Two or three goals is plenty, and you'll get better results if your child helps decide them, says alexandra mayzler, director of new york city based thinking caps tutoring and author of tutor in a book: better grades as easy as 1 2 3. Ask: what were your child's stumbling blocks last year? maybe homework time was running into bedtime, so agree on an earlier start time. Did your child resist reading? work on ways to make it fun maybe set up a reading tent under your dining room table. Review your child's homework goals again in october, and perhaps once more in january, says mayzler. Adjust your plan as you go, letting your child take as much ownership of the process as possible. step 2: get in the groove all the research says the single best way to improve your child's homework performance and bring more peace to your home is to insist on a daily schedule or routine, says ann dolin, who is also the author of homework made simple: tips, tools, and solutions for stress free homework. In some homes, that means doing it right after school for others, it can mean waiting until after dinner if your child is the type who needs to expend some energy before he dives back into the books.

Dolin recommends giving all kids at least 30 minutes to have a snack and unwind, with one caveat: that half hour break really shouldn't involve anything with a screen television, e mail, or video games or you may have trouble getting kids off, she adds. Giving kids a half hour break between after school activities and homework is a smart idea, too. If your child goes to a babysitter or aftercare program, make a deal that while he's there he'll work on one assignment something easy he can do even with distractions every day before he gets home so he has less work later. Take a few weeks before homework gets heavy to try different approaches and see what works best, then stick to it. After some experimenting, d'nece webster of portland, oregon, found that her son alex, 7, is at his best on sunday mornings.

He can finish in thirty minutes what might take him two hours on a weekend afternoon, says webster. step 3: know when to get your child extra help if your kid is truly stuck on a homework assignment, don't make the common mistake of trying to reteach the information. You don't understand what your teacher is saying, and your parents teach you another method. When you get back to school, you're bound to be even more confused, says mom and former teacher laura laing of baltimore. Instead, send an e mail or note to the teacher asking her to please explain the material to your child again. If your child is a fourth grader or older, have him write the note or talk to the teacher. Also ask her about specific websites many school textbooks now have practice sites kids can use in conjunction with the material in the book or check out an online tutoring site like growingstars.com or tutor.com.

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step 4: pick the right spot some kids do best with a desk set up in their bedroom so they can work independently others want to be smack in the middle of the kitchen while you cook dinner. If your child focuses better lounging on a couch or the floor, i say let them do it, she notes. Wherever your child does homework, keep it distraction free no tv, video games, or loud siblings playing nearby. It's ideal if you can set a quiet family work time, when younger kids color or do other 'homework like' tasks and you do paperwork or reading of your own, mayzler adds. step 5: try not to be so freaking helpful! of course, it's okay and actually necessary to sit with 5 or 6 year olds while they do homework. However, your goal should be to help less over time and move physically farther from where your child works. Laura laing and her partner, gina foringer, make a point of staying out of the room where their daughter, zoe, 11, does homework.

That way, zoe is encouraged to think through her work on her own before asking a parent for help. Even when zoe asks a question, laing often responds with more questions instead of answers. I'll ask 'what do you think?' or 'how do you think you can come to the answer?' says laing. Check a few answers to ensure that your child understands what's she's doing, but don't go over the entire page.

After all, your child's teacher needs an accurate measure of whether she really understands the work. step 6: make 'em pay although you may feel guilty at first, it's smart to have a one strike rule when it comes to forgetting homework. If your child leaves her assignment or lunch, gym clothes, or other items, for that matter at home and calls, begging you to bring it to school, bail her out, say, only once each grading period.

For many kids, just one missed recess or whatever the teacher's policy is for not turning in homework usually improves their memory, says cathy vatterott, ph.d. Help your child figure out what part of his 'return homework' chain is broken, says vatterott. Does he routinely leave homework on the dining room table? does he forget some assignments because they're in a different folder? create a homework checklist on the computer and post it near his usual study space. step 7: push back on busywork vatterott and other educators are now advocating for changes in the way homework is assigned and used in the united states requiring teachers to prove the usefulness of assignments, discouraging teachers from grading homework, and more. Good homework helps kids cement what they've learned, but it isn't busywork, isn't given in extreme amounts, and definitely doesn't require parents to become substitute teachers at home, vatterott says.

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If work comes home with directions for parents, vatterott suggests letting the teacher and possibly the principal know that you, unfortunately, aren't in class this year some gentle humor helps! , so you won't be building a replica of a human cell or a california mission, or whatever is required. A project can be a fun way for parents and kids to bond, but if you feel like it's taking up too much of your time, it probably is. If your third grader is spending an hour and a half on just her math homework, for instance, that's way too much. Keep track of her time for several days, then talk to the teacher, suggests dolin. If your child routinely works long hours because she's struggling, also talk to the teacher.

But if she seems to be slaving over homework because she's a perfectionist, you may need to discuss a reasonable amount of time to devote to an assignment and then clock her. You don't like to watch your child struggle with a math problem or continually misspell words, but it's important to let him learn from his mistakes. When it comes to homework, abide by this rule: support your child and offer assistance, but never do the assignment yourself. First grade is probably your child's first experience with homework, so you'll be involved to some degree at least going over the instructions. Here are a few ways to strike the right balance: talk to your child's teacher. teachers handle homework in many different ways, and their strategies will determine how involved you should be in the work.

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If the teacher is counting on an assignment to show if your child understands something, helping might not be the right thing, says gwynn mettetal, an associate professor of education at indiana university south bend. On the other hand, if the teacher is expecting you to help and your child is the only one not getting assistance, your child will fall behind. Teachers who use homework to track progress and to place children in groups will want you to let your child work alone otherwise, the teacher won't get an accurate read on your child's ability. let your child know you're interested in the work. regardless of your involvement, talk about every assignment before your child begins working on it.

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Ask questions: do you understand the assignment? have you done this kind of work before? when your child is finished, ask to see the work. The teacher might not want you to make corrections, but you'll be able to see your child's strengths and weaknesses, and you'll learn which areas you should work on at home. help in other ways. let your child do the assignment, but do what you can to make it easier. If your child works best with visual aids, draw pictures that refer back to the work.

If your child works well with tactile aids, use things around the house to demonstrate math problems cut a piece of fruit into sections to show fractions, for example. If your child is practicing certain words, use them in sentences, or write them on sticky notes and post them around the house. organize your child's homework routine. you can't overdo it in this department. Schedule a time for homework every afternoon or night try out different times to see what works best for your child. Put together a homework calendar for your child with specific assignments and due dates. praise good efforts. this form of homework help is always appropriate and will do wonders for your child's self esteem.

Display samples of well done assignments on the refrigerator or in your child's room. Tweet share share pin it 4 upvote upvoted downvote working it was the eve of the weekly spelling test. I said i was happy to help quiz her, but it was her job to learn the words. When we got home, she practiced on her own, but it got me thinking about ways parents can help their children with homework without doing it for them. The debate around homework when and how much of it should be done is on many parents’ and educators’ minds. In fact, some classrooms are even transitioning to a flipped model where students do homework in class with a teacher, and watch video lectures at home.