I'm bumping this because we're struggling. I am being proactive with the timer--for each assignment, I ask her to estimate how much time it will take, and then she sets the timer for that amount and has it at her desk. She gets a short breaks when she finishes something (haven't quite been organized enough to Pomodoro). This sometimes works, but at other times she will not finish in the first attempt, or the second. I do not watch her work...she is in her room (working in the living room where her brother is does NOT work) at her desk, which is mildly distracting, but there are no electronics in there and I do peek my head in. At times, she has taken 1.5 hours or more to finish a math sheet, or 40 minutes on a simple social studies assignment.
While I know the math is harder this year (these sheets may be 40 problems, many multi-step...too much), DD has no time management issues at school, always finishes in-class work and tests on time, and is a straight A student. I really don't know what she does in there in her room, other than zone out or possibly stress out. She DOES do a very good job on her HW--it is neatly done, carefully thought out, etc. I have encouraged her to get through it more quickly and not be so meticulous, to no avail. She always finishes and is relatively organized, with assignments done when due, but too much time is spent.
It is killing me to see how much time she is spending. DH says he identifies with this and that for him, the issue required an almost cell-like area for work with zero interesting items. Help???
ETA: Middle school application stress may be a factor. She's worried about getting in to the "right" school. She will, and I've made it clear to her that she will.
