A new school year has begun, which inevitably means homework. Well, in my case, the teacher smartly did not assign any homework to my newly minted fourth-grader in the first week of school. It was enough for her to get used to a new classroom, a new teacher, and attempt to cope with the fact that her BFFs are in other classrooms, located in other galaxies, far, far away.
But I know it’s coming. I sense the tantrums brewing.
Fortunately, my daughter is a strong reader and has recently gotten hooked on good old-fashioned Nancy Drew. So, as far as I’m concerned, we have the literacy piece covered. And she’s great at math. Problem is, she hates it. I have to wonder, though, does she really hate it? Or has she simply learned through popular books and TV that you’re not supposed to like math? (Or is it something more insidious, such as watching her mother attempt to balance the checkbook?) Either way, I have no doubt we will be doing fierce battle over math homework. And probably writing assignments, too. And science, and…
Most of us could use some help making homework something that is done daily – not something that is fought over daily. So, I posed the question recently to some of the education experts at EdNews Parent.
Among their suggestions:
* Set up a place to do homework that is free of distractions, and equipped with what your child needs to get the job done. It might be better, too, for your child to work at the kitchen table or in the living room – so the temptation to listen to loud music, talk on the phone or text is minimized.
* Decide how much time daily is appropriate for homework. The general rule of thumb is 10 minutes per grade level starting in first grade. (Yep, that means my fourth-grader should be doing 40 minutes per day of homework. Good luck with that.)
* Have your son or daughter create his/her own homework appointment – a set time each day to complete homework.
* Consider doing your own work alongside your child.
* Don’t forget a healthy snack, including protein and fruit or vegetables before the task begins.
* Establish consequences for homework left undone.
* Finally, if your child is struggling to complete homework or is completely stressed out, be sure to talk to the teacher to see if daily assignments can be modified.
For more homework tips, check out this EdNews Parent post.
Wonder how much you should help your child with homework? Check out this post.
Find more helpful tips here.
And let us all know how it goes.
Author: Mile High Mamas
Vicki L
Here’s how to combat homework battles: Don’t open the backpack! ;o)
Christine H
Wondering how this year will differ from last year–last year’s teacher was big on homework!
Amber's Crazy Bloggin' Canuck
My second grader already had homework on the second day. Huge battles every time. Have learned to let her come home, snack, decompress and then work on it before dinner. After dinner? NO WAY.
Christine H
Mine is also in 2nd this year. Last year, it was every Friday and needed to be back by Weds (around six pages and spelling words and sentences). We’ll see!
Amanda
Christine – that’s the type of system we have Fri-Thurs. Did you like it? I hate, hate the idea of homework. Little guy is in Kindergarten.
Vicki
I am another parent who HATES homework for younger/elem age children. They are at school 8-to-3 (approx) and then have to come home and do more work? As parents we are supposed to “leave work at the office” so why make our children bring home work. There is a time for education/work and a time for family!!!
Selma
Hated homework for all three of my children, now 21-30 years old. Greatest waste of time. I had much less at the university level and remember more then 40 years ago very little work not able to finish in last ten minutes of class time( usually free time to do homework or read whatever). Each of my children required different levels of time and assistance to complete.
Selma
Remember a c grade is passing, grade point does not mean life or death for an elementary school child. If they can demonstrate knowledge in one or two questions why assign twenty? Not one of my poor spellers including myself improved with flash cards or drills for those weekly tests. Use the words at home in conversation for meaning in a sentence. Girls almost always do better with words then boys, because we are just verbal creatures