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