So today instead of me or hubby giving you advice or a tip, we are asking for your help! Capt. M is in 1st grade. He is expected to read for 15 minutes each night for homework. His teacher also sends home one worksheet that needs to be completed by Friday. The worksheet is usually easy and a non-issue. Reading however, is a struggle.
Here is the deal. When Capt. M gets home from school he is eager to play. Mr. B has been waiting for Capt. M’s return home all day. So the two of them usually take off on an adventure. When I return home from work, it’s time for dinner. That then leaves reading for bedtime.
The problem is Capt. M is tired by that point. He gets easily frustrated and finds it hard to concentrate. It then becomes a battle and not fun for either of us.
I suggested to hubby that he allow the boys to play for a few minutes after school and then jump into homework. But I wanted to find out what you all do.
Do you allow your kids to unwind for a set time and then move on to homework? How long is their free time before homework must start? Do they start homework as soon as they get home?
We really need to come up with a schedule that benefits us all and most importantly, encourages Capt. M to continue to learn how to read.
Hubby is currently a stay at home dad to our two boys. Capt. M is 5 and in 1st grade and Mr. B is 4 and loves staying home with daddy all day. Join us as we chronicle our journey adjusting to daddy daycare.
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When my kids were that little we let them come home and relax for 30 min while they had a snack and wound down. Then started homework. As for the reading, if he is having trouble reading alone and is having fits, how about you read one page and he reads the next one? He will still be following along and engaged and maybe not feel so pressured.
Hi Dana,
Thanks so much for sharing! We do help Capt. M read- especially at night when he is tired and frustrated. I had a teacher suggest to me today to have him read to himself (in his head) before we require him to read aloud. This puts less pressure on the child to perform the first time they see the words. We are going to give that a try! Thank you!
My daughter is in the 1st grade too. I allow a after school snack/drink discuss her day. Then we tackle the homework first thing. If you allow them to play first they get too into playing and don’t want to break away for homework. We find completing all homework for the week on Monday gives her free time after school everyday and she prefers this best.
Hi Jana,
I think that is where we are going wrong. Once Capt. M starts playing, he doesn’t want to stop! Hubby is a procrastinator. He was like “oh the homework comes home Monday and isn’t due until Friday. We can wait until later in the week.” NO! I like getting it done in the first part of the week too!
We do homework right when my son gets home. I find that he’s still in school mode and is more willing to do it then rather than later. Plus he’s more apt to finish it when he knows that fun Daddy or Mommy time will happen when he’s done. :) We also read at night, but not as strict with him reading just to keep him interested. I’ll usually have him help me read at night.
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Thanks for your input Jennifer! I think we will give this approach a try.