It’s time to hit the books!

Now that your kids are all settled into their back-to-school routine, it’s time to assess what is (or isn’t) working when it comes to homework habits, because no matter what their learning style, they’re going to have plenty of take-home assignments. How they handle these assignments can affect whether or not you need to look into finding a tutor or adjusting their study space. Before your kids have a full on homework meltdown, try these handy tips for helping your kids stay organized and accountable, courtesy of Dr. Emily Levy, Ed.d., from EBL Coaching.

With the new school year back in session, homework demands are quickly piling on. For many students, the process of writing down assignments, taking home the correct materials, completing assignments, and turning them in on time can be a challenge. Help your child build better homework skills with these tips.

Assignment Book
Many students think they can remember all of their assignments without writing them down. Others jot down certain assignments, but not all, often neglecting critical ones. Each of these scenarios can lead to forgotten homework and missed assignments.

To help combat this homework chaos, encourage your child to maintain and consistently use an assignment book. Even if she is convinced that she can remember all of her assignments, remind her that this task becomes increasingly challenging as she moves through school, and jotting them down will help make sure she doesn’t forget any. If she has trouble consistently doing so, create a “sign off” system where you, as the parent, sign off on each assignment in her assignment book that is done, and her teacher signs off once it’s turned in.

Rewards-Based Incentive Plan
Implementing a reward-based incentive plan can help students build stronger homework and time management skills. To set up this type of system, sit down with your child and come up with a list of rewards that he would like to earn. Such rewards might include video games, apps, Lego sets, a trip to the movies or his favorite ice cream store, or the like. In order to receive the reward, for a pre-selected number of consecutive days (5 or 10 often works), he must write down all of his assignments daily, check them off when done, and turn them in on their due date.

As an alternative, you can try using a “homework punch card.” Once your child completes and puts away all of his assignments on a given day, he receives a hole punch in his card. Ten punches (or another pre-determined number) earns a reward. This type of reward system can help students develop consistency and automaticity with completing and turning in their assignments in a timely fashion.

Homework Buddy
Establishing a homework buddy can help your child feel accountable not just to herself, but also to a friend. At the start of the year, talk to her (and ideally loop in her teacher) about selecting a homework buddy. During the school day, the students each write down the assignments given to them by their teacher. Then, at the end of each day, they check each other’s assignment books to make sure all assignments were correctly written down. If they were not, the buddies help each other correct them, or ask their teacher for clarification, if need be. Next, they perform a book check to make sure that they both have in their backpacks all books and materials needed to complete the assignments. The next morning, they check to make sure each buddy turned in all due assignments. The buddies can even use a daily sticker chart and give each other a sticker when everything is done correctly.

Consistent Homework Time
It is important for students to develop a consistent routine of completing their homework at roughly the same time each day. Some students prefer starting their homework right when they get home and are still in “school mode.” Others need a rest and a quick snack right after school, before getting started. Certain students thrive on the post-dinner energy rush. While it’s generally better to work on longer, more taxing assignments earlier in the day, there is no general ideal time for completing homework. Each child is different and works best at different times of day. They key is consistency. Once a child selects a time for completing homework, he should stick with that time, so that it becomes a built-in part of his day.

Homework demands increase rapidly as students move through school. Encourage your child to use these tips to build stronger homework skills and become a more confident and successful student.

The post How to Help Your Child Build Better Homework Skills appeared first on EBL Coaching.

These tips will help reduce careless mistakes

Your child comes home from school, eyes his newest video game, and speeds through his school work to “get it over with” and start playing. Does this scenario sound familiar? Many students rush through their schoolwork, doing the absolute minimum required, and make careless mistakes along the way. Rushing through work in this fashion can harm students’ grades and negatively affect their overall performance in school. Help your child slow down and improve his homework skills with the ideas detailed below.homework

Use a Timer
Identify a specific amount of time that your child should spend completing homework in a given night, and set a timer for that period of time. A general rule of thumb is 10 minutes of homework per grade per night. Thus, if your child is in first grade, she should spend roughly ten minutes per night on homework; if she is in third grade, she should spend about 30 minutes per night. When she sits down to begin her homework, set a timer for that specified amount of time. If she finishes before the timer rings, have her do another academic activity, like writing in a journal or reading a book.

Find the Right Homework Time
Children tend to perform best at various times in the day. For some children, completing homework as soon as they arrive home from school is best. Yet others many feel frazzled or overwhelmed after a long day of school and, if expected to do homework right away, may rush to “get it over with” and relax. Rather than forcing your child to work at a time that is not ideal for him, try to assess when he works best. He may need some down time after school to play outside or have a snack before beginning his homework. This approach can help him slow down and feel both focused and refreshed when starting his homework.

Encourage Self-Checking
Many students rush through their assignments and neglect to go back to self-check their work. Rather than telling your child to simply “check” her work, provide her with tools for doing so. The COPS checklist, for instance, is a useful one for self-checking writing assignments. Once she is done writing a paragraph or essay, have her go back and check individually for C (Capitalization), O (Organization), P (Punctuation), and S (Spelling). You can create similar checklists for math sheets, book reports, projects, and so on, and individualize them as much as possible to common errors that your child makes.

Prioritize
Encourage your child to prioritize his assignments. Some students prefer completing longer, more arduous tasks first. Others enjoy the confidence and momentum they gain by starting with smaller, easier tasks. Try to understand your child’s preference and help him order his assignments each night accordingly. For instance, if he prefers the harder assignments first option, help him number his assignments in order from most to least arduous, such as: “1) Complete essay; 2) Answer reading comprehension questions; 3) Complete math problems.” Encourage him to prioritize assignments in a manner that suits him best.

Talk to the Teacher
Some kids rush through their work simply because they are challenged by it. Rather than trying to grasp a confusing topic, they may choose to rush through the assignment just so they can be done with it and put it aside. If you notice this pattern, talk to your child’s teacher to see if she is noticing these patterns at school, too. If so, help your child (or seek outside support) to truly understand the content being taught.

Many students experience slipping grades and poor work products as a result of rushing through their work. Use these tips to help your child slow down, stay focused, and ultimately excel in school.

The post Help Your Child Slow Down and Focus on Schoolwork appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Does your child ever come home from school and complain that he has too much homework, has no idea how to complete the work, or has no homework at all? Kids invent all kinds of excuses to avoid sitting down and doing their homework. Some lack the academic abilities to complete their work independently. Others, however, simply need to learn effective homework strategies. By learning specific tools for time management, organization, and general homework skills, students will be well on their way toward homework success.

Time Management

Time management is one of the underlying components of effective homework skills. When students sit down to work on their assignments, they may feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks they need to complete. They may not know which order is best for completing them, and they might feel that they need frequent, or not frequent enough, breaks. Some may not write down their assignments at all, and may find themselves frantically looking through their notes or calling friends the night before the assignment is due.

To help solve this recurring time management problem, all students should first have some sort of daily planner or assignment book. This should be large enough to provide ample space for each day of the week. (It should not be a monthly or yearly calendar that has only a small box for each day). It should also have space not only for daily homework assignments, but also for any afterschool or evening activities. Students should be able to see a global picture of all school-related, athletic, and social activities for that week.In their assignment books, students should divide each day into five columns: ET (Estimated Time); AT (Actual Time); O (Order); D (Done); and a wide column for “Assignment”. Each day might look something like this:Students should create these columns in their assignment books, in advance, for about two weeks of time. The only place where students should write any information while at school is in the “Assignment” column. Once they arrive home from school and sit down to complete their assignments, their first task is to estimate how much time they think it will take to complete each assignment. They should write that estimated time in the “ET” column.Next, based on the estimated time for each assignment, students should decide which order they will follow in completing the assignments. For example, they might feel that math will take 35 minutes, science will take 20 minutes, and English will take 40 minutes. Based on these estimates, they can choose to either complete the shorter assignments first to get them over with, or focus their energy on completing the longer assignments first. Either choice is fine, as long as they try to stay consistent with their approach. As they complete each assignment, they should time themselves, using a clock or stopwatch. In the “AT” column, they should write the actual time it takes them to complete each assignment.

Finally, when the assignment is completed, they should draw one side of an “ex” in the “D” column, and once the assignment is put away in the right place to be turned in, they should complete the ex. A sample day from a completed assignment book might look like this:

Often, when students begin using this strategy, they notice a large discrepancy between the estimated and actual times for each assignment. Many students initially have unrealistic expectations of how long an assignment might take to complete. The more they practice using this strategy, however, the more realistic they will become with their time.

Organization

Maintaining a well-structured organizational system is important for effective homework management. To organize homework assignments, all students should have a homework “inbox” and “outbox”, contained in a two-pocket folder that they check on a regular basis. The pocket on the left is the “inbox” and the pocket on the right is the “outbox”. Younger students can have one homework inbox and outbox folder to use for all subjects, while older students usually benefit from a separate inbox and outbox folder for each class.

At school, when teachers pass out assignment sheets, students should place these into the “inbox” section of their folder. After they complete the assignments at home, they should put them into the “outbox” section on the right. Thus, when students are at school and are asked to turn in their homework assignments, they will know exactly where to look to find them.

General Homework Skills

As a general note, students should choose a consistent place at home for completing their homework each night. A clean desk with basic supplies, including pens, pencils, erasers, notebook paper, a hole puncher, a pencil sharpener, and other materials for their classes is ideal. They should choose a consistent time to complete their homework, either right after school, after a social or athletic activity, or after dinner. They should stick with this time on a daily basis.

You may want to help them to break down large projects into small steps, and to enter each step into their assignment book. With practice, they will begin to use this strategy independently. Give them positive reinforcement and encourage them to try to complete as much of the assignment independently before you help them. If need be, help them complete an assignment by asking them questions that guide them to their own answers, rather than immediately telling them what to do.

Homework can be a challenging task. Yet with the proper strategies in place, this task can become easier, more efficient, and even enjoyable.

The post How to Help Your Child Build Great Homework Skills appeared first on EBL Coaching.