Does your preschooler bring homework from school?

You probably knew your child would eventually bring homework home, but you never expected it to happen when she started preschool. However, many schools prefer to send homework with preschoolers. Is this completely right? Or does it set a child up with a solid foundation as she goes through the rest of her school years?

Parent’s involvements in their children’s education starts from the day they are born, and it doesn’t stop when they go to school. Parent involvement is critical when it comes to children’ success, and although preschool can seem like glorified day care, it really isn’t. Your kiddo is learning important social skills, classroom structure and how to be a good student — in addition to beginner academics. Having — and continuing to have — an interest in her schooling is a good habit for parents to get into. This also helps you be prepared to support your child throughout her education.

Even before joining a school, Parents can get their kids ready for elementary school by doing a variety of activities. Help them with parts of their body, read to them, sing to them, have them help you set table and talk about manners, work with them on their social skills. Teachers want preschooler’s to have readiness skills, like emotional skills, that they can talk about feelings. It’s also important for parents to respect their child, and show the child that you value their opinions and their individuality.

Imagine this: After a hard day at work, you find yourself rushing home to prepare dinner and then sit down with your child to coach him with homework. There’s nothing strange about this scenario, right? After all, it’s quite normal for parents to help their kids with homework. Is homework really important to preschoolers?

Homework is important because it is at the intersection between home and school. It serves as a window through which you can observe your children’s education and express positive attitudes towards your children and their education. As children grow older, homework and the amount of time engaged in homework, increases in importance. For teachers and administrators, homework is a cost effective way to provide additional instruction in practice.

Here are reasons why Homework is important:

• It improves your child’s thinking and memory
• It helps your child develop positive study skills and habits that will serve him/her well throughout life
• Homework encourages your child to use time wisely
• It teaches your child to work independently
• Homework teaches your child to take responsibility for his or her work
• It allows your child to review and practice what has been covered in class
• It helps your child to get ready for the next day’s class
• It encourages your child to explores subjects more fully than classroom time permits
• Homework helps parents learn more about what your child is learning in school
• It allows parents to communicate about what he or she is learning
• It encourages parents to spark your child’s enthusiasm

Children need to know that their family members think homework is important. If they know their families care, children have a good reason to complete assignments and to turn them in on time. You can do many things to show that your child that you value education and homework.

As is true with many activities done with children, it is easy to lose patience when working with small children. This is especially true when you’re doing homework with them. Many parents were conditioned to hate homework as children, and that carries over to their helping their child as parents. A quick tip is to learn to be patient and enjoy the process. Developing good organizational skills is a key ingredient for success in school and in life. Although some people are by nature more organized than others, anyone can put routines and systems in place to help a child “get it together.

Does it feel like that school assignment is going to take FOREVER to complete? Looking for some inspiration? Activetotszone has compiled a list of strategies that you can use to help you and your child to enjoy working together to finish homework and to put a smile on your child!

Designate a study space.

Your child should study in the same place every night. This doesn’t have to be a bedroom, but it should be a quiet place with few distractions. All school supplies and materials should be nearby. If your young child wants to study with you nearby, too, you’ll be better able to monitor his progress and encourage good study habits.

Organize homework assignments.

Before beginning a homework session, encourage your child to number assignments in the order in which they should be done. She should start with one that’s not too long or difficult, but avoid saving the longest or hardest assignments for last.

Create a household schedule.

Try to establish and stick to a regular dinnertime and a regular bedtime. This will help your child fall into a pattern at home. Children with a regular bedtime go to school well-rested. Try to limit television-watching and computer play to specific periods of time during the day.

Prepare for the day ahead.

Before your child goes to bed, he should pack schoolwork and books in a book bag. The next day’s clothes should be laid out with shoes, socks, and accessories. This will cut down on morning confusion and allow your child to prepare quickly for the day ahead.

How to Be Patient When Doing Homework with Your Young Child

Determine your child’s learning style. Many children don’t process visual information well, but are quick to learn if the material is spoken out loud. Some are the opposite. Your child’s teacher can help you determine what teaching methods work best for him, or you can do online research. (Or both!)This is great to know of your child, because they can learn best in ways different than how you learn!

Decide before you start how much time you’re going to devote to helping with homework. Set a timer so that you don’t have to worry about running over. Whenever you find yourself getting frustrated with the amount of time it’s taking, remind yourself that you promised you’d help for an hour (or whatever) and it’s not taking any more time than you expected.

When you sit down to help your child with an assignment, look over it first. Make sure you understand clearly what’s being asked, and if there are any special instructions on how to do it. Few things in life are more embarrassing than telling your child how to do something, only to find out that he was supposed to do something else entirely! It is also important to listen to what your child says. You may have been taught the material differently, so it is key to remain open-minded, and be honest with your child if you have trouble understanding the directions. The point is not to frustrate anyone!

Let your child do as much as he can. This is the hardest step. The assignment looks so easy to you, you want to jump in and tell him how to do it. But he won’t learn that way. Wait until he’s stuck before you reach out to help.

Resist the temptation to tell him the answer when he’s stuck. Instead, ask leading questions. For example, if he can’t decide whether to add or subtract, ask him to describe what addition does, and what subtraction does. Then ask which of those two is closer to what this problem is doing. Try everything you can think of to get him to figure it out for himself.

At the end of the assignment (or your allotted time, whichever comes first) find something you can praise your child about. Maybe he finished it in less time than you expected, or got most of the answers on the first try. Complimenting not only will make him feel good, it will make you feel like your time was well spent.

What if you have difficult assisting your child with her work?

The best way that you can help with your child’s succeed in school is to have a good communication with your child’s teacher. Basically, good communication involves meeting with the teacher, being a positive and courteous partner in your child’s learning, and keeping the lines of communication open in various ways throughout the year.

• Meet the teacher.
• Go to parent-teacher conferences.
• Keep the lines of communication open all year.
• Be a partner with the teacher to support your child’s learning.
• Find the right time to talk to the teacher.
• Write short notes and follow up.
• Ask what you can do to help.
• Accept differences.
• Be positive and courteous.