Getting your child to do the homework on time is still a mundane task for all. Be it for a teacher or a parent, getting a few tips and guidance on how to get it done will be worth millions. Especially in this post-covid scenario it's more than a blessing!
We struggle to get the little ones to school and after a day's disciplined time spent in school they wouldn't be even ready to sit and do the homework once they reach home.
So does the problem lie with them? Not wanting to spend their time doing the homework?
What is the root cause?
Let's start off by renaming our HOME-WORK to HOME-FUN.
That's right! Let's make it fun. It's not work anymore. Only a few are lucky enough to enjoy our job. So making studies work for the child to do is the first mistake we make.
1. Let's make it Fun.
Let the child know that teachers are giving home-fun for them to enjoy doing it at home.
The parents could join them in doing the home-fun. Make it as much fun as possible. Indulge in a fun-filled time. Let them make mistakes and we can guide them to the right answers.
Never give away the answers directly, children should explore them on their own.
But isn't it a waste of time? NO. Never. Through this, we are allowing them to awaken the most basic instinct in human beings. Curiosity! They are born learners. Lets allow them to learn rather than mugging. Conduct activities and let their hands get dirty. Learning more should be the focus than writing more.
2. A dedicated place to do homefun.
Now we found ways to make home-fun enjoyable for the child. But again they have a very short attention span, so easily they might get distracted by the things around them. So the first and foremost thing is to keep aside a calm, serene and clutter-free place for the child to do homework. Make sure to let them know that this is the only place where they have to come every single day to do their homework at the same time. It is also important to keep everything that they need to be ready in the place. Like pencils, paper, colours etc. Getting up again and again and spending time searching for them will lead to distraction.
3. Learn by experiencing.
Children learn effectively when it involves multisensory activities like see, touch, smell, hear and taste. Let’s let them explore the world around them, let them learn by doing. Learning by doing has more benefits than sitting in a classroom reading books and practising writing.
There’s a world beyond books and this world opens up to them a whole new world of experiences along with a whole lot of knowledge and skills. This can be achieved through the usage of everyday objects that are found around them like a cardboard box, newspaper, clay or mud, spoon, ballpen refill, papercup, fruit peels, discarded clothes etc.
4. Motivation motivates not bribes.
Will they really sit and do homework just because we said so? What if they don't do it even after we ask them? Yeah! That's why you're here. We have to motivate them. But how?
Giving chocolates? Toys? Allowances? TV or Mobile time? Going out?
Nope. Materialistic rewards will seem like an easy way to get the task done. But in the long run, it does more bad than good.
We are teaching them from a young age to work for an incentive. Do the job to get a reward. In the absence of such a reward, they'll stop doing the homework. They are doing the homework only as a reward not to learn. Thus we must motivate them intrinsically.
We shall explain why they are asked to do homework. Teachers and parents could tell them how this homework is going to help them in their studies. That it'll help them in improving grades, managing time, staying up to date with the portions taught in school. Give positive feedback. Praise them for taking the initiative to do it, for doing it on time, and for making lesser mistakes. Give them a high five or a hug. They'll respond well to them and will teach them to stay motivated on their own rather than focusing on the rewards that they'll get for doing it.
Team Orbis continuously works towards making learning fun. Teachers incorporate games and activities in classroom learning. Involves children in group activities and encourages collaborative learning to bring about a holistic development in students. Digital contents and field trips give a break to the regular textual teaching and lets the children see the world through a new point of view. We celebrate learning everyday in and out of the school.
Homework should now be a new game for them, fun for them. Let's work towards making it an enjoyable, memorable experience to prepare them for a bright future.
Aswathi Nair, CT 4 Sirius
The Orbis School Mundhwa