Mid October is when homework hassles seem to start. September, the school year is still new enough that there is not enough homework for kids to whine about and it is still a unique enough experience that it’s fun (for younger children). But now the whining and excuses have begun.
My son is in kindergarten, so homework is fun. We snuggle each evening on the couch with the TV off and “read’ a book together. Once in a while, he brings home pictures or stories that he has made and needs to explain to me. This is also when we go through his backpack so that I get all of the newsletters and important papers from him.  I make a pile of anything that needs to be filled out. This is my homework. (He thinks it’s funny that I call it that.)

My daughter has started grade six. Now that she’s attending middle school, all of a sudden homework has become a major issue. We have a deal that when she comes home she empties her backpack and gives me all notes, newsletters and forms. (More homework for me.) I make sure to put them in my pile right away. She goes to her room and practices her band instrument for 15 – 30 minutes and then she does some homework that does not include the computer. Our family computer desk is in the living room, so while my son and I do his homework, she does her computer homework.

When everything is done, I do my homework. All of the forms and permission slips are filled out. All of the checks are written and everything is put in the correct backpack for the next morning. Doesn’t this sound wonderful and idyllic? This is my plan. I think it works properly about once a month.

Or it did until we had a family meeting. When I asked my daughter why she didn’t like doing homework in her room, she complained that she had outgrown her desk. Then she pointed out that I was just as bad at not filling out forms, etc.  She was right (makes me remember how nice it was before she talked). It was time for some changes.

We bought her the desk of her choosing, brought it home and assembled it. Then I went to the office supply store and the local bargain store. In the colors of her choosing, I bought desk organizers for her room. Then I bought some of my own for the living room desk. I also made sure to buy labels, fun colored folders, stickers, envelopes and everything else I could find.

The result is she decorated and organized her desk how she liked it. Half girly/half goth – she is caught between styles right now, but black and pink go together nicely. Then I organized the computer/living room desk .Now forms go into a folder right away and I can fill them out easily with everything I need right there.

Imagine my surprise, within a week she was doing her homework in her room. The living room looks nice, instead of a disaster area, and we have had no calls or notes from the school about late assignments or paperwork. It has worked out so well that I am thinking that maybe I will get the rest of her room organized, or maybe her dad’s area. Nah! That’s too much to imagine even for me.

Lisa, mom of a son (5) and a daughter (11)