Homework can be a stressful subject for both parents and young children - adults worry about supervising their kids and making sure they hand in their assignments on time, while the young ones would rather be outside playing with siblings and friends if they find assignments too boring, or not challenging enough.
But it can also be a great opportunity to spend quality time with your young ones. Showing an interest in their daily routine will not only make them feel important in the eyes of mummy and daddy, you will be better able to keep track of their progress in school as a parent.
Should you leave the task of tutoring your child to experts, or is it better to give your child some one-on-one attention? Fiona Walker, Principal Director of Julia Gabriel Centre for Learning and Chiltern House, shares her tips to help you and your child tackle homework together.
Can I bond with my child over homework? What is a favourable environment to do so?
Make sure you understand your child’s learning style and enable them to work in a way that suits them, even if it is not how you would be happy to work. There are three major learning styles, visual, auditory or kinesthetic (physical).
Provide an environment that best suits your child’s learning style.
• Auditory learners are typically good at absorbing information from spoken words. Strategies that work well for auditory learners include:
1. Talking to themselves or with others about what they’re learning
2. Reciting important information aloud, perhaps recording it and playing it back
3. Reading a book and listening to the audio book at the same time
4. Using word associations
5. Setting information to a tune and singing it to help remember it
6. Limiting distracting noises
7. Ask your auditory learner to tell you what he has done. Say you would like to hear about his homework.
• Kinesthetic learners prefer to be active while studying and may not be able to focus while sitting still. Strategies for kinesthetic learners include:
1. Reading aloud and tracking words on a page with a finger
2. Writing things down multiple times to commit them to memory
3. Highlighting and underlining
4. Playing with a stress ball or toy while studying
5. Moving around or taking frequent breaks
6. Doing hands-on activities, such as building models or playing games
7. Ask your kinesthetic learner to explain what he has done. Say you would like to get a feel for his homework.
• Visual learners benefit from seeing information on paper or in an illustration and may grow impatient listening for long periods of time. Strategies for visual learners include:
1. Using flash cards
2. Studying charts, tables, and maps
3. Drawing illustrations
4. Writing things down and reviewing notes
5. Highlighting and underlining
6. Colour-coding information
7. Ask your visual learner to show you what she has done. Say you would like to see her homework.
I don't want my kids to think I don't trust them enough about finishing their homework. How can I check on them without causing an uproar?
Ask them what their homework is for the week. You can support them by being a partner in their learning. Take an interest in what they are doing and offer lots of encouragement and praise for their efforts.
Help! My children don't want to do their homework.
Homework is fact of school life whether we like it or not. By building homework into your routine at home and providing a suitable space and time for it, children will come to realize it is a part of their week.
Developing a timetable is a good idea especially if you work. You can schedule homework, meals, TV or computer games and playtime into their day.
Talk to your children about what can be done after they have finished their homework. We all need a work-play balance and young children certainly should not feel as if all there is to life is work, work and more work!
If the amount of homework seems daunting for your child, break it down into subjects and if that still seems daunting, break it down into smaller activities. This helps your child not feel overwhelmed and therefore happier to begin to tackle it.
I get upset when my child doesn't want to do her homework. She already has a tutor. Should I tutor her myself?
Ask yourself, “Is it necessary?” You are already paying someone to tutor your child. That should free you up to oversee homework and ensure there is some fun in the week too!
Some parents find it very difficult to tutor their own children. We have such an emotional connection with our children and carry certain expectations of them that teaching them ourselves can be difficult for both child and parent. Often a more neutral party like a tutor might able to work more successfully than we do with our own children.
Should one or both parents be involved? And can I sit all my children together to supervise their work?
Usually one parent at a time is best.
Mums and Dads can divide homework into the subjects they feel more comfortable with, for example I can help with reading, writing and social studies while my husband will be better at maths and science.
If your children are of a similar age and can work well in the same environment, given their learning styles it is fine for family homework time to coincide. However if one child is an auditory learner and likes to talk through problems and discuss theories it may be a distraction for a visual learner who would prefer to quietly take notes and create diagrams and charts.
Also take your children’s personalities into account. Can they work well side by side or will they egg each other on and easily lose concentration?
