Winning the homework wars

Tackling big projects
When children are assigned larger projects that need to be worked on over the course of several days or weeks, helping them to schedule their time becomes more important than ever. If they leave everything until the last minute and parents end up bailing them out by sitting up with them past midnight, pasting clippings onto bristol board, they'll learn nothing. Instead, parents should ensure children record all upcoming assignments on a calendar. Then the project can be broken down into manageable stages.

Being too involved in your child's studies
Parents shouldn't be tempted to take over and do a child's project. Not only does it defeat the purpose of the assignment but they'll most likely find themselves in the position of being expected to do the same again in the future.

Children need the opportunity to develop their own research skills, with limited parental involvement in those areas in which it is most needed (such as explaining how to use an encyclopedia).

When homework isn't happening
If parents discover that their child is constantly failing to complete his homework, it's a good idea for them to discuss it with his teacher. If he is simply forgetting to bring assignments home, he can be taught to record items in a daily planner, which parents can initial once the work is done.

If he's not completing his work because he doesn't understand the concepts involved, he may need to get a little extra individual help. A child should not be overscheduled with extracurricular activities on school nights. If he is finding it hard to squeeze in his homework it may be time to cut back.

The exact amount of time a child should spend on homework each evening varies according to age. Individual class expectations regarding homework are generally shared with parents during school curriculum nights and parent-teacher interviews. The Calgary Board of Education offers these guidelines: five to 10 minutes per night for grades 1 through 3, up to 20 minutes for grades 4 through 6, 30 minutes to an hour for grades 7 through 9, an hour and a half for Grade 10 and two hours for grades 11 and 12.

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