HOMEWORK! Starting secondary…Strategies to ensure homework is completed

Starting secondary…Strategies to ensure homework is completed

A clear routine around homework is the most important thing when starting secondary and year 7 is the time to start it.

There will not be any homework in the first week for the new starter, they may be asked to read something or write a small paragraph but in the main it will start to come midway into the second week. Here are some pointers to start as you mean to go on.

Location

Find the right location for completing homework, from my experience their bedroom is the wrong choice as there are too many distractions, and many children do not have a desk in their room to lay out their books. The dining room is a good choice, away from other children and the noise of the house, alternatively the kitchen table is an option after everybody has eaten.

Timing

Your child/teenager ideally needs to get into the habit of doing homework at the same time each day. Some children need a break straight after school (and they may join after school clubs anyway), but if they can carry on the momentum of the school day and complete it as soon as they get in, that is great. If your child does need the break, straight after the evening meal is also a good time. The child has had enough of a break, but it’s not too late that they have become mentally tired.

Planning

It is a little unrealistic that you will sit down and look at all the subjects and plan the homework for the week, but help your child out by looking at the description of the tasks and estimate how long it will take. Time perception is not a strong point at this age, the young person can’t help that, it’s about brain development.

Incentives

Not everyone agrees there should be incentives, some people believe that children should do their homework because they are required to…end of. I get that, but if we as parents think like that, we are also saying that a child or teenager can see the ‘long game’, IF I DO THIS NOW IT WILL BENEFIT ME IN THIS WAY LATER. Well they don’t think like this most of the time, which is why they do risky behaviour. Another brain development thing (if you would like to know more, then please check out my workshops on teenage behaviour) 
https://www.facebook.com/pg/TalkingToTeenagers/events/?ref=page_internal

So what incentives work best. Pretty short-term ones, something like a point system that adds up to money for the weekend or game vouchers.

BUYING A GAME FOR YOUR CHILD BECAUSE HE WANTS ONE AND HIS FRIEND HAS IT, BUT HE HASN’T DONE HIS HOMEWORK IS SENDING OUT THE WRONG MESSAGE.

Daily incentives such as:

a hot chocolate with marshmallows and squirty cream after 3 homework subjects complete.

15 minutes extra on the Xbox ect

Is this bribery? Absolutely it is, it goes on in adult exchanges as well, that’s what performance bonuses are about. You will benefit from it because you are not called into school to talk about your daughter’s lack of effort and your daughter will benefit because she has done her homework and is learning new things.

 If you are a house that doesn’t have loads of routine built in, the best option is for your child/teenager to attend homework club twice a week at school and do an hour slot at home on a Saturday morning. This way school have some input as well, school recognise that your child is trying academically, and if there are other issues then your child is known to teachers for good reasons.

Lastly encourage your child to write down the task in the planner before they stand up and leave the class…If it is not in the planner, you probably will not get to know there is homework, or if you do the child may be not be able to recall the important detail.

These are just a few pointers and if you would like me to advise about a point scheme for incentives and identifying homework related areas. Please just comment or message.

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