Homework Strategies For Elementary School Students: Practical Advice

Elementary school is the time when the concept of homework first flashes across a kids’ radar. Up until that point they have most likely been blissfully unaware of the fact that not only are they going to be expected to study in school but they will also be expected to study out of school too. Unless correctly managed homework can be a daunting and at times frightening prospect, especially if parents or teachers are a little too zealous in their approach.

Yes, it is essential that they do it. Yes, it facilitates learning. However, it can also impair the learning process if it is rammed down their throats or doled out almost like a punishment.

So, whether you are a parent or a teacher here is some practical advice on strategies that you can easily implement for you elementary school kids:

• Make it exciting

Look, even a trip to the dentist can be made to sound exciting if you choose your words right. Homework is no different. Talk it up, be enthusiastic about it. Make it sound like a FUN thing to do rather than a chore.

• Make it interactive

There are loads of ways that you can do this. The internet is a brilliant tool. Use it. Kids spend so much of their time hooked on online games and apps that incorporating study into this makes perfect sense. Apps enable them to travel to distant worlds that would have otherwise been completely inaccessible to them.

• Take it outdoors

Unless you are a crusty old fossil, then you should want to mix things up as much as possible. Taking it outdoors is a sensory experience for children. They will learn much more about wildlife and nature by actively experiencing and touching it than they ever will by being forced to trawl countless textbooks.

• Empower them

Children that are empowered to take responsibility for their own learning go on to do amazing things as adults. Find out what they would like from their homework and see what you can do to accommodate them. Make them understand that the lines of communication are open and that you value their input. That way, it will be much easier to take them with you on the whole learning experience than if you say try and force them to do it.

Yes, of course you can force them. You are their parent/teacher. You can give consequences and make life difficult. However, is that really the route you want to go down, or do you want to make learning a positive experience to be cherished?