How do you get them to not dawdle when doing their homework ? Yr7

[TunaPastaBake]

I find my DS hair pullingly (sp?) frustrating when doing his homework .

Obviously more homework now he is in secondary school - some project work , some short pieces.

When he did projects in primary that was frustrating enough but initially I helped him but by the time his was in Y6 he was left to his own devices but he had a half term to do it and very other homework.

How do I find the balance of letting him get on with homework, completing it in a reasonable time frame or at least a section of it in a reasonable time frame but without me hovering over him and keeping a full head of hair !

I left him for nearly two hours this afternoon to work on a power point presentation project and he produced very little work , even though we went through at the beginning what it was supposed to be about and suggested to him to make a plan of what he wants to include.

I am really not sure about the balance at the moment - obviously his work should be his own but on the other hand I feel he needs guidance how to achieve the end result- but the devil on my shoulder is saying let him get on with it and if he spends two hours a night (unrealistic if he has other work to do) then he'll learn the hard way !

HELP !

[trinity0097]

I'd set a time limit with a reward, e.g you need to do the maths homework in 20 min to get 20 min on the Xbox, if you take longer than 20 min it comes out of the Xbox time.

Also have fixed homework times at school, e.g. After a 20min chill time after oming home each evening and on a Sunday morning at 10am for example

[trinity0097]

Oh also wanted to say if he fails to do it then just remind him that there I'll be consequences at school and that you will fully support the detentions teachers will give him for not doing it!

[Notquite]

I agree that incentives are great for time management. DD1 has a time-consuming hobby and the deal has always been that we will support her in it if she keeps on top of her school work. She was a procrastinator in primary school, but now in yr 10, she's a far better-organised student than either of her parents ever were .

Could you help him break big tasks down a bit too? Suggest he spends 30 mins, say, on his plan then shows you, then help him decide how long he should spend on the finished article and how he's going to break that up (unless it's due in tomorrow).

[TunaPastaBake]

Incentives sound good idea - thanks.

This peace of work not due in for another week so was hoping to spend 30 min each night on it.

[creamteas]

I would make sure there was the time/space to do homework, and if it was not completed let him live with the consequences at school. Secondary school should be the place where children need to develop organisational skills, and if a parent is still assisting they often don't

I work in HE, and some student's have clearly never been allowed to take responsibility for their own work. HE becomes a real shock to them, and many of them would have been better off learning the skills at school.

[TunaPastaBake]

Creamteas - I understand that they need to develop organisation skills - but you say that if parents are still assisting they often don't . - so do they learn this organisational skills by failing the task and accepting the consequences or do they learn by a parent guiding them during their early time at secondary school ? As you work in HE what do you suggest that I can do with him in Yr 7 ?

[creamteas]

Once my DC got to secondary, I made sure they had the time/space to do homework and had access to any resources they needed. I checked that they understood what they were supposed to do and made sure they were aware they could ask for help. After that, I left them to it. If they failed to meet the deadlines, or handed in work that was poor, I supported the punishment given by school.

Homework is supposed to be independent learning. If a parent is organising them, to me this defeats this main objective.

[Madmog]

For independent learning, they do have to understand what the teacher is asking. It might be worth pointing out that although he has to do it himself, it is still acceptable to ask another person if you don't understand, whether teacher, parent, friend or they can be a form of research.

My daughter is very independent so wants to try and work things out herself, so basically it's all her work. Since starting comp, I've pointed out that a lot of projects are about research and compiling your understandings. Research can be from the internet and books (which are her usual sources), but I've now made it very clear another form of research is by asking. She's not doing it much, but if she asks now I try to explain and she still has to put it into her own words.

My daughter typically spends 4 hours on an independent learning task, but at a recent meeting held by the parents association it was suggested they only do 20 mins research, 20mins drafting out and then the final project. This doesn't seem enough to me to produce a good piece of work, but perhaps thats down to me as a parent expecting too much.

[TunaPastaBake]

''they only do 20 mins research, 20mins drafting out and then the final project. This doesn't seem enough to me to produce a good piece of work, but perhaps thats down to me as a parent expecting too much.''

I agree with the above - doesn't seem enough to produce a good piece of work .

I do sit down with him and we go through the task and I am always there to help and give guidance - it's just that he is too slow and procrastinates .

He has the time, space and all the resources he needs.

[ByTheWay1]

explains a lot - 20 min research isn't enough to progress beyond wikipedia which is what most homework seems to consist of when you look on the displays at school..... sometimes I do despair!