The more sources of noise you introduce into an environment, the louder each source becomes in competition to be heard. This is especially trying in a classroom environment, and even more so in a home school environment where there are more noises like telephones, doorbells, washing machines, neighbors, etc. The main goal is for the speaker to be heard and the listeners to be able to hear. But all too often, it is an annoyance/avoidance tactic by younger children to make random noise and distract from the task at hand. This can be as obvious as a loud Indian whoop or as subtle as a tapping finger. My thoughts on this are to get the child in a mental place where they direct that energy toward a different outlet – namely, learning.
Tips to try to help avoid :
Clean, tidy, work area free of distractions
Perseverance and patience
Change subject matter at a pace that will not “bore”
Study least favorite topics after physical activity like recess
Sometimes a rigid schedule works for some children
Tips for interrupting unwanted behavior:
Physical task like jumping jacks or bunny-hopping across the room and back
Visualization (eyes closed, focusing on image in the mind. I like a bouncing ball that they make slow down until it is just resting.)
Tap on the head (sometimes children don’t realize when they are being distracting)
