Tips on how you get your junior school and younger age children to do homework willingly PLEASE

[ruffletheanimal]

my boys are Y4, 3 and 1.
they have 'homework' to do each week.
its a bit like pulling my own toenails out every sodding day trying to get them to do it.
i must be pitching it wrong.
they spend all their energy fighting against doing it, and I'M the one who seems to care about it, not them.
I've recently tried to introduce performance related pay pocket money, but they're too young to give a monkeys about that and usually get most material things they want anyway (i do NOT want to digress onto that topic PLEASE)

trouble is, i was exactly the same about my homework (when i was at secondary, mind, i didn't get any at their age)

so HOW do people get their kids to happily trot it all off on the first night and get it out the way?? i know it happens... but HOW???

thangyew in advance

ruffle I was just coming on here to ask the same question after DS1 (8) spending over an hour doing number bind homework when his target is 7 mins (and hd us in top set so it wasn't that he found it too hard!).

Lots of good ideas and I'm off to make some cookies and write up a timetable now. Thanks everyone.

I use open bribery

Seriously, though - they have reward charts and 'do your homework without complaining' is one of the daily goals on them. If they get changed quickly, do their homework without complaining, eat up their dinner, tidy away their dirty dishes (and do anything else I order them to do ), they get 20 mins on the DS or Wii.

Indigobell your approach requires logic from school.
Letting the same brain dead TA (who gave DD1 Y4 worksheets during SN support time) have a go at her for not doing Y6 spellings in front of the whole class is not helpful.
Neither is telling her non dyslexic, extremely bright, but sometimes lazy sister that the extended project was optional and they could do as much or as little as they liked.

startail - i hear ya sister.

and snap on the first having problems and the second being bright but lazy.

Ladymary
i have tried charts and 20 mins of screen time etc etc, none of it works because i am not the only adult here. its shit, but it is what it is.
I've thought about leaving so that my word is law when they are with me; but I'm not convinced that would be the best thing for them overall, so it aint happening.
would that life were so simple.

If rewards aren't going to work for you at home and your authority is constantly undermined, you might have no choice but to go the 'alright then don't do it, but you're the one that has to face your teacher' route and see what happens.

Could you maybe have a chat with their teachers, get them on board with what you're planning and agree potential consequences during school time for not doing their homework first?

yes moosemama, looks like thats my plan :)

We do it after meals, cos then they're at the table already and they just don't get down till it's done. And I'm clearing up/washing up/making packed lunches so I'm there, but not too busy to stop and help. After the point when they should have finished, I let the 3yo put the tv on (can't see it from the kitchen) & the older ones don't like missing it.

Possibly you could try a sticker chart with a non-material type of reward at the end? Like Daddy has to take you to the park for an hour ?

Letting the same brain dead TA (who gave DD1 Y4 worksheets during SN support time) have a go at her for not doing Y6 spellings in front of the whole class is not helpful. - well that is the point. If she didn't do her spellings, she will get told off.

You don't need to protect your children from getting told off for things they have done wrong.

If the spellings are too hard for her, that's a different problem, which you need to address with school.

Neither is telling her non dyslexic, extremely bright, but sometimes lazy sister that the extended project was optional and they could do as much or as little as they liked. - what's wrong with that? That is the schools policy. They're only little kids. They won't get turned down for Oxford because they didn't work hard on their Y6 project.

We're starting a two things per night plus reading for each of them system. DD is only Year 1 and doesn't really need to do two things a night, but she tends to want to do what DS does, he is Yr 3 and has SN, hence also needs to do exercises and speech therapy, which will count towards the two things.

We can't do straight from school consistently every night because two nights a week we have to be changed and out again for activities within 20 mins of getting home, so we are doing it after tea and before telly. I was going to make a weekly list of what needs to be done and they pick two things each night I am just waiting to see what the school routine is for spellings etc this year. The only problem is they are tending to rush the things to get to the telly, so I might have to specify 10 mins of this or that. I am also going to get them to agree it the night before, then if they want to do it in the morning they can.

thats an idea whoknows, an element of choice might be a winning tactic.

DS form 3 has 30 mins homework each night. At the 'preparing for form 3' meeting held at the end of last term it was made very clear that the homework is for children not parents. If a battle is beginning we are to tell the child they will be kept in at break or lunch the following day to complete the work and to let the teacher know.

They said we weren't to fight over it or let it become a big deal.
I told my son from the off that he could choose when in the evening to do it (i.e. Play first or hw first) and if he didn't do it at all that he'd miss break and have had no problems with his motivation since!

well, i tried it tonight; offering total choice, and they (older 2) chose not to do any tonight.

was pulled aside my Y3 teacher to say ds2 had not doing any work in the last hour despite being more than capable and having one2one attention for the last hour. gave him the option to do it tonight with me or miss morning break tomorrow. he initially chose tonight but then wouldn't do it.
so he's missing morning break.

Y4 child says he's decided to do it all on tuesdays and thursdays. i advised that he's never keen to do loads at once but he insisted.
again, its his choice and the consequences are his to bear.

Y1 child didn't have any hw today.

i think I'm doing the right thing.
but i feel like shit about it.
but hey, maybe they'll surprise me

I remind to a point , I mostly rely on ds caring about the repercussions from school. Worked with dd ,will help if they ask but it's up to him really. He needs to learn that from young age.