Author: Julie Meyers Pron

Easy homework help strategies for parents to help kids remember their homework. For part one of my new homework series (with homework features every Wednesday until I’m out of ideas… which might be a very long time), a friend recently sent me an email: Hey Julie– I have no idea what to do. We started school 2 weeks ago, and my 2nd grader never remembers to bring home his homework until he gets off the bus. I’m tired of driving back to school to sneak into his classroom with him. Any advice? Yep. I sure do have advice. Stop driving…

I hesitate to answer this week’s question, which comes from Suzanne from Iowa: I feel like we have a lot of homework every night. How long should homework take for my 3rd grader? It’s hard to take an authoritative stand on this one because every culture, every school system, and every organization declares something or wants something and expects everyone to just follow it. Basically, there are no set rules. According to NEA (National Education Association), “the National PTA recommendations fall in line with general guidelines suggested by researcher Harris Cooper: 10-20 minutes per night in the first grade, and an…

Last week, we discussed setting the tone for homework for the younger grades and discussed the importance of learning routines and habits. When kids are in the older elementary grades, it’s time to continue to focus on habits and routine, but also on learning important study skills. As students get older, they’ll also start to have less review work and more individual learning at home to prepare for the next day’s class. Help your student by setting up an independent work area to help him learn to focus and concentrate now so that he’ll have the skills he needs come…

The best online apps and games for learning. Great websites for homework, free time, and homeschool learning extensions. At Back-to-School night this year, my third grader’s teacher addressed homework this way: Your child should read each evening, respond in his reading journal 2-4 times a week and do a word study activity each evening. There will be projects. If you feel he needs more homework, he can access First in Math or Study Island online. (Both programs require school programming and passwords.) And that was it. I did a little whispered cheer. Big has homework every night, but not too…

It’s hard to sit for a half-hour. Really hard. Especially when there are distractions everywhere, so why are parents and, sometimes, teachers insisting students sit for a longer period of time while completing homework? High school and middle school classes are usually about 50 minutes a day, often less, sometimes more. Elementary classes rarely top 20 minutes of sitting and focusing. So when homework for a 9-year-old takes 40 minutes, how can we, as parents, help our children? On Julieverse, I often discuss homework strategies, focusing on ways to overcome homework stress and help your children achieve success with homework without doing it for…

Thanks to Trish for this week’s Homework Help question: “How do I get my first grader to stop being hysterical at homework time? While the homework only takes the designated 20 minutes, the preceding hysteria, tears, and melodrama takes about 2 hours.” Oh, Trish. I do know what you’re talking about. My son didn’t start homework until this month, but it’s overwhelming and huge and scary for the kids. And you’re so right; the homework should only take 20 minutes (or less) for a first-grader. How to calm your child at homework time Talk to the teacher Your child’s teacher…

Many younger kids actually look forward to getting homework; it’s a rite of passage, an entry to being “big.” And when children are young, their homework should never overwhelm. Homework for young children should do the following, which will each be focused on in upcoming entries of the Julieverse Homework Help series: Teach routine, time management, and organization skillsReinforce concepts learned in school (yes, this means some homework will be busy-work)Enhance a home-school connection When should a child do his homework? Every family routine is different, but what’s important here is that you have a routine. Most children, after sitting…

Game creation is an excellent way to teach children to create and solve problems on their own. When given the opportunity, they’ll use many learning elements, such as math, writing, reading, geography, and, sometimes, science, all without probing and pushing from parents and teachers. And making a game is simple, with very few supplies and a lot of rewards. It also offers the opportunity to cater to both competitive and cooperative learning. On a Tuesday after a doctor’s appointment, rather than rushing the kids back to school, I gave them the option to stay home. “However,” I explained, “you’ll have…

From homework to spelling activities to games, there are so many ways to use notecards (3×5, 4×6, 5×7, or other sizes) to help your children learn and help them with homework. I always keep them on hand–in fact, they’re hidden in drawers in most rooms in our home. Here are some ways to use note cards to help your children with homework. Using note cards to supplement learning 3×5 cards are the easiest way to reinforce a spelling word, a word pattern, or a math problem. When my kids are having trouble with a series of math facts or need…

Even in grad school, I continued to confuse the emergent literacy terms phonics, phonemic awareness, and phonological awareness, so it’s difficult to imagine a Kindergarten parent without training in education having a strong grasp on what teachers and reading specialists are working with their children to understand. Therefore, it’s probably even more difficult for a parent to gather ideas on how to make the learning process fun for her beginning reader. I’ll try to break down the differences for you and show you just how easy it is to make beginning reading skills fun with simple activities to enhance learning…