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Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to do
homework.
Avoid having your child do homework with the television on or in places
with other distractions, such
as people coming and going.
Make sure the materials your child needs, such as paper,
pencils and a dictionary, are available.
Ask your child if special materials will be needed for some projects
and get them in advance.
Help your child with time management.
Establish a set time each day for doing homework. Don't let your child
leave homework until just
before bedtime. Think about using a weekend morning or afternoon for
working on big projects,
especially if the project involves getting together with classmates.
Be positive about homework.
Tell your child how important school is. The attitude you express about
homework will be the attitude
your child acquires.
When your child does homework, you do homework.
Show your child that the skills they are learning are related to things
you do as an adult. If your child is reading, you read too. If your
child is doing math, balance your checkbook.
When your child asks for help, provide guidance, not
answers.
Giving answers means your child will not learn the material. Too much
help teaches your child that
when the going gets rough, someone will do the work for him or her.
When the teacher asks that you play a role in homework,
do it.
Cooperate with the teacher. It shows your child that the school and
home are a team. Follow the
directions given by the teacher.
If homework is meant to be done by your child alone,
stay away.
Too much parent involvement can prevent homework from having some
positive effects.
Homework is a great way for kids to develop independent, lifelong
learning skills.
Stay informed.
Talk with your child's teacher. Make sure you know the purpose of
homework and what your child's
class rules are.
Help your child figure out what is hard homework and
what is easy homework.
Have your child do the hard work first. This will mean he will be most
alert when facing the biggest
challenges. Easy material will seem to go fast when fatigue begins to
set in.
Watch your child for signs of failure and frustration.
Let your child take a short break if she is having trouble keeping her
mind on an assignment.
Reward progress in homework.
If your child has been successful in homework completion and is working
hard, celebrate that success with a special event (e.g., pizza, a walk,
a trip to the park) to reinforce the positive effort.
Your child's homework area doesn't have to be
fancy. A desk in the bedroom is nice, but for many children, the
kitchen table or a corner of the living room works just fine. The area
should have good lighting and it should be fairly quiet.
Your child may enjoy decorating a special area for homework. A plant, a
brightly colored container to hold pencils and some favorite artwork
taped to the walls can make homework time more pleasant.
Take your children to the library - it's free!
Check out materials needed for homework (and for fun). Read
with your child as often as you can. Talk about school and learning
activities in family conversations. Ask your child what they talked
about in class that day. If she doesn't have much to say, try another
approach. For example, ask her to read aloud a story she wrote or to
talk about what she found out from a science experiment
Set realistic goals for homework time.
Can you
skip an hour of TV to enjoy some time reading with your
children? You won't miss much - and the benefits will outlive the
memories of anything you see on TV. Luckily there are many ways
to help our children
learn and get better grades. Learning
to read is vital to your child's success in school and life.
Encourage them to read some each day. Try
these reading tips to help your
child read better.
Childhood passes so quickly - don't we owe our
children
( and
ourselves ) the gift of time? At least a few minutes each day? Many a
parenting expert has suggested that, to a child, love is frequently
spelled "t-i-m-e". Time spent with our children and loved ones is
the best, and most memorable time of our lives. If you enjoy
watching cartoons with your children you might all get a kick out of
the Veggie Tales cartoons. Free
Shipping for VeggieTales Fans! We'll pick up the shipping tab on
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