Paintings by N.A. Noel
www.booksarefun.com
Children, education, planning and raising a family
Homework
Solutions: 12 Homework Help Sites
Here’s a list of homework help sites. Some offer a
number of free services, so explore before making a decision, and check with
your child’s teacher about tutoring if necessary. Many schools offer free or inexpensive
assistance.
Tutor.com
– all subjects
Discoveryeducation.com
– all subjects
Factmonster.com
– all subjects
Infoplease.com
– all subjects
School’s
In Session: Three Things That Just Might Make Your Life Easier
The pitter patter of little and…well…not so little
feet, the rush, rush of appointments, sports events, private lessons, and the
maddening results of disorganization – “Mom!
Have you seen my socks? Uniforms? Skinny jeans?” School is in session, family
holidays are right around the corner, and speaking of disorganization, let’s
talk about three things you can do right now that just might make everybody’s
life a little easier (especially yours).
- Specifically related to school, attend Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) meetings and conferences. Take an active role in your child’s education.
Everyone is extremely busy these days. In fact,
seems as if we’re busier now than we’ve ever been (could it have something to
do with cell phones? Technology in general?), but despite our “busy-ness,”
studies show that the number one difference between high-achieving and
low-achieving students in grades K-12 is the level of parent involvement.
This doesn’t mean you have to quit your job and hang
around the school, but it does mean it’s important to take an active role in
your child’s education by attending
meetings and award ceremonies whenever possible, discussing your expectations
with your child, encouraging him/her with your presence, and engaging help
whenever it’s needed. Our children learn by what we do, not what we say. It’s a
sacrifice of time and effort, but well worth it.
- Consistently follow-through with clear consequences for actions
Let’s face it; we all learn by the consequences of
our actions. Discuss and set boundaries, clearly state (and write)
expectations, and collaborate on rewards. This applies to more than school, of
course. Inconsistent environments breed neurosis, so keep it steady and stick
to your guns.
- Organization, Please
Organization takes a bit more time on the front end,
but saves an infinite number of hours once things are in place. Everything
should have a home. Stores like Ikea and California Closets specialize in
organization. Doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money, but they’re great
places to visit in person or online for ideas.
Organization not only applies to things and space,
but to time and priorities as well. One of the first workshops I facilitated
with incoming college students was study skills. A big part of that class
pertained to organization using calendars and cell phone apps. It’s amazing how
much time people lose simply because they’re not organized.
Google has all kinds of free calendars to help with
time management, Jibidee is an online calendar site, and smart phones have
fantastic calendar features as well as alarm clocks.
A few years ago, I had a 12 year old voice student
with one of the most beautiful voices I’d ever heard, but her priorities were
way out of whack. For a child, that’s quite normal, but her parents didn’t have
the heart to set boundaries. She’d cancel her lessons to ride her bike with her
friends, play games with her cousins, etc., yet she and her parents said she
really enjoyed her voice lessons (when she was there), and she really wanted to
be a professional singer.
It’s called “living in the moment,” and that’s what
children do best, but part of growing up is learning to set priorities. Unfortunately,
I eventually had to tell her parents I could no longer teach her. Her problem
was poor or nonexistent prioritization skills. That’s where her parents should
have taken the reins. Poor prioritization can cause your child to miss a
multitude of opportunities, even scholarship opportunities.
One final note on organization – establish a homework
routine including a specific time and place to do homework. An organized work
area like the picture above or any space that offers a place for everything
your child needs to work efficiently with minimal interruptions. Stores like Wal-Mart, Target,
and of course, Ikea (link above) offer great inexpensive solutions.
Next time we’ll talk about more homework solutions.
Feel free to comment and suggest. I love to hear
from you J
No comments:
Post a Comment