Schooling: How to make school homework fun for children

Monica Costa

11 years ago

School holidays are long enough to get kids out of their homework routines. There are many resources available to parents and here are some ideas to make school homework fun for children.

Children claim that homework is boring. But parents can help them focus and make school homework fun by turning it into a game and by getting rewards for achievements.

To do maths homework for example, you can coins or pennies. They would perceive the task as useful as it involves day to day dealing with money.

As a parent you know what motivates your child so you can reward him/her after completing their tasks. If they choose to watch TV or play on the iPad, so be it.

A key ingredient for parents to remember is positivity. One of the best ways to encourage your child to do their homework on their own is to be positive about school activities in general. Praise, rewards, encouragement and positive attitude always work. You can also use the fridge to post messages of praise and daily/weekly tasks you expect your child to do.

Ideally be around when your child is doing his/her homework because this sends a positive message and shows that homework is an important part of life.

Here are my favourite resources to make school homework fun for children.

Maths Comprehension Cards

These cards are great to Encourage children to put their maths skills to use by solving the real-life problems presented in these fiction and non-fiction passages! They are suitable for children aged 8 to 12. They are well made because behind them there’s award-winning writer and former teacher, Mary Nathan.

Students read the story on the front of the card before flipping over and answering six multiple-choice comprehension questions. The passages increase in difficulty within the set. This specific cards set (60 double-sided and colour-coded by topic) has been specifically written for year group four maths students (i.e. school year 4 to 7).

RRP £20.34 Available from www.learningresources.co.uk

Math Trekker™ Multiplication & Division Games

This portable multiplication and division maths games is simply genius! It makes 8-12 years old kids get mad for maths games. It’s such a simple little gadget that looks like a calculator but is a game platform. It is fab to practice multiplication (for 0-12 timestable) and division as well as addition and subtraction skills during long car journeys. It’s a handheld game and therefore perfect for independent play and ideal for keeping kids entertained (without knowing that they are doing their homework) at down times.

How to play:
- Child chooses a level of game play
- Maths game displays maths equations in the digital display
- Child enters the correct answer
- If the child enters an incorrect answer the same equation is displayed again at the end of the round
- All equations must be answered correctly to finish the game
Portable games can be clipped to bags or zips for use on the go
Game sounds positive tones for right answers and negative tones for incorrect answers
Game can be muted for quiet play.

RRP £10.74 Available from www.learningresources.co.uk

Reading Comprehension Cards

The self-checking reading comprehension programme are suitable for kids in the age group 8-12. They engage students with fiction and non-fiction stories covering maths, science and social studies topics; they then flip over the card for five multiple choice comprehension questions that focus on: Main idea, Context clues, Sequencing, Predicting outcomes, Making inferences, Drawing conclusions, Cause and effect. Cards progress within each set and are aligned to the National Curriculum’s Attainment Targets. Each set includes 60 double-sided full colour cards and a comprehensive Teacher’s Guide which is very useful for parents too.

RRP £21.54 www.learningresources.co.uk