Homework Planner

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When I first started teaching at 21 years old, right out of college, I didn’t think about things like after-school activities, family time after school, early bedtimes for kids, or any of those other things that you learn after you have taught for a while or after you have children of your own.   Fast forward many years and we now have four children in school.   I wish that I could go back and tell my students, “Relax, have fun and play when you get home… just promise me that you will read for 20 minutes before bed.”

I think the hardest part of homework is just the time: fitting it in and making it count.  I don’t want it to be a “let’s just get it done” thing, or it won’t make much of an impact.  I want them to concentrate on it, learn from it and understand it.   I like to see what they are doing and help them think past the basic thoughts into deeper outside-of-the-box thoughts.

So… while I don’t love the actual “homework” part of homework (it certainly gets tedious), it does offer our kids the benefit of reviewing their work, having one on one time with me (this is why our kids say they don’t mind doing it), and learning time management skills.

In order to help our kids tackle the time-management portion of homework, I give them this Homework Planning Sheet every week.

It gives them a chance to look at the upcoming week and write down everything that they have to do for the week.  They can see exactly what needs to be done and when they need to do it.    We write in things like “Football practice today” on certain days, so they can see where they will have limited time.  This homework planner is an easy way to help our kids with time management and organization.

Managing math homework is especially challenging in our house. If your child is struggling with a subject, user your planner to add in an extra day of practice, like flashcards, or to schedule a tutoring session with Sylvan Learning.  In fact, Sylvan students typically see up to two times more growth in math scores than their peers, due to their intensive math tutoring.  They will help your child to master the skills to get back on track and build confidence and self-esteem.  As we all know, confidence and self-esteem lead to more success in and out of the classroom.  Sylvan Learning is a great way to support your child and help reach academic goals.

In fact, Sylvan is confident that their customers will improve math skills that they actually guarantee it.  They offer math help by grade or by topic.  Plus, the Sylvan teachers are certified and will challenge and inspire your child.  They are experts in math, reading, writing, test prep and more, so they will be able to help your child in any and all areas.

Overall, if you find that your child is not staying caught up with their work, you have to ask yourself two things:
1- Are they setting aside time to actually COMPLETE their work and not letting other things come before it?

2-– Are they ABLE to do their work?   Sometimes kids ignore work because it is simply not making sense to them.  Perhaps the subject or topic is confusing.  This is when it is time to ask for help most math concepts build off of the previous lesson, you need to understand one to understand the next.

PS- ONE MORE HOMEWORK TIP FOR HOME:
I also like our kids to do their homework in a dedicated spot, to allow them to focus and stay on task.  They know that when they are at the h0mework station, they are working.

This DIY Homework Station is an easy one that we (well… Mickey) put together for the kids ↓

If you’d like more ideas on Homework… check out this Homework Organization Ideas post: