concise and serves as a summary. Online links will be provided where applicable.
LAWS OF HOMEWORK
From the website, www.newsforparents.org, an article by Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller
highlighted the 3 LAWS OF HOMEWORK...which hit the nail on the head:
- 1st Law of Homework: Most children do not like to do homework. Kids do not enjoy sitting and studying. At least, not after having spent a long day at school comprised mostly of sitting and studying. So give up your desire to have them like it. Focus on getting them to do it.
- 2nd Law of Homework: You cannot make anyone do it. You cannot make your child learn. You cannot make him hold a certain attitude. You cannot make him move his pencil. While you cannot insist, you can assist. Concentrate on assisting by sending positive invitations. Invite and encourage your child using the tips below.
- 3rd Law of Homework: It's their problem. Their pencils have to move. Their brains need to engage. Their bottoms need to be in the chair. It is their report cards that they bring home. Too many parents see homework as the parent's problem. So parents create ultimatums, scream and shout, threaten, bribe, scold and withhold privileges. Have you noticed that most of these tactics don't work?
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When you read the 8 tips below...keep in mind that, statistically, it takes 21 days to change a habit. 21 days. 21 days. 21 days. That could be 21 CONSISTENT WEEKDAY days. Just thought you'd like to know.
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8 General Tips to Follow:
1) Setup a homework routine that you and your child have discussed and agreed to – so that there are no surprises and misunderstandings. This can be right after school, just before or after dinner. Plan time for homework around other activities, clubs, or sports. DON’T DO: Don’t schedule homework just before bedtime.
A scheduled time gives the child a feeling of security, eliminates arguments, and ensures the homework is done by a reasonable hour. Predictability empowers children to move ahead with confidence. Rituals like homework time, bedtime, mealtime and story time also provide the structure and consistency necessary in learning.
Be firm. Do not prolong the excuses of not doing the homework yet by arguing or by having a power struggle. You’ve already lost. Instead, be firm. Ignore excuses or manipulations by repeating your command, i.e. “I understand. It’s time to do your homework.” – “Je comprends, mais je veux que tu commences tes devoirs maintenant.”
A fixed time encourages better effort. Some children rush through homework. Others often forget to bring their homework home. One way to avoid this problem is to arrange a MINIMUM amount of required homework time. This means that your child must use the entire scheduled study time for homework or other academic work.
The Toronto District School Board and many other boards agree that an accepted amount of homework is an increment of 10 minutes for each grade. For example, a grade 1 student will work 10 minutes, whereas a grade 3 student can be expected to spend 30 minutes per weeknight. Whatever the total, it should not be more than your child can handle.
When there is no homework assigned, get your children busy with other enriching activities designed for children to do independently. For younger children, playing educational games is a good choice.
Better yet, eliminate the word “homework” and replace it with “study”. Have a study time instead of homework time. This word change alone will go along way towards eliminating the problem of your child saying, “I don’t have any homework.” Study time is about studying, even if you don’t have any homework.
2) Location! Location! Location! It’s all about proper real estate. Children in grades 1-3 need a place where assistance is close at hand. The kitchen table, the dining room table or a card table set up in the living room, are all good choices. For older children, parents can guide them to make an appropriate choice of homework location…most often this is a desk in their bedrooms. Remember, students focus best at a table or desk.
Try to learn what works with your child. For example, some children (like adults) find they work better with music playing while others require quiet. If your child makes a suggestion to play music while he/she works, try it. When we are listening to our children and respect their viewpoint, they are more likely to listen to us.
3) Be an active participant in your child’s school life. Other help (i.e. tutors, babysitters, etc.) can be convenient especially when times are busy -- and could ease homework/school struggle. However, your child needs to know that YOU care about his/her school life…that what your child does and does not do in school matters to YOU.
Talk to your child about how they feel about school. Encourage them in their learning. Participate in parent-teacher interviews and regularly communicate, if possible, with your child’s teacher about your child’s learning.
Ask your child what was taught in school that day. Ask about their favourite subjects, and what they have difficulty with. Take an interest in their learning. Help them use their agenda, plan ahead for assignments and tests.
Be aware of opportunities and resources for learning French that exist in your community. Who in your family or neighbourhood studied, or speaks French, and can help your child? Share this information with your child.
Encourage your child to participate in extra-curricular activities in French. Find out about cultural exchanges, activities within your community, local media in French, etc.
4) Sing Their Praises. As noted above, YOU matter more than anyone else! The impact of your words cannot be underestimated. You have more influence on your child at this age, than anyone else. Children who have difficulty working independently often lack confidence in many other areas of their lives. All children need praise and positive feedback, especially from their parents.
Avoid negative comments. Understandably, parents get frustrated and might unintentionally belittle their children sometimes with comments such as, “Why can’t you be more like your brother?” or “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you get anything right?” These negative comments can damage a child’s self esteem. Anger can also increase your child’s resistance. One derogatory remark can flush out the good of many positive comments.
Praise works best when given daily and immediately. Some children require a reward from time to time but use incentives only if necessary. If children become conditioned to these perks, eventually they won’t do homework without them. Remember that providing rewards is within your control. Do not become involved in power struggle. Choose rewards that don’t strain your budget or your time, and are meaningful to your child. Some possible motivators might be to extend bedtime, allow a friend to visit, or even better, play a board game or take a bike ride together.
5) You are not expected to know all the answers! Being unsure of an answer provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate to your child how to work through a problem. Avoid focusing ONLY on completing the assignment, but rather learning how to learn is an important experience.
Let your child know that you won’t know everything but you are able to show them HOW one goes about finding out answers to questions, i.e. call a friend, research in the library, research on the web, asking teacher for clarification before taking the homework/project home, etc.
An important skill to build on is being able to organize their thoughts – whether they think out loud or jot down on a piece of paper or both. Encourage this.
6) Please step aside. Help without over-functioning. Only help if your child asks for it. Do not do problems or assignments for children. If they keep telling you that they don’t know how and you decide to offer help, concentrate on asking than telling.
Ask:
“What parts do you understand?” – “Quelles parties de ton projet tu comprends?”
“Can you give me an example?” – “Peux-tu me donner un exemple?”
“What do you think the answer is?” – “La réponse est…que pense-tu?”
7) Parent-Teacher connection. A good teacher wants to know when there is a problem. Working with your child’s teacher to foster understanding of what’s going on and perhaps develop regular communication method when your child is having difficulty in class and/or doing homework. Other avenues may be looked into, such as: eye exam, hearing test, additional help from teacher or an assessment to determine if there is a learning disability.
If it appears your child needs continuous extra help, consider hiring a tutor.
8) For reading comprehension, use the 4 R’s of Reading:
o Retelling – what were the events, the main ideas and the characters of the story? Talk about the “5WH” – who, what, where, when, why and how.
o Reflecting – why was a particular decision made in the story? Interpret the text together.
o Relating – how do characters or information in the story relate to you or your child? Are they similar to your ideas or experiences?
o Rewriting – how could the story be changed? What might happen next? How could the story have been written more clearly?
9) Resources. Many resources are found online now -- see the resources page on this site. Take the time to find out what is readily available out there…many are free. Become active participants in some sites for additional access to materials, etc. Join forums for parents encountering similar situations – because, we all know, it helps that you are not alone.
