How To Help Your Child With His Homework

As a teacher I am often asked by parents, “How can I help with homework?” I’m always happy to hear this question because it means the child will most likely be doing their homework. It is always amazing to me the difference between children who have parents who show they think homework is important and parents who leave homework completely up to the child. A parent that is interested in what their child is doing is already helping more than he or she can imagine. No matter how often I tell parents this they invariably want to know what else they can do to help. Since I certainly don’t want to discourage parental involvement I’ve come up with a few other things that can give your child a boost.

Homework Tips:

 • Have a designated homework time
o Even if your child says he doesn’t have homework use this time to review what happened in class that day or let them read a book. No homework shouldn’t mean no work !

• During homework time don’t allow distractions.
o This means no TV or radio in the background, even for mom or dad! • Create a homework station
o Stock this with paper, pens, pencils, erasers, markers, colored pencils, index cards, paper clips, glue, tape, calculator, ruler, poster board and any other school supplies that your child routinely needs. Having it all in one location will remove the temptation of going somewhere else to find something. • Have a mall snack and a glass of water available at the homework station.
o This is especially true if homework time is before dinner. Children are often hungry after school and if a snack is nearby they won’t be distracted by hunger. Small pieces of fruit or vegetables are a great choice.

• Be availableo All of the preparation in the world isn’t as important as being there to offer help, encouragement, and praise.

If you are a parent what homework rituals do you have? As a teacher what do you ask parents to do to help their child with homework?