How to Motivate Your Kids to Do Homework

How to Motivate Your Kids to Do Homework
(without having a nervous breakdown yourself)

By Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller

Tired of arguing, nagging and struggling with your kids to get them to do homework? Are you discovering that bribing, threatening, and punishing don't yield positive results? If so, this article is for you. Here you will find the 3 laws of homework and 8 homework tips that if implemented in your home with consistency and an open heart, will reduce study time hassles significantly.

The First Law of Homework: Most children do not like to do homework.

Kids do not enjoy sitting and studying. At least, not after having spent a long school day comprised mostly of sitting and studying. So give up your desire to have them like it. Focus on getting them to do it.

The Second Law of Homework: You cannot make anyone do it.

You can not make your child learn. You cannot make him hold a certain attitude. You cannot make him move his pencil.

While you can not insist, you can assist. Concentrate on assisting by sending positive invitations. Invite and encourage you child using the ideas that follow.

The Third Law of Homework: It's their Problem.

Their pencils have to move. Their brains need to engage. Their bottoms need to be in the chair. It is their report cards that they bring home.

Too many parents see homework as the parent's problem. So they create ultimatums, scream and shout, threaten, bribe, scold, and withhold privileges. Have you noticed that most of these tactics do not work?

Our responsibility as parents is to provide our children with an opportunity to do homework. Our job is to provide structure, to create the system. The child's job is to use the system.

Tip # One

Eliminate the word homework from your vocabulary. Replace it with the word study. Have a study time instead of a homework time. Have a study table instead of a homework table. This word change alone will go a long way towards eliminating the problem of your child saying, "I don't have any homework." Study time is about studying, even if you don't have any homework. It's amazing how much more homework kids have when they have to study regardless of whether they have homework or not.

Tip # Two

Establish a study routine. This needs to be the same time every day. Let your children have some input on when study time occurs. Once the time is set, stick to that schedule. Kids thrive on structure even as they protest. It may take several weeks for the routine to become a habit. Persist. By having a regular study time you are demonstrating that you value education.

Tip # Three.

Keep the routine predictable and simple. One possibility includes a five minute warning that study time is approaching, bringing their current activity to an end, clearing the study table, emptying their back pack of books and supplies, then beginning.

Tip # Four

Allow children to make choices about homework and related issues. They could choose to do study time before or after dinner. They could do it immediately after they get home or wake up early in the morning to do it. Invite them to choose the kitchen table or a spot in their own room. One choice children do not have is whether or not to study.

Tip # Five

Help without over-functioning. Only help if your child asks for it. Do not do problems or assignments for children.

When your child says, "I can't do it, " suggest they act as if they can. Tell them to pretend like they know and see what happens. Then leave the immediate area and let them see if they can handle it from there. If they keep telling you they don't know how and you decide to offer help, concentrate on asking than on telling.

Ask:

"What do you get?"
"What parts do you understand?"
"Can you give me an example?"
"What do you think the answer is?"
"How could you find out?"

Tip # Six

If you want a behavior you have to teach a behavior. Disorganization is a problem for many school age children. If you want them to be organized you have to invest the time to help them learn an organizational system. Your job is to teach them the system. Their job is to use it. Yes, check occasionally to see if the system is being used. Check more often at first. Provide direction and correction where necessary.

If your child needs help with time management, teach them time management skills. Help them learn what it means to prioritize by the importance and due date of each task. Teach them to create an agenda each time they sit down to study. Help them experience the value of getting the important things done first.

Tip # Seven

Replace monetary and external rewards with encouraging verbal responses. End the practice of paying for grades and going on a special trip for ice cream. This style of bribery has only short term gains and does little to encourage children to develop a lifetime love of learning.

Instead make positive verbal comments that concentrate on describing the behavior you wish to encourage.

"You followed the directions exactly and finished in 15 minutes."

"I notice you stayed up late last night working on your term paper. It probably wasn't easy saving that much to the end, but your efforts got it done."

"All your letters are right between the lines. I'll bet your teacher won't have any trouble reading this."

"I see you got the study table all organized and ready to go early. Looks like initiative and responsibility hooked together to me."

Tip # Eight

Use study time to get some of your own responsibilities handled. Do the dishes, fold laundry, or write thank you notes. Keep the TV off! If you engage in fun or noisy activities during that time children will naturally be distracted. Study time is a family commitment. If you won't commit to it, don't expect that you children will.

Special Note: tonight when your child is studying, begin on your homework assignment, which follows. Reread this article. Decide which parts of it you want to implement. Determine when you will begin. Put it in writing. Then congratulate yourself for getting your homework done.

Another College-Readiness Angle: Helping Teens Manage Sleep

By Caralee Adams on November 28, 2011 9:30 AM

As I bumped into friends with college-age kids home over the long weekend, I found myself asking them if their children were exhausted. Many were. Others might have been tired, but still found time to go out with their high school friends to the wee hours of the morning much to their parents' chagrin.

I remember collapsing over breaks at home, sleep deprived from late nights of studying—and having fun. Especially as a freshman, it was an adjustment to set my own schedule without anyone reminding me to get my rest. And, I didn't have a cellphone buzzing at all hours with text messages.

Students today lose more than 45 minutes of sleep each week due to their cellphone disrupting their sleep, a study from the University of Rhode Island revealed. The students who used technology at the highest rates also had higher levels of anxiety and depression compared with the rest of the students in the study.

In our culture, it's almost a sign of achievement to function on minimal sleep, but lack of sleep carries risks, according to the University of Michigan Health Services website. Not getting enough rest can cause decreased academic performance; car accidents; illnesses, such as colds and flu; and depression and anxiety. College students are twice as likely to be depressed as the general population, and researchers think their sleep habits contribute to this prevalence.

High school students, too, often suffer from too little sleep. This time of year with college applications due and finals, there will likely be many late nights ahead. Sometimes teens have a hard time unwinding before 11 p.m. and many have to get up by 6 a.m. for school.

While the average adult needs 7-8 hours of sleep, teens need 9-plus, according to theNational Sleep Foundation. Students in the Rhode Island study had a "sleep debt" of two hours each night, which is on par with other national sleep studies.

Which brings me to the idea of sleep and college readiness. Getting used to the college scene is demanding enough, let alone trying to do it on too little sleep. If we can help our high school students manage their schedules and value a sound night's sleep, perhaps that can carry that over to college. And that can carry over to their grades, retention, and completion.

Jane Brody suggests a sleep journal to help track if your child is getting enough rest and set appropriate bedtimes. Also, she encourages schools to include information in the curriculum about sleep and biological rhythms so students will make smart choices about their sleep schedules.

Once they are in college, perhaps it's a losing battle. I remember the thrill of those late-night snack runs and surge of energy the sugar and caffeine provided for a few more hours of studying. Part of the independence of college is keeping your own hours. But if those hours mean sacrificing too much sleep time, it's just not healthy or sustainable. While they are still at home, some reasonable limits can help our teens get the rest they need. It might just help them avoid burnout, actually do better in school, and be happier.

Post taken from Jon Gordon.com

The Power of Thank You

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I'd love to share with you the benefits and power of two simple words. THANK YOU.

They are two words that have the power to transform our health, happiness, athletic performance and success. Research shows that grateful people are happier and more likely to maintain good friendships. A state of gratitude, according to research by the Institute of HeartMath, also improves the heart's rhythmic functioning, which helps us to reduce stress, think more clearly under pressure and heal physically. It's actually physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time. When you are grateful you flood your body and brain with emotions and endorphins that uplift and energize you rather than the stress hormones that drain you.

Gratitude and appreciation are also essential for a healthy work environment. In fact, the number one reason why people leave their jobs is because they don't feel appreciated. A simple thank you and a show of appreciation can make all the difference.  Gratitude is like muscle. The more we do with it the stronger it gets. In this spirit here are 4 ways to practice Thanksgiving every day of the year.

1. Take a Daily Thank You Walk - I wrote about this in The Energy Bus. Take a simple 10-minute walk each day and say out loud what you are thankful for. This will set you up for a positive day.

2. Meal Time Thank You's - On Thanksgiving, or just at dinner with your friends and family, go around the table and have each person, including the kids at the little table, say what they are thankful for.

3. Gratitude Visit - Martin Seligman, Ph.D., the father of positive psychology, suggests that we write a letter expressing our gratitude to someone. Then we visit this person and read them the letter. His research shows that people who do this are measurably happier and less depressed a month later.

4. Say Thank You at Work – When Doug Conant was the CEO of Campbell Soup he wrote approximately 30,000 thank you notes to his employees and energized the company in the process. Energize and engage your co-workers and team by letting them know you are grateful for them and their work. And don’t forget to say thank you to your clients and customers too.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for YOU.

Coke rewards to help school

Hi!

My name is Kayla Perrion. I am a Senior at Ipswich High School. I am interning with Mrs. Weigel. For internship I get to do a community project, which is going to be through Coke Rewards. This program works by sending in codes from boxes and caps of any Coca Cola product (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Powerade, Dasani, Minute Maid, Pibb Xtra, Fresca, Vault, Mello Yello, Nestea, Fanta, Barq’s Rootbeer, etc).  After entering the codes, you can then donate points to the school. You will also be able to bring in the caps and cardboard directly to the school if you do not wish to start your own account. By earning points the school will have the chance to get free supplies!  This is a good chance for you to help out your school. Everyone is encouraged to earn as many points as possible. As the school receives more points we will then be eligible for more prizes.

Thank you,

Kayla

How to donate points

-Make a personal account, to enter codes, which allows you to donate to our school.

-Bring bottle caps or boxes with the codes to the school, and I will enter them in.

Making an account

1. Go to MyCokeRewards.com

2. Go to register now on the top of the screen

3. Answer the questions, click next then answer those questions

4. Click submit

 Donating points to the school

1. Go to mycokerewards.com and log in to your account

2. Enter your code from your caps in the upper left hand corner

3. Click the school tab, then click donate to a school

4. Type in 57451 for the zip code

5. Choose Ipswich Elementary School or Ipswich Jr. Sr. High School

6. Enter the number of points you would like to donate

Bullying Seminar

The Ipswich School District has scheduled a seminar on bullying for Friday, February 17th. At the present time students in grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 will get to take part in a very informative bullying prevention session. Staff members and parents will also be provided a session to help prevent bullying. Parents please mark this on your calendar so that you can attend and find strategies to help your child deal with bullying or prevent it. If you should have any questions please contact Trent Osborne @ 426-6571.

Social Media

Recently we have started a Facebook page for the Ipswich School District.  It seems that more and more parents have that social media application at their fingertips than any other.  So we have decided to leverage Facebook and use it to our advantage to convey information, ask questions,  attract people outside the district, make announcements and connect alumni with information from their home school.  Please search Facebook for Ipswich School District 22-6 and "like" our page.

Board meeting notes from October 10th

Items of interest from the School Board meeting from the 10^th of October  

We approved contracts for Deb Hansen (SPED), Ramsey Crissman (Asst. BB) and Taylor Weigel (MS BB)

·        

      I discussed with the Board the proposed calendar for next school year allowing for more Professional Development.  This will pave the way for the staff members to become even better at their job.

·         At my request the board chose three initiatives that they would like Associated School Boards to push during the next legislative session.  Those initiatives are Reorganization and incentives, Per Student Allocation and the Use of Capital Outlay funds for General Fund Expenses.

·         I gave the board an overview of the items that have been turned in on the staff, parent and student surveys.

·         Lien Construction contacted me and has agreed to come back next summer and totally redo the parking lot and finish as we had requested.

·         We have an issue of standing water in the locker room showers on a daily basis.  So, we are possibly looking at a small project to clean up that sanitary issue.

·         Finally, we will be using Capital Outlay funds to purchase a 2012 Chevy Suburban so that staff will have a safe and reliable vehicle (especially in the winter) when they travel.  We will be able to pick it up in 60 – 90 days.
   
      Next meeting will be held on November 14th @ 7:00 pm.

Thank you for participating

I recently asked the parents of this fine community for their input on the future of this district.  I got some very interesting information from those that did return the survey (Although I wish we would have had more surveys returned).  I will be compiling the information from those surveys, as well as, surveys already given to students and staff.  Later this fall, a survey will be presented to the community to gather their input.  This way we can get a good feel for how the patrons of the Ipswich School District feel.

This is hopefully just the beginning of opening the lines of communication.  We hope to involve more of the patrons of the district in the planning process as we move forward.

After the information, from the surveys, has been presented to the Board of Education, I will post it on this blog for the public to read as well.

Elementary Update

Dear Parents/ Guardians,

            The 2011-2012 school year has brought a number of new faces into the school this year. On August 15^th, we had a total of 131 students enrolled in preschool through fifth grade. Since August 15^th, we have welcomed fourteen new students into our elementary. We have more students enrolled in our elementary right now than we did last year at this time. If you see some of these new faces in the stores or at school, please say “hello” and make them feel like a member of our community. Along with our new students, the elementary has a number of new programs for students.

Mrs. Burgod will be introducing our students to the Spanish language. The students will meet with her twice a month the first two quarters to learn the basic skills and knowledge of the Spanish language. Starting the second semester students will again meet with her twice a month to work on 21^st Century Skills. Students will learn skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, leadership and technology literacy. We have also added kindergarten, first and second grade to our computer classes this year. They will learn the basic skills to operate a computer from Mrs. Heitz. We will also continue with a number of programs we established last year.

                Our students will continue with the character development programs of “Character Counts” and “Bucket Filling.” Both programs have been extremely successful and the students continue to enjoy and learn from the activities. The club programs we will be offering again this year include art, drama, basketball and flag football. Flag football will begin in September followed by art club starting in October then basketball around the winter vacation. Drama club will begin meeting at end February or early March. As you may see, we have numerous activities for our students to be involved in. If your child would like to be involved with all of them we would love to have them participate. If he/she only wants to be involved with one or two programs, that is great too. If you are interested in volunteering with any of our club programs please feel free to call me at 426-6832 or 695-3339 or email me at matt.pollock@k12.sd.us.

Respectfully,

Mathew Pollock

Elementary/Middle School Principal, Title Directory

Ipswich Public School 22-6

All State Chorus is chosen

Congratulations to the following people who will represent our school in Sioux Falls at the end of October.  Soprano – Taylor Loken; Alto – Haley Hansen; Tenor – Seth Tuscherer; Bass – Daniel Baer

Homecoming on the way!!

The theme of "Disney" was chosen for this year's Gala Day festivities.  We challenge you to be creative with your floats and banners again this year.  The Parade will start @ 1:00 p.m. and all are invited to enter.

The coronation program will be held Monday night, October 3rd @ 7:30 pm.  We hope that you can attend and help get our homecoming week started out on the right foot.  The burning of the "I" will follow the coronation program with the help of the Ipswich Commercial Club, who will be providing hot chocolate and cookies for the spectators.

Labor Day Weekend

We inadvertently published an incorrect date in our most recent Wednesday folder.  The correct date for no school should be September 5th rather than the 6th.  We hope that this doesn't cause any confusion and we regret the error.
We hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable THREE-day weekend.

Parent Communication

Thanks to Valley Telecommunications, we have phones in almost every room in our building.  Each teacher and administrator has a voice mailbox that they should be checking frequently for messages.  So please feel free to contact the school as often as you need.  We will be very happy to serve you or answer any questions that you may have.

Strategic Planning for the district

The Ipswich School District is in the process of doing strategic planning for the next five years.  Parents, staff, students and community members to participate in a survey.  Your opinion is very important to us.  The survey will be available in the middle of September from various sources and will help us plan for the future of the district.  I thank you in advance, on behalf of the board of education, for your participation in the survey and strategic planning process.

Week one is in the books!

Mother Nature cooperated with us, for the most part, this week and made the temperatures bearable in the buildings.  It is great to see all of the students around the building and hear their excited chatter in the mornings.  As of right now, we have a few more students in the district than we did last year and we are very excited about that fact.
Generally with the first weeks of school comes the first activities of the year.  The new football cooperative, the Ipswich/Edmunds Central Tigers kick-off Friday night @ 7:00.  Cross country follows with a contest in Mobridge on Saturday and the Volleyball team opens up against Groton on Tuesday the 30th.  Good luck to all the teams.

School to Hold Long Range Planning Session

I have asked that the school board meet on August 22nd @ 7:30 pm to discuss plans for the Ipswich School District for the future.  This is the same night as the school Open House.  The plan is to have this night be a "night of ideas".  People are welcome to come to the meeting but we would like to remind everyone that no action will be taken at this meeting.  It is simply a night to throw out ideas and see if we can formulate a plan to follow over the next five years.  Some of the items that I hope get addressed at the meeting are;

1. Goal setting (Vision & Mission of the District)
2. Facilities
3. Financial Planning
4. Academic Achievement
5. Professional Development
6. Policy
7. Technology

Ipswich recognized as Distinguished District

With the release of the scores of the most recent Dakota Step scores, the Ipswich School District and its patrons have plenty to celebrate.  Ipswich is one of only five South Dakota districts, of the over 150, to be recognized as Distinguished.  Along with this information we celebrate all schools within the district making AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) according to the State's NCLB requirements.  Along with the district designation, both Ipswich Middle School and Ipswich High School are considered as Distinguished schools within the district as well.

Staff and students should be congratulated for obtaining this prestigious honor.  This is something that all of the Ipswich area can be very proud of.  This will provide us a goal of continuing this status into the future.

The actual scores can be found @   http://www.doe.sd.gov/reportcard/index.aspx

A visit from Senator Johnson's office

Today I was fortunate enough to be visited by Katie Bachmeyer from Sentaor Johnson's office.  We spoke about funding issues, as well as, the direction of education for the future.  We discussed the possibility of more of a cut for next year's budget and..........what that would force our school to have to do.  Also, we spoke about No Child Left Behind and how it seems that it is becoming increasing more difficult to attain the marks written in the law.  The education issue has been put on the back burner for now as Capital Hill is deciding on the debt ceiling, which is unfortunate in more ways that one.

It was nice to see the Senator Johnson is sending out his staff to speak with many of us who are affected by the items that are pressing us today.  I believe it will be important to keep in contact with our national legislators over the coming months and years.

Interesting things are happening around the school these days...

Head Custodian, Tim Washenberger and the rest of the custodial staff (Scot, Gary, Galen, and Don) are really making progress on the buildings right now.  New paint, fresh wax, and less lockers are making the high school building look amazing.  We hope the students will like the new look and functionality of the high school building.  The gym looks amazing as we approach the final days of the wait time for the finish to harden.  The temperature and humidity have been stifling in the building but the guys have dealt with it and made all of the building look great.  

Mr. Mower is in the process of installing new computers in the high school computer room.  New computers and increased bandwidth should help students find information more quickly for all of their projects.

We have started our big summer projects over that last few days, as well.  Carpet has been put in the middle school classrooms, by Lance Stuwe and his crew, to help with the acoustics in each of those rooms.  The carpet looks great and it seems like it is going to be very functional for us.

Those of you who have driven by the school in the last few days may also have noticed that we have started work on our parking lot that was in pretty bad shape.  Over the next few weeks Lien Construction will be milling, shaping and chip sealing the parking lot so that we are ready for the first day of school and all of the events that we host.

Another project that we hope will help visitors to our school is the remodeling of the old Elementary Principal's office into a Welcome center for visitors.  Mrs Heinz will be stationed in the center and will be able to greet visitors as they enter the elementary portion of the building.

Our final addition for this year will take care of communication issues on many levels.  We will be replacing our dated phone system and will be putting phones in all classrooms.  All phones will be voice mail ready so that parents can contact teachers directly or at least leave them a voice mail.  We hope this will also help our teachers communicate with their parents even more efficiently.  But don't worry, the phones will still be answered by staff and not an automated system.

Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the new blog board.  I would like to entertain any appropriate questions concerning the School District on this blog.  I will be posting ideas and congratulations from time to time.  I will also provide answers to questions that you may have.  Generally if you have a question, someone else has the same question.  


As I settle into my new position, in my old office, I find that it would be very helpful to speak to those of you who are interested in answering questions and offering opinions about the school district. So please feel free to stop in and say hi, starting in July of this year or by sending me an e-mail to trent.osborne@k12.sd.us. I would be very interested in your thoughts. Thank you and have a great summer. Go Tigers!