No "Kid"ding . . . Homework Help

October is a big month for our students with first quarter report cards coming out and October 1 being Colorado's student count date. As grades come home, parents may be wondering how to help students improve their grades. Although we are all tempted to spend our afternoons and evenings relaxing and having fun, one way parents can help is through homework. Did you know:

- Homework is good for children and can boost academic learning and teach them responsibility.

- Research indicates that children who spend more time on regularly assigned, meaningful homework, on average, do better in school and that when homework is turned in to the teacher, graded, and discussed with students, it can improve students' grades and understanding of their schoolwork.

- The academic benefits of homework increase as children move into the upper grades.

- While extending what students learn in school and linking school to the home, homework is also a time for students to learn important study skills, organization and time management.

- Parents and families play an important role in the process. Together, families and teachers can help children develop good study habits and attitudes to become lifelong learners. Some things that parents can do to help their students include:

• Provide a quiet, well-lit space, away from distractions. Be creative if space is limited.
  
  
• Provide all the right study materials - paper, pens and pencils, books, a dictionary, a desk - in that one spot.
  
  
• Try to find a separate space for each of your children or schedule quiet times for homework in designated spaces.
• Set a regular family "quiet time" where you and your children can work together on homework, reading, letter writing and playing games.
  
  
• Turn off the TV set. Some children do seem to study well with music or the radio playing so allow music if your child is still able to study.
• Allow your children to study in the way each of them learns best. For example, some children work best when they're lying on the floor with background music playing.
  
  
• Teach your child that studying is more than just doing homework assignments. Encourage your child to do things like: take notes on a chapter he or she is reading and learn to skim material, to study tables and charts, to summarize what he or she has read in his own words, and to make his or her own flashcards.
• Help if it is clearly productive to do so, such as calling out spelling words or checking a math problem, but don't help if it is something the child can clearly handle himself and learn from the process.
• Avoid simply giving an answer. Instead, ask questions that let your child see the problem in smaller, sequential steps.
• A number of schools have after school programs to help with homework. Check your school to see if this available if your child needs it. Alternatives for Youth provides Homework Clubs at Columbine and Rocky Mountain Elementary and Heritage and Longs Peak (for 8th grade) Middle Schools.
  
  

You can find more information about how to help with homework (and what to do if you don't know how to help) at the following websites:
Child Development Institute
Family Education
National Education Association