Helping your Child with Homework!

Do you ever hear these words when trying to help your child with homework?
“That’s not how my teacher does it!” “No, that isn’t what works for me!”

You are not alone. The familiar dynamic between parents and children often causes some friction when we try to help out our kiddos. Here are a few tips:

1.It is very important that we connect with our children personally as well as academically. Making sure that we are “present” and not thinking about our own agendas can immediately help us as parents to be more patient and calm as we tackle homework together.

2.Find out what your child does know and understand about the assignment before just jumping in and “expounding all of your wisdom.” This will help to avoid those “That’s not how my teacher does it!” statements. For example, if your child is given the assignment of writing a paragraph you may want to say, “Tell me what you’ve learned about writing a paragraph.” This will give you a good idea as to where to begin instruction.

3.Provide authentic opportunities for your child to apply the homework skills. For example, “Let’s look in these picture books and see how other authors designed and organized their paragraphs.” This takes some of the pressure off of you, and guides your child into seeing real life applications of the skill you are trying to teach.

4.Provide positive opportunities for practice. Praised a specific strength and use it to set future goals. For example, “I really like how you described your dog in this sentence. Let’s try to do this with a few more sentences.”

5.Finally, believe that your child can do it! Children will always step up to our expectations. If we believe that they will accomplish the task and do it well, they will have no choice but to succeed! 