If you’ve heard horror stories of your kids spending all afternoon playing video games, you probably understand the urgency that parents feel to make their children stay focused on the homework. While there’s no denying that digital distractions are increasingly becoming a challenge for many kids and teens, there are ways to get your kids to do their math homework effectively while also giving them some time to enjoy themselves. Here are some helpful tips that may work for you. Math is an essential subject in every grade, but having it drilled every night can be really tough for most students. That’s why you should try using homework as an opportunity to expand your child’s horizons rather than as a punishment. Follow these simple tips to conquer your child with their math homework help.
Make Homework Fun
Math is often seen as a boring subject, but your child will be more inclined to enjoy it more if it’s not seen as a chore. Try to keep the homework solutions as light and joyful as possible. You don’t have to be the world’s best choreographer, but you can help make homework more enjoyable by including your child in your math-related activities. Let your child help you plan a math-related activity, such as a math-themed craft or math-based meal. You can also try to incorporate math into your daily life, such as by using your computer to help you plan your weekly menu or by using a scheduling app to help you keep track of when your child has extracurricular activities. Doing these things will make it less likely that math will be seen as an alien subject and more likely for your child to enjoy it. Find easy math practice problems and assign them as homework help.
Plan A Discussion Before You Begin
Math homework is important, but it doesn’t have to be a burden for your child if you plan for it. Start by sitting down as a family and discussing your child’s needs from a math standpoint. This will give you a better idea of what your child likes and dislikes and help you determine which areas need more attention. You can also use this time to discuss what your child’s other academic needs are, such as reading and writing. Planning a discussion before you begin the actual homework session can be an extremely helpful way to make math homework less of a burden for your child.
Don’t Assign Too Much At Once
If you’re assigning too much math homework at once, your child is going to feel overwhelmed. Instead of assigning a large amount of homework in one go, break it down over a few weeks. This will give your child time to get accustomed to the new challenges and help them better manage the workload. If you make it a consistent rule to assign less math homework each week, your child will be less tempted to stop doing it completely or just do it at a much slower pace.
Use Technology To Your Advantage
There are a lot of great apps and software that you can use to help your child with their math homework. These can be great tools for learning, as they can help your child see the math concepts in a different way and make them more interesting. However you choose to use these tools, make it a consistent, family event. If the math homework is being done in the background, it’s less likely to be done well and more likely to be done with less care. To ensure that your child maintains their focus on the math homework, make sure that they’re doing it in a setting that’s fun. If your child is doing their homework while watching TV, make sure that they’re doing it in a way that’s surrounded by their favorite characters.
Keep Routines Consistent
Pushing your child to do math homework every single night is not only going to be a strain on your child, but it’s also going to be annoying for them. Make sure that there are breaks in-between these stretches of homework. If you find that there are nights where your child is much busier than others, try to avoid assigning too much math homework on these nights. If your child is constantly tired each night, they’re probably not getting enough sleep. Make sure that you’re adjusting your family’s schedule so that your child is getting enough rest. If there are nights where your child is especially tired, try to assign less math homework on these nights.
Help Your Child With Confidence Gain
Homework is a great opportunity for parents to help their child build their confidence. If your child is feeling a sense of anxiety about the math homework, try to help them to reframe it. Math homework is often seen as a challenge to overcome, but it doesn’t have to be. You can help your child to reframe this challenge by helping them to see that math isn’t something that needs to be conquered or conquered again. All that your child needs to do is to learn how to use the tools and work through the problems in a way that makes sense to them. You can help your child to do this by explaining the concepts and showing your child how to use the tools so that they can see them in a new way.
Conclusion
Math is an essential part of every grade, but having it drilled every night can be really tough for most students. That’s why you should try using homework as an opportunity to expand your child’s horizons rather than as a punishment. Make sure that their math homework is broken down into smaller chunks, used technology to make it more enjoyable, and keep the sessions consistent. You can also help your child to build confidence by reframing the challenge as a way to learn new tools and work through problems in a way that makes sense to them.