Homework: Three Tips for Getting It Done
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Is Homework a Hassle in Your Home? Use these Three Tools to Make It Easier.
Time Management. Be sure your child has enough time to do homework, and you have enough time to help if needed. To be sure, download this schedule template and fill it in with your family. You may want more than one. Maybe fill one in for each member of the family. By doing so, you may see that your kids’ days are completely booked up between school and after school activities. They have no down time to relax or play much less do homework.
Homework Helper. Be sure that your children aren’t spending too much time on homework. Even though homework may be beneficial, it can also be counterproductive. The following are appropriate time spans for homework per grade: 1st - 10 minutes, 2nd -20 minutes, 3rd - 30 minutes, 4th - 40 minutes, 5th -50 minutes, 6th - 60 minutes, 7th and 8th - 60 to 90 minutes, 9th thru 12th - approximately two hours. If your child is spending more time doing homework than is recommended, find out why. Maybe, she needs some extra help, maybe there’s too much homework, maybe he’s not completing classwork. To help with homework problems, read my free homework advice booklet.
Organize Papers. If you can’t find the homework sheets because you and your child are drowning in school papers, you need to get three basic items: a good three-hole punch, a large three ring binder and dividers. With your child, at a convenient time for both of you, sort out all the old school papers from his backpack and binders. Discard papers that definitely will not be needed in the future. Put the remaining papers in the binder under each subject. Do this weekly to stay organized.
Now, with a little help from you, your child can stay on top of homework.
School Success: What if Your Child isn’t Learning?
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Sometimes no matter how hard they try, your kids don’t get that A+ they wanted. School success seems impossible. Sometimes they have a learning disability. Learning disabilities are serious and need to be addressed or your child’s difficulties in school may never be solved.
But how do you know if your child’s problems stem from a learning disability or something else? When Andrew struggles with the multiplication tables, it could be a symptom of a much bigger issue which hours of math-drill won’t solve. Read More→
When kids are forgetful and disorganized and have to use all their resources to survive each day, they may have a learning disability. Unless teachers and parents understand how difficult it is for such children, they won’t be able to relate to them.
Here’s what 12-year-old Joey explained to me: “Those teachers are losin’ it. They get nuts if you forget a pencil! I’m talkin’ about a pencil! I have to remember which room to go to each period, how to get there, what book I need, if I have my homework, if I can get to the bathroom in those few minutes, and if it’s A, B, C or D day, and they want me to remember a pencil too?”
Joey’s not lazy or stupid or trying to annoy his teachers. He’s been classified with a learning disability.
If your child is experiencing some difficulties at school, don’t be too quick to blame him. Instead, find out what’s really going on. Your child may have a learning disability. Many become frustrated and angry with their children or with the teachers and the schools. They blame their child for being lazy, for having a low frustration level, or for giving up too quickly. They invariably lecture and punish her when she gets poor grades.
Here are three strategies to follow if you think your child might have a learning disability. Read More→
School Success Starts with Mom and Dad
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Michael believed that if he tried hard and kept working at something, he’d succeed. He could succeed at school. He was sure of it. He said that nobody had told him this—not his parents, not his grandparents. How did he know? It was the message in his fortune cookie in a Chinese restaurant–so it must be true.
It’s a cute story but in Michael’s case, luckily only partly true. In fact he had wonderful support from his parents and his grandparents. They cheered him on every day as he struggled with severe language issues.
Although Michael could speak when he was five, nobody could understand him. His family was concerned with school and worried about his future. Read More→
Does School Success Depend on AP Courses?
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I read a “New York Times” article recently about AP classes in Newark, New Jersey.
It seems, Newark, along with other school districts in the country have developed intensive programs in order to help increase enrollment and student performance on AP exams.
Weekly or monthly summer courses, also called “summer camp” or “boot camp” have been established to prepare high school students for the AP courses they will be taking come September.
Wow! This article reminded me once again of the challenges our high school kids face as they get ready to apply to college. Should Jimmy take as many AP courses as he can fit into his schedule? If Mary takes only one AP course, Read More→
Fun Summer Writing Boosts Fall School Success
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Summer is time for playing, having fun, relaxing . . . and yes, for learning too. Summer learning will boost school success in the fall. We just need to make sure that summer learning is relaxed and fun.
Even writing can be lots of fun.
My friend went to visit her grandkids. She took each of the girls a make-your-own scrapbook kit with stickers and cut outs, pages for pictures, pages for drawing and pages for writing.
The three girls, a 1st grader, a 3rd grader, and a 5th grader, sat down at the dining room table with their grandma, their scrapbooks, and the necessary supplies. Read More→
Kids and ADHD during Summer Vacation
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How many times during summer vacation have you heard your kids say “Hey, Mom, there’s nothing to do. I’m bored?” Sure, they can spend some time on the computer, even take it outside like this girl is doing
However, so many other really fun things are just waiting for your kids’ creative and fun-loving minds. So put the computer away and discover how to keep learning alive and boredom at bay for your kids this summer.
Tonight (Thursday, June 25 at 8:30 Eastern, 5:30 Pacific) I’ll be talking with Dr. Rory Stern about kids, summer, and ADHD. It’s one of Dr. Stern’s free TeleSeminars, and I urge you to register. We’ll be giving you lots of good suggetions for helping your kids during the summer–even if your child doesn’t have ADHD.
I also finished up my July School Success Newsletter today. It’s posted right here on the blog. Just go up to the top of the page and click on newsletters. Then select July 2009. Because we’re celebrating the 4th of July, I’ ve got a bunch of fun activities for your kids to do that will also help them learn more about 1776 and the American Revolution. Your kids won’t be memorizing boring facts history facts with these activities!
All my TeleWebcasts this summer focus on school success by learning while playing. I’ve got a whole summer’s worth of fun games and activities to help insure that you child continues to learn over the summer. You’ll want to check out these summer TeleWebcasts now. (Remember, you can listen later to the replay if you can’t make the date.)
So between Dr. Stern’s call tonight, the activities in “Dr. Linda Silbert’s School Success Newsletter,” and the “School Success with Summer Games” TeleWebcast series, there’s no reason this summer for you child to say “I’m bored.”
Thinking about School Success during Summer Vacation
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I’ll bet your kids are looking forward to summer!
They’re eager to be outdoors playing, jumping in the swimming pool, going on family outings.
But what about learning? Are you worried they’ll forget a lot over the summer. What if they’re behind when school starts in the fall?
It’s three months without school, without daily reading and writing. But you certainly don’t want to assign homework. Summer is supposed to be fun.
So I’ve got a solution to your dilemma. Read More→
Mom’s Spa Two and the Strong Interest Inventory
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Mom’s Spa, Part One was a great success. Hope you made it.
My guest Alison Stowell, a registered dietitian, had some great tips for all of us.
You can listen to the recording and still pick up the handouts if you missed Session One of Mom’s Spa.
Now for the BIG news: Read More→
Mom’s Spa with Dr. Linda is Coming
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If you’ve read the post below, you know that I believe Moms must take care of themselves. It helps them take better care of their kids. And, in turn, this helps their kids succeed in school.
So with Moms in mind, I’ve designed an entire TeleWebcast series called “Mom’s Spa.” It all starts on Sunday evening, May 17, 2009, and I’m pretty excited about it. Read More→
