Homework Hacks
As a mom of 3 kids ages 5, 8, and 11 I've experienced many years of having to give hands-on homework help... These are my observations and "hacks" to help support us all in these early years!
Homework… does that word make you anxious? Not me! (Also, yes I know the correct grammar is “not I” but it feels too formal for this newsletter so I’ll stick with the colloquial version😉) As a Type A personality, you can imagine that I didn’t mind having homework and that I always turned it in on time😊 But, now that I have three kids, I’ve had to adjust to the fact that not all kids are wired that way!
My kids are 5, 8, and 11, and we’ve moved a couple of times during their childhoods, so between them they have attended four different preschools and three different elementary schools! These experiences were at schools that are public, private, parochial, non-parochial, Montessori, a standalone preschool, a preschool through sixth grade school, a kindergarten through fifth grade school, and a kindergarten through twelfth grade school. Plus, I lived through zoom school with my oldest son for parts of his kindergarten and first grade...
So, while I am not a teacher or tutor, because of all that exposure I have a lot of preschool through elementary years homework experience! One consistent take away is that homework during those years is very hands-on for parents, no matter how easily schoolwork comes to your kid. Since my memory of doing homework was that my parents were hands-off, that realization took some adjusting on my part! I wish someone had told me that, so I’m sharing it here to prepare you in case you haven’t gotten to homework age yet…
As your Type A Mom friend I’m here to help ease the behind-the-scenes work of parenting for us all, and homework is definitely part of that unseen but necessary work. Over time, and through a lot of trial and error at all those schools, I have found some items and figured out some systems that help ease the sting of homework in the elementary years. I hope what we do as a family to tackle homework can give you ideas for your family as you navigate the hands-on homework years with your kids!
THE SET-UP
My kids like to do their homework at the kitchen table or at a portable desk wherever the rest of the family is. We’ve tried having them do their homework in their rooms but they are not interested in that yet (my oldest is in 5th grade so with middle school starting next year this may change).
I’ve noticed that when I am close to the kids while they’re doing their homework they are less self-conscious about asking for help. Being near them means that they can casually ask me questions instead of having to come find me which might feel like a barrier to getting the work done. So, during homework time I find ways to be close by but not hovering. For example, since they’re often doing homework in the kitchen, while they’re working I’m making dinner, cleaning the kitchen, making lunches for the next day, answering emails on my phone or computer, etc.
We have two drawers in our kitchen for homework/crafting. They are both the lowest drawers in the row (at floor level) so it’s easy access for the kids. One drawer has different pencil boxes in them for each kid with the necessities to get the work done - pencils, sharpener, crayons, washable parkers, highlighters, small glue stick, small scissors, Post-It notes, and as they get into fourth grade, a nice pen and Sharpies. The other drawer has construction paper, lined paper, and kid workbooks (this is to keep younger kids busy if older kids have homework and you need them all sitting in one area together).
We have a “bumpy” wood textured kitchen table so we have cork backed placemats that also serve as writing surfaces for our kids (they also help nicer kitchen tables stay marker free if you ask kids to keep their papers on that placemat when coloring).
The countertop where we keep the iPads and Chromebooks/laptops is just above the drawers (we have all these items because we had zoom school days). We have a charging station where each item sits and is accessible if the kids need to use it for homework. They “check it out” from me, and then I see what they are doing while at the table. In the younger years a computer assignment like timed quick math facts on Reflex Math, or a unit in IXL, is common a couple nights a week, but now that my son N(11) is in fifth grade, he has assignments on google classroom that he must complete every night.
We have a color printer at my desk in my room and although it’s not needed every day, it is definitely helpful for homework a few days a week, so it’s worth getting one! I like this one because it is also a scanner and a copier. Plus, I use it to print out fun printables for my younger two kids to do (check Etsy for different themed printables to keep kids busy for like $2!)!
We also keep a dictionary (hard cover so it stays open when looking up words) in the kitchen area for easy access.
THE PROCESS
When the kids come home from school I ask them to take out their folders so we can see what is due the next day, and in the coming days. This is how we can make a plan and hopefully avoid any stressful late evenings!
Once we see what homework must be done, we work backwards from bath/bedtime to figure out how it will get done. For us, telling the kids that they must do their homework right when they get home backfired. They wanted to play, relax, and eat after being at school all day and pushed back on doing their work right away which was not fun for any of us. So, after letting them relax when they got home for a bit, I would keep reminding them to start their homework. And that didn’t work well either - nagging them made them frustrated and rude! So this year I tried a deadline by which work must be done, and so far that has been the most successful!
For example, I noticed how tired my daughter C(8) gets if she does homework after dinner, so for her I made a rule that all homework must be done by 7pm. My son N(11) likes doing his homework later once he’s fully decompressed from the day and his activities, so we told him he must be done by 8pm so he can then take a shower and read before his 8:30pm bedtime. These deadlines have helped them get their homework done without added frustration since they aren’t exhausted on top of being challenged and since I’m not nagging them - they know the deadline and how they have to plan to get it done!
As soon as the kids take out their folders I ask them to each write down their assignments on a to-do list. Lately I’ve realized that we need to add a final task - put homework back in their backpacks so it’s all set for the next morning - adding that as a homework task has made our mornings calmer, and I hope that this routine will get in their head so it’s easy to do as they get older! Then, as they finish a task, they check it off their to-do list - such a great feeling to see it checked off!
C(8)’s homework to-do list one night (plus a timer since the assignments had times assigned to them). Love the lined Post-It notes for lists like this because it makes it a true list for her to write out, and it sticks to the folder. Her “slay” comment when finished with each task is the best🥰 If there are weekly to-dos, I will add them to the wall calendar and cross it off when it’s completed. I’ve noticed that seeing the task listed on the calendar (which they look at every day) helps remind the kids to get it done.
TIPS & TRICKS
After many years of helping my kids with homework, these are a few of the things that I’ve tried and do work well (I won’t show you any of the fails!!):
I noticed that my daughter C(8) was always looking for more comfortable places to sit when she’d do her reading, and then seemed uncomfortable/squirmy when she had to sit at the table to write an assignment. So I gave her a portable desk to try, and she loves it! She uses it wherever she feels comfortable that day, and it’s really helped her be able to focus on the work as opposed to trying to get comfortable. Also, when N(11) was younger, he used the same portable desk a lot on the floor of my room while I’d be bathing the younger two kids in the bathroom. I couldn’t leave those two alone in a tub so he’d use the portable desk to be near us during those times.
We use a tabletop timer to visualize timed assignments. Sometimes in the younger years my kids have been assigned a certain amount of time they must read a book or work on math facts, and using a timer like this helps them be in charge of their time and not constantly ask me “how much longer?”
A friend with four older kids once told me about their “Study Hall” on the weekend. I loved this idea and immediately implemented it in our house! Every Saturday or Sunday (sometimes both if need be) I will set aside one hour for “Study Hall” and will list it on our Map of the Week (aka our weekly wall calendar that lists the kids’ activities). This is so helpful because often one kid will have homework they need to get done by Monday but they won’t do it because it’s “not fair” that no one else has to do work - and that resulted in stressful Sunday nights with that kid trying to cram it all in late at night when they’re tired! A designated “Study Hall” normalizes work on the weekend (keeps things “fair”) by providing time to complete homework, get ahead for the next week, or do anything enriching like go on Epic (for early readers I love the feature that reads aloud to kids and highlights the text as it goes), IXL, practice writing in workbooks (that’s what we do for my son A(5) during this time), write letters to family and friends, etc. Also, if we can, my husband and I join “Study Hall” and do our work/emails/reading to model good working habits which has the benefit of helping us get things done! I post a list of “Study Hall Ideas” on our kitchen bulletin board so the kids know what their options are.
SUPPORT
Homework for younger ages requires parental help, and that help can be easily accepted by kids or not accepted at all… After my experience with zoom school for N(11) when he was in kindergarten and first grade which was incredibly stressful and challenging for us both, I realized that to preserve a healthy parent/child relationship, if my kids need homework help beyond a question here and there, then I need to find professionals to help.
We’ve tried many places and services to help our kids with homework and learning at different stages. Here’s what we love:
EnrichedNYC - one-on-one virtual or in-person tutors that support all different subjects and needs - we’ve found great success with their phonics help
Mathnasium - in-person centers all around the US that can help with math homework and also have their own curriculum for kids to keep learning math/reiterating math facts beyond the classroom
Curious Cardinals - for kids who want to learn more about a certain subject than what their school is offering, this pairs college mentors with kids via zoom to explore subjects in creative ways
Outschool - virtual group classes and one-on-one by grade and subject - the website takes patience to sort through but it’s worth it because it’s very well priced and classes are offered during so many times of the day, and on every day of the week - they offer a homeschool option and help if you need that - we’ve also used them for onetime classes that keep kids busy on a snow day with something like “How to draw a Pokemon”
IXL - this site has great help for every subject and kids can navigate it easily - it offers homeschool options and help if you need that
Epic - this really helps with reading fluency - three different elementary schools my kids have attended used this program in Kindergarten through third grade
Those are some of the homework hacks I use as a mom to three - I hope my experience is helpful to you and your family!
❤️, Amanda, your Type A Mom friend
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