How to Win the Homework Wars
Help Your Kids Manage their Homework without Losing their Love of Learning
The term homework might elicit frowns, groans, or perhaps on rare occasions, academically inspired smiles from your child. However, no matter their reaction to the task, there are several things you can do to help your child develop good study habits and complete homework with as little stress as possible. Some of the ideas are old standby approaches, but others are modern twists on old practices. No matter which ones you try to implement with your kids, make sure that you attempt methods that are appropriate to your child’s personality, academic needs, and learning styles. Homework might be a necessary evil in your home, but we can do several things as parents to make sure that homework doesn’t negatively impact our children’s views of learning.
Before your child lugs home her first over-weighted backpack and sighs with resignation at the mounds of homework before her, investigate her options and learn about the expectation of her particular school.
- Obtain a clear understanding of what your child’s teachers expect from homework assignments, even meeting with teachers personally to get a clear vision of classroom goals.
- Find out your child’s school policies on homework, anything from minimal standards to homework complaint forms.
- Ask teachers and school administrators what are the average number of hours per day or week your child will be expected to devote to homework. Knowing this upfront can help alleviate struggles, help you plan your schedules, and alert you to learning issues if your child is devoting more than average and still not making the grade.
- Determine if your school offers any homework help centers before or after school classroom hours. These can range from upper classmen volunteering to assist younger learners, to school provided tutors who can aid in subjects where your child is struggling. Some schools also have resource and study centers specifically geared towards homework assignments.
Once you have done assessments of the school’s expectations and homework guidelines it is time to focus on your child. There are several influencing factors that will affect how your child approaches homework and how often you have to battle through it with him. The following methods won’t all apply to every child, but it is important to find ones that work well with your child’s individual abilities and needs.
- Space for supplies – Homework often requires additional supplies from home, so start a plastic tote or bin with the extras your child may need. Things like rulers, extra markers, colored pencils, protractors, glue sticks, scissors, and paper are all common items to keep in stock.
- Space for your child – You might feel that her desk is the best place to do homework, but your daughter might prefer the living room floor. Try supplying things like lap desk pads (foam padding with hard surface boards) for homework without a desk, extra supplies of lamps and lights, and comfortable seating without too many distractions. Let your child study where she feels comfortable and can keep on task.
- Favorite surroundings – Everyone has his or her own idea of what makes homework more approachable, and each idea is as unique as each person. For my oldest, she prefers music playing in the background. Some kids prefer to have complete privacy, while others want to remain close to the general family hub in the house. Sometimes kids want their cat or dog curled up with them while they work, or work on homework in a group setting with siblings or friends. Make sure the environment works for your child and that their personal preferences are taken into account – it will make for fewer hassles and easier studying time.
- Ample time – If your child tells you she only has 30 minutes of homework that evening, make sure you build in twice that amount. This will ensure that any unexpected bumps along the way won’t leave your child unable to finish her work, or push bedtime down the road too far.
- Breaks – Once your child reaches an age where more than 30 minutes of homework is typical at night, encourage regular breaks to avoid burnout. Have kids take 10 minutes to play catch with you in the yard or just hang out with the family.
- Nutritional support – Don’t underestimate the power of good nutrition in your child’s academic energy. Provide snacks like apples and fruit juices. These provide great nutrients and won’t leave your child crashing after a caffeine or sugar high.
- Homework Games – Put a little fun into homework by using some easy game ideas.
Tag Team – Have your kids a friend or two who also have homework to be their teammates. Each child can go online to a social media site like Facebook and log their start time, then work to see who can complete each task first. They can also post questions to each other when stumped. Just make sure to monitor the time online so they don’t get distracted.
Fun Jar – Let’s face it – homework can be a drag for kids, but it has to be done when required by schools. Take a jar and fill it with fun coupons, jokes, or “reasons why you are a great kid” that you have printed from your computer. The coupons might be to redeem for 10 minutes extra at the computer, get out of unloading the dishwasher, or other small tokens to lighten your child’s load at the end of the day. Once a homework assignment has been completed, your child gets to draw a note or coupon from the jar.
If you don’t want to be struggling every night to convince your child to complete his homework, find ways to make homework less work and more about learning at home. If you feel that the homework amounts are too overwhelming for your child, don’t be afraid to speak with school officials about your concerns. Our children have the responsibility of working toward their educational goals, and we have the responsibility to help them reach them.
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