Listed below are some tips that you can use to help your children get their homework completed.  You want to establish good routines, in a friendly environment, with the supplies they need and the proper lighting to make homework an enjoyable experience for both you and your child.

·         Time - Have a set time for your child to do their homework.  Decide, with your child, if homework should be done when they first get home, after dinner, or at some other defined time.  It would be best to set up the same time each day.  If you can get a routine established, you will save a great deal of grief and arguing in the future.

·         Length of Time - set a fixed length of time for homework.  This will get the student in the habit of not rushing through their work to go outside and play.  Students need to realize that their job is being a student.

·         Place - Set up a regular place for your child to do their homework.  Consider how convenient this place is for your child to do their work.  Also, is this place free from outside distractions?

·         Supplies - Have appropriate supplies with easy access to your child.  A needless waste of time can occur if your child is always looking for supplies necessary to complete an assignment.

·         No Interruptions - Once homework time has begun, don't allow interruptions unless the house is on fire.

·         Time on Task - If necessary, set a timer (with appropriate consequences and rewards) to keep your child aware of the time remaining.  Students need to learn to budget their time and keep track of how they are doing in relation to the length of the task.

·         No Homework Tonight - When there are those infrequent nights with "no homework", have your child review material for upcoming social studies or science tests.  Also, if they have no homework, have them do some reading.  Pick out a good book which they can read when homework is quickly finished.  No homework is never an option to play.