Homework Help: Providing the Right Environment for Your Kids To Succeed

As adults, we instinctively seek the perfect surroundings to concentrate and think. Whether it is a private office to do our job or a lovely spot in the garden to read, we know that the ability to focus on our task is critical.

It is important for parents to realize that our children need the same consideration when it comes to doing their homework. By offering them homework help and creating a “homework zone” stocked with the proper tools, kids can study more effectively and efficiently.

Here are 7 ideas we think will help:

  1. Dedicate a quiet, well-lit area to regularly be used for homework. A standard desk or even a folding TV tray suffices as long as they have daily access to it for study. There are small, rolling desks that can easily be moved around to accommodate small spaces. Even a soft cushy chair works as long as your child can focus.
  2. Keep the desk or a portable caddy fully stocked with study materials such as paper, sharpened pencils, scissors, a stapler with staples, etc. Store anything that may provide homework help within easy reach.
  3. Be sure to limit distractions and noise. TVs, radios and conversations in the background are all things to cause your student’s attention to wander.
  4. Make yourself available to your child while they’re studying. They may need clarification on instructions or just a glass of water. As long as you’re there to assist them, their study session should go easier.
  5. Consider using a timer to schedule regular breaks and to limit the study sessions to a set time.
  6. Help your child make a schedule and stick to it as closely as possible. Routine is important to develop good study habits. 
  7. Form a relationship with your child’s teacher and communicate regularly. It will help you and your child to understand what is expected from both of you.

Sometimes it’s the seemingly “little things”, like routine, that can have the most impact. Helping your child form good study habits now will serve him/her well as they look to their future.