"Good work habits and positive attitudes toward learning are as important as innate linguistic and logical capacities in the development of an academically successful student. The good news is that, if children don’t develop these habits and attitudes on their won, they can be taught and encouraged."
- Harriett Cholden, M.Ed., and John Friedman, Ph.D. authors of The Homework Handbook
Five Minute Fridays™: How to Avoid Sunday Night Meltdowns
It’s Sunday evening and your otherwise cheery child becomes a teary child when they realize that they don’t have what they need for a project or homework assignment, or maybe they are overwhelmed with the amount of homework they have without enough time to complete it. Spend 5 minutes on Fridays to help your child plan their homework schedule for the weekend, and avoid Sunday Night Meltdowns!
Empty the Backpack: When your child comes home on Friday, ask them to empty out their backpack.
Re-Write Weekend Assignments: Using their Planner, have your child re-write all of their weekend homework assignments and/or projects on a separate piece of paper that gets posted on the refrigerator. Click here for a Five Minute Fridays™ template.
Schedule Homework Time: Parents need to work with their child to help them schedule their weekend homework based on the family’s schedule of activities. For example, your child may not know that the family is spending the day visiting relatives on Sunday, so they should plan to do their homework on Saturday.
Weekly Backpack Maintenance: Emptying the backpack weekly is also needed to remove crumpled paper, part of lunch, lost gloves, candy wrappers, and other items that account for the “Backpack Bulge” and will help them keep their Backpack organized and lighter.
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