6 yr old HOMEWORK HELP

Gina - posted on 08/25/2010

I had the problem with my daughter she wants to play but we made the rule school work 1st then play or she won't get it done. I did the reward system and it didn't help. I talked to her teacher and emulated the same teaching method the teacher was doing and this helped big time b/c she wasn't getting confused b/c the teacher and I had different teaching styles it also helps to find out if child's is a haptic( hand on learner), visual or a listener b/c then you better help them in the style they best suited for. my daughter is a haptic visual learner so we did activities that helped her with learning her site words. With her reading I still have truble b/c she wants me to give her the words and not sound them out so we have daddy help with this one and it helped b/c she acts differently around him then me. Aka wants the answers from me but willing to try it on her own with him. I hope that helps.

Shelia - posted on 08/25/2010

Hello Dawn. My six year old has the same issue of not sitting still. I have been working with his counsler and they tell me that this is part of it and not to get so upset. (I use to be 1 minute short of pulling my hair out!!!) I have over time allowed for him to rock while doing homework and for him it helps. He also rocks in class, they move him around to the side of the room so he doesn't distrack the other kids. What I was told is this action helps them to stay grounded and deal with stress. My husband is also ADD and he wears heavy clothes. The reason I mention this is the counsler also told me that a "weight vest" may also be helpful to my son later on. it helps to "hold them down." My husband says it works for him, I can tell days he dress in lighter items, he is all over the map and can not stop talking.
Stress is gonna come with HW but keep encouraging her. If you are not working with a consuler it is helpful for us to deal with the emothional side of things. Best of luck.

Kristin - posted on 05/25/2010

I had some of the same problems with my Son when he started 1st grade. In kindergarten he also wanted to come home and do his homework (even though I made up the work since they did not issue it). I asked his 1st grade teacher for some sugguestions. She said to set a timer for 5 minutes. To have him work alone at the counter or table and try to accomplish as much as he could on his own. Of course I would help him with directions first. Then after the time went off, we would together go over all of the problems. With each problem that he answered correctly he would get a huge amount of praise. On the ones that he was unsure of or answered incorrectly, we would work them out together. But never to out right give the answer. Hs teacher said that they work independently then as a class they review it. This way the same teaching style was practiced at home and would set a routine. On my own finding, I noticed that if had my Son sit down and eat a snack while watching a show or listening to music or talking about his day, he was more willing to start working. Rather then getting out of school and starting right away. He would go into overload.

Karen - posted on 05/09/2010

4GET THE NORMAL RULES. B A RULE BREAKER.
My 6yr old is a terror 4 homework and always has been. 90 mins of Fighting every nite since day 1 of getting it. i'm sure u have done all the normal stuff so u mite b where i got 2. We broke the rules for normal h/w rules about 2 weeks ago and so far so good.
I now get him home, changed, play time then at about 5ish we put his fav channel on the tele, in the adds he does his work ad i help, when the show is on i cook dinner then back 2 sit next 2 him in next add. Not the norm and most will say im so bad and teachin him wrong but it take 5 - 10 mins of add time and we r done. Even his teacher said that its going well and he should keep it up. So wat if we break rules, kids need 2 do wat works. 10 days of no fites after 2 yrs of BIG TIME FITES has worked 4 me

Katherine - posted on 04/15/2010

I feel a bit overwhelmed by my daughter's first grade homework too ( I have two other children and my husband works afternoons...so I'm on my own...and it's in another language from my own...French)! There is so much of it sometimes, and when she gets home at 4pm. it's the last thing she wants to do! I let her have a break after school. She can play and do whatever before supper. Right after supper we sit down together, but she doesn't always concentrate. When I asked the teacher about it, she assured me not to stress...at this age they give homework not so much for the child to study or learn things, but for the parents to see what the child is learning in school! So, if she seems to not have any problems while in class with the work, don't stress too much at home, she's probably just burned out.

Samantha - posted on 04/12/2010

my daughter is the exact same way, she just wants me to do it for her. She makes straight A's in class but at home she likes to play dumb, it is just laziness. works best with her to not put off homework like many others have suggested, it may work great for them but not for my daughter. if i give her play time first she will not get her homework done at all, she will just stare at it until well after her bed time. I allow small snack when she first gets home then she sits at the table and does her homework. I do not sit at the table with her anymore because she just kept pushing for me to do it for her, i now sit in the living room (in our house right next to dinning room) and don't allow her up till she is done. i refuse to sit in there and do it for her, when she ask me for help I make her try it on her own first, tell her to sound the word out. help her break it up into syllables so she gets the short and long vowel sounds right. or with unusual stuff like the ght in the word right help her. But I know she knows the sounds of every letter and can sound out any word on her own no matter how hard she thinks it might be.

Bryn - posted on 04/05/2010

My daughter fights us as well. She is 7 and what I think is that going from Kinder to 1st grade has been a huge jump. Going from minimal homework and half days to jump into 1st grade where there are full days and much more homework. I talked to her teacher and had her explain why homework is important and that she needs to do at home for practice so that she is prepared for classtime. Her teacher told her taht she expects the same thing at home as she does in the classroom. We also tell her that each year will be more homework and it may get a bit harder but she HAS to be in school to learn and that she just has to do it. One other thing is we make sure that she goes to be early and on time. She is a CRAB if she does not get enough sleep. hang in there..hope some of this helped.

Christina - posted on 04/03/2010

Keep it up; don't give up. She's trying to see how much will power you have. If you ever give in, she wins. If she wins, you've lost her for good. To encourage her, offer small rewards for each night of homework completed. I have a magnet board with small magents which my son earns every day for numerous chores such as homework, feeding the cats, putting up the silverware, saying please or thank you, putting up dinner dishes without being asked, etc. At the end of the week, each magnet earned is worth video game playing time.

Tanya - posted on 03/31/2010

I would maybe have a chat to her teacher at school and try to work something out. maybe her teacher could talk to her about it and explain that its important to do her homework after school. i had the same trouble with my 7yr old son. but i spoke to his teacher and she explained to him that its just as important to do school work at home aswell as in school time. and now hes great, he comes home everyday from school and as soon as he walks in the door, he sits at the table and does his reading, and then his spelling words. then when hes finished he goes and plays for a bit until its time for dinner etc.... see how you go anyway. thats just a suggestion that worked for myself and my son. every child is different though. good luck with it and i hope to hear that your daughter is progressing with her "homework".

best wishes, Tanya Major :)

Tammy - posted on 10/25/2009

Talk to her teacher for sure. My daughter loves gymnastics, but school comes first. If she can't keep up and be responsible with her school work then we got to cut the gym. I guess you can say leverage has worked well for us.

Regina - posted on 10/18/2009

I find that my little ones work better if I wait to do their homework until after supper. That way they get play time and get to relax for a bit.

Jennifer - posted on 10/16/2009

My 6 year old daughter is also in the first grade and I was having this same problem at the begining of the school year. A few weeks ago instead of after homework you can play I started letting her play for the couple of hrs before dinner and after dinner and a bath we sat down to do the homework together. I have also noticed that a little praise for pronouncing a simple word correctly went along way with her. It helped her to want to try harder. But by far letting her have her play time right after school was the biggest help. I think letting her wind down and be able to focus after a good meal should do the trick. Getting aggervated at your daughter will just discourage her and hurt her confidence in herself.

MILY - posted on 10/16/2009

I would try to make it fun for her...at her age she should be done like in 5 minutes...so I guess it depends on the type of homework, but try putting a board in the kitchen and give her stars or chocolate kisses... I know it sound horrible...but hey what ever makes it...I know for my son, I make him do chores and his homework if he wants a toy...it doesn't have to be expensive..I go to the dollar store..kids love to get prizes and how old is the sister that you don't have both of them together doing homework, that's another thing...to "YOU" it may be a one to one...but to her she see it like her sister can play and she can't....Good Luck and give me updates...you know mother have to help each other =o)

Linda - posted on 10/16/2009

Sounds like she needs some sort of incentive. Start with something daily then change to weekly then monthly. Try not to get mad, keep your cool. She is pushing all the right buttons and succeeding. What time are you doing homework? Maybe she is tired. My 6yr old daughter is very tired when we do homework at about 5.30 / 6.00pm. She tells me, "Mom, I am tired and miserable". We get it done but sometimes quite a mission. All the best. Linda in SA.

Michelle - posted on 10/15/2009

does she get a break prior to homework? i find it best to let my son unwind half an hour before starting homework or its likely to get us both annoyed ...