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mschocokitty
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Homework Battles
mschocokitty
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I am so frustrated with the daily battle over homework. My SD has been diagnosed ADHD, which is one contributing factor. Another factor is that she overall struggles with independence and responsibility. I used to teach elementary school so I am comfortable with the material she is working with, but God is seriously having a laugh that my toughest student ever is one that lives with me. The main issue is that she can't/won't do the work if someone isn't literally standing next to her. Her classwork,which then becomes homework, goes undone for that same reason. We have an IEP update on Feb. 10 and will revisit the topic of medication then. So far, we have done frequent breaks, flashcards, one-to-one help, no help, quiet workspace, supplementary material (i.e. multiplication charts). What are some successful homework strategies you have tried with your children?
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Re: Homework Battles
How old is she? What grade? How long have you been working with her?
I felt so out of my league with SS and his struggle with homework. I always thought kids who didn't pay attention or get their work done were lazy. Schoolwork was always easy for me. I have learned so much working with SS, and it's heartbreaking to see sometimes how hard he has to work.
His younger brother whips through his schoolwork in no time, and it's all correct, whereas he sometimes will spend his whole night finishing the days' assignments and we still have to go over it and make corrections together. It's gotten much better, but he still has to put in a much greater effort for a lesser product. It's really not fair.
Have you tried having her work for 15 minutes on her own and then 15 minutes with help and then take a break?
My SD really struggles to focus on her work, etc... although she does not have ADHD, and this strategy has worked best for us.
I also sit with her and make a small outline (specifically for writing assignments) and then she works for 15 minutes and then takes a break... so the same thing except I help her first and then let her work.
This is the situation we have except that it is our oldest who whips through without much effort and the younger one that struggles. I recently enrolled YS in Tae Kwon Do and even in just a few weeks I have noticed a huge difference. They teach based on the work and reward system (mentioned by PP). YS gets all this physical excersie and focus training right after school at Tae Kwon Do. Then when he sits down to do homework at home it is much easier for him to sit in a chair and focus on school work. They also focus on respect to teachers and peers and how to deal with peer pressure. I wish I would have thought of it three years ago. It is a little expense IMO but worth every penny. We haven't had to battle over homework in several weeks and it is such a stress relief for everyone in the house.
We do TaeKwonDo as well, and it's made a big difference for DS. They talk a lot in class about focus, self control, etc. It's great, and I recommend it to people all the time.
We also use a reward system for homework. I make up a chart with three columns (reading, homework, spelling) and I bought a bunch of fun little stamps and different colored stamp pads.
Every time he completes one assignment (homework is usually 2 pages of math, spelling is 10 spelling words, and reading is 20 minutes w/ a book) without getting counted to 3, he gets to pick a stamp and put it on his chart.
He can earn up to 12 stamps in a week (there's no Friday homework), and if he gets at least 10, we go do something special for him on Friday night. We've taken him to get a cupcake, we've gone to Chuck-e-Cheese, we've let him pick dinner, we've let him stay up late and watch a movie...
It works for us.
Has she tried a few different types of medication? What does her doctor say?