Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Homework.



Homework... how to do the most productive/valuable amount and still get time to play outside?

13 year old son has to basically organise himself this year, however we are on hand for editing, advice and nagging.
10 year old daughter likes to start things 'yesterday', however I still feel the need to monitor spelling/phonics etc.  I have therefore gone back to blends/sounds and made her a separate list each week.  If she gets them all correct in my weekly test, we try to go out for a cafe treat.
7 year old daughter needs a lot of rehearsal and repetition.  She also needs to stay focused.  I have many concrete materials for maths (see above) and a new 'bead' system.  As she progresses, if she is putting in a lot of effort, the beads keep being put into the heart shaped box.  If she complains or gets distracted, the beads start to be taken out.  I do not need to interrupt the homework session, but she is aware of the 'bead' movement.
At the end, she needs to divide the beads into groups of five and those are her 'points'.  She then can choose from a list of rewards:  a game with Dad, some extra time outside, a story of her choice, a jelly bean (!) etc.
5 year old daughter has waited so long to get homework of her own, that she just loves doing it at the moment.

1 comment:

Fiona said...

Oh I am always impressed by your ability to think things through and plan ... I never seem to get to that point! We are at the stage now of suddenly getting more homework than any of us are used to, and not getting to some of it in time ... More of a "forgetting" problem than just a time management problem. Sigh.

Love your bead system, brilliant.