Extra homework, Dad? Again?
January 21, 2011 12:40 PM Subscribe
What are some good resources for at-home K-4 education exercises?
I want my kids to do a little extra work after school - they are in kindergarten and third grade. I'm not looking to be very regimental with it - just give them a few extra exercises to supplement what they're doing and make sure they stay ahead. Any ideas or resources that I can follow?
I want my kids to do a little extra work after school - they are in kindergarten and third grade. I'm not looking to be very regimental with it - just give them a few extra exercises to supplement what they're doing and make sure they stay ahead. Any ideas or resources that I can follow?
Sometimes, when I'm working in the kitchen, I ask my 7-y.-o. to ask me questions from Trivial Pursuit cards. He gets a big grin when Mama's wrong.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:32 PM on January 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:32 PM on January 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
My daughter is in first grade, so you may want to scale it appropriately.
I do two things:
1. Her school gives a weekly homework folder on Fridays and requires them to be turned in the next week, one on Monday and the other by Wednesday. I make a summary of these in separate sheets. Through the week, I cycle through the concepts with her, talking about it while doing chores etc. I also give her some math work, but keep it less, so that she finishes in about 20 minutes. I find that this helps keep things fresh in her mind.
2. Her school website has listed some games and other educational resources from the web. Once her homework is done, she gets to play these on the home computer. Some resources that I can pull up immediately:
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/practise-listening/identipet
starfall.com
coolmath-games.com
posted by theobserver at 3:39 PM on January 21, 2011
I do two things:
1. Her school gives a weekly homework folder on Fridays and requires them to be turned in the next week, one on Monday and the other by Wednesday. I make a summary of these in separate sheets. Through the week, I cycle through the concepts with her, talking about it while doing chores etc. I also give her some math work, but keep it less, so that she finishes in about 20 minutes. I find that this helps keep things fresh in her mind.
2. Her school website has listed some games and other educational resources from the web. Once her homework is done, she gets to play these on the home computer. Some resources that I can pull up immediately:
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/practise-listening/identipet
starfall.com
coolmath-games.com
posted by theobserver at 3:39 PM on January 21, 2011
Play school. Let the kids take turns being the teacher. You can prepare some worksheets/lesson topics ahead of time (based on their latest school work), and let the teacher show you how to work them. Ask questions like you don't understand. Let them assign you homework, then they have to grade it.
Play games while you do household things. My sister always counted toys while putting them back in the toybox at the end of the day. She would challenge her kids to race 10 toys in the box the fastest, or put in 3 and ask how many more until we get to 5 or 10? Or spell the toys as you put them away.
Get a pack of grade-level BrainQuest cards (or better yet, get the year ahead) and quiz the kids while waiting in line at the store or walking to the park or whatever. Let them quiz you too.
Have alphabet days. Pick a letter, and spend all day: make pancakes in the shape of that letter; bake something that starts with that letter; go around the house and find 25 things that start with it; do art projects which feature it; call a friend whose name starts with it; do an activity which starts with it.
Make the library a part of your weekly ritual. Let them check out books to be read at bedtime. Make video tapes of the kids reading their own books.
Believe it or not, in the summer after first grade, my daughter was solving algebra problems verbally while we hiked in the woods on a camping trip. I made up simple ones like 2x + 3 = 7 and showed her how to think of them: what do you need to add to 3 to get to 7? (4) and so what do you need 2 of to make 4? (2) x=2
Once she figured out the process, she kept begging me for more. We kept them in 2x or 3x and kept the totals under about 15 and she loved it.
posted by CathyG at 6:48 PM on January 21, 2011
Play games while you do household things. My sister always counted toys while putting them back in the toybox at the end of the day. She would challenge her kids to race 10 toys in the box the fastest, or put in 3 and ask how many more until we get to 5 or 10? Or spell the toys as you put them away.
Get a pack of grade-level BrainQuest cards (or better yet, get the year ahead) and quiz the kids while waiting in line at the store or walking to the park or whatever. Let them quiz you too.
Have alphabet days. Pick a letter, and spend all day: make pancakes in the shape of that letter; bake something that starts with that letter; go around the house and find 25 things that start with it; do art projects which feature it; call a friend whose name starts with it; do an activity which starts with it.
Make the library a part of your weekly ritual. Let them check out books to be read at bedtime. Make video tapes of the kids reading their own books.
Believe it or not, in the summer after first grade, my daughter was solving algebra problems verbally while we hiked in the woods on a camping trip. I made up simple ones like 2x + 3 = 7 and showed her how to think of them: what do you need to add to 3 to get to 7? (4) and so what do you need 2 of to make 4? (2) x=2
Once she figured out the process, she kept begging me for more. We kept them in 2x or 3x and kept the totals under about 15 and she loved it.
posted by CathyG at 6:48 PM on January 21, 2011
Go to a teacher supply store - The School Box, The EdMat Co. Also, google home schooling. There are a lot of sites with work that can be downloaded.
posted by shoesietart at 11:20 AM on January 22, 2011
posted by shoesietart at 11:20 AM on January 22, 2011
I gave examples above, but didn't state my point: don't make it school; make it fun. I can't think of anything worse than forcing kids to quit playing and come sit down and do these worksheets.
I'll also recommend that you make an appointment with their teacher and ask if s/he has any ideas related to their specific upcoming lessons. My bet is that the answer will be "just read to them every night".
One more thought - one of the biggest hurdles in higher grades is kids who don't know their math facts (addition and multiplication from 1 to 12). Get some flash cards and see if you can find some games to drill those - like play "Mother May I" and you can only advance your 2 giant steps if you get 5 flash cards right. Again, let the kid be the leader sometimes and drill you on the cards too. Hilarity ensues when you get one wrong and have to go back.
posted by CathyG at 11:46 AM on January 22, 2011
I'll also recommend that you make an appointment with their teacher and ask if s/he has any ideas related to their specific upcoming lessons. My bet is that the answer will be "just read to them every night".
One more thought - one of the biggest hurdles in higher grades is kids who don't know their math facts (addition and multiplication from 1 to 12). Get some flash cards and see if you can find some games to drill those - like play "Mother May I" and you can only advance your 2 giant steps if you get 5 flash cards right. Again, let the kid be the leader sometimes and drill you on the cards too. Hilarity ensues when you get one wrong and have to go back.
posted by CathyG at 11:46 AM on January 22, 2011
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But if any of this had been framed as homework or schoolwork, it would have been major revolt time. It's great to have an active and learning-friendly environment at home, but let the kids enjoy their kid-dom.
posted by phunniemee at 12:47 PM on January 21, 2011