of lessons is set by mom/teacher. If the child dawdles, the lesson time is not extended. Move on to the next subject. When school time is over, the child must then finish the lesson in his own free time in the afternoon instead of enjoying whatever activities are at hand (and I would make them WHOPPERS). In other words, HOMEWORK.

It is not fair, and is even inconsiderate of him to assume that he can take as long as he wants to complete his work, and that you have nothing better to do than to wait around at his beck and call to begin the next subject when he is ready.

When raking the yard, perhaps inform the child that the job needs to be completed within XXX amount of time, so that the family can enjoy [fill in the blank]. When he hasn't completed it, the family enjoys the activity while he remains outside finishing his job.

Eventually the desire to participate in the fun activities will cause him to overcome the dawdling on his own. If he has nothing better to do than dawdle, why stop dawdling?

Susan McGlohn has researched Charlotte Mason's own ideas on dawdling and the habit of inattention:

The Habit of Attention--some quotations straight from CM, Vol. 1, Part 4

     "It is worth while for the mother to lay herself out to secure that her child never does
     a lesson into which he does not put his heart. And that is no difficult undertaking;
     the thing is, to be on the watch from the beginning against the formation of the
     contrary habit of INattention.... But truly, one of the most fertile causes of an
     overdone brain is a failure in the habit of attention. I suppose we are all ready to
     admit that it is not the things we do, but the things we FAIL TO DO, which fatigue
     us, with the sense of omission, with the worry of hurry in overtaking our tasks.
     And this is almost the only cause of failure in work in the case of the healthy
     schoolboy or schoolgirl: wandering wits hinder a lesson from being fully taken in
     at the right moment; that lesson becomes a bugbear, continually wanted henceforth
     and never there; and the sense of loss tries the young scholar more than would the
     attentive reception of a dozen such lessons."

Short 20 min. lessons - CM says:

     "This idea of definite work to be finished in a given time is valuable to the child, not          only as training him in habits of order, but in diligence; he learns that one time is
     NOT as good as another; that there is no right time left for what is not done in it's
     own time; and this knowledge alone does a great deal to secure the child's attention
     to his work. Again, the lessons are short, seldom more than 20 min. in length for
     children under 8 (or the child who is still learning to secure his whole attention);
     and this for 2 or 3 reasons. The sense that there is not much time for his sums
     or his reading, keeps the child's wits on the alert and helps to fix his attention;....."

No dawdling- CM says:

     "In the first place, never let the child dawdle over copybook or sum, sit dreaming
     with his books before him. When a child grows stupid over a lesson, it is time to
     (gently) put it away. Let him do another lesson as unlike the last as possible, and
     then go back with freshened wits to his unfinished task."

Time-Table; Definite Work In a Given Time -- CM says:

     "...meantime, let us look at a home schoolroom managed on sound principles. There
     is a time-table, written our fairly, so that the child know what he is to do and how
     long each lesson is to last. This idea of definite work to be finished in a given time is
     valuable to the child, not only as training him in habits of order, but in diligence; he
     learns that one time is NOT as good as another; that there is no right time left for
     what is not done in its own time; and this knowledge alone does a great deal to
     secure the child's attention to his work."

Natural Rewards -- CM says:

     "What is the natural consequence of work well and quickly done? Is it not the
     enjoyment of ample leisure? The boy is expected to do two right sums in twenty              minutes; he does them in ten minutes; the remaining ten minutes are his own, fairly
     earned, in which he should be free for a scamper in the garden, or any delight he
     chooses."

Vary the lessons- CM says:

     "The teacher should have some knowledge of the principles of education; should know      what subjects are best fitted for the child considering his age, and how to make these
     subjects attractive; should know, too, how to vary the lessons, so that each power of
     the child's mind should rest after effort, and some other power be called into play."

Daily copywork and weekly dictation- CM says:

     "Children should transcribe favourite Passages. A certain sense of possession and
     delight may be added to this exercise if children are allowed to choose for transcription      their favorite verse in one poem or another."

Narration- CM says:

     "In every case the reading should be consecutive from a well-chosen book. Before
     the reading for the day begins, the teacher should talk a little about the last lesson,
     with a few words about what is to be read, in order that the children may be
     animated by expectation; but she should beware of explanation, and especially of
     forestalling the narrative. Then, she may read 2 or 3 pages, enough to include an
     episode; after that, let her call upon the children to narrate,--in turns, if there be
     several of them."

One final thought that crossed my mind, is that perhaps lack of attention, and dawdling, are also signs of what CM referred to as a "lack of will", what we modern-day child observers call "willfulness". A lack of self-governing. I would suggest reading Part VI about the will and seeing if that applies to the unique situation any of us might be dealing with.