Invested love and immeasurable care of your child must give results. Believe in it, but read a few pieces of advice of a primary school teacher
What must a parent take into account when it comes to homework?
A parent should know the following:
Homework belongs to the child and it is his duty only.
Homework is a duty which must be done and there must never be an excuse (family celebrations, various trips and the like cannot be a justification for not fulfilling their school obligations.
Homework is done in one place whether it is a dining room, living room, any part of the flat or a child's bedroom.
Homework is done approximately in the same period of time every day.
You choose the place for doing homework according to the habits of your child. If the child cannot stand sitting alone in a room, do not force him/her to do it but find him a place in a room where some of the older members of the family are just at the same time when the child does homework (elder brothers or sisters, grandmother, grandfather...) It is important that that person respects the child's need and do not disturb him/her during their work.
A parent or someone older must be close by while the child is doing homework, especially during the first semester of the first year so as to be immediately there if he/she needs help. Do not sit beside your child while he/she does his homework because even the teacher does not stand beside your child while he/she is doing their school tasks.
Homework is important because they build up work habits of a child.
Do not do homework for your child because, in this way, you will ruin his/her confidence by showing that he/she is unable to do the task assigned by the teacher.
Bear in mind: the teacher will always recognise if someone else has done the homework, regardless of how much effort you have put to hide it (teachers sometimes know their student better than the parents)
Do not give yourself the right to doubt the competences of the teacher in way that you check if the weight and the amount of homework is appropriate to the age of the child (each teacher gives purpose-serving and appropriate homework and has a clear aim which he wants to achieve).
The homework in which you must take part is the provision of the material necessary for school and according to the child's instructions and not calling the teacher to check it (if it happens that you have purchased something wrong or have not purchased it at all, this may be a signal for you that it is necessary to talk to your child about his/her attention in classes and focus on the teacher's instructions).
As a parent you are obliged to provide your child with adequate conditions for doing homework such as: the airiness of the room, lit place in which he works, warmth or cooling of the room, noise level (this implies that elder brothers or sisters will not play computer or mobile phone games in the same room at the same time when the child does homework and that the child's mother and grandmother will not watch series and that the child's father and grandfather will not watch TV news).
What is very important is to limit the time for doing homework and do not let the child do it for more than 45 minutes. This is also important for both focusing on and becoming accustomed to doing the tasks on time. On the contrary, you will create a child who will not know how to use time properly and will always be late with his tasks during school classes.
Be ready even to send sometimes your child without the homework or with incomplete or incorrect homework. If your child has a teacher who takes care of fulfilling tasks (most teachers do look after it), the teacher will be able to have an educative influence on your child.
Bear in mind that the teacher is your ally and that you share the same goals completely. Just as you strive for your child to be successful, so the teacher wants all her students to be successful, because this will be the confirmation of the teacher’s success as well.
Doing homework bring great benefit; apart from being intended for practice and preparation for the next teaching unit, homework develops the child’s work habits and in this way your child will become more independent and responsible every day. In the first month it will be very confusing, because the child, beside mixing notebooks, notions, forgetting his/her school items or textbooks at school, will also give you wrong information. So arm yourself with patience and it is also useful to make contact with other parents of your child’s classmates in order to exchange information. If you are lucky to have your teacher available on the phone, social networks or in some other way, respect this, but do not let yourself be striking and use their free time when it is necessary and when it is not.
What is most important in your child’s first months at school?
All children are uncertain a bit at the beginning of the first year of school. Some are frightened and their behaviour depends on your feelings to a large extent. If you are afraid, it is very likely that your child will also go to school in fear. So, now it is clear to you that you must work both on yourself and your feelings because the child’s feelings depend on them in large measure.
Do not forget how much important is to be beside your child every day, to see him off to school and to come on time to pick him up if it is necessary. In rural areas, already at the beginning of October, you can slowly start to show your child the need for independence in a way that they will come back home with their friends. During the second semester the child will be independent and will even come to school on his own, of course, unless you estimate that it is dangerous because of the traffic or some natural obstacles.
It is important to show care of the child’s tasks, check every day what he has done at school and check the fulfillment of school tasks. Not less important is to make an effort to understand your child’s fears and apprehension and to give him support. In no way underestimate the child; make an effort to understand him/her and to find some time to talk about it. By no means let older children underestimate the success and ability of your first-form pupil; prepare them to give support to your child.
Finally, what is most important, love your child, love him/her and show it every day. Be happy about his each individual success the same as you would be happy if he/she were the winner of a large sporting event. All that shown love can lead your child to great success one day. Believe in the power of love and investment in it!