4 Tips To More Productive Homework Time

Homework is a great way to reinforce what children learn in the classroom and provide opportunities to practice skills independently. Unfortunately, it can be a huge source of stress for many children (AND parents)--especially those who are naturally disorganized and tend to "spin their wheels" at homework time. Luckily, there are lots of tools that will help keep children on task and focused on what they need to accomplish. Here are some of Huntington's tried-and-true homework tools for students:

• Homework completion chart - Perfect for younger children who do not get a lot of homework but still need a simple way to mark off when they have completed it. A homework completion chart teaches children good habits like writing down assignments and managing their tasks.

• Subject homework checklist - This is just a simple checklist of subjects for a whole week that allows students to easily track which subjects they have homework for.

• Daily assignments sheet - Get your child into the habit of recording to-dos at the end of each class and using that as his or her guide at homework time at home.

• Project plan - When students have bigger projects to work on over the course of several weeks, this helps them break up the assignment into manageable tasks with individual deadlines.
  

One of the keys to homework success is to stay organized, and charts and checklists help children do just that. In combination with use of the day planner, have your child try a few different methods and tools to discover what helps him or her be the most successful. Embracing such methods will give your child a sense of responsibility and ownership, help him or her stay focused on what he or she must do and when, and put those goals front and center.