Welcome to week 22!! You can find all of the challenges one of two ways! One, you can click The Mom Challenge up at the top! It will take you to them all! OR you can click categories to your right and select The Mom Challenge. Please pin and share with friends on Facebook to get the word out about The Mom Challenge! 🙂
If you are interested in sponsoring The Mom Challenge please send me an email at [email protected]
‘At our house homework time can be a struggle. And to be honest, who can blame him? After being at school all day who really wants to come home and do more work? Not me! And apparently, not my son either.
We’ve had the days where he answers every question with “I don’t know.”
We’ve had days where there is whining. Sitting there just not doing anything. Complaining. Grumbling.
We’ve had to make the trip back to school to pick up a book; we’ve had projects magically be due the next day (don’t you love that?)
But we’ve also had awesome days. We’ve worked really hard to get to a point where homework isn’t a chore (well, so much of a chore).
Here are some tips that have worked for us:
Moms (and Dads) you have homework too! You have to be aware of what is required and needed so you can help your child succeed. If your child knows that you are involved with their homework they will be less likely to try to sneak something by!
– Do you know your child’s homework schedule? Do they get homework each night, once a week or does it change? Josh get’s his week’s homework at the beginning of the week and it’s due on Friday. (Which, by the way, is SO nice. If we have a busy night or just a hard day we can skip homework that night and make up for it the next day).
– What supplies do you need to keep at home? Do you have them all? Do you have pencils, paper, pens, markers, poster board? Do you have Power Point if they need to make a presentation?
(NOT that this has anything to do with homework….just made me laugh! LOL) 🙂
– Are they supposed to show their work on math assignments? Or is just the final answer fine?
– What happens if an assignment is missed? How will it affect their grade?
Alright so you know what’s going on and what the teacher expects! Congrats! That’s half the battle! Now you need to let your child know what you expect.
Do you have a rule about when video games, playing outside or TV time can begin? Do you expect homework done first thing when your child gets home? After dinner? Or half before and half after?
If your child is old enough to get homework then they are old enough to help decide when to do it. If you make your child involved in the planning process they are more likely to follow through! Our rule is you can play for 30 minutes and then math/English homework has to be done. Then he can do his 30 minutes of reading in bed at night time. Breaking up the work makes it easier for my son to get it all done without being a daunting task.
After you and your child come up with a plan – FOLLOW THROUGH! 30 minutes means 30 minutes! This is the part I struggle with the most – and not on purpose. I just lose track of time. Timers are essential in our home! 🙂
Make sure all of the supplies are readily available to your child.
Be there to help with homework, to answer questions, but NOT to do it for them.
Encourage them to do their best.
Check their work. If your child knows you are going to check it then they are more likely to do it right the first time! Plus, if you notice your child struggling you can be proactive about getting them extra help!
Reward positive behavior! If homework is a constant struggle try an incentive for having 3 good homework days, then a week, then 2 weeks and so on. You might offer to let them play for 45 minutes before they start their work, staying up Friday night an extra 30 minutes, having a friend over, or a favorite dinner. Show your child that everyone has to come home and work – they do homework and you do work too (whether it’s office work, making dinner or house work). It’s just part of life and it never goes away.
But it feels awesome to get it done – and get it done right! Building these great habits now are so important to our children (and our sanity!) for the future!
Do you have any tips on getting your child to do their homework?
Leave a Reply