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Home › Articles › Academics › Homework Help

Homework Help

Support Your Child's Academic Obligations

By Carma Haley Shoemaker

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Point out ways that people use math every day to pay bills, balance their checkbooks, figure out their net earnings and make change and tip at restaurants. Involve older children in projects that incorporate geometric and algebraic concepts like planting a garden, building a bookshelf or figuring how long it will take to drive to your family vacation destination.

  • Prepare them for a profession. Let kids know what vocations require a sound base in mathematics. Careers in carpentry, landscaping, medicine, pharmacy, aeronautics and meteorology all require strong math skills.
  • Tune in to technology. Encourage your child to use computers and the Internet at home, your local library and after-school programs for tasks like developing charts, graphs, maps and spreadsheets.
  • Encourage children to solve problems. Provide assistance, but let them figure it out themselves. Problem solving is a lifetime skill.

    Just remember, mutual caring and respect between you and your children will always be more important than any homework fact or figure. "If you find yourself losing your composure because you and your child cannot find out what year the Treaty of Ghent was signed, don't get upset," says Johnson. "Reassure your child that homework doesn't have to be perfect every time, and he can always learn from his mistakes. This positive, caring attitude, more than any one fact, is what will make you a Homework Hero in the eyes of your child. By the way, the Treaty of Ghent was signed in 1814."

    There are many places to get wonderful information to help both parent and child get the most out of homework. If you have trouble finding such a place, go to the source itself – your child's teacher. If the teacher can't offer you the assistance, he or she may be able to refer you to a place that can and will give you all the information you need.


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