Homework routine for 10 yr old DS?

[goldfrankincenseandmerlin]

Losing my way a bit - getting harder and harder to get DS to knuckle down to homework!

He gets it on a Friday to be handed in the following Wednesday with a spelling test the next day (Thursday)

What do you do? I need some suggestions and help please!

[blametheparents]

Year 5 or 6?

My D is in Year 5 and I make his homework his responsibility.
We sat together and he worked out what he was doing when and which nights he wouldn't be able to fit homework in and so I guess he took 'ownership' of it.
Of course, I still help him if required - eg a trip to the library for books, questions he has about the work, checking his spelling etc,. but tbh I have found it much easier this year than last when I organised it and was on his case all the time.

[goldfrankincenseandmerlin]

Blame.

Yr 5

Sound's like you have a more willing DS then me - lucky thing!

I feel i need to give a rigid timetable of what to do when and for how long for otherwise he just doesn't bother! His focus and concentration time can be limited too so I think if I was to set him certain time limits it might help him ? eg 30 mins maths one night, 30 mins literacy etc.

My other query is whether I should make him get on with it as soon as he is in from school to 'get it out of the way', or let him have some downtime first?

Anyone else have any thoughts /experiences please?

Thanks.

[fivecandles]

My dds get daily homework. We all sit down together after tea. They don't get any TV/games/relaxing time until after it's done. Works well for us but they've been doing it since reception (at independent school). We don't usually get homework over weekends but have found that it's much better to do it on Sat morning than Sunday night. And we tend to break spellings down 3 per night rather than all at once and often do them in the car as we're driving along.

[fivecandles]

So I would say routine is good (becomes as natural as getting dressed or brushing teeth) and breaking it into manageable chunks is good. I give exactly this advice to my own students (teach 16+) and their parents too. 10 minutes a day is usually better than an hour a week.

[goldfrankincenseandmerlin]

Thank you Fivecandles! We have discussed with his teachers the smaller time chunks to try and help him stay focused. Hard for him to do that in class but at least I can instigate at home!!!

In your teaching experience then should I insist he gets on with a bit of homework as soon as in from school rather than playtime first?

I can see it would be hard at first, but I'm sure he would get used to it!!!!

[shushpenfold]

A bit each night, same time, same place and stick to the routine unless there's something 'special' on. My children all have homework and it's nigh on impossible to get them going if you miss out nights (although it's a great deal easier for me!!) I think it also stands them in good stead for the future when their homework levels will just increase.

[shushpenfold]

Sorry - meant to say that when we had the time, I let my ds watch telly and eat first. We now don't and so he just has to get on with it poor lad.

[goldfrankincenseandmerlin]

Thanks Shush.

Can I ask - do they do it straight in from school or after tea/dinner?

[BigTillyMincepie]

My DS is Y5. He generally chooses to do his homework after breakfast on the weekend - about half an hour at a time - before he goes off to footie. Sometimes he does some after tea on the Wed or Thurs. Smaller time chunks are definitely good for this age-group!

It is his responsibility, although we might remind/encourage/praise/advise.

Meanwhilt DD gets so much now in Y7 that she gets started as soon as she gets in (after a snack) or at a free moment between clubs, etc on the weekend.

[Bonsoir]

I wouldn't sit him down on a Friday night to do homework - he needs to rest first.

Depending on his activities on a Saturday, I would have thought that Saturday late morning would be a good time. Please make sure he is showered and dressed first, and his room is tidy - because it is part of good homework habits to work in a civilised manner in clean and tidy environment.

[goldfrankincenseandmerlin]

Thank you Tilly and Bonsoir.

Bonsoir - your post made me laugh!!! Not sure if that was the intention but in an ideal world that is EXACTLY what I would expect from him!!!!

[Bonsoir]

sorry, I sounded a bit bossy there! My DSSs are good at getting down to homework but they are not good at getting showered, dressed and tidied first. That's not so serious when it's 30 minutes of homework in primary school, but a lot more of a problem when there are several hours of homework in their mid-teens

[fivecandles]

Gold, with my own kids our routine is school, home, chill (with TV), evening meal, homework (while we're all still at the table), then games, chat, relax till bed. BUT we eat early (5.30/6ish) so might be tricky if you have a later evening meal.

We have a 30 minute drive to school and we make use of that mainly in the morning (not so much after school) to revise spellings, tables etc.

I also tell my students to make use of the dead time i.e they should say to themselves I've got a 20 minute bus ride home so I could spend that time learning 5 new terms or reading a chapter of my set text which then means they will have less to do for homework or it kickstarts their revision.

I recommend the fridge door or next to the toilet to stick key terms or facts so that every time they go to get some milk for a cup of tea or go to the loo they can learn a new word etc.

[fivecandles]

They should plan their homework so there's a reward i.e. I have 30 minutes to work now and then I'll watch X Factor.

Increasingly I have come across students (older than your son) who have worrying signs of a Facebook/general Internet addiction. They are spending hours in their room 'working' and their parents are horrified to discover they've missed their last 5 deadlines.

The answer is to switch it off until you've seen the 30 minutes of homework and then they get 30 minutes as a reward.

[goldfrankincenseandmerlin]

Thank you Five - lots of great tips there! Think I will be putting up multiplication tables in the downstairs loo!!!!!

[shushpenfold]

Gold - it depends on what I have to cook for dinner. We only get back from work and school at 6pm so if they have to wait for 10 mins or more for dinner, they do home work as soon as they get in (although they'll have had snacks in the car on the way home - about 35 mins)

[OracleOfDelphinium]

Cripes. DS is eight, and gets 20 minutes homework every night. His school day ends at 4.15, so fitting in supper, homework, music practice and some kind of life is no joke. All I can come up with is bribery (he can go on the computer for 15 mins afterwards) - but no way could I get him to do it before supper. He needs to have food crammed into him first to make him slightly less horrid after school.

6-y-o DD gets a 30 min piece of homework on Fridays, to be handed in on Mondays (along with spellings). I find it works quite well to get her to do it on Sunday morning straight after breakfast. I'd love to master the showering/dressing/tidy house thing too, but I'll settle for homework!

With both DCs, homework is done on the kitchen table. I need to supervise DD, and if DS is allowed to slope off anywhere, he will find several far more interesting things to do instead.

[babeinthewood]

My DSD gets two pieces of homework on a monday (20 mins each) to be handed in on friday and is supposed to do 1 hour of reading a week. we have a timetable that breaks it down accross the week. She does her homework in her room because at the moment the dining table is in the lounge and I have a 5yo and a 2yo too who wont let her get on with it and she is easily distracted. I think when it comes to the boys though I will make them sit down here when I get my dining room back!

[basildonbond]

bribery worked for me

ds2 used to kick up so much fuss about the miniscule amounts of homework he got in y4 that it would ruin 2 or 3 evenings for the whole family. He only had 1 piece of literacy or maths homework plus 5 or 6 words to be put into sentences so it really wasn't too onerous, and if he'd spent a fraction of the time spent complaining actually doing it it would have been out of the way in no time.

So I decided to institute a daily routine - much to his disgust at first. I got some of the Bond maths and English books and he either did his school homework or a couple of pages of maths or English for 20 mins each day. If he did that without complaining for a week, he got a little lego model of his choice (obsessed with lego). The lego incentive was enough to get him out of the complaining rut, and after a while he'd just got into the habit so we could phase out the lego reward.

I've lightened up a bit now as he's in y6 and they're doing loads of SATs practice at school :( and he's going to get quite a bit of homework next year at the secondary he's going to, so I'm giving him a bit of a break before the hard work starts.

The key though for us was regularity - doing it every day for a short time (we had the timer on so he could see he wasn't being short-changed!), coupled with an incentive.

[crazygracieuk]

What is the consequence (at school) of not doing homework?

With my Y5 ds I had to let him go to school with incomplete homework for him to become self motivated about completing his homework. After that incident he never kicks up a stink about doing homework.

In our experience, doing homework straight after breakfast at the weekend works best as he is well rested and there's no rush.

When he has to do work during the week (like reading), he comes home has a drink/snack and chills for 20 minutes before starting. He does not like doing homework after dinner so feels motivated to finish before dinner (5:30pm ish?)

[Litchick]

DC get regular homework and have done for a number of years.

We try to keep to a routine.

Home from school at different times depending on activities. A bit of TV while I finish preparing their food (try to get much of htis done beforehand). Then they eat, chat etc. Then homework. We try to get done what was set that day, even if it doesn't need to be handed in the next day, so as to avoid build up.

Even now in year seven, I potter around them while they do it, so as to offer encouragement, help, and generally keep everyone on track.

Weekend homework is done asap, although Friday evening is not a possibility for them.

Often these routines slide - as much from my lack of organisation/motivation as the DC's commitments...so we regularly discuss getting things back on track.