Homework is a way for teachers to assess and monitor their students’ progress. If you want to know what to do when child refuses to do homework, read on! Homework also helps students to develop the skills they need for independent learning.
Not only does homework develop a child’s academic skills, but it also builds autonomy, independence and responsibility.
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Child refuses to do school work
There are many benefits of homework for children, such as developing the skill of self-discipline, boosting their confidence and improving their grades.
However, there are also some drawbacks for children in doing homework, such as spending too much time on it and getting too stressed out about it.
Homework time can be as bad as getting your child to clean their room.
They’ve been at school all day, and they don’t want to sit down and do any more work.
How can you help your child avoid the hassle? How can you as a parent facilitate this?
Why is homework important?
It’s essential kids get used to some after school routine or homework.
It teaches them some discipline and it allows them to use their critical thinking skills to further engage with skills they learned in class.
First, establish a specific time each day that is set aside for homework.
Having a routine helps kids know what to expect, and they adjust better.
Check your family schedule to find a time that can work consistently.
For us, it always works better when the kids are fed, so we give them their dinner as soon as they get back from school, and then they get a block of an hour or so on homework.
Make homework a task to look forward to
Next, have all items needed for homework in the same area for easy access. If your child uses a computer to type reports, make it available in any easy location. I mean, if the child is a scatterbrain, they are likely to not find what they need in one area.
Keep a supply of pencils, crayons, paper, and markers – as well as a pencil sharpener, nearby so that your child isn’t spending homework time looking for supplies.
What do you do when you want to encourage your child to do homework?
- Make it fun: no child will want to involve themselves in a sit down activity that bores them! Include some movement, fine motor and hands-on activities you know they will love.
Check out my favorites below:
2. Don’t make the homework task too hard. I find that child lose motivation and interest very quick when the task at hand is difficult.
Choose age appropriate and developmentally appropriate skills to work on with kids before setting the homework task.
Teachers will often know the tasks that your child should be capable of doing, they will outline this or set it as a task to do at home.
3. Add their favorite markers or materials that they LOVE using. My students love using these scented markers here. Adding these to your ‘homework’ corner will motivate your child to actually sit to work on their homework.
4. If you have other children, get them to do homework at the same time that your younger child does, it really does encourage them to more mindful of ‘structure’ and time.
5. Add incentives to homework, for instance, if they complete a task (half a page) – give them an incentive to work towards. You get a jelly bean once you finish half the page… etc.
How to get a 4 year old to do homework
This is a tough one, typically 4 year olds aren’t developmentally ready to sit down for long periods of time or even focus on a task for longer than 5-10 minutes.
However, you can still get them ready academically and physically by providing some work that they can do and that is appropriate for their age.
I LOVE using this get ready for kindergarten printable packet EACH YEAR to get my preschoolers ready for kindergarten:
Advantages of doing homework
Homework is an activity that children do at home after they finish their classes.
Homework can help children in many ways, such as developing their skills and learning new things.
A study found that homework can help children to achieve better grades and higher levels of academic achievement. Homework can also help them develop good work habits, such as being responsible and disciplined.
Some people think that homework is unnecessary because it forces kids to do something they don’t want to do.
But if done correctly, it trains the child’s mind to think critically, be self disciplined in actually completing their school work makes them a more responsible adult.
Use a homework tracker
I wasn’t particularly fond of homework trackers, but when I started using one with my learners, they go so excited to finish their work and get an ‘incentive’.
I like to pop this on the fridge to encourage the child to ‘reach their goals’ – again this reinforces the responsibility aspect of having the child complete their goals and finish the task for the week.
***Get the free editable homework tracker and template below.
If your kids don’t have any homework, have them use the time getting some extra reading done. Also, help your kids keep track of deadlines for homework projects by writing them out on a calendar or another method of tracking.
Younger children will need help with their homework. It can be very frustrating if they don’t understand something and there is no one to help them.
Make sure that you or someone else is available when they are doing their homework so they can get the answers they need when they need them.
Make sure your children don’t wait until the last minute to complete their assignments.
It’s a lot of stress for them and you. I’m sure many parents have spent Sunday night helping their child finish up an assignment they forgot about.
And speaking of forgetting, make sure they get in the habit of putting their homework away for school tomorrow.
No parent likes the phone call asking them to bring something to school that their child forgot.
Fun choice board homework for homeschool
If you want your child to do any kind of school work but they won’t sit down long enough, I LOVE these free choice board ideas.
Spelling homework grids, grab these from Second Grade Smiles:
Classroom creations also has a super fun reading choice board. Have this grid setup for your child and get them completing one square each day.
More hands-on homework fun ideas for 4 year olds:
- Shapes Tracing Worksheets Preschool (Easy Sorting Mats)
- 15 Low Prep Preschool CVC Words Worksheets (print & go)
- Best Alphabets Hidden Games for Toddlers and Preschoolers
- 4 Fun Prewriting Strokes Beach Printable Pages for Preschoolers
Printable Homework Tracker and Editable Templates
Don’t forget to grab your free printable homework trackers below.
>>> Click here to get the FREE Canva link to edit these. <<<
