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MNHQ

Talk to Explore Learning about helping your DCs with their homework - you could win a £250 Love2Shop voucher NOW CLOSED

237 replies

AngelieMumsnet · 09/09/2014 13:06

We've been asked by Mumsnet Family Friendly Innovation Award winners, Explore Learning, to find out about Mumsnetters' experiences with helping their DCs with their homework.

Explore Learning say "As a tuition provider, it's our aim to teach children skills that are directly transferable to the classroom, and give them confidence to tackle their work at school (we don't set any extra homework for our members to do). We also aim to reduce the stress for parents at homework time, and would like to find out more about what would make lives easier for mums and dads when it comes to helping or encouraging their kids."

So, how - if at all - do you help your DCs with their homework? Do you sit with them while they work on it? Or if your DCs are older, do you just leave them to it? What are the challenges when it comes to homework? When's the best time to tackle it? Are there any subjects which you find it harder to help your DCs with? Where's the best place to do it in your home?

Whatever your experiences of helping your DCs with their homework, Explore Learning would love to hear about it.

Every MNer who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw, where one winner will receive a £250 Love2Shop voucher.

Please note your comments may be included on Explore Learning's social media channels, and possibly elsewhere, so please only post if you're comfortable with this.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

OP posts:
jemmalouise · 21/09/2014 19:51

I am yet to have to help with any homework as he hasn't started school yet but we do lots of learning in preparation for school

kerryv · 21/09/2014 20:12

My daughter and I fall out every Tuesday night - the day her weekly homework is given out!

freefan · 21/09/2014 20:52

My daughter has a massive amount of homework this term, she sits for around 90 minutes a night with a lot of it being internet based which I find quite unfair, surely the school should not assume that every home has access to laptops and internet. Would much prefer if it was workbooks. I help where I can but find the time scale really tight.

ilovemovies · 21/09/2014 20:54

If they need help, I will help them, but mainly they seem to be working through it fine on their own. I look over it sometimes, and they do put a lot of effort into it.

BathshebaDarkstone · 21/09/2014 21:01

DD does her homework before bed, before her reading, she hasn't needed help so far this term as it's been drawing and labelling. Smile

HelenSw4les · 21/09/2014 21:04

Until my child reached secondary school, I found the homework easy to help with, however that changed significantly once my child started secondary school. They became more evasive about what homework they had, they were reluctant to do the homework until the last minute (despite boundaries being put in place) and the homework was often beyond me.

I found that the way of teaching many of the subjects changed so much in the intervening period since I went to school I felt like a hopeless mum and lots of the homework was beyond me.

I don't think it is until you reach adulthood you realise how important homework is, that goes for both me and my child, but then it's too late.

tubbyj · 21/09/2014 21:12

Despite being year 1, and having little homework. Can be a bit of a battle to get him down to working through it.

Definitely need to strike early as later in the evening is a heavy battle and the results are poor.

JoJoBaldwin · 21/09/2014 21:40

My daughter is in year 2 and gets one piece of literacy homework and one piece of numeracy homework a week, plus daily reading. Thankfully she is a bit of a goody two-shoes so I don't have to bribe too much. I'm not looking forward to maths the older she gets though!

AutumnElla · 21/09/2014 21:56

Sometimes the homework seems more like homework for parents than the children!

pfcpompeysarah · 21/09/2014 22:15

My DS has just started junior school and there is alot more homework, he is fine at doing the homework, once he is pushed to do it.. he is not the most motivated person at times and I have to be really strict with him in terms of deadlines, tv turned off, quiet environment and so on. We do the homework together in that I supervise what he is doing and give him pointers as to how it could be improved.

kimthomasandaimee · 21/09/2014 22:23

I have to bargain with my son to get him to do homework!

I tell him now that however long he spends on reading and school-work, he can spend twice as long playing on his X-Box afterwards _

bc1616 · 21/09/2014 23:01

My kids needed encouragement with their homework and I was in the room with them. They always finished it when they got home from school so it wasn't hanging over them.

elephanteraser · 21/09/2014 23:06

my son hated homework in primary, i used to threaten him with the local explore learning centre if he didn't do it.

waste of time all round imo until they get a little older. kids need to just be kids after school not have to attend yet more lessons however 'fun' they are marketed as.

jennywren7 · 22/09/2014 08:21

I didn't put too much pressure on my kids to do their homework when they were at Primary school, but once they hit Secondary school they really had to knuckle down. It was the first thing they did when they got home from school, nice cup of tea and a biscuit, then sitting at the dining room table until tea time doing their homework. It worked, they all did really well in their exams.

polly3221 · 22/09/2014 08:24

The best lessons in life are learnt from experience, get your children out and about experience as many different things as you possibly can from culture to animal behaviour

ThePiefectionist · 22/09/2014 09:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pimmpom · 22/09/2014 10:38

DS is at college now and DD has finished but I was always there to provide help if they needed it. DD from very young would ask for my help but DS never did.

salsquiggle · 22/09/2014 10:48

I never helped my children with their homework unless they were 'stuck' and then only pointed them in the right direction. There is absolutely no point in doing homework for children, it's there to help THEM learn!

sarah3875 · 22/09/2014 11:31

I find handwriting a challenge with my youngest but they both love to sit and read. They don't seem to have too much homework yet but they are only 7 and 5.

sscrase · 22/09/2014 11:55

My lad is 5 so anything he get's isn't so structured at the moment. This is great because I can shape everything into an exciting story for him so that getting him to read/write isn't just a case of sitting down and doing the task, there's always a background story I make up to make it more exciting which he seems to love.

southernsun · 22/09/2014 11:57

Our son seems to get a fair bit of homework already. We all sit down as a family to try and make it as fun as possible and really encourage him so that he feels proud to show us he can do it.

phillie1 · 22/09/2014 12:13

Find I have to help much more now that the children are at senior school than I did when they were at primary school - and it's soooo much harder now, especially when it comes to all the different religions etc they learn about

carpathian · 22/09/2014 13:19

my younger boys have reading spellings and the occaisional piece of homework i help with at the end of the day, my 12 year old usually uses homework club after school three times a week its he prefers it this way and luckily we only live a two minute walk from school.

jandoc · 22/09/2014 13:23

my other half usually helps

krnries · 22/09/2014 13:32

I try to get involved as little as possible with the homework. For my 8yo I set aside a particular time each evening and expect any homework to be done then. I go through spellings most evenings but don't listen to her reading.

My 13 yo tends to do homework completely by herself in her own time, but does ask us for help with the odd difficult assessments.