With all the summer fun coming to a close, it is important to remind your kids (and yourself) that work doesn’t always have to be such a drag! Moving Forward PLC. has some great tips to avoid the hum-drum of school-life blues for the entire family.
Find cool ways to make the onslaught of homework seem less like the end of the world and more like a satisfactory job well done!
- Institute a break system. Have your child sit and do their homework in the same place with the same routine each day. Once they finish a subject or two and then your child can take a 10 minute break (decide this pattern in advance). Giving the brain a break actually helps you to jump start your memory with a brief respite from thinking. Then back to the books. Set a timer to keep you all on track.
- How to get your child excited about reading. Rather than listening to the latest Selena Gomez hit in the car invest in books on tape. They are amusing and engaging! And your kids will get a hit out of them on their way to soccer practice (keeping quiet in the process). You can even pick up where the tape/CD left off that night by having a family reading of a chapter. The next book report will go much easier if you remind them how exciting books can and will be if they dig deep enough.
- Have an aesthetically pleasing homework table, desk, area. Everyday after school give your child a healthy snack (I am thinking banana/apple with peanut butter or carrots with ranch dressing) and then direct them to their homework area. This area should have a window, perhaps some flowers and all of the necessary office supplies (pencils, crayons etc.) Have your students pick out all of the things they will have at their homework area so they feel like it is their own and are happy to sit in the space to get their work done. Also, make sure distractions like television are out of sight and ear-reach.
- Keep a planner. Invest in your child’s choice of planners. Make sure to let your students pick the ones they feel will best fit their personalities. Then make sure the planner is bright with colored pens or highlighting. You student should write down all of his/her homework assignments and activities. When they finish a task allow them to cross it off, put a checkmark by it, or place a sticker there to show they successfully completed the task. You’d be surprised at how excited kids get to have a physical manifestation of their hard work – who needs rewards when you have the satisfaction of a job well done!
- Get your family calendar updated. Summer is over…it’s time to get your calendar back up on the refrigerator and updated with all the new activities, upcoming back to school nights, etc. Remember to color code activities by child so they can easily see what they have coming up.
