What is Homework 911?
Homework 911 just opened this week! Claim yours now!
I watched my daughter sit down to do homework at the kitchen table and cry.
“I can’t do it! It’s tooooo much….” she wailed.
It was her first week in Kindergarten and all her teacher asked her to do was write 5 words – 3-4 letter words – on a piece of paper.
And yet, she didn’t want to.
I knew she was capable. I’ve seen her do work like this before, and yet, here she was thinking it was too much.
My son, a newborn at the time, was strapped to my chest and I was still recovering from the C-section.
And now…a distraught Kindergartener.
Honestly, my first reaction was to pull the Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food out of the freezer and go hide in a closet.
Instead – after a bit of frustration -I helped her take control of her own homework.
How did I do it?
I concentrated on four things:
- mindset
- letting her control her schedule
- teaching her a simple trick to motivate herself and
- giving her complete control of her rewards
When I talked to other parents at my daughter’s school, I learned that homework was a problem for everyone.
After a long day, they felt bad for their kids and the only solution they found was coaching their child through every problem.
Homework began to feel like their responsibility instead of their child’s. With that came a lot of resentment. Resentment towards:
- school
- their child’s teacher, and
- Even the practice of homework in general.
Maybe you’ve felt the same. That’s exactly why I created Homework 911.
What’s Homework 911?
Homework 911 is a self-paced e-course for your child.
Through it I teach them how to set up a homework routine and take control of their own work – the exact process I used on my daughter and the process I used as a fifth-grade teacher with hundreds of students.
Here’s how it works:
After enrolling in the course, you log your child in and your child watches the quick 1-3 minute videos. Then, he or she complete the short mini-quizzes at the end.
In the first lesson, they meet me – their homework coach- and I introduce them to the course.
The second lesson digs into what be making homework time even harder than necessary. We talk about how they MAY need a break after a long school day and why having a healthy snack is important, too. Bonus: I give them a list of 50 healthy snacks to try.
Next, we dig into mindset and how thoughts like, “I’m bad at math,” or “I’ll never get this.” affect their motivation.
The fourth lesson sets homework TIME expectations. I suggest 10 minutes per night per year of school. If homework is taking longer than this, that’s a huge a-ha for kids to work for change.
Next, we conquer the dreaded homework reading requirement. I give them permission to think school reading assignments are boring as well as the motivation to find material that interests them.
Lesson 6 lays out the four life skills we practice each time we work on homework: focus, time management, responsibility, and persistence. I’m your child’s ally in this. I tell that we adults are still working to master these four main areas.
Then, we get tactical…
I teach them how to create a homework box – exactly what goes in it and how to keep it organized.
Then, I walk them through creating an afternoon homework schedule that works for them.
Next, I let them in on my secret ninja trick to being productive: the timer. This ONE is magic!! Kids who’ve taken the class love it and use it ALL THE TIME.
Finally, they set up their own rewards for finishing homework. I emphasize the MINI rewards that they control themselves. They are not relying on you to provide rewards for them.
What would happen if homework became your child’s responsibility?
How would your life change?
How much easier would afternoons be?
Homework 911 is open right now. However, its only available for a short time.
Enrollment closes Friday, August 30th at midnight. You can enroll here.
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I have tried to go through and purchase the DOT program for the extra $19 dollars but it is not showing up as an option. My son is 11 and in year 8 in the UK so I think the older course would be better for him.
Hi Emma! DOT right now is only available as an add-on for Homework 911. However, when Homework Mastery is available near the end of September, DOT will be a full part of that. I will let you as soon as Homework Mastery is available!