1St Grader

As Megan said, they have been working SO hard to stay focused, behave correctly, or not fidget, (depending on their particular disorder), that when they get home, it ALL comes out........ it is very hard work!

I used to teach kindergarten and a lot of my students would do so well during the school day and when they got home, they would be so spent from holding it in all day at school, that they had a harder time functioning at home. She stays focused all day long and then there is the expectation for her to CONTINUE to be focused at home to do homework?? That is a LONG time for a first grader. Does she get a chance to play and release all of that energy after school before sitting down and tackling the homework? That is tough - I would keep on the teachers and keep telling them she struggles at home. Use what I said above if you want some extra ammunition!! :-) Good luck!!!

It is too much to deal with for a 1st grader, sitting there the whole morning, trying to focusing and "be good".....and then get home to do the same thing!...poor thing....It may help her some time to relax at home before doing homework, play outside, have a snack, etc and then, just then guide her to do her homework (I don't believe in homework).

Try to reverse things a bit. Give her a snack when she gets home, then have her take her shower, then see if homework will be any better. (Of course dinner has to go in there somewhere too) Maybe she needs something to perk her up.

Hi! My daughter had ADP, and Ilearned that she needs total silence during homework, because the children hear things we do not, which interferes with their thinking. Have you ever had her referred to a Developmental Pediatrician, Neurologist, Occupational Therapist, or asked for a Resource Teacher? Her ADP qualifies her for outside class help. I used the resource teacher to obvserve and assist her in class and with homework and to teach me how to help her, these are specially trained teachers, who fix the problems. we found my daughter was good in class, but, didn't know the work, which caused hours of home fights to get it done. we changed alot too much to discuss here... First, thing have her always sit front, center, in teacher's view, this affords quick response to being "lost;" Does she have an IEP? Please contact me in private post, if you wish for more help, too much to write, now! My duaghter ended up being a national scholar and pursuing engineering degree!

If you are working with a therapist already, talk to that person. Ask what you can or should do as she falls apart at home. Maybe how the homework area is set up needs to change or the time or the method. I would start with the people already working with her.

I agree with the posters that suggested physical activity before the homework gets underway. Then, when it's time, she should be given mom's full attention without distractions. Maybe do a little drawing together before homework too.

Good luck. My kids are crazy babbling monkeys when they get home!

.

You could have J. described my daughter who is going into first this year. All kids I know are sepnt after school. My daughters K teacher actually learned that my daughter would be spent halfway through the day in K and would give her her tests in the 1st half of the day because she'd J. say anything to get it over with and also because in her mind saying any answer knowing it's wrong isn't being wrong.
My daughter does this with reading at night as well.
I;d say relax and elt her play or chill after school for a while

It's hard for little ones to pay attention and be good all day in class, and then come home and have piles of homework, too. Even my 3rd grader is kind of a spaz when it comes time to do homework. In 1st grade, it was ridiculous!

At this age, she really shouldn't have more than 15 minutes of homework or so, and usually things come home in a packet for the whole week. Assuming that's the case, I'd give her some time to have a snack after school (low blood sugar + homework = bad news), and if you feel she needs it, maybe 20-30 minutes to play/decompress. Then have her do a few problems from the math worksheet, a portion of her language arts, and then let it go until after dinner. Whatever reading the teacher has assigned (at that age, I remember we were supposed to read to the child for 15 minutes as part of homework), just read to her before bedtime.

Let the teacher know that you will set a timer for homework, and when the 15 (or 20, whatever your district's standard is) minutes is up, that you will have her stop. Homework should just be a quick reinforcement of the things learned at school that day, not a 2 hour nightmare for the whole family.

She will be better able to deal with homework independently as she gets older. Hang in there.

Find a blank wall, face her desk towards that wall. Turn off all sound making machines, the TV, the washing machine and dishwasher, turn off ceiling fans, etc....if it makes any noise turn it off. Give her one specific task to do. Honey, do this math problem and I'll be right back to check on you.

Then let her have a few minutes. Once she has it completed you give her another task.

She has to have much less stimulation to be able to do her work.

Kids are.... REALLY tired and spent, after school and when they come home.
My son does that too.
But I know him, and I KNOW he is real tired.
He will not do homework, when tired after school.
He is in 1st grade too.
But IN school, he is so spot-on. All around. And he is a good student. Every Teacher has told me that, and has good concentration in school.
But after school at home, is a like a droopy plant who just wants to play.
And he is TIRED and tired of concentrating so much, at school.
He comes home and I let him play and let off steam and have a good solid snack. He needs more than 1 hour to deflate.
It takes time, but after that, HE will tell me "Mommy, I'll do my homework now..." and he does. But for him, he REALLY needs to deflate, after school. Unlike his sister, who will hit the books and do her homework RIGHT after coming home.

that's one of my big beefs with school. school days and years are longer, they're getting less recess and wiggle time while they're IN school, they're expected to sit and focus at younger ages and for longer periods, and then after complying with all that, the poor babies have to go home and do it some more.
i'm so proud of your little girl for overcoming her challenges and behaving so well in school! she's a real trooper.
i'd keep a very light hand on the homework. when she gets home, let her have a snack and some downtime. some kids need to move and let off kinetic energy, some need to read or just sit and veg for a bit. she needs to let her brain have that change of subject. designate a half hour as homework time after she's had a chance to decompress, and keep that half hour as neutral, noise and distraction-free as possible. be available to help her but don't hover and over-help. if she doesn't get it done, try and stay neutral about it. as my older son's first grade teacher told me when i came to her, frantic, 'he has to account to you for some things. he has to account to me for his school work. give him the opportunity to do it, and if he doesn't he'll have to explain why to me.' worked like a charm. it may NOT for your girl because oher auditory issues, but with both of you getting so frustrated, i don't think that pushing her harder will do the trick.
khairete
S.

Poor thing! Hugs!

1. Conference with the teacher without your child in the room. Tell him/her all of this.
2. Ask the teacher to have a reading session with your child while you observe. Observe carefully and try to replicate what the teacher does when you help your child at home.
3. In the private conference, ask about the teacher's homework philosophy. Does it adhere to the "10 minutes for 1st grade" principle? Is it for reinforcement? How will this homework be reflected in the student's assessment? Do you know the entire week's homework so that you can break it down into parts and do it when it best fits your schedule and your daughter's routine? Ask, "What do you think will happen if my daughter is unable to complete all of her homework daily?"
4. Even though I am a HS teacher myself, my daughter is resistant for me to be HER teacher. I have to find ways to make jokes and make it fun to do together. She tends to "refuse" to continue when she has confronted something to which she does not immediately know the answer. So I ask her to point out to me what part is giving her difficulty, or I figure it out myself and ask her if that is what is a stumbling block. That starts an actual discussion of her insecurities about it and then I give her advice in how to approach it.
5. Let homework time be a time to be together. After a long day of work and school, kids want to spend time with their parents. After a snack and some exercise, consider it to be quality time together. Snuggle while doing it. Give kisses for achieving some little "goal" and for attempts at the work.
6. I also find that putting a time limit on the homework helps so that she will not dawdle. My kid seems to resist doing HW (already!). The time limit helps her manage her time and continue before the next break or until completion of the work.
7. Even though teachers tend to have private reading sessions with kids everyday (or several times a week), you will be her primary one-on-one coach. Your goal is to establish your homework routine and a relationship towards education in general with these first years of school. Make it routine, warm, fun and confidence boosting.
8. Find some focus-building exercises that take 60 seconds to complete and begin your sessions with them. Then you will have her attention.
9. If you think she may be anxious, try a few minutes of rhythmic breathing to music to slow her heart rate and calm her.
10. Get rid of distractions except for some soft music that has no lyrics.

I hope at least some of this helps you. All my best.

My daughter hates homework and is on her way into second grade. What you described sounds similar to issues we had with my daughter last year.

I found that if I did homework later in the evening right before bed I got the most out of her. Or if I saved it for a Sunday afternoon. (She had a set monthly homework calendar that listed daily homework M- Th then had presentations due weekly on various topics.

In school, I knew she was soaking everything up. Its just for me, she doesn't want to sit down and do the work. I wonder if later in her years I will have to get her a tutor so its someone other than me sitting with her. But I'm also hoping this year is different and she has matured a bit more.