Taming the homework monster - part 1

Now that I have found the website for Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, I'm finding a ton of articles that would be of interest to our followers.  I'll try not to share too much, but thought I'd share this piece of advice that I'll be taking home to my family!

Tomorrow - advice for collaborating with your school on homework.

Rhonda

Taming the Homework Monster for Kids with LD & ADHD

By Peg Dawson, Ed.D.

Remember when you couldn’t wait to graduate from school because that meant no more homework and studying? Or so you thought. As anyone with children can attest, homework never ends! While many students consider it the toughest part of the school day, homework also can be a painful aspect of parenting—especially for those whose children have LD including Dyslexia, NLD, Executive Function issues or attention problems. However, that need not be the case. When homework is a collaborative effort between home and school, with parents and teachers both playing helping roles, it is likely to make the process go more smoothly. Here are some pointers for all involved.

What Parents Can Do

• Check in with your child every day
  Ask what the homework assignment is and if there’s any doubt about the answer, check his assignment book. This lets him know that parents see homework as important.

• Make a daily homework plan. At a minimum, it should include a list of what needs to be done and when she plans on doing each assignment. To help her develop time-management skills, have her estimate how much time it will take to complete each assignment (and track this to help her improve the skill). When making a plan, ask about long-term assignments and upcoming tests, so those can be built into the plan.

• Provide a clean and quiet workspace.
  It’s also helpful to keep on hand extra supplies such as pencils, markers, scissors, rulers, calculators, etc.

• Reward rather than punish.
  Giving him something he can look forward to when homework is finished may be the incentive he needs to get through it. Saying, “Guess what? You get to do X as soon as you finish your spelling workbook,” is more motivating than saying, “If you don’t do your homework, X is off-limits.”

• Supervise, but don’t micromanage.
  The goal is for your child to complete homework independently, but that often depends on maturity, which varies tremendously from child to child. In the early stages, parents often need to sit with children while they work. As they get older, parents can check in frequently, be there for the hard stuff, or just get them started and then leave.

• Distinguish between your role and the teacher’s role.
  It’s your job to make sure that your child does his homework and puts it in his backpack when complete. It is the teacher’s job to make sure it’s done right. In most cases it’s best to let teachers judge neatness as well (although at times it’s effective to let your child know that if you can’t read his handwriting, he’ll have to redo it).

• Reach out for support.
  If homework battles threaten family functioning, make an appointment with the school. Homework wars should not jeopardize parent-child relationships. If they threaten to do this, then parents and teachers need to put their heads together to come up with alternatives.