Homework Tips

When starts back in August of September that means earlier bedtimes, morning routines and daily homework for the students in CMS. Parents often dread an afternoon of struggling over homework; yet, if you set up a routine early in the year and be consistent, the year will can be a smooth one.

  • Teach your children to take difficult assignments in small bites.
  • Help your child choose and plan a project that is within his/her own ability level.
  • Praise should equal the effort given. If your child always does well in spelling, don’t go on about it. Choose a weaker area to work on and then praise for good effort.
  • Remember that this is your child’s education—not yours. Homework should be their work, not yours.
  • Talk about learning with your children. Show your children that learning is a lifetime endeavor. Share funny stories about your education and point out how you learned from your mistakes. Emphasize the parts of school you enjoyed the most.
  • Resist blaming a “bad Math gene” for problems in Math—that just gives them a reason to stop trying. It’s better to encourage persistence and to provide empathy and support. For example, “I remember working on learning my facts as well; it will take practice, but I know you can do it.”

Reading

  • Read with your children, not just to them.
  • Have 20 minutes when everyone in the family reads.
  • Talk about what you have read—talk about ideas.
  • If your child needs encouragement, read every other paragraph, page or chapter to your child.
  • Read a long chapter book as a family and then rent the movie on your family night. (Huckleberry Finn, Charlotte’s Web, Stewart Little, The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe are good books to start with.)

Math

  • Help bring math to the real world: Make change, add up the things you will buy, figure the tip out loud without using a tip card.
  • Talk about gas mileage and how it is calculated.
  • Cook together. Double and halve recipes.
  • Put puzzles together. Show them how math is everywhere—even re-arranging furniture is about Math—spatial relationships, measurement, balance and symmetry.
  • Play mental math games in the car—Count by 2’s 5’s 10’s.

By Jenny Beaumont, Swan Learning Center, www.swanlearningcenter.com