Parents: Help Your Children With Their Homework

If you are a busy, working parent, it can sometimes be overwhelming to get all of your responsibilities accomplished each weekday after you get the kids home from school. If you can establish a routine for every weekday that works regardless of the time that you arrive at home, you can find the time to be a homework helper for your kids.

From a teacher's perspective, homework is meant as additional practice that your child can practice in the home. It is a chance for your child to discover if he or she can apply the skills learned at school in an independent setting. If your child frequently gets frustrated with homework, then he/she can become a homework hater. That is where you can come in.

Make a list of all the activities, tasks, and chores that you and your children need to accomplish during the after school time, the dinner hour, and the hours before bedtime. If you can block out a chart, assign responsibilities to each person, and set a specific homework hour every day, your children will know that you will be available to help during their homework time.

Here is one strategy for being an accessible homework helper. If you are the cook who gets the pleasure of preparing dinner every night, set up a table in the kitchen where your children can work every afternoon on homework. Before you start dinner, read over their assignments with them and help them to prioritize. Have them start with the assignments that they know they can do. You can also be a resource while you are cooking. If there is a particularly difficult assignment, you can save it to work on together after dinner.