With the start of the new school year, the rhythm of the children changes and they have to quietly resume their routine , including the famous homework period !
In many homes, homework sometimes turns into real hell . After work, school and daycare, parents as much as children would like to do something other than exercises and lessons.
1. Purify the environment
Choose, preferably, always the same place and make sure that there are as few objects as possible around the child. Once the child is well settled in his homework corner , he must have few elements in his visual field and few objects that he can touch or with which he can play. Any object can become a pretext for distraction. It is therefore better to limit them to the essentials.
Same thing for noise. Isolate him so that he hears as little noise as possible (TV, radio, music). If you don’t have these kinds of conditions at home, earmuffs can be a solution. It is also possible to make a stop at the library a few evenings a week or even during the weekend for a studious atmosphere. Some teachers hand in homework on Friday. This way, you can choose the times that are best for your child to do their homework.
2. Explain the importance of homework to your child
After studying all day, he may wonder why he has to review the same concepts. You have to take the time to explain to him that homework helps to consolidate the subjects learned at school. This is the perfect time for him to check what he knows and what he has difficulty assimilating.
3. Vary the tasks
It is best for the child to start with what he likes least, what he has the most difficulty sustaining his attention for. Even so, it is highly likely that his attention will be brief. It is therefore advisable to vary the tasks and the way of doing them. He can switch from one subject to another alternately, if he prefers. Others will find that it scatters them. It all depends on the child, stay tuned for what suits them.
4. Divide tasks
A long text to read or study can easily be overwhelming. Hiding part of the text can be a valid solution. He will see the work as a small hill and not as a large impassable mountain!
5. Have your child read aloud
Reading a text or the instructions aloud helps to stay focused. Even if your child is good at reading his mind, he may find it easier to remember things if he says them. This is particularly the case for children who are more auditory than visual.
6. Make sure your child understands
Make sure that he or she has understood the concepts you have just reviewed together: it may be that because you have been too severe or too demanding, he is afraid to tell you that he has not understood. This can delay the learning process. Ask the question directly or repeat the instruction using other words.
7. Ask their teachers for advice
The eternal “my teacher didn’t teach us like that” is often mentioned and is followed by moments of impatience and even crises. Why not communicate with your child’s teacher and let them know your intentions? Ask him what his techniques are used in class and get in tune. The teacher can only be delighted that you want to give a little help! You can also communicate by email to clarify certain learnings.
8. Promote learning through play
After a day’s work, you don’t always want to indulge in games, but if parents try to do it once in a while, they realize that it saves a lot of time and energy and that the atmosphere is often better.
You can play school with your child. If you have a board, you can be the teacher and ask him to come and write his dictation words on the board, for example.
On various websites on the computer or even on tablet applications, you can have him practice his additions and multiplications . These sites time the response time and give the solutions to the problems.
If your child is lying on the table with his head down and struggling to hold his pencil, you can suggest that he write his dictation on the computer. It may be a little longer, but also more motivating for him.
If your child is not anxious, you can time his homework time and congratulate him if he manages, for example, to do his exercise in x minutes. It is of course necessary to be realistic in the execution time, but this method, which he will see as a challenge, can motivate him to remain concentrated.