Five Steps to get over that Homework Road Block

In this blog post, our regular guest blogger Joanne Arcand, gives us some practical tips on how to tackle homework – especially that tricky math work.   

Usually the first questions to come out of parent teacher interviews revolve around “How can I help my son/daughter do better in math?” 

Focus on ‘doing’

I like to focus on the verb used, as ‘doing’ math is always a first place to start.  Just like how we don’t trust our four year olds to brush their teeth effectively on their own, we need to teach our young math students how to be effective with their homework.

1.  Start with a comfortable, supportive environment.  Be close to your child, but don’t hover.  The table in the kitchen works, the basement dungeon is too far away.  The bonus of the kitchen is that, if we associate food with pleasure, perhaps the brain will be tricked into also associating solving math problems with pleasure (or perhaps we’ll all become stress-eaters).
2.  Establish a warm up routine.  Before beginning the homework, reread the note from the day.  Cover the examples with a sheet of paper and have your child solve them.  Check the steps the teacher took and talk about the differences.  Have your child explain the steps out loud to you (‘Pretend’ you don’t remember it. Can she teach you to refresh your memory?).
3. Set the timer for twenty minutes.  Stretch breaks or conversation breaks are easier to factor in if there’s a timer.
4. When your child first asks for help, start by asking him/her to repeat the question to you, then ask what he/she has already tried.  Sometimes this retrospective look will help make an error stand out.  Talk about how the question is similar to the previous questions he/she has attempted and look for a strategy that might apply to the problem.
5. If the questions are ‘too hard’, perhaps it’s time to switch from ‘how’ to ‘why’ for a bit.  Use popsicle sticks (good for base ten math), counters, or pasta shapes to try to ‘act out’ the problem.  There is a virtual library of manipulatives here (http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html)

“I did all my homework in class.”

It is important to practice math daily, even when there is no homework.  Notes can be reviewed, practice games can be played, and there is math to be learned even outside of school. 

Websites, such as www.k5learning.com, offer math remediation or enrichment geared to the speed of your child.  Look for one that involves diagnostic tests to set the level, as well as being linked to age- appropriate curriculum. 

Parents also need to talk with their child about what they are practicing, remarking if it’s a math concept that they themselves use.  Some of my students have math journals with their parents in which they write what they learned and make up problems for their parents to solve.  Take advantage of that early exuberance for all things new and jump on the math bandwagon. 

Joanne Arcand is trying to juggle her role as a math teacher with her other life as mom of twin boys.  She lives in Oakville, Ontario.