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Ways to Help Your Child With Homework
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Last year, Sapphire had a difficult time with school. Homework was a big struggle for us, because most of the time she would just say she didn't have any. In reality, she left it at school – or hid it in her desk, or whatever else – and her teacher assumed it made it home. This year, we have a plan in place… a checks and balances of sorts… to make sure homework makes it home. Getting the homework completed can be a different story, so I asked my friend for some tips on helping Saff with her homework. She wrote me an article to share with you guys — PLEASE leave your tips in the comments! I appreciate any help/tips/advice I can get!
Is your child struggling with homework? It’s not an ideal situation to have your child come home and notice they’re struggling with their homework. There are some things you can do to help prepare your child for the school year ahead.
Help Them Understand the Reason for Homework
Understanding the importance of homework can be a hard concept to grasp for some kids. Establishing why homework is necessary is something you might have to do. Attitude is everything and if your child doesn’t understand or is negative towards the idea of homework, this can hinder their ability to get it done.
Utilize the Internet
There are some things being taught in your child’s fifth grade class that you might not have learned until your freshmen year of high school. If you’re uncertain about a specific topic, make sure you utilize all of the tools in front of you. For example: if your son or daughter is struggling with the sounds of the alphabet, using tools like Starfall.com can help them get some extra practice in. Since it’s an educational computer game, they won’t necessarily feel like they are actually learning, which is a plus for struggling learners like Saff.
There are also many tools you can use on the Internet to help your child with various learning activities. If they are struggling with multiplication, you can create your own fun flashcards online at places like Braineos. I love this educational website because your child can practice everything from Spanish to vocabulary to math.
Utilize their Textbooks
Although it’s tempting to leave those textbooks sitting in the backpack, have your child get them out. If your child is learning out of their textbooks, you might as well help them learn as much as possible. Plus, it’s best to see how your child is learning something. For example: the child’s teacher may only be teaching via lecture, but your child is more of a visual or hands-on learner. It could just be a simple switch of learning styles that helps your child actually get the concept.
There comes a point where you may not be able to help your child with their homework, they may need extra help. As a parent, you’ll need to know when that time comes to get extra help. It might take hiring an extra tutor or enrolling them in extra help at school. No way should your child feel embarrassed about getting help with their homework. Don’t forget that there are also homework hotlines you can call and even homework websites you can get help on.
What tips do you have for helping your kids with homework?
Textbooks would be great, if only the school my kids go to allowed them to bring them home. The next best thing is the Internet because with the homework that the bring, it can get confusing to me and that is my go to when I have questions. The advice I could give is for the parents to ask the teachers about the homework that you and your child don’t understand. I’ve done that before and had to do a “quick” tutoring session when I dropped them off to school. That is if you have the time to do so as I know most parents may not. Also two other websites that can be added to the list is IXL.com and LearnZillion.com for extra practice in math and reading.
I feel your pain. My youngest is now 13 and a Straight A student. But when he was younger we struggled with the homework issue. Some things that helped: 1) We allowed him to select the place in our home where he would do his homework (the kitchen table was his choice). 2) He was not allowed to do any other activities (other than mandated sports practice) before he completed his homework. 3) Eliminating the distractions – No TV, cell phone or other distractions while doing his homework. 4) Bribes. Yes, I know it is bad, but in our house it works. I double check his homework so we can address mistakes and areas of weakness. Once homework is checked (regardless of performance) he gets a star on a performance chart. We have incentives associated with completing a week’s worth of homework. The incentives are a moving target, based on his desires, but this past year it was sleepovers, extra PS4 time and ice cream at a popular place down the street.
Forgot to mention that mathway.com is a great tool for when they hit that high school math level – and our aging parent brain needs a little “reminder”.
When my daughter was in third grade she went through a really rough patch with not completing homework, forgetting her books at school and general disorganization. For her it helped when we gave her a strict structure and routine. We made her a morning and evening checklist that helped her feel less overwhelmed by the things she needed to do, and we made homework the first priority after school. In fourth grade she used her new organizational skills and her grades reflected that.