Back-To-School Homework Completion Plan

Many parents and children alike dread nightly homework. For parents, it is often difficult to get their children to stay focused and complete assignments with the best effort possible. For children, they likely dislike having to do more schoolwork when they get home and would rather be doing something more fun. Thus, for many children and their parents, homework completion is difficult.

Starting off the new school year with a concrete plan of how homework will be completed is extremely important. Here are a few tips to help you and your child craft a homework completion plan that works for both of you:

1)      Insist that a formal plan is setup, but have a discussion with your child and get their thoughts on what should be included in the plan (i.e., where he or she does their homework, when after school it is completed, etc.)

2)      Working collaboratively, setup the plan, and write it down.

3)      Test it out during the first week of school and work with your child to make adjustments as needed.

Here is a sample homework completion plan, which provides ideas on what could be included:

1)      Johnny will begin his homework at 4:15 PM, except when after school activities conflict.

2)      He will do his homework at his desk in his bedroom.

3)      Before starting his homework, Johnny will make a list of all of his assignments for the night, estimate how long each will take to complete, and note that next to each assignment.

4)      Johnny will set a timer for 30 minutes and begin his homework.

5)      When the timer goes off, he may set the timer for 5 minutes for a break.

6)      When the break is over, he needs to set the timer for 30 minutes.

7)      After Johnny completes each assignment, he needs to cross it off his list.

8)      When he has completed all of his assignments for the night, he must sit down with a parent, show them his list, and each assignment, to ensure that he completed all of his assignments.

9)      Johnny agrees to sit down with his parents on Sunday nights at 8 PM to review his online grades/record of assignments to ensure that he does not have any missing assignments.

I hope that these tips are helpful.

Copyright 2014 Carey A Heller, Psy.D.

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*Disclaimer: The previous information is intended as general guidance based on my professional opinion, does not constitute an established professional relationship,  and should not replace the recommendations of a psychologist or other licensed professional with whom you initiate or maintain a professional relationship*