Then we took the smaller sheet of red paper, and cut out a square
the same size as the squares on the large sheet of white drawing
paper. I told them the red square represented all the time they had
to spend on their homework. When the red square was placed on any
square on the large sheet of white drawing paper filling it
entirely, it was obvious the time they had to spend on their
homework would fill the entire day - the untenable
situation, the situation they were confronting, the situation they
were
afraid
of, the situation they were concerned about. It's no fun for a
child (and, believe me, it's no fun for their
parent
either) to contemplate homework taking so long.
But the instructions they're given, of course, are rarely to do all
their homework in one day or immediately or all at once. Homework
assignments are mostly given with a due date. The idea of managing
time is to complete a task by the due date - which doesn't require
it all be done in one day or immediately or all at once. And I had
a great way of moving time around I could impart to
my children,
knowing how much of a difference it would make in their lives.
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