Getting It Done – Homework Tips and Trouble Spots

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School’s back in session!

Are you ready? I know I’m not. Early days, late nights… homework! Homework started for us last night, my daughter, of course, is way excited. She loves homework. Some of her friends started Monday and some haven’t even started yet. It’s coming though; it doesn’t stay away for long.

For us, we have several busy nights a week. Girl Scouts and Cheerleading are both starting soon, so what do you do when you have activities and homework?

What do you do when you have busy nights?  What if it feels like Homework just takes too much time and there is never enough time in the day? What if it’s bedtime and you suddenly realized homework was forgotten?

Here are some homework tips to set you on the path for a successful homework/parent relationship!

Getting Homework done:

1. Make homework a priority for your student – Set a specific time for homework to be completed. Try to make sure it’s early in the evening to prevent your student from getting tired.
2. Have a set location for homework to be completed – A quite room, or area of the house specifically used for homework.
3. Have a homework station at the location you choose – Make sure all the supplies your student will need is in this station, pencils sharpened and ready to go.
4. Do the hard stuff first – Have your student do the hard homework first and the easy homework last. That way they can finish without feeling frustrated.
5. Try not to have any distractions – Turn off the TV, no tablets, no cell phones, etc. Don’t watch TV in the same room as them and expect them to get their stuff done.
6. Recruit their baby sitter, or an older sibling – If you as the parent are working late, see if the baby sitter or their older sibling will help out and make sure they are sticking to their homework schedule. Most baby sitter’s shouldn’t have a problem with reminding the student that it’s homework time, if the schedule is already set.
7. Be positive about homework – Some parents complain about the homework, or the amount of it and all this does it set an example to them about how “bad” homework is. Be positive! It’s just reinforcing the ideas that were already taught that day.
8. Don’t do it for them – I know, little Suzy is struggling and you just want to make it go away, but doing it for them isn’t going to help them get better at it, nor will it make it easier for you in the long run. It will lead to more fights and less time with homework actually getting done.
9. Don’t punish them – If they don’t get their work complete, or they get things wrong. Leave it alone. Let your student face the consequences. It’s not about you as the parent; it’s about them as the student. They need to be responsible to get their work done.
10. Lastly, praise their efforts in completing their work. It will make them feel good that you are proud of them for completing everything.

 Now that we have some good strategies in place to get your students homework completed, what do you do when your child won’t stop fighting with you? Here are the most common complaints and how to deal with them.

Dealing with Homework Complaints:

1. ”There is just too much!” Have you heard this yet? This quote is tricky. Most commonly, if you child is complaining about their being too much work, it’s probably because your student is struggling to complete it. Maybe they didn’t understand some of the concepts taught in class that day. Maybe it was too difficult. Your student may just need further study and extra help to complete it. There’s also a possibility that there just is too much homework for you student. In either case, you could help to discuss with the teacher if the problem persists.
2. “I’m too tired.“  Ah, most common. My daughter loves homework and yet, I still hear this sometimes. If your student is complaining about being too tired, they could be overworked. Do they have a lot of after school activities? Maybe lose a few. Are they starting their homework to late in the evening? Try starting it earlier in the day to when it’s not so close to bedtime.
3.  “I don’t understand!” This could go two ways, first your student doesn’t understand the material and you working through it with them does not seem to help. If that’s the case, I definitely recommend discussing with the teacher.  They may need a little extra help in the classroom to make sure they are getting the material. OR there is the other case, where they just don’t want to do it and pretend they don’t understand to try to get out of it.
4. “I don’t know what she wants me to do!” It’s possible your student wasn’t paying attention, or maybe they don’t want to read the directions. Try going over the paperwork with them and see if you can help them understand the requirements.  It’s also possible the teacher didn’t explain it well enough. If you can’t figure it out, reach out to the teacher for assistance. A lot of teachers are giving out their emails, and some are using Class Dojo for communication. 
5. In all cases – Your student could just be acting like a pain in the butt and see if taking a break will help. Let them relax. Give them a snack. Let them play a game all in the promise of getting back into it within a set about of time.

I’m sure there are many other things your student may come up with. Just try your best and keep being the best parent you can be. Remember, it’s okay to let them struggle sometimes.

Organizing Ideas:

Here are some of my favorite ideas for getting your students work area organized.

• Lack of space – Try a portable desk, maybe with storage space included.

• Desktop storage – Cubes, containers, drawers

• Date Organizers – Keep all your events and activities in one place.

 

Whatever you choose to do, make sure you have fun doing it. I know your kids will thank you! Let’s make homework as easy as possible and fun too! Hope you all have a great school year!