So I think these first few posts are going to be a little bit of an explanation of how we homeschool, our technique, curriculum, and philosophy. Today's topic:
My husband gets free books in the mail for a sort of techy geek club that he started. (He's a web developer by profession.) Usually they are technical geeky books, but one month he received a book called The Pomodoro Technique and I read it. I found it fascinating and tried the technique for my own daily activities, and I found it to be successful. So we experimented and put our older children to the test with it for their school work and it was successful with them as well, and we continue to use it.
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
Basically, you have your own personal timer and everyday you write a list of the things you want to accomplish that day. For every task on your list you plan to spend 25 minutes working on completing that task. These 25 minute sessions are called "Pomodoro". After each Pomodoro you take a strict five minute break. During these breaks you can do whatever you want such as get a drink, go to the bathroom, check your email, check your Facebook, read, etc. After the five minute break you set the timer again, and work on another task on the list. The official technique, of course, goes into more detail and addresses things such as "What if I don't finish my task?", "What if I get interrupted?", and "What if I finish early?" You can download and read the entire book here. Cool, eh?
For our children the daily list remains pretty constant and includes the variety of subjects that they study and their daily chores. My third grader uses the microwave timer. My fourth grader uses an electronic timer she carries around. I've been impressed with their ability to stay focused on each task. It has definitely solved issues of procrastination while working on their least favorite subjects.
As for myself, I loosely use the technique during the day due to the plethora of interruptions that I have with seven children. I use it in the evenings though to help me get some cleaning, reading, school planning, corresponding, and TV watching completed. I recommend to attempt the technique all day long for at least one week to help you get an idea as to how it works and its effectiveness. It's cool.
More next time about the subjects and activities that we study...
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