Help with Homework
Homework is an extension of work your daughter does in class and can be an overnight academic exercise or a major project that will take her a week or several to complete. But no matter how involved or lengthy, homework allows your girl to develop a better understanding of the topic at hand or to explore it further. Through a deeper immersion in any subject, she can experience the fun of learning and discover her academic strengths, especially if you help her.
To position your daughter best vis-à-vis her homework is a snap.
Turn off the TV.
Provide your daughter with a “homework haven.”
Pass your best study skills on to her.
Turning off the TV during homework time stops the distractions that might interfere with your girl's learning. No matter how much she pleads her case by pointing out the volume is on low or the program is “educational,” any disruption can negatively affect the way she learns.
Single-Tasking Is Key
Multitasking while studying degrades learning, a 2006 study proves. According to Russell A. Poldrack, a psychology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, “Even if you can learn while distracted, it changes how you learn to make it less efficient and useful.” Therefore, explain to your girl that watching TV will drag out her homework, whereas with the TV off, she will zip right through it.
Homework Haven
Any corner in your house can be designated as the homework haven. Many parents set up a small desk in the kitchen while their daughters are young, so they can get started on their work — doing math — while their parents get started on theirs — fixing dinner. When your girl reaches middle or high school, she will then be trained well enough to follow her homework routine by herself in the den or her room. But for the beginning learner, doing her paperwork under mom's or dad's supervision is a big plus. Weaving their daughter's vocabulary words into their conversation or reciting the multiplication tables or the names of the fifty states with her, while tossing the salad, shows her how much her parents care about her homework.
Study Smarts
When it comes to the efficient completion of homework assignments, you are a walking fountain of knowledge for your daughter. Since you finished your formal schooling, you are the expert on homework hints. Pass them down to your daughter while she starts her book report or does her social studies worksheet.
When your girl is finished with her homework, review it with her. Point out where she might have made a mistake and encourage her to correct her spelling errors. Tell her neatness counts. If her teacher sees just how much effort your daughter puts into her writing, recognition is sure to follow.
Question
Should I help my daughter with her homework?
Help her by finding the part in her book where the answer is, by teaching her study shortcuts — such as reading the first and last paragraphs of a chapter — and by brainstorming with her for project ideas. Assist her in gathering materials and type her reports, but only if she dictates them to you. Do not do her homework for her.
Testing 1, 2, 3
Another part of doing homework is getting ready for a test. To prepare your daughter for it, give her a practice quiz the day before the real one. Teach her to study short sections of her work long before a big academic checkup. Studying and reading ahead in a textbook should become part of her homework routine so that she is not overwhelmed on the day before a major exam. A calendar posted prominently in your home should list your daughter's big tests far in advance, so she can prepare herself. To be up on these dates, you want to establish good lines of communication with her teachers from the moment she steps into their classrooms.
