How do you handle homework with your school aged kids when you are exhausted? Do you have any tools, websites or whatever to help make the time spent easier. Don't want my kids to fall behind and I also don't want every moment with them to be academic either. Trying to find a balance.
It is their homework, they do it. If they have questions they bring them to me and they get my undivided attention, otherwise they do it on their own.
It is hard for sure... It really depends on if you have a spouse at home to help. We typically divide and conquer. One person starts dinner while the other sits down with the kids and does homework. Monday seems to be one of the heaviest homework nights so I try to set something up with the crockpot for that night's dinner. It helps a bit if your children go to an afterschool care that encourages homework. It is always nice when my son has at least attempted his homework at the afterschool program...that way we just have to check and correct as necessary.
Frankly, I just never do anything time-consuming for dinner on weeknights. Too much hassle and the kids won't eat it anyway. I usually put some kind of meat in the oven to bake and do vegtables or pasta in the microwave. Anything that means that I don't have to stand over the stove and monitor it.
If you have to do more than prompt them to get started then the teacher is not seeing their independent ability. This in turn can lead to not having the correct support in the class room. I would let them do their own work even if the result is not what you had hoped for.
When you start dinner, sit them down nearby. They should be able to do a lot of it on their own, with minimal prompting from you. This system allowed the kids to say, "How do you spell..." without us writing the essay for them.
I do 30 minutes of silence after school (you can do it after you get home). That means they all sit down and read or do homework. It should only take 30 minutes a day to finish. All in all, the point is the house is just quiet. GIves you time to gather yourself and you'll feel better while helping them if you don't have other kids running around.
Big projects we do during the weekends for what can't be done in the 30 minutes. Spelling activites I print out lined paper and prep as much as I can on that sheet so all I have to do is pull the sheet for each child and at that point it becomes a self explanatory worksheet. MIne looks like this:
Write numbers to 75
- worksheet is a 10x10 table I made in word.On top I write: Write numbers to 75 (and her name)
Choose a spelling activity:
-worksheet is 12 lines (download the Penmanship font for free). One line for each spelling word and mine gets to pick out a teacher list. This one is labeled.. you go it, Spelling Activity. Sometimes if its special, I make special lines but usually it's just writing 3x or in colors...
Spelling Test:
-same as spelling activity but I title it Spelling Test
High Freq Words
-worksheet is 10 lines and I went ahead and picked 10 words so she can writ them 3x each. There are about 40 words so there are 4 different worksheets. We pick one each week.
Once you get a groove going, they will become more independent. I've found that if you get them over that bump at the beginning of the year they are pretty self reliant. Keep a box of materials that they can't touch at any other time so there is never an excuse for running around looking for stuff.
BTW, I have to help 5 kids with homework. They end up helping eachother especially when one has nothing to do but must still sit for 30 minutes. lol
My daughter's homework was HER responsibility, not mine.
My boys do their homework right after school in the kitchen while I cook dinner. We eat early. They are 8 and 15, but they've always done it this way. We all like it this way because we can chat about the day while they work, and I can see/hear about what they are learning. Also, if they have a problem they are working on that they need assistance with, we can work through it together, but most of the work is done independently. It's nice getting it done right away because then they have the rest of the evening to unwind.
M.:
When I worked outside the home, my kids went to Tae Kwon Do after school. They had a homework room where assistance was given as well as tutoring.
While I work from home now, my school age kids are sometimes home alone while I am at a meeting or some other business function. They are to come home, call me when they get home home and set the timer for 15 minutes - they get a snack and chill - when the 15 minutes is up - they are to start their homework. When it is done, they are to place it on my desk in our den.
They are to have their clothes picked out for the next day BEFORE they go to bed.
Lunches are made the night before so mornings are "peaceful" and smooth.
Backpacks and homework are in ONE location - the same place - they have hooks for their backpacks and jackets (if necessary).
This is the routine even when I am home when they get home from school. They are 10 and 12. So I expect them to be able to start work on their own as well.
Good luck! Hope this helps!
One adult cooks dinner and one sits with child. (7) My other kids were more independent about their homework and had less homework but this one needs assistance and as you said, helping him with homework keeps him from falling behind in school. My only suggestion is a homework center with lots of pencils, erasers, glue stick, number grid, scissors, hard to spell word chart, counters, ruler what ever they might need for their age group so no time is wasted looking for things. It is also a place we could hang spelling words or long term assignments due
I never sat down with them, so to speak. They did their homework, at the kitchen counter, usually while I was making dinner. That way if they needed help I was nearby. I always encouraged an independent approach to homework, right from Kindergarten. Often they would be tired (or lazy) and say "I don't understand" so I would have them read the question or directions back to me, out loud, and guess what? A big "oooh, NOW I get it!" That works 90% of the time ;-)
My son does his homework and then I check it when he's done. We go over the problems and he corrects them. With him, sitting with him just makes him frustrated and distracted. This works well.
My little one does her hw after dinner. So, every night, when I am cleaning up the kitchen she is at the table in the next room doing her hw.
It is her responsibility. I am there for assistance.
I see that see sits down the same time every night. I also check to see that it is completed. I do not intervene unless she needs help.
Do your kids go to after school care? Can they get it done there and you can review it?
