Do your children whine and complain about their math homework? The frowns and complaints can really ruin an evening. Wouldn’t you like to see smiles instead? You can.
Not only does the whining affect the family, it actually affects children’s ability to learn. https://www.mathnasium.com/neurotransmitters-and-math-homework To start changing the negative vibe about math homework, have a conversation with your children about what is making them unhappy. That’s easier said than done.
Kids have a hard time articulating why they are so unhappy. They might not even know why they get so frustrated doing math homework. Momentary frustration is a normal part of learning. It’s not even a bad thing. But overwhelming and enduring frustration will lead to a lack of math motivation. To help you get to the root of your children’s frustration, it helps to have a conversational tool. Use these conversation starters to help your children think about math differently. Then you can change the negative vibe at math homework time and see your children smile again.
Conversation starters:
Ask: “Are you willing to spend time to truly understand the math concepts?”
Discuss the learning process with your children. Learning takes significant time and effort. This may come as a surprise to children who have not had academic struggles before. Talk about available reference materials so they don’t have to rely on their memory. https://www.mathnasium.com/math-textbook.
Ask: “Have you struggled with any concepts before, even if it wasn’t in math? What helped you succeed in those times? “
Remembering previous times when they had to overcome a difficulty will give them the confidence that they can surmount this difficulty too. Help your children create a strategy for doing math homework, like starting with the easy problems. Having a strategy to problem solving reduces anxiety.
Ask: “What happens if you don’t finish this math homework correctly? What happens if you do finish this math homework correctly?”
Discuss likely worst case scenarios. Some kids exaggerate consequences of “failure,” which stresses them out. Other kids minimize consequences of failure, which decreases their effort. Help them get a realistic view of what will happen if they don’t do the homework.
Ask: “What can you do to improve the current learning environment?”
Discuss the importance of good study habits. Remind children to turn off electronics and study in a quiet place. https://www.mathnasium.com/math-homework-deserves-a-special-place.
Ask: “Who is able to help you with this?”
Brainstorm about who has the knowledge, the patience, and the time to help with math homework. Family members are not sometimes a good resource to get help with math. Other times family relationships fall apart when a family member tries to help with math homework. https://www.mathnasium.com/even-math-teachers-bring-their-children-to-mathnasium-for-homework-help
What to Do if the Conversation Isn’t Enough to Turn the Frown Upside Down
One of the easiest ways to change a negative vibe at homework time is to change physical and social environment where your children do homework. Sometimes the best thing to do is just hire someone else to help with homework.
At Mathnasium of Mt. Laurel we work hard to create a pleasant, distraction-free zone for homework. And our fabulous instructors have the skills necessary to help at all levels of math! https://www.mathnasium.com/mtlaurel/our-team Please make special arrangements for advanced algebra and calculus help.
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