Hopefully I can get some opinions in regards to this, because I do not know what to do anymore. :(
I have three kids, age 10, 8, and 4. My oldest does very well at school and is pretty much very independent with his homework even though he's a bit of a procrastinator. But my middle child, the eight year old, is not too much the same. I usually sit with her to do her homework, but lately I've been letting her do it on her own and then checking her work. And normally it's mostly wrong. I even tried leaving her alone in the room without distractions to see if maybe that was the case, but the results are the same. My husband tells me I need to have more patience with her, but I think I do. I try to have as much patience with her as I can, but sometimes I burst out because I see that she doesn't even want to try. I don't know what else to do. I thought about getting her tutoring, but is it really going to work? She just seems that she doesn't want to try harder. Right now she has a C average in school, almost a D, and I think that's because her teacher gives her alot of chances. Oh, and i also noticed that most of the time she does not turn in her school work. FCAT soon will be here and I'm worried about her not passing. PLEASE HELP! Any advice would really be appreciated.
When does she do her homework?
If my son (8) does his right after school, save a short 10-15 minute break and a little snack or drink--it's a pretty painless process. If we wait til 7 or 8 o'clock--not so painless! (We no longer do it at any other time that right after school.)
Just thought I'd mention that because if they are tired and cranky, even simple homework becomes a nightmare!
I think a tutor would be an excellent idea if you can afford it. Every year, her school work and work load will only become harder, so she needs to be able to master it now and learn good study habits.
I have a similar issue where I have a 12, 14 & 15 year old. The 12 year old works hard and gets A's & B's. While the 14 year old barely tries and gets C's & D's. I have started a reward system, if they do good, I'll get them ring pops or a toy from the dollar store, I haven't been doing it for long so I don't know how well it is working, but it keeps the 12 year old happy instead of feeling that his efforts are not noticed or appreciated. Hope this helps
Let hubby try doing the homework thing with the kids right before bed. That way they can come home, take a break from school stuff and play. If he sees they are truly struggling he may decide to consider a tutor, it also may be they'll respond to the time or to him better. Our kids absolutely do homework better with hubby than with me, hands down, it's their thing totally. They pay attention and he is much more logical and analytical so it works much better, plus I get some down time while they are all working away at the dining room table.
Does she have a folder for all her work to return to school? Make sure that all her work is in that folder so she can turn it in and it's not lost in the bottom of her bag or floating away on the breeze before she gets to school.
How is homework handled? Does she get breaks? Or do you expect her to plow through it all before dinner? We used to have SD do the reading on her own between school and dinner, but math was done (usually with me b/c we got better results) after a good dinner. IF your DH has a better way, make him in charge of her work. My DH just doesn't see math the way SD and I do and his suggestions went right over her head.
I would seriously consider a tutor. Several of my friends have hired a tutor for their children. I have not, but have come close. I think being a teacher to my own child is the hardest thing ever - she works much better for someone else.
I would also talk with her teacher to see what suggestions they might have, or if they notice the same behaviors at school.
Bring her to Dr. Buck in Miami Shores. She is a developmental and behavioral optometrist. She will definately address this problem with great results! Mostly these kid's problems lie in their visual and auditory systems.
My daughter got like that then I started making her show me every few questions. Sometimes they just wan the extra attention.
My youngest daughter has always done very well in school and didn't have too much trouble with her homework. However, when she was having trouble with homework, I was the last person that she wanted help from. In her mind, I was MOM, I was not a teacher. She would prefer to ask her older sister for help.
It may be worth trying a tutor or getting her help from an outside source, many schools offer after or before school help. Do you know of a middle school/high school student who can work with her? That may be a good option to see how she reacts to working with someone else.
