10 ways to help your child manage their homework
Whatever you or your child feel about it, most schools do expect 7-11 year olds to complete some level of homework. Encouraging children to have a positive, organised, stress-free approach to homework at this age will help set good habits for the future.
But how can we help?
Here are 10 ways to make homework easier:
2) Having the right materials to complete the homework will really help, so do find out in advance from your child what they are going to need. There is no point settling down to make a poster if you have no paper! Try and ensure they gather together everything they need to at their workstation in advance, to avoid them having to keep getting up and being distracted.
3) To help your child sit and concentrate, basic needs such as a snacks, visit to the bathroom and perhaps physical exercise can be met first.
4) For many people homework time works best if it becomes routine. For example, we practice spellings after breakfast on a Saturday as this is a time we are always free (and wide awake).
5) It’s worth making sure you are up-to-date. Why not have a look at current study guides or have a chat with you child’s teacher for some tips on currents ways of solving maths problems and how grammar is used. Things have changed!
6) Do support and encourage your child but don’t do their homework for them. It is great to listen to your child’s ideas and help them make a start but try and resist the temptation to take over. Their teacher will not understand where your child needs support if they haven’t done the work themselves. Plus, the only thing your child will have learned through the process is that their own efforts aren’t good enough.
7) Children need a clear and defined space to work, free from distraction and noise. It’s worth making this a regular place so they establish a routine of working there.
8) It’s a good idea to have the contact details for a couple of other parents of kids in your child’s class, who you can contact for clarity/missing homework if needs be.
9) Some children will rush their homework and try and finish it as quickly as they can. Others will sit for hours making sure it’s perfect. Setting a homework timeframe (e.g. 30 minutes) and encouraging your child to complete it in that time will create good, manageable homework habits.10) It is worth remembering that positivity is contagious. Your attitude towards your child’s homework will go a long way to impacting theirs. If you see it as a chore, so will they. If you are enthusiastic about it, it is more likely they will be too. Praise a good effort rather than the actual end result. Let school deal with that bit.
Your job is simply to help them do their best with a great attitude!