7 Homework Help Tips from a Former Math Tutor

I remember it vividly. The first time I came home with Algebra homework, I panicked. I had no idea what the teacher had taught, much less how to solve the problems assigned. I remember asking my parents for help, and my Dad hesitantly stepped up to the plate. He wasn’t sure either… he told me he took Algebra in college, not in middle school. I wondered if they’d placed me in the wrong class. It was a rocky start.

Would you believe this same girl ended up as a math teacher and tutor? In Algebra no less?

It’s true. At first I had NO clue, but then things started to click in class. The teacher’s explanations began to make sense. My Dad was SUPER-relieved to be off the hook. And years later, after getting a minor in math, a major in engineering, and a Master’s in education, I LOVED teaching math.

Totally weird, right?

So how does a person go from one extreme to the other like that? Lean in and let me tell you the secret… You know what I’d like to think was the difference? My Dad’s willingness to sit down with me and try to help. His support when I said I thought I might need to talk to the teacher for some extra help. His encouragement the next night when I brought home what seemed like another impossible assignment.

I know first-hand that parents can play a huge role in the tone of their child’s education. Hear me loud and clear: your child doesn’t need a rocket scientist to help with homework. Just your presence, encouragement, and positive attitude will go a long way in helping your child succeed in school! 

That’s right — studies show that parental involvement in homework assignments can improve students’ overall success, but how should a parent approach it?

Need Homework Help? Here’s 7 Tips for Success This School Year:

1. Have a Designated Daily Homework Spot

Have a place set aside for your child to do his homework every day. Ideally, it would be a quiet, well-lit place with a table or desk big enough to spread out books, papers, and projects. Have a stash of materials available for completing homework assignments. Depending on your child’s school and grade level, these might include:

• Pencils and/or pens
• Pencil sharpener
• Erasers
• Notebook paper
• Graph paper
• Markers and/or colored pencils
• Glue sticks

2. Snack Before Starting Homework

Kids work pretty hard at school. Between that and the fact that they’re growing at an alarming rate, they need a lot of food.

So grab a healthy afternoon snack right before starting homework. It’s basically a necessity.

Need some healthy afternoon snack ideas? Check out our Pinterest board Healthy Snacks for Kids:

Follow Smart Kids 101: Babysitting, Safety, and Manners Training’s board Healthy Snacks for Kids on Pinterest.

3. Take a Brain Break and Talk about Your Child’s Day

While you’re at it, snacking and all, take some time to talk with your child about her day. This became one of my favorite parts of the day when I was in middle school and high school. When I would get home from school, my Mom and I would always sit down to a game of Mancala (affiliate link). We’d start playing and she’d say, “So. I dropped you off at school. Then what happened?”

There were many days when I would shrug and say, “Not much. It was fine.” But my Mom would never take that for an answer. She’d follow up with “Well, your first class was math. What happened in Math?” Some days, she would change it up and ask, “What did you learn about?” or “How is your teacher?”

But she would never let me just say, “It was fine” and leave it at that. Maybe it was her journalism bent, but she always knew what questions to ask. The game made it easier to open up and talk with her, because we had to sit there and play anyway — might as well be talking.

Before I knew it, we’d played 3 or 4 rounds of Mancala and I’d recounted everything about what happened in my day: what my friends said, what classes were giving me fits, and what happened at the school lunch table. And I knew my Mom cared. 

4. Have a Set Time to Complete Homework

After your child is fed and has had a “brain break,” it’s probably a prime opportunity to start working on homework. It might be tempting to slip into free time, but it’s a good idea to subtly emphasize the importance of homework by asking your child to complete it sooner rather than later.

You may wish to implement a “no screen time before homework” rule or something similar so that your child doesn’t try to sneak in a show or video game first. (As we parents who love to binge-watch Netflix know, it’s never just one episode. Of course our kids would want to do the same. It makes total sense.)

As an added perk, recent studies have shown that reducing screen time overall can improve grades (and reduce the risk for obesity).

Don’t get me wrong… I like to let my kids watch TV or movies in moderation. (It’s partially how this article is getting written!) But I admit that it makes sense: reducing the amount of time in front of a TV or device increases the amount of time for other things like playing outside, talking with family and friends, and yes, doing homework. So try to limit your child’s usage until homework is finished, and I’ll bet you it helps tremendously!

5. Teach Your Child to be Organized

This is a biggie. Organization is a HUGE life skill for kids to learn! And the good news? It doesn’t have to be taught all at once. In fact, it’s better to approach it by teaching a little at a time accumulated over years, depending on your child’s developmental readiness.

So where do you start? Well, if your kids are very young, chances are they don’t have that much homework. My Kindergartener’s teacher sends home a page at the beginning of the week and he picks 3 small assignments to complete before Friday. Teaching him to be organized and manage his time well means we make a habit of doing a little homework each night, not waiting until Thursday to complete it all. And I’ll talk to him about why we do it that way, too.

Older kids, starting around middle school, will benefit from learning to use a planner every day. Some schools give these to their students on the first day. If your child’s school does not, look for an academic planner that he or she won’t mind carrying to every class.

Let her decorate it with her style, and please be sure her name is somewhere on it in case it gets lost! Show her where she should write down all her assignments on each day and how to put due dates for bigger projects on the monthly calendar. Remind her that as soon as the teacher says, “For your homework, I want you to…” she should pull out her planner and write down what she needs to do. That way she won’t forget any important details!

6. Tackle the Hardest Assignments First

After your child has had a snack and a small break from the academic world, it’s time to dive in. Suggest he starts with the most difficult assignment or the longest assignment. Devoting his brain to the hardest thing first ensures that he gives it his all, rather than waiting until the end to try to tackle it when he’s run out of steam.

7. Support Your Child During Homework

This one will be different for every child, so you might need to try a couple of strategies before you find what’s a good fit for your family. Especially for elementary school kids, it often helps to have a parent sit next to them while they do homework. But that doesn’t mean parents should be watching their every move like a hawk.

Instead, support your child by letting her know you’re there to help if she needs it. But rather than hovering (who can work like that?), try working on a similar activity. If she’s reading, catch up on a book or magazine for yourself. If he’s working on math homework, pay the bills or balance your checkbook. Make your grocery list and clip coupons while he works on an art project. Get the idea? Sure you do.

Older kids might not need as much hands-on attention. You’ll probably be able to get away with making dinner in the kitchen while your children work on homework at the dinner table. And high schoolers are hopefully even more independent when it comes to homework, though they may need some help or input at times (for example, when proofreading a big essay).

These cover the basics of helping your child have a better school year with homework. But what do you do when your child asks you a homework question that you can’t answer? Not sure what’s an appropriate level of help? Don’t miss my next post with more advice on how you can help with your child’s homework!

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About Aubrey Hunt
Before hopping on the crazy ride we call motherhood, I studied engineering and taught math and science to middle and high school students. Now, perhaps like you, I fill my days singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider and praying my preschooler will eat a vegetable — any vegetable!