Homework Time

Today, I’m going to talk about a few ways to hopefully make homework time a fairly pleasurable experience in your house. This post is geared more toward elementary kiddos, as I have a Kindergartener and a 2nd grader myself (and I’m a former 2nd grade teacher).

Pencils and pencil sharpeners

Have pencils and pencil sharpeners readily available for kids to get themselves. I keep a cup with pencils on a shelf in each child’s room.

Be available, but not too available

Have your child work at the kitchen table while you’re cleaning up dinner dishes or doing something nearby. Or you can sit at the same table while you get some paperwork of your own done. It’s nice if you can be giving them support, but not standing over them. If you notice them struggling, see if you can wait a bit to help since many times they’ll figure it out on their own.

Depending on the homework assigned and the age of the child, more or less support may be needed. Kindergarteners may need a lot of support.

Spelling words

It’s fun to sometimes have different ways to practice spelling words. Here are a few ideas:

– writing the words with markers

– typing the words out on the computer (my kids enjoy this one a lot)

– giving your child a pretend test in which you say the words and they try to write them without looking

Reading

Many kids will have books to read that their teacher has sent home. It’s great for them to reread those books as many times as possible. Sometimes they can read them to you and sometimes on their own, especially as they get older. Reading the same text many times helps with fluency, especially if the child really enjoys the book.

I’d love to hear about what homework routines have worked for you, so please share! (=

~ Carrie

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