Today’s guest post is by Wendy Taylor, M.Ed, Owner of Learning Essentials, LLC, an expert tutoring service assisting students K-12 in all subject areas and special needs too. She has awesomely agreed to share her tips and tools for helping kids get their homework organized and have a less stressful school year!
“My Dog Ate My Homework!” – Tips and Tools to Organize Homework and Reduce Stress By Wendy Taylor, M.Ed, Owner of Learning Essentials, LLC
It’s back to school time and homework is here. For many students and parents, homework time can often be a chore, or fraught with tension and stress. What is the secret to avoiding homework battles and missing assignments?
The secret to successful and organized homework session is to make it a habit. That’s it! And that is what this article is going to share with you – four simple strategies that will aid in increasing organization, reducing stress and developing independence in your child.
Establish a homework routine
Schedule homework time just as you would schedule afterschool activities and appointments. At the beginning of each school year, help your child create his or her own homework survival kit with the necessary supplies and keep this kit in a “homework zone” in your home. This helps your student stay focused and organized.
Kitchen timers have a multitude of uses, but at homework time they help students stay on-task, learn persistence and take needed breaks. It also makes the passage of time more concrete for your student. Identify a reasonable time for your student to complete an assignment (or given part) and set the timer to ring after that time.
Create a “mega binder”
Create a moving filing cabinet with a large 3-ring binder that holds all class materials:
- two tabs per subject (classwork and completed tests)
- a “to-be-filed” area located in the back of the binder for papers that were returned to your student and need to be filed in the appropriate section
- a tool case (to hold pens/pencils/protractor)
- a small, three-ring hole punch
- school assignment book
- calendar
- to-do-list
- and a jumbo clip (clipped on the inside front cover of the mega binder) which provides a special place to hold papers that need to come home or papers that will be returned to school
Allow your student to choose the color of her new binder and pick which color dividers will represent each subject. This provides ownership. It should be obvious where everything should go even to a disorganized student. Make it part of your student’s consistent, daily homework routine to file needed papers and keep her mega binder organized. Your student and her mega binder never need to part!
Try your “BEST” for homework success
“BEST” is a mnemonic device (from the Assignment Completion Strategy) developed by the Center for Research on Learning, at the University of Kansas. BEST stands for:
- B-break the assignment into parts
- E-estimate the number of study sessions needed to complete the assignment
- S-schedule the sessions needed using your school assignment pad
- T-take your material home, prepare needed material.
Keep it together
Often mornings are hectic to get out the door. Help your student get organized prior to the morning. Place a basket for each child by the door and have them “pack” it the night before with whatever is needed (backpack, lunch money, permission forms, uniforms). This way you will cut down on time frantically looking for an overdue library book or misplaced gym uniform and there’s still time for breakfast.
Empower your student! Know that it takes approximately 30 days to build a habit. During the first 30 days your student will need a lot of support and guidance. After 30 days it will become easier: the habit starts to take over – building confident, organized learners. Don’t give up!
Wendy Taylor, M.Ed provides academic tutoring and learning strategies to students and speaks to groups on the topics of student organization and study skills. You can find out more about Wendy Taylor by visiting her web site or by contacting her at (240) 750-7189 or info@tutoringLE.com
