After a long day of school, all our children return home in the hopes of relaxing.
But when the classroom follows them back home in the form of homework, things can get a bit difficult.
In the children’s defence, doing more work after a day’s worth of focused attention, listening to teachers, and pop quizzes may seem like a bit of a stretch.
Yet, in no way does homework need to be cumbersome.
In fact it can even be a time for healthy interaction and collaboration amongst the family.
So here are a few ways in which you can help make homework enjoyable and effective.
Time for Collaboration: Homework sessions can actually be a time to catch up and bond with your children. Helping them with their homework always opens up opportunities for collaboration, healthy expression, and enhanced creative thinking. By sitting with your child, you also better understand their manner of thought and response. Additionally you can help them apply their everyday learnings and experiences into their schoolwork. It also gives you much needed insight into what they might be struggling with.
Make it worth the effort: Putting a treat at the end of the road always as a good incentive to inspire children into focusing and completing their schoolwork. The ‘reward’ doesn’t necessarily have to be something material. For example, you can bring in a game of snakes and ladders (or Monopoly or Jenga) after dinner, if your child finishes their homework on time. Such productive rewards can be effective in more than just one way. They will also foster bonding on a personal basis.
Introduce Friendly Competition: Every child likes and benefits from friendly and healthy competition. This can especially helpful for when you have more than one child at home. For example, you could ask siblings to match speeds (and help each other pick up the pace). Simultaneously, you can ask your kids to complete their homework before you finish your chores so that you can all get some time together. This motivates and energies your child to focus all their attention into their work. This way, it can even become a fun regular activity in the household.
BONUS TIPS:
A little extra to help you make the transition from “Do I have to?” to “Let’s do this!”:
– It is better to do the more difficult parts first. Homework becomes easier when their tougher bits are out of the way. So, roll up your sleeves and jump in!
– Short breaks are necessary. Everyone needs a breather and your kids might possess plenty of restless energy from sitting in school all day. A 5-minute break for every 20 minutes of sitting is a good measure.
– You can always come back to a problem later. If there is a particular equation or question that your child just can’t seem to get, it’s good to leave it for the moment and move on to the rest of the homework. That way, they can approach it with a fresher mindset, rather than getting frustrated and draining their energy.