My Son's Brain Seems Scrambled Sometimes and I'm Not Sure What's Going On

His brain is growing and making wiring between the different parts. Sometimes the previous wiring is being redone...different wiring is happening so those previous parts are getting overwritten? I don't know how to explain it very well.

Windows in the brain open and information floods into it then suddenly that window shuts and another one opens. This is how the brain works. It's not doing everything at the same time.

He's working on something else.

Please consider not doing homework with him. Unless he goes to school year round he doesn't really need to do stuff over the summer. More and more teachers are doing their research and finding that homework actually doesn't work. They learn what they learn at school then when they come home they need to be kids and have fun outside and doing family things. Kids that have regular homework actually test lower than kids who never bring anything home. I read that research on the department of education's site. They promote no homework.

when i was in college learning about how to be a teacher for birth thru first grade we were repeatedly told. constantly reminded and it was enforced daily that copier pages of stuff to do was unacceptable.
we were to find hands on activities for the kids to do. no worksheets, no pages to fill out. actual activities. if we wanted to do bugs then we took the kids outside to find bugs, if we were talking about water turning to ice we went to a freezer. there were no worksheets, just hands on learning.
i suggest you ditch the worksheets and go for some hands on stuff. a trip tp the zoo, use rocks outside to show math and adding. have him help in the kitchen to learn measuring. build a bird house together to show how measuring works for that. no more papers to do, just hands on fun times.

If you went to work for a full day of desk work and then came home to a pile of paperwork from your boss, would you tune out and be sick of it?

Your child spends 7 hours a day in school, and he comes home to worksheets? Maybe he's trying to get it out of the way so he's just throwing down some nonsense answers or tuning out entirely!

So what's your goal? Are you totally focused on academic skills, based on regurgitating information like addition/subtraction facts or spelling words? What about other things to develop his brain - like free play, creative arts, nature walks, building with blocks and figuring things out (structure, support, etc.), combining items from different play sets in new and fun ways, flying a kite, making bird feeders out of pine cones/peanut butter/seed, developing gross motor skills by riding a bike or throwing a frisbee with you, figuring out how to fly a kite, making an ant farm or looking at caterpillars through a magnifying glass....get the idea?

Maybe there's nothing wrong with his brain. Maybe there's something off in your approach and your insistence on a certain method of teaching.

He's 7. He needs to play, to develop social skills, to have down time, to just be a kid rather than a student all the time. Being a "student of life" is so important! No child does well in high school, college, or the working world if all he can do is sit and fill out papers. Let him be his full and complete self! You are just as good a mother - even better, actually - if you take your child on a nature walk with a bucket to pick up cool stuff and let him come home where maybe he decides to wash, dry and paint some rocks to give as paperweights to Grandma and Uncle Josh. Or maybe he doesn't - he just builds a mini rock wall and then breaks it down a day later to build something else.

If he has problems at school with focus and attention, the teacher will let you know, either by email or during a conference. If he needs services, he can get them from skilled educators and psychologists during the school day. But you're not saying anything along those lines. And even if he did need specialized help, it doesn't change the fact that he needs play time and down time and fun reading (no one correcting his words) at home.

How does he do in school? Is the teacher concerned?

My best guess is sometimes he's interested, and other times he's not so much. My kids could drag out homework and not pay attention if they weren't interested or had something else they'd rather be doing.

If it's more involved than that, and he literally can't make sense of something he has previously mastered, then I'd talk to his teacher and see if she/he has any concerns and go from there. They usually can advise.

ETA: Just read your SWH. I have a child not much older than yours, and doing an hour on a weekend of worksheets (even spaced out) would not go over well with mine (or any of my kids for that matter). That's a lot. Or here it is considered to be. My little one gets 2 sheets of homework (like worksheets) to do over the school week in the evenings. She can finish it in about ten minutes. So you're expectations (no offence) might be a little bit unrealistic.

I wonder if it's not that he doesn't know what to do, he just doesn't want to do it.

I would try to find other ways to engage his mind. It's great if you can take him to museums or the zoo. Obviously you can't do that everyday. But you can also ask him to help you bake cookies or prepare a meal. He can read a little bit each day. All of those things will do more for his brain than worksheets.

It's the end of the year. He's done. He's 7! Maybe give him a break with the worksheets. Let him go play.

Give the kid a break, please.

I homeschool right now, and we do probably 3 hours of school at most each day.

I understand summer learning loss (we do year-round homeschool with lots of breaks), but if you are worried about academics, my suggestion is finding a tutor and doing that once a week, and then, stop! Just keep the schoolwork there.

And yeah, worksheets are boring as heck for many kids. I use them judiciously with my ten year old, but we often play games to reinforce math facts. I use the worksheets more for assessment of how much he can do on any given skill set independently. Otherwise, find some fun games instead.

Why are you giving him worksheets? Do you homeschool and it is part of the curriculum? If you don't homeschool, do the worksheets follow the school curriculum he is currently completing? Does he need practice because he is falling behind? If you're giving worksheets at random that are not part of a cohesive educational plan, then you may be contributing to whatever problem you think you're seeing.

Instead of worksheets, take him to the park to play. Go to a museum to see new things. Take him out for ice cream and just talk to each other about whatever is on his mind.

Summer bridge activities are really important so that kids don't lose part of what they learned earlier in the year.

But the other ladies are giving you very good advice. You need to be be more creative in your approach with him.

Honestly, he's probably tired from all the school work of the year. And school is not one worksheet after another, unless he has a lazy and bad teacher! Elementary school for this age set is still learning by doing and learning by fun. If you were a K-2nd grade teacher, you would know that. And if you are NOT a teacher, you need to step up your game working with him.

He needs fun games for learning. He needs activities. Museums, the library, art museum, treasure hunts, and lots of physical activity this summer. Very little TV or electronics.

He also needs down time where he's staring at the sky and trees and making up stuff in his head.

Don't be "the school". Be the mother who facilitates fun learning. Summer is fun, but it's work. You can't just give him pieces of paper and have that be it.

If hes at regular school i really wouldnt be dng extra work especially making it a chore scheduled every so often..he could jst be bored of it all n acts like he dont know r like if hes bored.its called frustrated.one work sheet one time is for fun bt a second is a secnd nagging teacher ..anywhoo.if u insist on doublilng braing time to cause headaches try blocks r fun ideas to ..extra work deserves icecream n extra fun activities as rewards.also has anything changed besides that.maybe hes stuck on problems..bt it wont happen all of a sudden...does he also get hyper?...need glasses?