Waukesha County Home

multitude of options for help." South Milwaukee homeowner Bobbi Groves said that she and her husband Jasen ask their son Cooper, 8, to start his home- work after dinner "so that he's not distracted by hunger." With homework, "we have him give it a try first, then we review and help as needed," Bobbi Groves added. As many children are assigned laptops at the beginning of each school year, home- work and study areas should have outlets and ports for charging electronic devices. A barn door or folding door can be added to an alcove space for privacy, and adding glass to the door lets natural light shine through. The area should be well-lit; desk lamps and under-cabinet lighting work well. Pitzen advises that, for organizational pur- poses, the area should have a mix of cabinet space and open shelving, so children have quick access to study materials such as pens, pencils and paper. The homework space should allow for plenty of knee room, in case more than one child, or a child and a parent, want to sit at the same desk, for example. Homework areas can be adapted to suit a child's taste with fun posters, pictures of friends and family, a bright paint color on the walls, and achievement mementos such as athletic trophies and blue ribbons. Décor such as this can be easily redone as the child grows older and opts for new styles. "I always tell people their homes will change as kids go through different phases of life," Pitzen said. HOME SEPTEMBER 2019 2 Distributed by: ©2018 by Conley Media Waukesha County Home is published monthly by Conley Media - Waukesha County, 801 N. Barstow St., Waukesha, WI 53186. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the publisher. A publication of Conley Media Sales Director: Jim Baumgart 262/513-2621 jbaumgart@conleynet.com Editor: Dan Muckelbauer 262/513-2626 dmuck@conleynet.com Production: Patricia Scheel 262/513-2690 pscheel@conleynet.com Home Volume 8 ■ Number 9 ■ September 2019 Homework From Page 1 Homework has long been a way to rein- force lessons learned in the classroom and ensure that the learning process continues when students leave school each day. A recent survey of teachers conducted by the University of Phoenix College of Education found that high school teachers assign about 17.5 hours of homework each week (3.5 hours per class), middle school teachers assign about 3.2, and elementary school teachers assign about 2.9 hours per week. Thanks to ever-evolving curriculums and new problem-solving methodologies — par- ticularly in mathematics — parents may no longer have the expertise to help their chil- dren with their homework, leading to con- fusion and frustration. So where does a parent and student turn when homework has become challenging? Students who are struggling should not feel embarrassed about the fact that home- work has become an issue. Such students should speak with their parents, teachers or school counselors if they are having dif- ficulty with their homework. Such discus- sions alert teachers that there are potential issues. Teachers can be important resources because they can give specific advice on assignments or strategies for tackling complex processes. Next up, students and parents can consult with older students who have already "been there, done that" in terms of assignments. Oftentimes high school and college stu- dents volunteer their time for community service hours. Ask at the local library or at schools in town if older students offer homework help. Families also can do their best to make the environment at home conducive to homework. Scholastic suggests setting up a schedule that includes a time indicating when assignments must be completed. In addi- tion, setting up a quiet, distraction-free zone for doing homework can help kids con- centrate on their assignments. Students can tackle harder assignments first, as they will likely take the bulk of the time, and then move on to the easier assignments. If home- work is taking a long time to complete, par- ents can speak to teachers about when it might be alright to offer youngsters some extra help. If these homework helpers are ineffec- tive, families can hire private tutors who can work on homework with the student and reinforce classroom lessons. Getting kids the homework help they need

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