As soon as you notice your child’s attention wandering or signs of agitation, start planning your break. If you really want to work a bit longer, you could try the three strategies listed above. These may increase focus for a bit longer, but your child has already told you by his behavior that he is fatigued and ready for a break.

There is a phenomenon that we have noticed and that has been articulated to us by many learners. We call it “focus fatigue”. TAGteach requires intense focus from both teacher and learner and it is not possible to keep this level of focus up for long.

To end a session, stop on a high note that has occurred naturally. Resist the temptation for “just one more”. Even if the child is asking for more, stop and have a break. You can gradually extend the length of sessions as the child shows more and more prolonged interest and ability.

If you have passed that best effort, high note and things are starting to go downhill, give an easy tag point so that you can end with a success.

If you keep teaching sessions short, you and your child will get more out of it, have more fun and less stress.

You can also use breaks from formal teaching as informal tagging sessions. Tag for behaviors you like during breaks, if the breaks seem to be longer and more prevalent than you might like at first. There is more discussion later in the course about this issue of “breaks”.