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Angela Norton Tyler asked:

Homework is my thing. I give homework presentations, workshops and seminars for parents and teachers; I talk to students about homework; I answer parents’ emails concerning homework; I deal with my own children’s homework. I have even created an entire homework site for families with pages and pages of homework tips, ideas, suggestions and advice!

I know from homework.

But, sometimes families don’t have time for all of my homework knowledge; they want the quick-and-dirty, condensed version! So, if you are fed-up with homework and short on time, the following list is for you.   

10 Best Homework Tips for Fed-Up Families

1. Make a list of your family’s major homework issues/ problems. Does homework take too much time? Do your kids have trouble getting started, keeping track of assignments, turning it all in? Are you tired of feeling as though it is your homework? Write down whatever is bothering you. You cannot solve a problem until you know exactly what it is.

Share the list with your kids. You might say, “I’ve been thinking about how every night we fight about homework. Here’s the list of what really makes me crazy. I’d like to have some enjoyable evenings, wouldn’t you? What do you think is causing all of the problems?” Listen to what your kids say! They are truly the ones suffering!

2. Address the problems and solutions you and your child discussed in a Homework Contract. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just be sure to include answers to any on-going homework. For example, if your child has trouble getting started on homework, one of the items on the homework contract might be

Mike will start his homework by 4 pm every day.

Please keep your Homework Contract simple: no more than four or five Homework Rules.

3. Give your kids an incentive. No, I do not think children should get paid to do their homework! However, if your family has been fighting the Battle Royale every night, and now it’s an episode of Little House on the Prairie- let’s recognize and reward! Give your children short and long-term incentives for doing their homework quickly and independently. And, no, I’m not talking about an expensive, fancy reward system. It could be as simple as

Mike can watch TV if he finishes his homework by dinner.

or

Michaela can choose Saturday night’s restaurant if she does her homework all week without being reminded.

Did you know that when you sandwich homework between two fun activities, it’s called a Homework Sandwich? Check out more homework sandwich ideas…

4. Make a Magic Homework Box. This is a box filled with your child’s daily homework supplies and materials. At homework time, the box comes out, and it’s time to boogie! No more “I-can’t-find-a-pencil” or “Where-is-my-ruler?” excuses. When homework is finished, everything goes back into the Magic Homework Box- ready for tomorrow.   

5. Get some homework organization. You know how you good you feel when you clean out a closet or a drawer full of junk? Your kids need to feel that way, too. Help them children clean out their backpacks, put together homework folders, set up files for returned tests and school work.    

6. Speak to the teacher. Teachers are constantly amazed when I tell them that parents complain that homework is ruining their lives, that it causes fights every night, that their children are starting to **** school. “Really?” they say, mortified. Believe it or not, most teachers are not out to ruin lives and make kids **** school! Many times, they have no idea what is happening. Please, please, please, speak to your child’s teacher! If your daughter is spending two hours a night doing homework that should take 30 minutes- the teacher needs to know. And, don’t believe that your child is the only one not “cutting the mustard.” You’ll be doing everybody a favor.

I have a list of Homework Questions to Ask the Teacher (see site information below). Ask them at Back to School Night- or any time during the school year.

7. Create a homework friendly home. Ask yourself, “If I were a kid, could I do homework at our house?” Is your home too noisy, too messy, too dark? Do you have a good dictionary- and can anyone find it? Making your home homework friendly does not have to be an expensive or time-consuming- but it does require some thought and effort.

8. Don’t hover or, worse, do your child’s homework. It blows my mind when parents tell me that they sit next to their children while they do their homework. (Okay, maybe I understand doing it for the first week of two of kindergarten, but after that? Stop it!) Your children work independently at school, and they can do it at home. And, stop doing their homework for them. If it is too difficult, speak to the teacher or get them some outside (tutoring) help. 

9. Make your kids go to bed! They need sleep more than another page of math problems, trust me. And, if you don’t trust me, there are plenty of sleep studies to back me up. Forget the fact there are a myriad of physical, social, psychological and developmental reasons why kids needs the proper amount of sleep; chronically sleep-deprived students can’t learn. So, it is okay if your child stays up late once in awhile working on a project, but it should be a very rare occurrence.

Here’s a No Homework Note you can write to your child’s teacher explaining why you chose to make your child go to bed. Which brings me to my last tip…

10. They are your kids, and you are in charge. I am not suggesting that you begin second-guessing, questioning and criticizing your child’s teacher (please, don’t!). I am saying that if your child is struggling night after night with homework, if they are crying and fighting about doing homework, if your once rabid reader never picks up a book- put your foot down! Do something!

Start with these tips- and share them with other parents!

Angela Norton Tyler asked:

I spend a lot of time at my seminars and workshops, on the phone and via email discussing the subject of homework organization. Actually, I spend a lot of time listening to parents complain that their children’s homework disorganization is driving everybody crazy!

Many students have such a hard time getting it together that by the time they finally sit down to do their homework, they are exhausted. No wonder they don’t want to do it! Getting organized will help alleviate exhaustion, bad attitudes, procrastination and rebelliousness.

Homework organization just makes life easier for everyone.

These are the homework organization tips that I use as a student, teacher and parent. Print this list and read it with your children. Then, post it on the fridge and refer to it often so that everybody (parents, kids, babysitters, grandparents) will be on the same organized page.

At School:

 

Write down every, single homework assignment in one place. I strongly recommend using a bound or wire notebook- definitely NOT a loose leaf binder. I don’t care how careful you are, pages will fall out, and then what? You won’t know what to do nor when to do it! A plain notebook is fine, but a datebook or calendar is the best. Some schools even provide these to students. Use it.

 

 

Write down homework assignments as you get them. This is mostly for older students that change classes and teachers, but it is a good habit for everyone. If the teacher says, “Oh, tonight I want you to read Chapter 4,” write that down in your notebook.

 

 

Write down every, single due date for a project or paper- even if you have a handout or syllabus. Handouts disappear (I think they hang out with loose socks), but you will still know what to do and when to do it if you have everything written down in your homework notebook.

 

 

 

Keep ALL of the day’s homework assignments together in one place. Don’t have a special place or page for math, another for writing, etc. You want to see everything in one spot.

 

 

Check your homework notebook Three (3) Times A Day:

 

1. Before you leave school (or each class), double check to make certain that you have everything (books, paper, materials, etc.) that you will need later.

 

 

At Home:

 

 

2. Before you start doing your homework, look at your notebook and make sure that you are doing the right assignment, the right page, etc.

 

 

3. Before you put everything away, take one more quick look. Did you do everything? Good!

 

 

Make a decision about where you will put your completed homework: into a binder pocket, a special homework folder, etc. You may decide to have a color-coded folder for each class. If you choose to use folders, I strongly recommend using 3-hole punched folders and keeping them together in a 3-ring binder. Whatever you choose, stick to it! Don’t put your homework in your a binder today, a folder tomorrow… And, never, ever fold your homework into a book or throw it loose into your backpack! Shudder!

 

 

Use your Magic Homework Box. You do have one, don’t you? The Magic Homework Box is a box with all of the homework supplies and materials a student needs on a regular basis. These supplies only come out of the Magic Homework Box during homework time, so you always have what you need. Now, that’s magic!

 

 

Clean up as soon as you are finished with your homework. Now, not later! Put completed pages in your homework folder, then put the folder and homework notebook in your backpack. Not only will mornings will be less crazy, you won’t have to sit in class knowing that you did your homework and forgot it at home (doh!). Don’t forget to put away the dictionary and any other books you may have used.

 

Remember to put everything back into your Magic Homework Box. In my house, homework is not “done” until everything is cleaned up and put away.

 

Keep your backpack organized. Throw away all of those candy wrappers and random pieces of paper. Keep one area or pocket filled with a few items (pencils, a sharpener, maybe a calculator) so that you can do your homework anywhere- maybe even before you get home!

 

Remove any graded test, project, report or paper that your teacher has taken the time to return to you. Why? You might need it to study for a test, for a portfolio or for a project. You can throw everything away at the end of the semester or the school year, but until then put each item in its own subject file, but NOT in the homework folder. Remember, homework folders are ONLY for completed homework that is ready to be turned in!

 

Don’t give up! They say it takes 21 days to form a good habit. If you forget to do something on this list, don’t stop trying. Hey, maybe if you remember to write down all of your homework or clean up for 21 days in a row, your mom or dad will do something extra nice for you! (Parents, that was a hint!)

 

 

 

A Note to Parents about Homework Organization

Please remember that your job is to give your children organizational tools and show them how to use them. Your job is NOT to organize your child’s homework! So, in the beginning, you might check your son’s homework notebook to make sure that he is writing down all of his assignments in one place, but you would never dream of calling the teacher and checking. You might watch as your daughter copies the science project due dates into her homework notebook; you will not do it for her.

Yes, I know that it is hard to let go- I’ve been there! But, we want our children to be organized and independent learners, right?

You can do it!

(For more information about recommended homework organization products and The Magic Homework Box, please see site information below.)