Homework Help: How Much Do You Give?

on January 21, 2009 at 12:59 PM

homework

My boys aren't heavy into homework yet, so there's a part of me that's really excited about doing homework. But other mothers who are inudated with homework, particularly those with more than one child, can feel overwhelmed by it.

An anonymous mother asks, How often do you help your kids with their homework?

Some of the responses were helpful to hear, and were a reminder that for the most part, homework should be a relatively independent exercise:

I sit with my son at the table while he does his homework, but I do not help him unless he asks me to. I check his work when he is done, and I tell him which ones he needs to correct. I have started to just tell him he got X number of problems wrong, or X number of words spelled wrong, and having him figure out which ones they are.-- tropicalmama

I help them find the information they need to figure it out, only if they ask for my help. I check the homework as soon as it is finished and have them correct any mistakes. We are getting to the point where I asked them to double check it before they give it to me.-- MomShawn70

Let's talk. Where are you on the homework spectrum?

Filed Under: activities, education, grades, homework

Comments (8)

Cafe MichelleL

on Jan 21, 2009 at 3:32 PM

Were you at my house last night, listening in? Seriously! I was just complaining about this issue last night as I was "helping" my 5th grader with a homework assignment that was insane. I can't believe some of the papers, projects that schools expect the kids to do without prepping the kids for how to DO them. Sorry to rant but I had a total brain freeze after helping my daughter with her work. *Sigh*

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Liansmommie

on Jan 21, 2009 at 4:03 PM

I would love for mine to be independant enough to HW on his own, but at his age and development homework for me is an interactive excercise. I do not give answers though I will steer in the right direction.

SteeleMommasita

on Jan 21, 2009 at 5:23 PM

I think it is an independent exercise as well. If they need help we will work on it together for a period of time...about 30 minutes. If by that time my child still don't get it then I'll email the teacher and let them know so the child can get some extra "professional" help.

smichellem

on Jan 21, 2009 at 6:34 PM

I have been lucky in that my kids have been independant in this area. I don't help them. Soemtimes I review what they have done or help them figure soemthing out themselves by answering their question with a question back to guide them to finding their own answers. It has worked so far. I see parents all the time doing their kids hw and it really bothers me. How on earth is that really helping them? I would rather my kids get soemthing wrong on their hw and figure it out than to give them the answers and then they learn nothing and fail a test or even a grade.I have seen this happen to kids and it's sad.

I am lucky in that my kids have taken on their own responsibility for their school work. They have once or twice learned the hard way, but it paid off in the long run.

Mi_Chelly

on Jan 22, 2009 at 10:03 AM

I too believe it should be an independent study, but I have found you really need to follow up with them. And I wish the teachers of my oldest (7th grade) would be a bit more willing to work with parents. The 7th grader came home at the begining of the year with homework for two or three classes a night. Now, he comes home with "study" only. I have asked the teachers, and they all state the same thing, it should be in his agenda, which is grand, if you don't have a child that hates homework so bad, he wont right it down....

For the 5th and 3rd grader, they are really good, they sit and work on their homework, coming to ask for help after they have tried and worked other problems to see if working those would help figure the trouble one out. They do really, really well. (thou the 5th grader is starting to copy her older brother and quit writing it in her agenda)

For the youngest, he is in Kindergarten, so homework with him, when he has it, is a full out activity time. I have to sit with him and really work with him. He does well and is advancing nicely.

on Jan 22, 2009 at 4:26 PM

My fourth grader has been in the past helped by her older sister. It was okay for a while but I had to put my foot down because my fourth grader was relying on her sister instead of learning to keep up with it herself. My fourth grader had a problem with hw until third grade. She didn't have a lot of hw but she often times lied about it. In third grade we set a goal for her to be more responsible. Her teacher was very helpful too. I check online and communicate with their teachers often enough to know when there's a problem. Things have been going very well though. thank God

on Jan 22, 2009 at 4:28 PM

Has anyone else noticed a dif between boys and girls? i seem to see my friends with boys (until about 5th grade) having the most trouble getting them to keep up with their school work in general. My girls and my friends with girls don't seem to have as much problem.

milmiracle

on Jan 23, 2009 at 4:20 AM

Depends. I have found myself doing a lot of helping at times, others not. I think it has to do with the emphasis the teacher puts on the specific homework. Because my son has come home talking about some things he needs to do and really stressing it to me and I end up helping a lot. When he doesn't stress it I don't either.