Should kids relax after school or jump in and get homework done? Here are our Tips For Ending Homework Struggles.
Sponsored Post: This post is sponsored by Kraft Lunchables Organic but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
Let’s face it with the kids returning to school, the one thing either parent or kids are looking forward to is the daily homework struggle. If your kids are anything like mine, the morning struggle is not the only struggle we encounter on a daily basis. For many of us, the afternoon begins with pleas and excuses of why homework should get done later. But as parents, do we give in to their pleas and excuses or do we put our foot down and have them get their homework done right after-school? After years of homework struggles, our household has established a homework routine that has helped us lessen the afternoon homework struggles. Here are some of our tips for ending homework struggles.
Tips For Ending Homework Struggles
Set a Routine!
As I mentioned above, our household has a set routine. As soon as the kids get home from school, they know it is homework time. By providing them with a routine, not only are school’s lessons still fresh in their minds and easily recalled but this way they are not staying up until late finishing their homework assignments. Besides, this gives them more time to do fun things during the early evening, such as playing outdoors or even a family-friendly match on their favorite game board. Finally, by keeping them in a routine the homework struggles are easily avoidable because this routine will eventually become a habit. So, win-win for the entire family.
Set The Right Environment!
So, what’s a routine if you don’t set up the right environment? Therefore, our next tip is to set the right environment for ending homework struggles. Our home is not a large home and homework is done on our dining room table. Yes, this is not ideal, but since we are smack in the middle of the home, we have come up with the more convenient designated area for us. First of all, we turned a closet into our school supply area. Here we keep all kinds of papers, pencils, and even reading materials. Of course, this also means no cell phones, no radio, and no TV in our homework area while the kids are doing homework. By providing them with a homework designated area there are no excuses for getting their homework done and therefore fewer homework struggles.
Homework Time Fun!
Finally, homework doesn’t have to be this boring mindless activity, so why not make homework time fun? The way we make homework fun is by providing the kids with fun tools. To make homework time more fun while they do homework they get a fun snack, they love, such as Lunchables Organic. Lunchables Organics is USDA certified organic and free of artificial preservatives, ingredients, flavors or colors* They also use some of our learning toys to get a better idea what they are learning. Sometimes we even play games, for example, who can say their times’ tables faster? Or who can read in a funny voice? By providing them with a fun way to pass the time while they work on homework the daily homework struggle is diminished because they are having too much fun to think of how much time homework takes.
We have found that by doing the above, the daily homework struggle diminishes and this gives us more time to get to what we love to do instead of arguing about homework assignments. So, how do you get your kids to get their homework done without having to struggle on a daily basis? Chime in via the comment section below to keep the conversation going.
*See back panel of any Organic Lunchables item for ingredients used to preserve quality.