how to get 2nd grader to do homework

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An Age-By-Age Guide to Helping Kids Manage Homework

Do you ever wonder whether homework is gauging the child’s ability to complete assignments or the parent’s? On one end of the spectrum, a parent might never mention homework and assume it gets done independently; on the other end are the parents who micromanage to be sure every worksheet is absolutely perfect.

Being too laissez faire about homework might deny a child the support they need to develop executive functioning skills, but being too involved could stifle their independence. So how much parent participation in homework is actually appropriate throughout a child’s education?

Basic homework tips

According to Scholastic , you should follow these rules of thumb to support your child during homework (without going overboard):

Stay nearby and available for questions without getting right in the middle of homework.

Avoid the urge to correct mistakes unless your child asks for help.

Instead of nagging, set up a homework routine with a dedicated time and place.

Teach time management for a larger project by helping them break it into chunks.

Child psychologist Dr. Emily W. King recently wrote about rethinking homework in her newsletter. King explains at what ages kids are typically able to do homework independently, but she writes that each child’s ability to concentrate at the end of the day and use executive functioning skills for completing tasks is very individual. I talked to her for more information on how much parental involvement in homework completion is needed, according to a child’s age and grade level.

Kindergarten to second grade

Whether children even need homework this early is a hot debate. Little ones are still developing fine motor skills and their ability to sit still and pay attention at this age.

“If a child is given homework before their brain and body are able to sit and focus independently, then we are relying on the parent or other caregivers to sit with the child to help them focus,” King said. “ Think about when the child is able to sit and focus on non-academic tasks like dinner, art, or music lessons. This will help you tease out executive functioning skills from academic understanding.”

Elementary-age children need time for unstructured play and structured play like music, arts, and sports. They need outside time, free time, and quiet time, King said. For children who are not ready for independent work, nightly reading with another family member is enough “homework,” she said.

Third to fifth grades

Many children will be able to do homework independently in grades 3-5. Even then, their ability to focus and follow through may vary from day to day.

“Most children are ready for practicing independent work between third and fifth grade, but maybe not yet in the after-school hours when they are tired and want to rest or play. We need to begin exposing children to organization and structure independently in late elementary school to prepare them for more independence in middle school,” King said.

Neurodivergent kids may need more parental support for several years before they work independently.

“Neurodivergent children, many of whom have executive functioning weaknesses, are not ready to work independently in elementary school. Children without executive functioning weaknesses (e.g., the ability to remain seated and attend to a task independently) are able to do this somewhere between third and fifth grade, but it’s very possible they can work independently at school but be too tired to do it later in the afternoon,” King said. “We need to follow the child’s skills and give them practice to work independently when they seem ready. Of course, if a child wants to do extra work after school due to an interest, go for it.”

For students who are not ready to work independently in middle school, it is better to reduce the amount of homework they are expected to complete so they can practice independence and feel successful.

Middle school

In sixth grade and later, kids are really developing executive functioning skills like planning, organizing, paying attention, initiating, shifting focus, and execution. They will still need your encouragement to keep track of assignments, plan their time, and stick to a homework routine.

“Middle school students need lots of organization support and putting systems in place to help them keep track of assignments, due dates, and materials,” King said.

High school

By this point, congratulations: You can probably be pretty hands-off with homework. Remain open and available if your teen needs help negotiating a problem, but executing plans should be up to them now.

“In high school, parents are working to put themselves out of a job and begin stepping back as children take the lead on homework. Parents of high schoolers are ‘homework consultants,’” King said. “We are there to help solve problems, talk through what to say in an email to a teacher, but we are not writing the emails or talking to the teachers for our kids.”

What if homework is not working for them (or you)

There are a number of reasons a child might not be managing homework at the same level as their peers, including academic anxiety and learning disabilities.

If your child is showing emotional distress at homework time, it might be a sign that they have run out of gas from the structure, socialization, and stimulation they have already been through at school that day. One way to support kids is to teach them how to have a healthy balance of work and play time.

“When we ask students to keep working after school when their tank is on empty, we likely damage their love of learning and fill them with dread for tomorrow,” King wrote in her newsletter.

King said in her experience as a child psychologist, the amount of homework support a child needs is determined by their individual abilities and skills more than their age or grade level.

“All of these steps vary for a neurodivergent child and we are not following these guidelines by age or grade but rather by their level of skills development to become more independent,” she said. “In order to independently complete homework, a child must be able to have attended to the directions in class, brought the materials home, remember to get the materials out at home, remember to begin the task, understand the task, remain seated and attention long enough to complete the task, be able to complete the task, return the work to their backpack, and return the work to the teacher. If any of these skills are weak or the child is not able to do these independently, there will be a breakdown in the system of homework. You can see why young students and neurodivergent students would struggle with this process.”

If you and your child have trouble meeting homework expectations, talk to their teacher about what could be contributing to the problem and how to modify expectations for them.

“Get curious about your child’s skill level at that time of day,” King said. “Are they able to work independently at school but not at home? Are they not able to work independently any time of day? Are they struggling with this concept at school, too? When are they successful?”

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How to encourage good homework habits (grade 2)

Homework is not only an opportunity for your child to learn, but also is a chance for you to get involved in your child's education. If you were lax about teaching your child good homework habits during 1st grade, it's important to start now to prepare your child for more challenging work assignments. Here are 13 tips on how to get started from parents, teachers, the National Education Association, and the U.S. Department of Education:

1. Talk to the teacher at the beginning of the year. Ask about her homework policy: How much time should be spent per night? Your second grader might come home with a half hour or more of work per night; most teachers agree that much more than this is unreasonable for early elementary school students. What's the teacher's grading system? How does she use homework – to prepare for upcoming lessons, to reinforce work in class, to test ability levels? This will determine how much you should help your child.

2. Set up a regular time for homework. Some children work best right after school, before they lose focus. Others are restless and need to work off energy before they can concentrate. Some need to eat dinner first. Find a time that works for your child and stick to it.

3. Keep track of assignments. Most second graders need help staying organized. Make sure your child's teacher sends home an assignment list. Keep a homework folder, and make sure all papers are in the right place each night.

4. Give your child a work space for homework . A desk or table works best. Provide a comfortable chair – one that's high enough for your child to write comfortably – and ample lighting. If you have a separate space for working, decorate the area with your child's favorite artwork.

5. Provide all the supplies. Pencils, pens, rulers, paper, a dictionary – whatever your child needs for each assignment.

6. Put away the phone. Turn off the TV show. And the radio. And video games. Try not to talk on the phone in the same room. Give your child enough quiet time to finish the assignment. Your child may perform best if everyone in the family reads or writes during homework time. Some kids do better with soft instrumental music playing in the background. Remember what homework was like: It's hard to work in the bedroom if everyone else is having fun watching television in the den.

7. Go over the assignments together. Before your child begins working, talk about the homework. Make sure your child understands the directions. Ask questions: "Have you done this work before?" "Do you have everything you need for the assignment?" "When is this due?"

8. Help when appropriate. Talk to the teacher first, and find out how much you should help with homework . If she introduces new material in homework assignments, she might want you to work closely with your child (but give hints, not answers). But if she uses homework to reinforce material already covered, she might want your child to work alone. Either way let your child know you're interested in the work, and ask to see the finished assignment.

9. Check completed homework to make sure the work is finished. If you aren't home when your child finishes an assignment, ask to see it when you get home. Depending on the teacher's request, you might not need to correct work or discuss mistakes, but you should stay aware of your child's progress and make sure all the assignments are completed on time.

10. Ask to see corrected homework. Get your child into the routine of showing you homework at every stage, even after the teacher has marked on it. You'll get a chance to praise the great work, and you'll be aware of which subjects are difficult for your child.

11. Call the teacher as soon as you notice a homework problem . If work is too difficult or too easy, or your child is having trouble concentrating, let the teacher know, and discuss ways you can work together to help. You need to talk to the teacher if your child regularly refuses to do homework, if you can't provide the materials necessary to complete an assignment, if you and your child don't understand the instructions, or if the work seems to take too long.

12. Praise good work. Point out specific things you like about it ("Your writing is really neat" means a lot more than a simple "Good job"). Frame it. Laminate it. Hang it up. This will show your child that homework matters, and regular praise will boost your child's ego.

13. Set a good example. Read and write in the evenings. Even if you're reading the paper, putting together a shopping list, or writing a letter, you'll demonstrate the importance of reading and writing.

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Your Age-by-Age Guide to Homework

Are you scared to look in your child’s book bag at the end of the day?

And I’m not talking about the forgotten sandwiches that migrate to the bottom of a full backpack.

I mean the dreaded homework assignments that loom within folders and binders, just waiting to be ignored and fought over for the rest of the evening.

Typically when parents think of the word “homework”, they quickly associate it with the term “fight”.

But homework doesn’t have to be a fight – a struggle at times, yes, but now a full out war.

Understanding what homework looks like at each grade level is a great start to helping support your child in completing their school work.

Also, the earlier you focus on creating an environment of learning and studying, the easier time your child will have as they progress through school.

Here’s your guide on setting up your child for academic success as well as what kind of homework to expect for each grade:

Setting Up For Success

From day one, homework is important in developing good study skills.

In order to encourage your child to complete their homework and take it seriously, you need to establish a proper homework environment .

Here are some tips for setting your child up for homework success:

• Set a regular homework time. Homework should be done at the same time each evening to establish a routine. Just make sure you’re allowing your little one some time to decompress when they get home before jumping into more schoolwork.
• Create a study area. Give your child a place to with proper lighting, materials and few to now distractions.
• Keep an eye on their work. Involve yourself in the process not only by helping them with homework, but monitoring their progress as well.
• Be a role model. While you may not have homework at this stage in your life, you can model good study habits by reading and pursuing your own learning opportunities.

You may think your child is a little Einstein when they start school, but the learning material will progressively get more difficult as they age.

Encouraging good study habits will give them the skills they need to continue their success through school.

Grade-by-Grade Homework Guide

Kindergarten.

When your little one is in kindergarten, it’s likely they won’t have much for homework.

However, you may find the teacher sending home easy tasks such as practicing sight words, letters, numbers and working on patterns.

Since there shouldn’t be a lot of academic expectation from children this young, it’s easy to navigate the homework by making it fun and play-based.

Children learn best through tactile activities, so materials such as PlayDoh can be used to create numbers and letters as well as designing patterns using different colors.

A whiteboard is a great tool to practice what they are learning, especially sight words. Write out the word, have your child read it and let them erase it before moving on to the next one.

Kindergarten homework tends to be pretty repetitive, meaning that your child is likely going to practice the same material each night on a week-to-week basis.

Even if your little one is catching on quick to the material, it’s important to keep up with the homework habit. This is going to help them develop healthy studying habits as they move from grade to grade.

Elementary School: Grades 1 to 2

Once your child moves from kindergarten into grade 1, the learning environment becomes less play-based and more academic.

This doesn’t mean you can’t continue making homework fun! At this age, their focus is still on playing, so you can keep using novel materials when doing homework.

The workload is likely not going to increase during these grades, but the material may become more challenging.

In order to keep homework from becoming too time consuming, you may have to mix straight-up review with play.

Use unique activities when it comes to concepts your child is struggling with and quick reviews for the learning objectives they have easily grasped.

By these grades, teachers typically encourage your child to be reading. This aspect of homework can be delayed until bedtime – which makes reading seem less like “work” and more like a leisurely activity.

Elementary School: Grades 3 to 5

By the time your little one enters grade 3, and until they finish elementary school, they should begin to complete their homework independently.

While it’s important that you remain on standby to help them with difficult concepts, you should be able to set up each homework activity and allow them to complete them on their own.

During this time, students begin to progress from simply practicing basic skills and mastering them onto more complex skills.

This means that homework is going to become more challenging, which is why focusing on a good homework routine during these grades is very important.

If you find your child resisting their homework at this age, there’s nothing wrong with offering an incentive for completing it. Try to stay away from monetary rewards and focus more on fun activities they can engage in once homework is completed.

Remember to not make homework seem like a cumbersome chore – instead, cheer your child on as they work through it. Praise them for doing a good job.

Middle School: Grades 6 to 8

Once your child hits middle school, they should be able to complete their homework assignments on their own.

Homework at this grade level is going to shift more heavily from practicing concepts to completing assignments such as essays and projects.

This is the beginning stages of the foundation of study skills they will need to succeed in high school as well as college or university.

During this time, students are beginning to rely more on technology to complete their assignments. Make sure your child has access to a tablet or computer they can use to conduct research as well as seek help for their homework.

However, it’s important for you to stay involved in their progress. Regular check-ins with their homework will not only help your child stay on track but it will also show them that you want to be involved in their education.

High School: Grades 9 to 12

It’s in high school where a student’s homework load balloons and becomes more time consuming than it was before.

Luckily, kids at these grade levels are able to choose a portion of their courses, so they have a vested interest in what they are learning.

However, with all the changes they are experiencing emotionally and physically, this period of their lives can be extremely stressful.

Maintaining that homework routine is more important now than ever. Stressed-out teens may become overwhelmed with the workload and feel compelled on throwing in the towel on completing homework assignments.

Continue to be supportive by helping them plan and prepare for homework assignments as well as tests and exams .

While you may not be able to help them with the homework material (what is “new” math, anyway?), you can certainly lend a hand when it comes to time management and getting the homework done.

You Can Make the Difference

When left to their own devices, children can’t be expected to take their schoolwork 100% seriously.

It’s your job as the parent to support and guide them through their homework and assignments.

Building good habits now is going to make all the differences as your child progresses through school.

How do you deal with homework hurdles? Share your tips in the comments!

My name is Chelsy and I am a single mother, blogger, and freelance writer. I blog about parenting at Motherhood+Mayhem (motherhoodandmayhem.online) and about working from home at Mama Needs Coffee (mamaneedscoffee.online). When I'm not writing or blogging, you can find me building blanket forts in my living room.

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7 Easy Ways to Help Your Kids To Finish Their Homework…

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Motivate Your Child in 2nd Grade

Child in 2nd grade try these tricks to unlock your 2nd grader&s natural love of learning..

While every child is different, kids often share some common traits. Tap into this typical 2nd grade passion to help your child master new skills and become successful students.

2nd Grade Children Love: Making things  

How It Helps Learning: Whether it's an arts-and-crafts project or a batch of chocolate-chip cookies, 2nd grade children love expressing themselves visually through step-by-step projects. They are also strengthening their fine motor skills through actions such as measuring, cutting, taping, and stapling.

Motivating Activities in 2nd Grade:   

• Set up a crafts corner. Kids in 2nd grade need a place they can be creative when the whim strikes. Stock a cabinet or big plastic bin with colored paper, oak tag, writing utensils, and other artsy materials , and provide a work table. Kids can use shaving cream to write letters and words on the tub wall, scribble or draw in wet sand, or "paint" pictures and messages on the sidewalk with a pail of water and a paintbrush.
• Cook side by side. Get out a simple recipe and follow it together. The ones on the back of cake and brownie mixes are especially helpful, since they often use pictures to symbolize ingredients like eggs and oil. Read the recipe together, and let your child dole out the required amounts. She'll learn about fractions and quantities with every cup or measuring spoon she fills. As she mixes batter , kneads dough, or tears lettuce for a salad, she's also strengthening her hands for writing. And setting the oven timer and waiting for cake or cookies to bake reinforces time-telling skills.
• Play word games. Challenge your 2nd grade child to a game of Hangman using words you know he's mastered. Repeat the letters aloud as you write them down, and give him bonus points if he can put the word in a sentence once he's figured it out. Then let him try to stump you. You can also get refrigerator magnets with words and race each other to make silly sentences. Even if they don't make sense, your 2nd grade child will get practice using nouns, verbs, and adjectives in proper order. 

One step ahead: Find out what motivates 3rd graders .

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The Homework Struggle: How to Encourage Kids to Do Homework

• September 21, 2017

Most parents have been there—the nightly homework struggle.

Students rarely look forward to completing their homework assignments after the last school bell has rung for the day. However, homework is part of being a student—and one that has an impact on future academic performance. This makes it important to figure out how to encourage kids to do their homework without a nightly quarrel.

The Importance of Homework

Homework supplements the education that children are getting in the classroom. Its role is to increase comprehension and give students the chance to study, practice, and understand the material. This type of “outside-the-classroom” thinking can help increase the development of positive study habits, improve cognition and memory, and encourage time management.

So, why the resistance?

Students often have trouble seeing the value in homework. After all, they just spent an entire day in school, so why should they sacrifice their valuable free time to do more work? Other factors, from attention and motivation issues to poor time management and organizational skills can also lead to students having trouble completing their homework.

How to motivate kids to do homework

Students who don’t do their homework or continually battle with their parents about it often experience higher levels of stress. This stress can lead to a lack of motivation both inside and outside of the classroom, causing them to fall behind. It’s important for parents to take an active role in making sure students complete their homework so their performance doesn’t suffer.

How can you make homework time a smoother process? Rather than making your child do homework, focus on how you can make homework more a more enjoyable experience for your child. Don’t worry—it’s easier than it sounds!

Follow these tips on how encourage good homework habits in your child.

Create structure

Creating a schedule your child can follow makes it easier to get him or her to sit down and complete homework assignments. Set a time and create a special study space for homework to be completed, making it part of the child’s nightly routine.

Give kids a break after school

Don’t force your child to do homework as soon as he or she gets home. Let him or her have some time after school to give his or her mind a break before starting homework. This break can help improve motivation and focus when it is time for your child to do his or her homework.

Provide motivation

Show encouragement and appreciation of your child’s hard work when he or she has completed his or her homework. Something as small as a high five or words of praise can boost your child’s motivation. You can also offer small rewards, like a trip to the store or a special treat.

Lead by example

While you child does his or her homework, don’t engage in other preferred activities, such as watching TV. Read a book, do some research, or scratch a chore off your to-do list.

Talk about the benefits

Rather than yelling, have a calm discussion with your child about why homework is important. Fighting with your child will increase stress and frustration, leaving him or her unable and unwilling to focus on homework.

No More Homework Arguments!

By encouraging—rather than forcing—your child to complete his or her homework, you can help your child become a more organized, proactive student. This will save you a lot of arguments down the line, letting your child use his or her energy to reach his or her potential rather than avoiding homework.

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9 Simple Tips for Teaching Kids How to Focus on Homework

by Cate Scolnik . (This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here .)

Five minutes into my daughter starting it, she’s asked 4 irrelevant questions and walked across the room twice – for no reason .

She had a break when she first got in from school, and had a snack. Then we agreed to a little outside time before starting homework.

She’s got the book open and a pencil in her hand, but that’s the sum total of her achievement so far.

Her mind doesn’t seem to want to sit still – preferring to bounce all around the place. It’s like her mind is a magnet, and when it’s put near homework, it repels away from it.

When she was 5, I thought she would grow out of it; but at 8 years old I was beginning to worry.

As someone who likes to get in and get things done, it drives me nuts .

Don’t get me wrong, I love my daughter dearly. But the way she gets distracted every 5 minutes during homework time is enough to make anyone go crazy.

She’s highly intelligent, has loads of positive energy and is warm and engaging. She can focus long and hard on anything she is interested in. But getting her to focus on homework she isn’t keen on? Damn near impossible.

I just couldn’t sustain parenting positively unless I got this under control. I wanted to take some action.

At one point when her distraction was driving me nuts, I had started to wonder if I should get her tested for attention deficit disorder (ADD). My research on this topic led me to discover some behavioral techniques used with ADD kids, that are also applicable to any child having difficulty focusing.

I decided to try them for teaching my daughter how to focus on homework. Some worked better than others but overall it has been a great success. Here are the ones that worked for us –

#1 Keep It Short

When it came to doing homework, we kept it short and broke it down. Generally, that meant one ten-minute stint a day, instead of one 30-40 minute block each week.

Each time she wandered off task (mentally or physically), I would gently guide her back to the homework.

I kept the focus light and pointed out the fun parts of her work. And I bit down hard on my tongue every time I felt like screaming “If you just stuck to the task and focused you could be done already!”

#2 Use A Timer

So, if I estimated a task could be completed in about 2 minutes, I’d set the timer for 5 minutes. Each time she started chatting about something, I’d say something like “I hope you beat the timer!” or “Don’t forget – you want to beat the timer!”

#3 Wear Them Out

My daughter has loads of physical energy, so I made sure she got lots of exercise . Even now she needs to do lots of running around, or physical activity to wear her out a bit.

I’m not talking about making her run a marathon every day. Just encouraging and supporting her to move her body.

I worked with her natural rhythms as much as possible. I realized she had more energy in the afternoon, so we often went on outings in the morning.

If she’d been to school for the day and we were going to spend a few minutes on homework, I’d encourage her to go and jump her jiggles out on the trampoline before we sat down to focus.

#4 Kept It Positive

I focused on her positive outcomes as much as possible. Whenever she breezed through an activity I would give her positive feedback .

“Look how quickly you finished writing out your words! You stayed focused and you finished that in no time. Well done!”

We’d always start homework early and allow extra time to get things done, so I had to be organized and plan ahead. This meant I could sometimes say, “Wow! You finished your homework the day before it’s due. Great effort!”

If we’d been working on a homework task for a long time and she was just getting less and less focused, I’d call a stop to it. When a five-minute task is only half done after 25 minutes, and there’s no momentum, there really isn’t any point continuing.

This is a tricky one, and I didn’t use it often. She’s a bright girl and she knew she hadn’t finished what she set out to do that day. But if we kept trying and getting nowhere, we would both become very frustrated and dejected – no good ever comes out of that.

So, I’d suggest we leave it for now and come back to the task when we were fresher. This way she wasn’t failing, it just wasn’t the right time.

#6 Eat More Fish

Crazy as it might sound, eating more fish or taking fish oil supplements , is apparently helpful.

Now, I’m not a nutritionist and I understand that the fish oil theory is unproven. But there seems to be research to support the fact that fish oil high in EPA (rather than DHA) can help improve focus.

I figured it was something that couldn’t hurt, so I did it. It seemed to me that each time her fish oil consumption dipped, she became less focused.

I’ve no real evidence to support that – it may just be in my head. 😉

#7 Encourage Self-Management

The Tools of the Mind program produces brighter children who are classified as gifted more often, but more importantly, it also produces kids with better behavior, greater focus and control.

Classes involve role play and each child creates their own detailed plan of their part. If a child gets off track, the teacher refers them back to their plan.

One of the ways the program helps is through encouraging planning and time management by setting weekly goals. This helps to wire up the part of the brain responsible for maintaining concentration and setting goals.

The Tools of the Mind philosophy is that every child can become a successful learner, with the right support. Children learn by using the skills they currently have – such as drawing and play. They think through their play plan, then draw a detailed record of it, then carry it out.

Using their skills in this way teaches children to set achievable goals, work out how to reach them, and stay on track. They learn they can be responsible for their own outcomes. We’ve been using this to teach my daughter self-management .

#8 Work Together

My daughter is nearly eleven now and has matured a lot over the last year. And I’ve just started using self-management techniques to help her set goals and plan how she’ll achieve them.

Earlier this year she said she really wanted to improve her grades, which I said was a great goal. Then she said she wanted to be involved in band, which means taking some band lessons in class time.

I asked her to plan how she intended to achieve both goals, given she has other extra-curricular activities she wants to keep up.

She created a plan to practice her instrument regularly and do more homework than she has previously. We’re at week 7 of our school year here in Australia, and so far she’s on track.

She dives into homework without being reminded and gets it done early. She’s also completing homework tasks to a higher standard, rather than madly (and messily) rushing through them .

Since starting band she’s been practicing twice a day, every day – without being asked. I know that if she loses momentum, or strays off track, I can direct her back to her own plan.

#9 Understand The Scale

We all have different strengths and weaknesses. And attention and focus can vary wildly, particularly in the early years.

It partly depends on the environment, and partly the child.

Try and take the pressure off, and work with your child’s strengths.

Break tasks down and keep them fun.

Aim for a balance between physical and mental focus, and remember it’s OK to give up if the timing isn’t right.

Have realistic expectations, and know that your child’s focus will improve with age.

Don’t be scared to quit when things really are not working. Not doing a perfect job on the homework once in a while is not the end of the world. If it comes to a choice between quitting for the moment or screaming and yelling at your kids through the task, choose love and call it quits.

And finally, hang in there. It’s all going to be OK.

The 2-Minute Action Plan for Fine Parents

Take a moment to consider your child’s behavior.

• How does it compare to other children? Either their siblings or a number of other kids of a similar age? (Try to compare them with a range of other kids – rather than one or two)
• Does your child seem to have age-appropriate behavior and focus? If you’re concerned, do you need to seek help?
• How can you start breaking down big tasks into manageable (snack-sized) sections?
• Is your child able to focus on things they like doing? Can you use that in your favor?
• Are your kids distracted by things that could be controlled?
• What strategies can you put in place to keep your kids focus?

The Ongoing Action Plan for Fine Parents

• Brainstorm some roles that you can use to elicit certain behavior. If you need your child to be quiet and still for a few minutes, what can they pretend to be? A King or Queen on a throne? A soldier on guard? Good posture during homework is a good idea, but if the only way to get your child to do it without a fuss is to let them pretend to sit on a throne or stand at attention, go for it!
• Think back over the things that your child struggles to focus on. How can you get them to use self-management techniques to improve?
• If it seems impossible to get your child to focus and pay attention ask yourself this: “If it were possible, how would it be achieved?” Make some notes.
• Take a moment to check out why Tools of the Mind works so well and think about how you might use their strategies at home.

About Cate Scolnik

Cate is on a mission to help parents stop yelling and create families that listen to each other. She does this while imperfectly parenting two boisterous girls of her own and learning from her mistakes. Download her free Cheat Sheet to Get Your Kids from "No" to "Yes" in Three Simple Steps and reduce your yelling today.

May 16, 2016 at 6:21 am

This is a great article and there is some mention of it but I feel it has to be emphasized- that no homework should ever trump connection with your child. If homework struggles are causing you to butt heads time to re-think! Your child needs you in their side ALWAYS, there have long difficult days in School where social interactions and the system challenge their resources all day long. The need to come home to an ally. Here in Canada we are seeing tons of research that shows that homework before high school produces little increase in assessment scores – I imagine education philosophy will move toward reducing or almost eliminating primary homework! So don’t sacrifice your living connected relationship at home iver homework

May 16, 2016 at 2:35 pm

Totally agree with you on the point that “no homework should ever trump connection with your child”, Kim.

I’ve read some of the research about homework, but I’m not entirely convinced. To me, even if homework does little to increase assessment scores, it builds the habit and discipline of getting things done on your own outside the classroom… So IMO there is some merit to it. The question for me is more of how to teach our kids to focus and build this habit in a kind and gentle manner without butting heads…

May 16, 2016 at 11:29 pm

You’re right that we shouldn’t let homework damage relationships. I’m fortunate that our school has homework as an optional thing, but we do opt in. Like Sumitha, I think it’s more about getting a routine established.

Thanks for your comment. 😉

May 10, 2017 at 3:50 pm

Agree with #Cate. I asked school to increase the home work for my daughter to help her develop the habit of focus, responsibility, self – discipline and also prepare them for high school where they should not get shocked with the name of home work thinking it as a monster.

Apart from this, these tips are life saving and work word by word. Thank you so much for sharing and I liked these so much that I shared the page with my facebook friends.

May 16, 2016 at 1:35 pm

My child’s PRE-SCHOOL had homework. It was age-appropriate (“Color the baby chicks yellow”) but surprise, surprise–my daughter didn’t want to do it. She wanted to run around the playground and then jump on the sofa. I mentioned this to another parent (of a typically developing child) and she said, “Oh, we don’t do the homework. It’s not developmentally appropriate at this age.” Boy, did my life improve when I followed her advice and ignored the homework! I told the school, nicely, that I got home from work too late in the evening to do homework. And that was the end of it! Now, in elementary school, we don’t do the homework every night. It is BORING (math worksheets) and turns her off to everything related to school!

May 16, 2016 at 2:42 pm

Wendy, homework in preschool is probably pushing it too much… but as kids grow older, I do believe there is some merit to homework in terms of building habits and discipline of doing things on your own outside the classroom and being accountable for something that is assigned to you.

I personally feel that telling kids you don’t have to do something because it is boring sends the wrong message (listening to any grownup is boring for a kid… so if they can skip doing homework because it is boring, why not also skip listening to what grownups tell them?) To me, building the habits of accountability and sticking to a task even if it is sometimes boring and learning tricks to focus even when you sometimes don’t want to are important life skills… Homework is one of the ways to do this, and I would rather look for kind and gentle ways to do this than give up on homework entirely.

June 29, 2024 at 8:25 pm

I teach at a local nursery in order to have something to do. In addition I give them two tasks each week. For example a upcoming task will involve pumpkins. They recently as a entire preschool class painted a picture of a sunflower. They are little so I do the research for them instead. In the past we have focused on music, gardening and cooking. Best wishes. Planning a October visit to a pumpkin patch.

We also once did baking. From time to time we study animals and learn about other people. If it is hot we either do gardening or ride child friendly bikes. Recently we have gone on picnics and tried tennis. Each task has a theme. Drawing is fun.

Considering a museum trip and so on. In terms of future tasks, I’m planning one that is wholly based on Halloween. I’ve also got a idea for Christmas. Other activities include pond dipping and farm outings. Yet more such fun activities in consideration will involve poster design and card making. I’m keen on easy sports like table tennis. I believe that they have a sports day. Have a nice day.

Last week I decided on a whim to try sand art and water play. I also want to teach them to cook. Two weeks before we rode bikes and assisted in the garden at the nursery. Once or twice a day we do singing and reading in question. I’m also keen on classic board games and stencilling. I want to try out new activities like pottery and face painting. We do a lot of reading. I love origami.

Bingo wouldn’t fail either. They have never played simple games like Monopoly Deal or Scrabble. Additionally I love the idea of introducing them to other classic games. We have previously tried creative writing and poetry. I really do like to focus on basic skill development as far as possible. This includes story telling and independence building. For example making friends and being healthy.

Snap is cool. So is making fresh lemonade and the like. I’ve never tried either activity. I love to play UNO. Coding is hard work. One day in the near future I’m organising a class trip to a library and a zoo. In the past I’ve shown them how to use a shape sorter toy and puppets. We use the puppets to tell a simple story. And we have a sensory room.

May 16, 2016 at 7:49 pm

I don’t believe in most homework and glad it’s not generally a part of Montessori. At my kids’ school they don’t start handing out homework until 4th grade, and even then it’s a packet they have all week to complete so they can choose their own pace for finishing it. I like that no homework leaves time for other things like piano and violin and volleyball and Latin, not to mention the chance for my kids to help me cook, etc. When my oldest got to the adolescent program and we started to struggle with homework, we realized in her case the best approach was to back off and leave her to fail or succeed on her own. I think for many children there is much more value in unstructured time to play and explore. They have to be disciplined at school all day. I don’t see why they have to extend that into home time. I love watching my kids come up with their own projects which are often far more interesting than anything a teacher would send home as an assignment. Most homework is busy work. Life is too short for that.

May 16, 2016 at 9:20 pm

If the homework was long and unending, I would likely agree with you (at least to a certain extent ;)), Korinthia. Fortunately, my daughter’s home work assignments usually take just 10 – 15 minutes which she actually finishes up in school. It is busy work, but it reinforces the facts that she has learnt that day in school. Her teacher’s take is that it helps her gauge if the kids are grasping what they learn, and lets her know if she should repeat any concepts or slow down the pace etc. I love that idea of using homework (and tests) as a feedback loop. Her school also specifically tells parent not to get involved unless the child asks for clarifications. This also helps the homework serve as a mini-token of responsibility and self-management… which is all good in my book.

I love how every time this discussion comes up, we come at it from such opposite perspectives 🙂

May 16, 2016 at 10:14 pm

I think one of the trickiest things in parenting is realizing people can do the opposite of what you do and still not be wrong. We’re all so vulnerable in this area that people get defensive fast! I love that you are so thoughtful with every response, and that there is more than one way to be right. And I keep coming back here because I feel it’s a safe place to voice a different perspective without people taking it as a challenge to their own parenting decisions. That’s a rare and wonderful thing and you should be proud of this site. (For that and many reasons!)

May 16, 2016 at 10:23 pm

Thanks, Korinthia. I needed to hear that today (for a reason unrelated to this site and the comments here). And of course I lapped up the compliments about the site too. I never tire of that 🙂

And you stretch my thinking more than anyone I know and I learnt a lot about writing responses from studying your responses… so thanks right back at ya!

May 16, 2016 at 11:35 pm

Hi Korintha,

You’re right that we can use homework as a valuable learning experience. For years my older daughter (now 11) has ‘hoped’ for straight As, but hasn’t achieved them. She’s getting better for years she did the bare minimum with homework, and did it rather … messily too! While I don’t push her too much, I do make the point that A grades are the result of hard work. They’re achievable for anyone who puts in the effort – including her. But getting As means you’ve done the best you possible can, almost all the time.

It doesn’t stop her hoping every time her report comes home, but she knows she can set goals and strive to meet them (they’re just usually in non-academic areas!).

Anyway, your point about homework being a mutli-faceted learning opportunity is a great one. 😉

May 17, 2016 at 7:27 am

Grades are a weird measure of things, though, because they aren’t universal. Does getting an A mean it’s the best you as an individual can do, even if it’s not great? Does getting an A mean there is some objective level of excellence that few people can reach? Does getting an A mean the grade was on a curve and you are simply the best in this particular crowd? A’s on a single report card can mean all of those things or none of them.

I remember in college I was upset one semester because my perfect 4.0 was marred by a B in tennis which I was simply taking for fun. I felt I should get an A for showing up and doing my best every time. Apparently the teacher had a different measure. And how do you grade music (which was my major)? One person can play every note perfectly and leave you feeling cold with their performance, and another can make mistakes but be electrifying. In orchestra it was pure participation–you started with an A and every class you missed you went down one letter grade. The A says nothing about if you did well or even improved. (You could get worse and still get an A.) When I was in 6th grade I used to alternate between A’s and failing grades in reading based on if I handed in the book reports. Those grades said nothing about my reading ability.

Grades do say something, but I’m skeptical about what. And every time I get worried about grades I remember my grandma telling me that nobody ever asked her her GPA once she graduated. No one has ever asked me mine, either. People only care what I can actually do, and that I try to prove every day, and that’s what I tell my kids to aim for. They may or may not get the grades they deserve to reflect that, but they need to mentally grade themselves to stay honest.

May 20, 2016 at 8:19 pm

Your points are spot on, as always. Grades are an arbitrary measure.

I think it’s far more important that my daughter is satisfied that she’s done her best, and that she’s proud of her efforts. Having said that, I do think it’s useful to learn that you can set goals and strive towards them.

Arbitrary or not, we spend most of our lives being assessed. Either at school or university or in the workplace. It’s usually one person’s opinion of certain traits or activities, and it’s often arbitrary.

Whilst I’ve certainly been the victim of a manager who’s had their own agenda – and rated me accordingly – I think that’s the exception. I also think it’s important that my kids feel that they have some control over the assessment. If they put in greater time and effort, they will usually get greater results.

It’s important to know that grades and assessments are only one person’s opinion and that they may be flawed. That is, we need to keep it in perspective. But given we’ll have these assessments throughout our lives, we need to learn to feel we have some control over them and we need to learn how to handle them. How to digest them, how to cope with them, and how to use them too.

It’s a complicated, complex, multi-faceted issue! And I certainly appreciate your perspective. Thanks for commenting 😉

June 29, 2024 at 8:44 pm

I played table tennis once a week in order to keep fit. I also had to assist with the gardening and cooking. At only five years old I had to learn five new simple numbers and words each week. At Christmas we went to a local church. There were many family beach picnics. Best wishes. My parents loved to recite four line poems each night at bedtime.

As a entire family we played table tennis early on a Saturday afternoon once a week. I was expected to know first aid and learn how to fix a broken down car. Once a year we grew a pumpkin at home. On the warm beach we sang and read storybooks. And we went on Sunday nature walks. I even did the food shop and mastered the rather basic one times table in addition. I learnt how to cook, prepare a hot cocoa plus make the beds.

On a weekly trip to a farm shop at a nearby garden centre I had to count up or down in fives. I had a short numbered list of things to buy. I had to teach myself to play the guitar and how to use a camera. That was fun.

At home I washed the car and babysat at church. Other activities and skills included washing up and making bookmarks. On family days out we soaked up the sun on a cycling trip or a walk. We did woodland walks. I learned how to prepare a entire tray of scones and tasty biscuits. I also discovered how to make cakes and identify the trees and flowers.

May 17, 2016 at 4:28 pm

Thanks for this article! We are in our last week of kindergarten homework before the summer hits. That first sentence! So funny and spot on. Like “where are you going sit back down!” I find my self saying frequently. My son gets a packet of homework on Monday that he has to complete and turn in by Friday. I like the idea of using the timer! I’m not sure about play before homework.. I see the need for a break. My issue is that after eating and a play break its already so late then he’s not focused because he’s just getting tired. Also other than getting a 5 year old to focus on homework is doing the homework correctly. He will speed through it sometimes brag about how many pages he completed but he sometimes just writes down whatever to make it look like its complete! This has been driving me crazy, I have to erase so much! I’m trying to find the balance between getting him to work independently and me sitting there for every question. They do homework time in after school too and this is also when he makes it look like he’s doing homework and sometimes just draws pictures on the back of his homework pages. I think the amount of homework for kindergarten is a bit much, but I don’t think that not doing it is an option. I want to encourage him and be proud of him for completing his homework and also try to only let him play on the tablet after the whole packet is done… which also kinda leads to him speeding through it. Ugh and this is just year ONE! OMG!

May 18, 2016 at 3:57 am

Hi Amber, You’re right – you need to find what works for you. And if your kids are in after school care, it’s a bit too late to get them to concentrate when you get home. When I get my kids home it’s nearly 6pm, and there’s no way I can get them to focus on homework.

I’m lucky that I have two days a week where I don’t work late, so they are our ‘homework days’. The other option for us is to do a few minutes in the morning, before school, when the girls are fresh. Of course, this depends on what mornings look like in your house.

You say you want to be proud of him, but it’s also important that he’s proud of himself. That’s why I often ask my girls if they’re proud of their homework. It’s a great technique to get them to reflect on their efforts. 🙂

January 23, 2018 at 9:41 pm

Thanks for the tips for getting kids to do homework better. My son struggles with math, and he never wants to do his homework. I really like your idea to set a timer. That way, he knows exactly how long he needs to work before he can take a break to play. We will definitely give this a try.

April 7, 2018 at 9:49 am

Yes!! I totally agree with Korinthia! I have 5 kids from high school to a 2 yr. Old and it frustrates us as a family when we cannot take a walk, go out and play, or do any sports or extracurricular activity or even help with dinner because they have so much homework! How can kids get their 60 min. Of physical activity or eat healthier or spend time with family if we barely have time to eat a rushed meal to do homework? Including on weekends and vacation!

July 16, 2018 at 6:07 am

Homework is one word that makes every school child – and many parents – cringe. Follow these handy tips, and soon, homework related tension will become a thing of the past. https://www.parentcircle.com/article/exclusive-tips-to-make-homework-easy-for-your-child/

August 8, 2018 at 3:21 am

Awesome post!!! Homework is very important for students to get great results in academic. It is also essential to complete your homework on time. Thanks for sharing this information.

September 4, 2018 at 12:25 am

Good tips and very informative. Homework is a very important thing to get good grades n academic. Today, Focus on Homework is very essential. So, Students must do homework on time.

June 24, 2019 at 6:52 pm

October 15, 2019 at 7:55 am

It’s really useful tips for many parents and their kids. I think that right focus on homework is an important part to stay productive for a whole year in school.

January 7, 2020 at 11:13 am

Learning to focus is extremely important especially with the distractions that surrounds us in today’s world. Your article has been tremendously helpful and I am grateful so Thank you for sharing .

September 30, 2020 at 5:13 am

Nice!! I agree with the fine parent/this website.I tried all of them and almost all of them worked.Keep it up.👍👌👋

January 14, 2022 at 6:55 am

Nice tips, I’ll be sure to remember them. So I can try them out when I become a parent. Or I could just tell some parents around me.

May 27, 2024 at 7:54 am

Thank you for such great tips and ideas. I even enjoy and get inspired from reading the comments! I will be passing this article on to my friends with kids! It is definitely a life saver!

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8 tips to help grade-schoolers slow down on homework

By Kate Kelly

Expert reviewed by Rayma Griffin, MA, MEd

There are many reasons grade-schoolers with learning and thinking differences may rush through homework. Kids with executive functioning issues and ADHD may be especially prone to speeding through assignments . But there are ways you can help your child slow down. Try these strategies.

1. Designate a set amount of time for homework.

Set aside a specific amount of time for homework every weekday. You can even use a homework contract to create a schedule. Having a set time for homework can help your child get used to the idea of homework. It also takes away the incentive to speed through work so they can go play.

The rule of thumb for grade school is 10 minutes of homework per grade every night. So if your child is in third grade, your child should spend about 30 minutes a day on homework. If kids finish early, they can read, write a letter to their grandparents, or play educational games online.

2. Use a timer.

You can use a computer, a phone app, a stopwatch, or even an egg timer. Divide your child’s homework into timed segments. Set the timer to go off at the end of each homework task and reset the timer for each one. Encourage your child to work without stopping until the timer goes off. Having a visual and audible reminder gives your child a sense of how much time homework tasks should take. It also reminds them that they have a set amount of time, which could help with focus.

3. Help your child get in the right mindset to do work.

If kids are tired or stressed out from the day’s events, they may rush through their homework just to be done with it. When your child seems fatigued or restless, consider letting the homework wait a little while. Let your child run around outside or play quietly for a set time to decompress. When it’s time to tackle homework, your child will have more energy to give it their best effort.

If your child takes ADHD medication and tends to crash right after school, let your child’s doctor know. You and the doctor can discuss whether or not the medication needs adjusting .

4. Step in if your child needs to slow down.

If you notice your child rushing, don’t wait until they’re done to step in. Try to slow your child down in the moment. Check in during homework time by asking questions like, “Are you doing your best work?” or “Will the teacher be able to read that?” It’s easier for both of you if you have your child correct problems before they finish — rather than asking them to redo work later. It can also help your child develop good habits going forward.

5. Encourage kids to look over their work.

Remind your child to check their work for careless errors and sloppiness before your child considers it done. You can even create a checklist with your child: Did your child follow the directions? Are the words spelled correctly? Did your child use capitals when appropriate? Can your child read their writing? Getting kids in the habit of checking their work helps them set standards for good work. And that can help them feel a sense of pride in what they’re about to turn in.

6. Help kids break down projects.

In fourth and fifth grade, homework starts to require more time management and organizational skills . Instead of a single worksheet that’s due the next day, kids get more and bigger assignments. And the assignments may have due dates that are further away.

Help your child figure out how to leave enough time to get challenging projects done over a longer period of time. Create a study calendar that breaks down the project into small daily tasks . This helps kids see that they can get the project done in time if they work on it little by little, at a steady pace.

7. Get kids the help they need.

Some kids leave homework questions blank or rush through it because they’re frustrated by the work itself. They may have learning differences that affect their reading, writing, or math skills. If you think that could be the case with your child, you may want to meet with their teacher . Share your observations and ask the teacher what they’ve noticed.

Together you can decide what the next step should be. You may want to request an evaluation . Your child may need specialized instruction in a skill area or accommodations to help them succeed. The sooner they get the help they need, the sooner they can focus on learning.

8. Remind kids of their strengths.

Kids who haven’t had a lot of success in school may not be confident about their ability to do homework well. So they may rush through it, thinking it’s not worth the effort. Remind your child of their strengths . Talk about a time your child worked hard at something — big or small — and succeeded. This could help boost your child’s confidence . And that could help your child approach homework with a more positive outlook.

Explore related topics

2nd Grade Homework

• The general rule is 10 minutes of homework for every grade level.  That would be 20 minutes for 2 nd grade.  I don’t include reading at home when I’m talking about homework.  So I expect 20 minutes (or so) of homework and 20 minutes of at-home reading.
• I only assign homework Monday-Thursday (again reading is not included in this).
• No parent assignments.   If it’s a project that parents are going to have to orchestrate it’s not helping the kids.
• The kids should be able to complete it as independently as possible.  I love the idea that parents sit with their children and help them finish their work each night, but with many families at our school that never happens.
• Nothing on the homework is new material.  If I haven’t taught it, it doesn’t belong on a homework page.  The purpose is to reinforce what’s already been taught and to show parents what’s happening in class.  If a child is struggling on the homework (with content that should have been mastered) it’s a sign to parents and me that the child needs some support.
• I don’t do a lot of worksheets in class.  This homework gives my students exposure to the format of many end-of-year test questions.
• If they come to school without their homework, they finish it during morning recess.  They almost always finish it with at least 5 minutes to spare, so I know the assignments don’t take longer than 10-15 minutes.

But what does the research say?  Harris Copper, a psychology and neuroscience professor at Duke University and the nation’s leading expert on homework (what a boring job!), reviewed 100+ homework related studies from the past decade.

His findings?  Well, apparently homework in the elementary grades does little to help student achievement.  Kids who do their homework aren’t necessarily going to outperform their non-homework doing classmates.  In high school, it’s a different scenario, but for the little ones it isn’t that crucial.

“However, we support assigning homework to younger elementary-school children due to its potential long-term developmental impact,” Dr. Cooper says, “It helps elementary students develop proper study skills which, in turn, influence grades.”

And from Cathy Vatterott (former teacher, associate professor of education at the University of Missouri—St Louis, and author of Rethinking Homework) we find that the value of homework is in “reinforcing or practicing skills already learned and giving (teachers) feedback to check for understanding.”

Alright, well I’m not totally out in left field.  So what do I do?

On Monday 3 things go home:

• Timed 1 minute fluency story (more about this here ).  This is the only homework that can’t be done without a parent or older sibling helping.  If it doesn’t come back to school at the end of the week, there is no consequence for the student because this is a parent that has dropped the ball, not the child.
• Spelling practice (read about it here ).  To be completed a little at a time or all on Thursday night.  If this doesn’t come back to school on Friday morning, they must practice their spelling words 2 times during morning recess (it takes less than 5 minutes).
• What we call a “half-sheet” because it’s a half-sheet.  Clever, right?  🙂   It’s a half-sheet of paper with language arts practice on one side and math on the other.  Some of my coworkers send all 3 half-sheets on Monday and give them the week to do it.  I send them one at a time and expect it back the next day.

We do 3 half-sheets a week (or less if it’s a short week).  I don’t send it home on Thursdays so they have time to finish up the spelling practice.

There are 5 main strands for language arts.

The emphasis is on practicing vowel sounds, but there are also some consonant skills.  The sequence of phonics skills aligns with our morning work book practice.

Comprehension

Covering topics from the common core like contractions, plurals, past tense, etc.  I also toss in some sight word review if it will fit on the page.

Sometimes the students are composing the writing.

A lot of times students are asked to edit writing because that’s a big part of our end-of-year test and no matter how much writing we do in-class, the transfer of skills to the test format doesn’t happen automatically.

This strand is pretty eclectic.  There’s practice with compound words and synonyms.  There’s also some word analogies, glossary practice, and collective noun review.  Sometimes they learn new words (using a modified Frayer model graphic organizer).

These 5 language art strands cycle through every 5 days of the homework.  It’s the same with math.

Place Value

This is huge in the 2 nd grade common core for a reason.  A firm understanding of our base-10 system and how to use it to understand and solve problems is essential for more complex mathematics.  ESSENTIAL!

In the homework pages, the sequence of these skills follows the outline from Singapore math and the Learning Trajectories .  Are you familiar with the Trajectories?  A fabulous book!  Assuming you have $45 to spend (!!) it will change the way you teach math.

Anyway, the place value pages build on those ideas.  There’s practice of building numbers within ten.  Working with ones and tens, making numbers with hundreds, and using place value patterns to problem solve.

What you won’t find are any pages with problems like this:

462                                                                                                                                                -209

I debated this for a while.  I used to have problems like that.  But here’s why I decided against it.

The common core says this for 2 nd grade:

Add and subtract within 1000, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction…

It says nothing about using the algorithm.  And while the algorithm (step-by-step adding the ones , regrouping a ten if necessary, adding the tens, etc.) isn’t the enemy, teaching it too early stops the development of deeper thinking.

So when students see problems written like this:

And, more importantly, when parents see problems written like that, the reaction is to follow the algorithm regardless of a student’s readiness or understanding.   I found that when I sent home problems like that, all of the amazing, creative thinking and problem solving perseverance that I’d nurtured like a rare orchid was crushed under the booted foot of, “Look what my mom showed me!”   No longer were they interested in how the solved the problem or why their strategy worked.  They just wanted to follow the steps and be done.

So, no more.

• Recognize what they’ve mastered and
• Figure out how to master the rest.  Strategies, strategies, strategies!  All those great strategies we’ve learned in class (doubles +1, make a ten, etc.) get practiced here.

Problem Solving

Each problem solving page has 3 problems and plenty of work room.  Topics cover addition, subtraction (1 and 2-step problems), comparisons, multiplication, division, money, and writing their own story problems.

Even though there aren’t any 3-digit addition pages, there are plenty of story problems using 2 and 3-digit numbers.  Why?

Well, using larger numbers helps students solidify their base-10 understanding.  If they have to decompose 186 into 100+80+6 in order to figure out a problem, you can bet they’re really thinking about the numbers and how place value can help them find the answer.  Also, in a problem solving format, students are more likely to solve it in a way that makes sense rather than following meaningless steps.

There’s a great article here if you’re curious about why I sometimes have kids write their own math problems.

Students get a chance to practice tally charts, bar graphs, pictographs, line graphs, data tables, and line plots.

I hadn’t done much with line plots before they were in the core.  I really enjoyed making some up for these homework pages.

This is where you’ll find questions about telling time, counting coins, even and odd, greater than/less than, geometry, even more place value, measurement, and fractions.

If you’re interested in learning more about our 2nd grade homework, you can get the table of contents here .  It goes through each day by topic and content.

At our Teachers Pay Teachers shop you can download a 10-page sample (pages 61-70).  That’s a preview of 2 weeks worth of homework!

I hope you find this as useful in your 2nd grade as my team does!  A little bit of review every day pays big dividends in the end!

Note: We have created a 40 page add-on pack of homework for those who have requested more days. Find the add-on pack here. 

• Read more about: 2nd grade , homework , Spiral Review , teachers pay teachers

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26 Teacher-Approved Second Grade Workbooks

Additional practice for reading, math, social studies, and more!

If you’re looking for the best second grade workbooks, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled a list of the most engaging, best-reviewed, curriculum-aligned resources to help second grades in specific subject areas or to avoid the summer slide.

Just a heads up, WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!

Best Math Second Grade Workbooks

Introducing math grade 2.

This workbook provides a comprehensive overview of second grade mathematics with instruction, practice questions, and answer explanations along with free digital access to videos.

Real revie w: “Great resource, it is divided into chapters/topics with explanations of the material first, then questions. At the end it has a mix assessment with questions covering all topics. Great help with 2nd grade math.”

2nd Grade Common Core Math: Daily Practice Workbook – Part I

This is one of the best second grade workbooks for helping students practice and master skills while becoming very familiar and comfortable with the state math exam and common core standards. 

Real review: “Easy way fun to study each weekday with a child. Broken into 5 daily assignments for a week. Tip of the day is very helpful.”

2nd Grade Common Core Math: Daily Practice Workbook – Part II

This workbook comes with 20 weeks of daily free response, weekly assessments, state-aligned Common Core curriculum, and an end-of-the-year assessment.

Real review: “Very good book with a lot of exercises to practice … All of them are divided by weeks and days. Tip of the day gives brief explanations to exercises for better understanding.”

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Star Wars Workbook: 2nd Grade Math

It’s okay to look for fun second grade workbooks, right? Kids will use the Force while comparing number values, addition and subtraction, word problems, second and third-dimensional shapes, and getting ready for multiplication.

Real review: “The Star Wars workbooks are a perfect compliment to our online curriculum. They venture beyond grade-level standards in our local schools.” 

Word Problems Grade 2

This workbook introduces students to word problems dealing with multiple-digit addition and subtraction.

Real review : “I love this practice book. I am a teacher and bought this for our daughter who has a very difficult time with word problems. These problems start out fairly simply and move to much more difficult, multi-step problems.”

Best Reading Second Grade Workbooks

Scholastic success with reading comprehension, grade 2.

These second grade workbooks give students targeted, skill-building practice with more than 40 ready-to-reproduce pages. 

Real review : “I’ve always liked Scholastic’s educational products and these don’t disappoint.”

The Big Book of Reading Comprehension Activities, Grade 2

Kids will learn how to identify a story’s message and make connections between plot, structure, setting, characters, and more. This workbook contains 120 activities and progressive lessons. 

Real review : “Excellent. Best practice reading comprehension books on the market!”

Grade 2 Reading

This workbook provides grade-level appropriate vocabulary exercises including elements of both phonics and whole language instruction.

Real review : “The content is attention catching for young readers, and it’s just enough to exercise their skills without getting boring.”

Reading Comprehension Grade 2

This resource helps students master skills in mathematics, penmanship, reading, writing, and grammar. 

Real review : “Wonderful! So simple – story on the left, questions on the right. Many questions require thought, not just reading back for the answer word for word.”

Spectrum Reading Workbook 2nd Grade

This second grade workbook focuses on practice for reading comprehension including letters and sounds, word recognition, theme, integration of knowledge and ideas, main idea, story structure, summarization, key ideas, and details. 

Real re view: “This is a great book for the kids to get better at reading as well as learning how to write response. An amazing book for the money!”

Best Writing Second Grade Workbooks

Grade 2 writing.

This workbook will introduce students to second grade vocabulary and writing skills in a step-by-step manner. 

Real review: “I love these books. They teach and reinforce what you’ve already learned in such an ingenius way. So much fun with bright colorful pages.”

Scholastic Success With Grammar, Grade 2

Each workbook includes more than 40 ready-to-reproduce practice pages of activities that correlate to state standards. 

Real revie w: “I’m using these books in the ESL classes that I teach (as well as for tutoring) and they are perfect as extra worksheets for in-class review and for homework.”

Star Wars Workbook: 2nd Grade Writing

You won’t need to go to a galaxy far, far away to encourage kids to love writing. This exciting Star Wars workbook covers sentence and story construction, spelling and vocabulary, creative writing and story prompts, practice cursive writing skills, and aligns with common core standards.

Real review: “This series works well. They are full of great lessons, and our kids are entertained by them enough to keep working. We call them their ‘fun books.’”

Writing for Minecrafters: Grade 2

Kids love Minecraft, and they’ll enjoy this workbook featuring the video game characters and concepts to make second grade writing practice fun! 

Real review: “This book made homeschooling so much fun for my son. He will literally do 4 to 6 pages at a time.”

180 Days of Writing for Second Grade

This easy-to-use resource provides second-grade students with practice in writing opinion, informative/explanatory, and narrative pieces while also strengthening their language and grammar skills.

Real review: “As a preschool teacher, I bought these for my daughter and I love them. Very educational and still fun to do.”

Scholastic Success with Writing, Grade 2

Each workbook contains activities designed to meet state standards and includes more than 40 ready-to-reproduce practice pages. 

Real review : “This is a great writing book for your second grader. It is really helpful and helps keep them sharp. It’s also great for homeschooling and makes teaching that much easier.”

Best Science & Social Studies Second Grade Workbooks

180 days of science: grade 2.

This second grade workbook helps students analyze and evaluate scientific data and scenarios, improve their understanding of science and engineering practices, answer constructed-response questions, and increase their higher-order thinking skills. 

Real review: “Super happy with the content and how this book is laid out.”

Science, Second Grade: Learn and Explore

Kids can practice with exercises on liquids, solids and gases, global weather patterns, life cycles of living creatures like frogs, jellyfish, and locusts, and more.

Real review: “They have large lettering that is easy to read, and appropriate for a 2nd grade level.”

Geography, Second Grade: Learn and Explore

This workbook contains curriculum-aligned exercises on topics including familiarity with the compass, map grids, physical and political maps, and the concept of hemispheres.

Real review : “This workbook gets them talking about geography, making their own maps and legends, and interested in learning more. No fights to get this done.”

180 Days of Social Studies: Grade 2

Each week’s activities will cover a topic within one of the four social studies disciplines: history, economics, civics, and geography. Students will analyze primary sources, answer text-dependent questions, and improve their grade-level social studies knowledge. 

Real review: “Geography, Civics, Economy, and History are all included in this. I’d recommend it.”

Second Grade Essentials for Social Studies

These engaging activities cover continents and oceans, cardinal and intermediate directions, hemispheres, holidays and symbols, culture, money and barter, consumers and producers, and more!

Real revie w: “Just the supplemental resource I needed!”

Best Overall for Summer Second Grade Workbooks

Summer brain quest: between grades 2 & 3.

This workbook is designed to bridge the gap between second and third grades. Activities include reading comprehension, writing opinions, adjectives versus adverbs, place value, word problems, life cycles, map skills, and more!

Real review : “This is the third time I have done summer workbooks and these summer brain quest ones are perfection!!”

Summer Bridge Activities – Grades 2 – 3

With activities designed to take just 15 minutes a day, this workbook focuses on subjects including math, writing, reading, science, social studies, fitness and character building. 

Real review: “Simply put, this is a great activity book to help your child stay mentally active when out of school for the summer.”

Summer Blast: Getting Ready for Third Grade

This standards-based tool provides nine weeks of engaging and relevant lessons that support content learning in social studies, writing, reading, science, math, and art. 

Real review: “This is perfect, other books were teaching completely new stuff, this was a good review with a bit of new stuff at just the right level.”

Daily Summer Activities, Grade 2-3

Over 10 weeks, kids can work through activities to practice essential skills across subject areas, including reading, math, writing, spelling, and geography.

Real review: “This is a great workbook to keep skills fresh over the summer. We do one page each day, and the included achievement stickers are a nice motivator.”

What are your favorite second grade workbooks? Share on our WeAreTeachers DEALS page !

Plus, check out our top picks for second grade books .

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Uncategorized   |   Oct 5, 2011

Grading Made Simple

By Angela Watson

Founder and Writer

If you’re looking for a more efficient method of grading papers and assessing student progress, you’ve come to the right place. On this page (which has been adapted from  The Cornerstone book ), you’ll learn tips and tricks to help you gauge student progress quickly and easily.

Using simple and consistent markings

Choose your color for grading and use it exclusively.  I use red because it stands out well and makes it clear to parents and kids what I have written vs. what they have written (my kids often correct their own papers using blue pens). Red is the traditional teacher color, and I think that some of us as adults are kind of scarred from seeing red marks on our papers as kids.  However, a young child hasn’t had those types of experiences and therefore there are no negative connotations. I also use red ink for all of my stamps, so my kids associate red with positive messages, too.

I think seeing numerous corrections can be intimidating in any color, so it’s more important to focus on what types of marks you are making on the paper.  Be sure to use simple, quick markings, and be consistent with them.  For example, I don’t make big Xs by or circle wrong answers, I just draw a slash through the problem numbers.

Try not to make more work for yourself.  I once knew a teacher who wrote the correct answers next to wrong ones on EVERY student paper. That’s great for the kid and parent (assuming they actually read each paper) but it took her a half an hour just to grade a set of spelling tests!  Another teacher I know circles the correct answers and leaves the incorrect ones alone.  This helps build student confidence and makes marks from the teacher a good thing (the more, the better!) rather than a bad thing.  I love this concept, but again, I wouldn’t do it for the whole class because it is too time-consuming.

Keep papers from piling up

Try not to let students’ ungraded work sit out on your desk: until you’re ready to grade, leave it in the file trays where kids turned it in.  Messy piles accumulate so quickly!  If you have a good filing system, it should take less than ten seconds to find any stack of ungraded student work in your filing trays.  Use the ideas in Chapter 4 of  The Cornerstone  book (which is about  Avoiding the Paper Trap ), so there will be no more confusion about what’s already been entered into the computer grade book, what’s has been graded and what hasn’t, etc.

Don’t let papers go ungraded for more than a week, tops.  This is easier said than done!  However, more than once I have been in the middle of grading a tedious math worksheet when I realized I had already tested the kids on the material.  What’s the point of grading the practice class work at that point?  It was too late for me to assess whether or not the kids were getting it, and because I never provided them feedback on how they did, it’s possible that a number of them had used the assignment to practice incorrect strategies.  It was a waste of time for me and them.

Finding time to grade

In the past, I’ve set aside certain times of the day to grade papers, such as during students’ Morning Work, while the kids used math centers or completed cooperative projects (and therefore were being pretty independent), or right after dismissal.  Every day during the predetermined time, I tackled whatever papers the kids had created since the day before.  This was a very effective way to make sure that papers never piled up, and was manageable because my students completed most of their written work in workbooks and journals which are not graded.

I know other teachers who stay after school one day per week to catch up on their grading, and that works well for them. However, when I stay late to work on tedious tasks, I find that I have less enthusiasm and energy the next day in the classroom. For my own sanity, I get my grading done during the school day.

Taking papers home to grade

Although I’ve never regularly taken papers home, I do have an organized file folder system for transporting and keeping track of papers that I prefer to grade at my house.  Sometimes I’ve used  three folders for each subject (class work, homework, and tests); other years I just had one folder for each subject.  Additional folders can also be useful:

• Already graded—to be entered in computer: I kept my grades electronically and put papers in this folder until the grades were entered.
• Already in computer—to be filed: I would empty this folder into the basket of papers for students to take home.
• To review/redo with class: When there were a lot of errors I wanted to go over, I placed the papers in this folder.
• Incomplete: These would be stapled to weekly evaluations on Friday as weekend homework.
• Make-up work: I normally graded make-up work every two weeks and kept it in this folder until I was ready to correct them.
• No names: I filled this file if I was going to try to find the papers’ owners later or give kids a chance to claim them.

Tips for grading student writing quickly

I realize it can be difficult (and time consuming) to think of original, carefully-worded, and encouraging comments for students, so I created this 21 page PDF of  Feedback Comments for Student Writing . It contains hundreds of comment suggestions you can use for written feedback. The comments can also be used to guide your conversations during writing workshop and writing conferences, and to describe student writing for portfolio assessments, progress reports, report cards, or in parent conferences.

Often, you can also simplify the grading process for students’ writing. I use one trait (or single trait) rubrics to help refine my writing instruction, help students better understand characteristics of effective writing and how their work is assessed, and simplify the scoring process.

The idea is simple: since we teach traits of effective writing individually, why not assess traits individually sometimes, too? Not every piece of writing needs a full assessment, and one trait rubrics make it easy for teachers to give meaningful feedback quickly without spending hours grading essays.  Additionally, assessing student writing is a subjective process that is often a mystery to students and parents: using a straightforward rubric with only 3 or 4 criteria makes it clear why an assignment earned the grade it did. It also prevents you from downgrading a paper by weighting one aspect of good writing too heavily. Concentrating on only one trait makes it easier for the teacher to fairly assess a student’s skills in a particular trait.

The system is beneficial for students, too. It can be overwhelming (especially for younger children, reluctant writers, and English language learners) to try to concentrate on all aspects of great writing at one time. Knowing that they’ll only be assessed on a single trait helps students narrows their focus and makes the task more manageable.

You can read more ideas in my blog post,  10 time-saving tips for grading student writing .

Tips for quickly assigning formal grades

Use a slide chart grading aid (easy grader)..

This little device allows you to have any number of problems or questions in an assignment and calculates the grade.  The easy grader prevents you from having to choose a basic number of questions for an assignment, such as 20, in order to make each question worth 5 points each.  With a grading aid, having 27 or 34 questions is no problem.  You can buy these for about $5 at teacher supply stores, or  download a free one  from my site.  The quickgra.de website  will calculate the same way for free online.

Grade an assignment on criteria for multiple subject areas.

If you assign a reading passage with questions about living organisms, you can take reading AND science grades from the same assignment.  A population graph activity may provide you with social studies AND math grades.  At the top of students’ papers, write the subject area and grade for each, e.g., ‘Rdng- B, Sci- A’.

Collect grades from several workbook pages at a time.

This is a useful strategy for grading assignments in workbooks when children aren’t supposed to rip the pages out.  It works best when you need the grades for documentation purposes and don’t need them for information on student progress.  Collect the workbooks and record grades all at once for several assignments by flipping to the page numbers that students completed.  You can even have students fold down the page corners to help you find them more easily.  This process is much more efficient than collecting workbooks or journals after every single assignment.  If for some reason you must do it that way, have students stack their workbooks while they’re still open to the right page so you don’t have to flip through them.

When grading multi-page assignments, grade the first page for each student, the second page for each student, and so on, rather than grading the entire test for one student at a time.

This is an invaluable tip that I learned years back, and it has saved me countless hours.  When grading one page at a time, you tend to memorize the answers, making it easier to spot errors.  If there are a lot of problems on each page, write the number the student got wrong at the bottom of the page, such as –0 or –3, and then after you have graded the whole stack, go back through and count up how many each student got wrong by looking at the minus-however-many that you wrote at the bottom of the pages.

Use accurate student papers instead of making answer keys.

After the first quarter of the school year, you’ll have a pretty good idea about which students will have the right answers on their papers.  If you don’t have an answer key for an assignment, check two or three of those students’ papers against each other first, and find one that is basically correct.  Mark corrections for any mistakes on the paper, then use it to check all other students’ work against.  This is much quicker than making an answer key, and if you photocopy the child’s paper, you can save it and use it for the key again the following year.

Make an answer key transparency.

For lengthy assignments or those you plan to use for several years, make photocopies of bubble sheets (like those used on standardized tests—check the back of your teacher’s guides) and have your students fill in the bubbles instead of writing answers on the test or blank paper.  Make an answer key on a blank transparency using a permanent marker.  When you are ready to grade, place the transparency over a student’s paper and count how many bubbles don’t match up between the student’s sheet and the answer transparency.  I grade my students’ Scholastic Reading Inventory tests this way and can get through an entire class set (45 questions each) in less than 10 minutes.

Tips for keeping a grade book and averaging grades

Give letter grades instead of percentages..

Not every school district allows this, and not all teachers like the idea, but this will save you so much time!  Essentially, instead of having to calculate the exact percentage a child earned, such as 84%, you just write “B” in your grade book.  This makes it much easier to glance over your grades and see how a child is doing and also how well the class as a whole scored on a particular assignment.  At the end of the marking period, average the letters out mentally, or if the grade isn’t immediately clear, assign each letter a point and average it that way (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1).  If your report cards don’t allow for plusses and minuses to be given, this makes even more sense.  Grading isn’t rocket science in elementary school—don’t make your job unnecessarily difficult.

Only use weighted grades if your district mandates that you do so.

Have every assignment count equally, instead of weighting tests to be equal to 50% of students’ overall grades, homework as 25%, and so on.  This will save you massive amounts of time at the end of the quarter.

Simplify the way you calculate homework grades.

At the end of the quarter, I simple go through and count up how many assignments were missing.  If there were 42 homework assignments given in a marking period and a child did not turn in 3, she gets a 39/42 and the computer automatically translates that into a letter grade and percentage out of 100.  If your district requires you to assess homework separately for report cards, then that’s your grade.  If your district expects homework to be included in each subject area’s average, you may be able to use the same homework grade for every subject, rather than differentiate with a reading homework grade, math homework grade, etc.  After all, children are either doing homework or they’re not, and that choice will usually impact their grades in all subjects equally.  Also, if you rarely give social studies, science, or health homework, combining all the homework assignments ensures you will have a homework grade in every subject.

Use a digital  grade book.

I was hesitant to start this method because I thought it would be a pain to have to record grades and then enter them in the computer, but if you back up your files, you don’t have to keep a paper grade book at all!  A computerized grade book allows you to pull up a child’s average at any point (such as when a parent calls), and at the end of the quarter, all you have to do is print out the grades.

Angela Watson

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About bubble sheet grading, we have lengthy reading and math benchmark tests three times a year. We used a laminated bubble sheet (before we started using Scantrons) and then hole punched the correct answers. All you had to do to score the test was place your key on top of a student’s answer sheet then mark a slash in any answers that didn’t match up. It was so fast and easy!!

This is a great tip, Jill! I’ve done something similar with transparencies as the answer key (you make a transparency of the answer key and then lay the transparency over the child’s answer sheet and slash to the left of the problem where the bubbles don’t line up). I like the hole punch idea better because you can mark the correct answer for the student through the hole. Cool!

This article has been so helpful. I am a first year teacher and I have been caught in the paper trap. I refuse to have this continue to happen to me year after year. Everything you described has happened to me. I especially want to return graded papers back to my students in a timely manner. None of my colleagues had a CLEAR suggestion on how to MANAGE GRADES and NOT let the grades MANAGE ME! Thank you again , I will strive for the upcoming school year to be more efficient. Sincerely, Yvette

Hi, Yvette! I, too, found that teachers would tell me not to get stressed out about grading, but never clearly explained how to do that! It’s difficult to find a process that works and even more difficult to explain it. But once I figured it out, I knew I had to write it down so other teachers could benefit!

There are lots more ideas for grading in The Cornerstone book. The ‘paper trap’ chapter would probably be very helpful for you, too, because it explains step by step how to create a place for EVERY paper you come across. 🙂

• Pingback: Grading Strategies | School Outfitters Blog

I’m returning to teaching after being gone for 16 years. Your tips have helped alleviate some of my anxiety. I intend to use several tips. Thanks so much.

I appreciate your kind words. Welcome back!

Thank you very much Iam a new teacher ,your grading is very helpful . Venessa

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Home / Expert Articles / Child Behavior Problems / School & Homework

7 Ways to Stop the Parent-Child Power Struggle Over Homework

By debbie pincus, ms lmhc.

Do you find yourself in full-on homework battles most nights of the week? It’s no surprise that most children and teens will dig in their heels when it comes to doing schoolwork. Think of it this way: How many kids want to do something that isn’t particularly exciting or pleasant? Most would prefer to be playing video games, riding their bikes or driving around with friends, especially after a long day of school and activities.

As long as you believe you are accountable (or to blame) for your child’s outcome, you are under her control.

The underlying truth here is that you and your child might already be caught in a power struggle over this. Like most parents, you probably want your children to do well and be responsible. Maybe you worry about your child’s future. After all, doing homework and chores are your child’s prime responsibilities, right? Let’s face it, it’s easy to get anxious when your kids are not doing what they’re supposed to be doing—and when you know how important doing schoolwork is. And when you believe you are ultimately responsible for the choices your child makes (and many of us do, consciously and unconsciously), the ante is upped and the tug of war begins.

Nagging, Lecturing and Yelling—But Nothing Changes?

If you’re in the habit of threatening, lecturing, questioning your child, nagging or even screaming at them “do the work!” (and trust me, we’ve all been there), you probably feel like you’re doing whatever it takes to get your kids on track. But when you’re in your child’s head, there’s no room for him to think for himself. And unfortunately, the more anxious you are, the more you’ll hold on in an attempt to control him and push him toward the task at hand. What happens then? Your child will resist by pushing back. That’s when the power struggle ensues. Your child, in essence, is saying, “I own my own life—stay out!” Now the battle for autonomy is getting played out around homework and chores, and exactly what you feared and hoped to avoid gets created.

This is very aggravating for parents to say the least. Many of us get trapped into thinking we are responsible for our child’s choices in life. As long as you believe you are accountable (or to blame) for your child’s outcome, you are under their control. This is because you will need your child to make those good choices—do the work—so you will feel that you’re doing a good job. Your child’s behavior becomes a reflection of you. You are now at your child’s mercy as you trying to get him to do what you want him to do so you can feel validated as a good parent. Your child does not want to be taking care of your emotional well-being, so he will naturally resist.

When kids are not following through on their responsibilities, it can easily trigger a number of feelings in parents. Note that your child did not cause these feelings, but rather triggered feelings that already belong to you. You might be triggered by a feeling of anger because you feel ineffective or fear that your child will never amount to anything. Or you might feel guilt about not doing a good enough job as a parent. Here’s the truth:  You have to be careful not to let these triggered feelings cause you to push your kids harder so that you can feel better. One of the toughest things parents have to do is learn how to soothe their own difficult feelings rather than ask their children to do that for them. This is the first step in avoiding power struggles.

Why are power struggles important to avoid? They inadvertently create just what you’ve feared. Your child is living his life in reaction to you rather than making his own independent choices. Learning how to make those choices is a necessary skill that develops self-motivation.  How can you avoid ending up in these battles? Here are 7 tips that can really help.

1. You are not responsible for your child’s choices

Understand that you are not responsible for the choices your child makes in his life. It’s impossible to take on that burden without a battle for control over another human being. Measure your success as a parent by how you behave — not by what your child chooses to do or not do. Doing a good job as a parent means that you have done all that you can do as a responsible person. It does not mean that you have raised a perfect person who has made all the right choices. Once you really get this, you won’t be so anxious about your child’s behaviors, actions, and decisions. You will be able to see your child from objective, not subjective, lenses and therefore be able to guide their behavior, because you’ll have seen what he actually needs.

2. You cannot make someone care—but you can influence them

You cannot get a person to do or care about what they don’t want to do or care about. Our kids have their own genetics, roles, and ultimately their own free will. So focusing on getting your child to change or getting something from her will not work long-term and will most often turn into a power struggle. What you can do is try to influence your child using only what is in your own hands. For example, when it comes to homework, you can structure the environment to create the greatest probability that the work will get done.

3. Think about the “fences” you’d like to create for your child

Take charge of your own best thinking and decisions rather than trying to control your child’s. Pause, think and decide what fences you want to create for your child. What are your bottom lines? Know what you can and can’t do as a parent. Recognize that what will make the biggest difference to your child (and helping him become a responsible kid who makes good choices) will be learning how to inspire him, not control him. Building a positive relationship with your kids is your best parenting strategy. Children want to please the people in their lives that they have loving feelings toward. You cannot ultimately make them accept your values, but you can inspire them to do so. Getting a child to listen to you is primarily about setting up the conditions under which they choose to do so. In order to do this, make a conscious effort to sprinkle your relationship with more positive interactions than negative ones. Hug, show affection, laugh together, and spend time with one another. Point out your appreciations most instead of constantly correcting, instructing, teaching, yelling, complaining, or reprimanding.  Don’t get me wrong, you need to correct and reprimand as a parent. But make a conscious effort so that every time you do this, you will follow it with many positive interactions. The human brain remembers the negatives much more than the positives. Most kids will be happy to listen and be guided by the people in their lives who they like and respect.

4. Should you give consequences when kids don’t do homework?

Parents always ask whether or not they should give consequences to kids if they don’t do their homework—or instead just let the chips fall where they may.  I think you can give consequences, and that might work temporarily—maybe even for a while. Perhaps your child will learn to be more responsible or to use anxiety about the consequences to motivate themselves. You can’t change someone else, but consequences might help them get some homework done. You can’t “program” your child to care about their work, but you can create a work environment that promotes a good work ethic. Kids who regularly get their homework done and study do better throughout school and overall in life.

5. How structuring the environment can encourage studying

Again, you can’t make a child do anything that he doesn’t feel like doing, but you can structure his environment to create the greatest probability that the work will get done. When your child’s grades slip, or you find that he’s not getting his work in on time, you are automatically “invited in” to supervise and help him get on track. You can make sure that for certain periods of time, he will not be able to do anything other than schoolwork. The rule is during that time, no electronics are allowed—just homework and studying. By doing this, you are providing a structure to do what your child probably can’t do yet for himself. The hour and a half that you set aside should be a time when you will be around to enforce the rules that you have set. Give a fixed amount of time and once that time is up, your child is free to go elsewhere, homework done or not. Stay consistent with this plan, even if he fights you on it. This plan will accomplish the possibility that your child will get some homework done and maybe over time, create some better work habits. That’s all. This plan should be in place, whether or not he has homework. He can read, review or study if he doesn’t have any during that time. Let him know that these rules will change when his grades begin to reflect his potential and when you are not getting negative reports from teachers about missing homework. When he accomplishes this, tell him you will be happy to have him be fully in charge of his own homework.

6. Parents of Defiant kids

 Extremely defiant kids who don’t seem to care about consequences really try their parents. Some of these kids suffer from ADHD, ODD, learning disabilities, emotional issues and many other issues. Defiance has become a way for them to try and solve their problems. With defiant kids, parents need to be very cognizant of working to develop positive relationships, no matter how difficult. Above all, work to avoid getting pulled into a power struggle. Your child will need many more learning opportunities and more rewards and negative consequences—and more time to learn these lessons than less defiant child. And if nothing changes, and your child continues to be defiant, you must continue to work on your own patience and be thoughtful about your own bottom line. Most important, continue to love your child and keep showing up.

7. Your simple message to your child

Be clear, concise and direct. Your simple message to your kids, which does not require lectures or big sit down conversations is, “Your job is to take care of your responsibilities, which includes getting your homework done and helping out in the house. That’s my expectation for you. Once you’ve done that each day, you are welcome to do what you’d like.” Remember, as a parent your job is to essentially help your child do her job.

Related content: What to Do When Your Child or Teen is Suspended or Expelled from School “My Child Refuses to Do Homework” — How to Stop the Nightly Struggle Over School Work

About Debbie Pincus, MS LMHC

For more than 25 years, Debbie has offered compassionate and effective therapy and coaching, helping individuals, couples and parents to heal themselves and their relationships. Debbie is the creator of the Calm Parent AM & PM™ program and is also the author of numerous books for young people on interpersonal relations.

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Frustrated mom This is by far the very worst parenting advice I have ever heard. Can it be anymore vague and general? There’s literally nothing in this article that deals with actually doing homework! In fact it is more so a guide on things that most parents already know and should More be doing! The other part of this article is basically saying that you should allow your child to be their own authority. Do kids not need to learn to obey rules in today’s world? A lesson in life is that your children aren’t always going to be given a choice and when they are given a choice, it doesn’t mean they’re going to like any of the possible outcomes. Allowing them to think they have a choice in order to circumvent basic responsibilities is completely and utterly counter productive! I had to do homework when I was a kid whether I liked it or not! I knew this even as a small child. Children historically do not make the best decisions on their own. There’s a reason we have an age where it’s considered by society that you’re officially an adult. Until children reach that age, they don’t have a choice!

I am a special education preschool educator. Yes, I do send homework home for the following reasons:1. It starts good habits relating to reinforcing skills taught at school.

2. It allows me to educate and inform parents on what skills children need to be learning.

3. Some skills need more effort to be learned- such as name writing.

4. I want my kiddos to have a headstart and school is important! Homework is a way of getting kids ahead.

Hands down- my kiddos who learn skills at home- for example "economics homework" are more likely to master this skill when taught at school AND at home! It helps! Trust me! and all kiddos undergo assessments when entering kindergarten and often it is considered a predictor in success for the year!

georgeesmith Very methodical, can give a try to make it possible :)

lisakelper9 Sounds good but very hard to implement in reality. But still its a good attempt.

JackRusso1 I disagree with this as a whole. This person has no idea what children are really like. Children are stressed a lot, nagging them won't help. They don't want to talk about homework at home because then the parent asks irritating questions. It's not that they don't care, it's that More they need to do things on their own. When a parent is constantly on their backs the child gets stressed out. In my eyes, few parents understand this. Believe it or not...I'm 13 and I can do better then you. This isn't a helpful list of tips, it's a list of how to make the situation worse!

Oh my goodness!   This all sounds very charming but has no real application!  

Let me give you my scenario of raising a "Defiant" child:

Our homework structure is that she work at her well organized desk...quite charming in fact.  

She is expected to work 15 minutes per subject which is a grand total of an hour and 30 min.

No tech unless all work is complete and no matter what, no tech before 6:30 pm.

Down time for reading (which she loves) is after homework and her home chore is done.

we have a rewards currency.  We have a consequence system.  

Guess what?  It is not that simple.  She will waste her time "studying" so we require her to log notes on what she is reading so does not just sit and stare at her books for an hour and a half (which she will do).  We periodically check her log as she is working and help review info.  Again...quite charming.

She is failing most of her subjects because she does not bring ANY assigned work home.  None.  And then she lies about the work that we track down.  

She is not internally nor externally motivated. 

Sometimes a child is not emotionally mature enough to handle things like this and their brains are unable to really connect action and consequence.  Sometimes you need to let your child fail.  I hear from her teachers "I have no idea what to do with _________"  My response is....there is nothing YOU can do.  Only what ______ can do and she chooses not to.

A child who is unable to focus on learning is focusing on something else instead.  For my daughter it is the undying need for acceptance....peer acceptance.  So how to retrain the brain is tough.  Wish me luck because THERE IS NO ANSWER!  THERE IS NO FIX!

I often wonder about the value of homework. While I appreciate the article and noted some key takeaways here that will be very helpful to me, such as "Learn how to inspire, not control" and "Measure your success as a parent by how you behave"...I often find myself yelling at my seven year old angel because she just doesn't have an interest in learning..and then I spend the rest of the night disgusted with myself for being angry with her. She is the sweetest, most lovable little girl filled with street smarts. But she's behind in school, slow with reading, and fights me constantly with her homework.

I stepped up over the summer and had assignments all summer long so she could hopefully catch up. But little has changed. She continues to have no interest, which I interpret as lazy. She would much rather watch Netflix or play; something I try to balance. I wasn't a great student in school but I did love homework. I hated the "institution" and rebelled against control. But I've managed to make a good life for myself because I've been highly motivated, driven and disciplined. My concern is she doesn't seem to have those traits...yet. It might still be too soon. However, I struggle to push too hard (contrary to how it sounds) because I'm a big advocate of work-life balance.

She is busy all day with school and activities and the idea of having her do more when she gets home before she rests, plays or unwinds, seems like corporal punishment. Yes. And I'm not dramatic. But really? I get the importance of establishing a good work ethic. However,  I work all day. When I get home, I'm tired. I take a break before I tend to house chores. Nothing gets neglected but I pace myself. I also take home work but that's done later in the evening, after I've tended to my family AND had some down time. Don't kids deserve down time too?

I hate putting this pressure on my child, yet I know the pressure she feels being a slower reader, struggling with phonetics, etc. is as great if not worse. I can see her as a very successful person later on because she has very strong social skills and a kindness that far surpasses most of the other kids I've seen. But I struggle with finding that balance between pushing academics and just letting time prove itself. I am a big advocate of moderation and balance, yet I really struggle with applying that value in today's academic world which starts as young as kindergarten!

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• 1. The Homework Battle: How to Get Children to Do Homework
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• 4. Acting Out in School: When Your Child is the Class Troublemaker
• 5. Young Kids in School: Help for the Top 4 Behavior Problems
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Homework strategies for kids with ADHD, autism

• Penny Williams
• September 1, 2016

What a pain!

Kids don't want to do homework. Can you blame them? They just sat in school for 6-7+ hours, now we want them to sit down and do more school work during the little free time they have for themselves in the evenings. And struggling learners have been pushing so hard all day to listen and do what they're asked. They're spent, making them even more adamant that they not do any homework. And thus, the homework battles commence.

Homework is a parenting struggle for the majority of us raising kids with ADHD and/or high-functioning autism. It's personally the most dreaded time of the day. There are some rules and strategies to implement to make it a bit better {thank goodness!}.

Homework Ground Rules

There are some general ground rules that should always be followed for homework time:

• TV and other distractions must be turned off (music in the background actually helps some children drown out their surroundings and focus — it is a distraction for me, but my kids do homework better with music on).
• Get creative! Let them do homework wherever it works for them, even if that's on the floor under the dining room table. If they're doing the work, it doesn't matter where.
• Praise and reward often (typically more often than you are comfortable with).

Homework Timing

We've played around with time of day my son does homework over the years. I first tried homework right after school thinking medication would still be working {and that we should just get it over with}. That was a disaster. Kids need time to unwind and do whatever their hearts desire after being in school 6+ hours on someone else’s time.

We also tried after dinner, when school was a distant memory. That wasn’t as big a battle to get him to agree to do homework, like immediately after school was. However, his medication is no longer helping him slow down by that time, and it was a monumental chore to actually get anything accomplished.

4 pm turned out to be our “magic” homework hour. Now, I use the term “magic” very, very loosely.  Our children with ADHD will never be  willing  to do homework, nor will they be efficient at it.  It’s finding what works  best  under  their  circumstances that will be “magic” for your family. It may not be “magic” for a typically-abled child, but it’s magic for us. Remember, even the best laid plan will not cure the resistance to homework.

Be sure you offer lots of breaks. Physical movement helps with mental alertness, but also gives your child the opportunity to destress and regroup.

Homework Location

At 4 pm we turn off all electronics and sit down at the dining room table or kitchen counter. It could be on the floor, hanging upside down on the sofa, or under the bed for that matter — anywhere your child is comfortable, focused, and can write. Don't be rigid about your idea of the way homework should be done (at a desk, for instance). The key is to figure out where and how your child can do  their best  on this task. It may be unconventional, but whatever works for them is totally acceptable, and best.

The  HowdaHug chair  was a miracle tool for us for many years.

Homework Toolkit

Continuous preparation is a common procrastination technique, conscious or not. To prevent this, create a homework toolkit. The toolkit should be some sort of box or desktop organizer ( this desktop organizer is perfect  for your toolkit!), even an  actual toolbox , with every single thing necessary to complete homework, prepped and ready to go:

pencils (sharpened — sharpening pencils is a favorite procrastination technique of children), pencil sharpener, pencil grips (if used), markers, colored pencils (sharpened), age-appropriate scissors, notebook paper, construction paper and/or blank copy paper, calculator, ruler, dictionary, index cards, highlighter, tape, glue stick, post-it notes, clip board (if not working at a table or desktop), anything else your child may use for homework.

A timer (there are many specifically for ADHD and special needs) is a great tool for completing a task, too. ADHDers often struggle with the concept of time. My son constantly asks me “how much longer?” when doing something he’d rather not be doing. He often overestimates the amount of time something will take, as well. A timer helps with both. If he is given a math worksheet and he has 15 minutes to complete it, the timer is set for 15 minutes. At any given moment, he can look at the timer and know how much time he has left to finish. The  Time Timer  is my favorite.

Get Creative with Homework

Get creative and make homework visual when you can. When my son was young, we got really creative. We used macaroni for math (in middle school, we've used candy corn to solve math problems, then eat them as the reward — I don't like a lot of candy, but sometimes desperation wins). He liked to spell words with uncooked spaghetti mixed with elbow macaroni for curves (when the spelling words were 3 or 4 letters). Does your child love to paint? Let them paint their spelling words or their illustration for their writing assignments. Painting letters is actually a common therapy tool for children that struggle with hand writing. What about play-dough? I purchased a  box of 101 alphabet and number cookie cutters  for $10, and sometimes we used that for spelling and math.

Homework Accommodations

I can't begin to count how many parents have told me their child is spending hours on homework every night just to get it done. We're talking 2-4 hours for kids in elementary school. That's not okay, folks!

Kids with developmental delays (ADHD and autism) and learning disabilities should not have to work on homework any longer than their neurotypical peers. To have a child work on a math assignment for two hours that took their peers 15 minutes to complete  is punishing that child for having a disability . That's not acceptable.  That's very, very unacceptable!

The rule of thumb for the maximum daily time spent on homework is supposed to be 10 minutes for every year of grade. That's 10 minutes for a first grader, 20 minutes for a second grader, 60 minutes for a sixth grader, etc… Ask your child's teacher how much time they expect their students to spend on homework each night. If your child is doing substantially more, ask for modified assignments, so your child is only working that length of time, whether the assignment is finished or not. We did this all through elementary school, and it helped a great deal.

Share your thoughts.

Homework time is a disaster every single night and weekend in my home. My 7th grade son with ADHD/anxiety routinely spends 2-4 hours on homework. He has a 504 plan but his school is adamant that they will not give any reduction of homework. He is very bright but just shuts down when overwhelmed by homework. I will not be surprised when he is trying to drop out of school in HS. I have even told the school he already vetbslizes this along with extreme emotional upset and they are still unwilling to do anything help ease the stress that homework is giving. The only thing they've been willing to do is to give one extra night…which only stresses him out more because it just puts him behind. Between his troubles and my 9 year old sons emotional issues (ADHD/SPD/anxiety) I feel like I am constantly drowning and instead of throwing me a life preserver I just get more water thrown at me 🙁

I'm so sorry Tracy! I would continue to push the school. If the principal refuses a reduced assignments accommodation, I'd call the Director of Special Education/Special Services/Exceptional Children for your school board (city of county department of education) and let that individual know that there's a school they are responsible for that is refusing to appropriately accommodate a special needs student. Again, forcing a kid with a disability to work on homework substantially longer than their peers is PUNISHING THAT CHILD FOR BEING BORN WITH A DISABILITY. That's not acceptable.

My 13 y/o son has had ADHD since he was in 1st grade. We choose to medicate him because he can't make it through a day without it. He's now in 7th grade, in a charter/college prep school, and homework is mostly just classwork that he didn't finish. He has a 504 plan in place to help him at school. But at home it is a fight, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY to get any more work out of him. He is failing one class, and close to failing 3 more. I have done everything from tutoring, to one-on-one time with homework. No matter what I try, nothing works. Electronics are his vice, so those have been taken until his grades come up. I've spent 3+ hours today to get him to write a 5 paragraph essay that's due by midnight. I've cried, threatened, walked away, and now feel like the worst parent on Earth right now. I have met with the teachers, principal, counselor (today), and everyone in between. Its so frustrating that we end up yelling, lecturing, and then my husband and I fight about it. I'm currently looking into military schools for lack of any other options. Do you have any ideas how I can do better?? I'm a nurse and my husband is a supervisor, so schedules are weird some days. I'm starting to think there is some autism problems in there also. I just don't know what to do now. Even psychologists can't get through to him. Do you have any additional advice, or strategies to try with him?? I'm at my wits end and I feel like I'm destroying my son and my family every night. My daughter (6th grade) takes his side and hates me too most days. Please help…

I'm so, so sorry to hear that you're struggling so much. Let's see what we can do about it.

What you have done so far and are doing now isn't working. That means it's time to try something new. No matter how much you threaten or punish, it won't change the behavior, because you're not addressing the underlying issue, which is the actual problem. I just did an entire podcast on this last week – listen here: https://parentingadhdandautism.com/2017/11/02/parenting-adhd-podcast-015-behavior-just-symptom/ .

As Ross Greene says, “Kids do well IF they can.”

So, let's take threats and punishment off the table (I know, it feels wrong, but it isn't working and won't solve the problem). Instead, let's ask WHY. Why is he refusing to do homework? Why is he taking so much longer to do the work than it should take? And ask your son why he is struggling with homework. We don't ask our kids for their insights enough.

Potential reasons include: – undiagnosed learning disability (if writing is an overwhelming struggle, it could be written expression disorder and/or dysgraphia, my son has both) – overwhelming volume of work – doesn't know how to get started – doesn't understand the assignment or the work – just isn't good at school

That's right — some people just aren't good at school. They don't learn the way our public schools approach education, and struggle with the skills required, like executive functioning. Parents of kids with ADHD must adjust their expectations of “success at school” most of the time. Smart kids sometimes can't accomplish A's and B's.

However, he should be passing. The fact that he's not signals to me that the school isn't supporting his needs effectively. It isn't laziness or a lack of motivation, or even self-discipline necessarily. It is a difference in his brain that puts him at a real disadvantage under the mainstream, neurotypical expectations of school.

Remember too, while he's 13, developmentally he's 20-30% behind. That means some of his skills are still at the 9-10-year-old level. That's where expectations need to be in those areas.

I know this isn't the response you expected, and probably not what you wanted to hear, but it's the truth.

Use Dr. Greene's Collaborative Problem Solving Model (CPS) to get to the root of the issue: https://www.livesinthebalance.org/walking-tour-parents . It really works wonders!

This sounds so rosy perfect. My 7th grade ADHD/ASD son is on an IEP at school (took six years and a near legal battle, but it got put into place). We do EVERYTHING listed above, and all he will do is fight and battle and shred his homework. He is doing okay in his classes with a class work focus, but when it comes to homework, even accommodated homework, he won’t. Even if he does it under duress, he won’t turn it in… even with a learning strategies class/teacher to help. He is drastically failing and does not seem to care… he simply would prefer to do anything other than work. He is the same way with his singular chore, emptying the dishwasher. He has always struggled with having to deal with the ‘inconvenience’ of work. We are at a total loss. We are exhausted from the battles and home repairs from him being in a rage. His meds help ‘take the edge off.’

There's always a reason behind this behavior. Challenge yourself to stop using words like “refuses” and “won't” and ask yourself WHY. He wants to do well, but he may have lost hope that it's even possible for him anymore.

Thanks to all the brave parents who are willing to share their journey. It helps knowing you’re not alone in the struggles. Some things you mentioned, Penny, are a good reminder. I often forget in the heat of the moment that their is a reason why my son is so angry, refusing help, etc. When I step back at the end of the day, with perspective, alone, without an extra parent’s perception, or teacher/principal expectations, it’s always clear that the little boy inside (the one that is much younger than the one standing in front of me) doesn’t believe in himself. He knows compared to his peers that he’s not the same. He feels alone no matter what my good intentions are for him. And what he always needs most are 1. More understanding than I could ever imagine someone needing 2. More breaks than I think are justified 3. And more grace than I alone can often muster. But ironically I need the exact same things!!! Great amounts of understanding that this is incredibly challenging, breaks!, and to forgive myself when I forget to put love first. I do not have a great co-parent but I have an awesome kid who feels incredibly bad about himself most days at some point. I just gotta love him and me through it. I get lots of help by reading about what helps, listening to others with atypical kids, prayer, therapy and yes, a drink when I need one. 🙂 <3

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Hello! I'm Penny Williams.

I help stuck and struggling parents (educators, too) make the pivots necessary to unlock success and joy for neurodivergent kids and teens, themselves, and their families. I'm honored to be part of your journey!

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Why Republicans are calling Walz 'Tampon Tim' — and why Democrats embrace it

Rachel Treisman

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, pictured at a campaign rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, is getting attention for a law he signed last year requiring public schools to provide free period products. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption

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Republican critics of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz have given him a new nickname: “Tampon Tim.”

After Vice President Harris announced her pick , Stephen Miller, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, tweeted , “She actually chose Tampon Tim.” Chaya Raichik, who runs the far-right social media account Libs of TikTok, photoshopped Walz’s face onto a Tampax box.

#TamponTim pic.twitter.com/eBPyEOSWPC — Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) August 6, 2024

“Tampon Tim is hands down the best political nickname ever,” tweeted conservative commentator Liz Wheeler. “It’s so… savagely effective. In one word tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about Tim Walz’s dangerous radicalism.”

The moniker refers to a law that Walz, the governor of Minnesota, signed last year, requiring public schools to provide menstrual products — including pads and tampons — to students in 4th through 12th grades.

The products are free for students, with the state paying about $2 per pupil to keep them stocked throughout the school year.

Takeaways from Tim Walz's introduction to the national stage

The law, which was the result of years of advocacy by students and their allies, took effect on Jan. 1, though students say the rollout has so far been smoother in some school districts than others .

It makes Minnesota one of 28 states (and Washington D.C.) that have passed laws aimed at giving students access to menstrual products in schools, according to the Alliance for Period Supplies.

The issue enjoys broad popular support: 30 states have eliminated state sales tax on menstrual products, and Trump himself signed a 2018 package that requires federal prisons to provide them.

But Republicans appear to be taking issue with the wording of the legislation, which says the products must be available “to all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students.”

Some Minnesota Republicans initially tried to limit the initiative to female-assigned and gender-neutral bathrooms, but were unsuccessful. Even the author of that amendment ultimately voted for the final version of the bill, saying his family members “felt like it was an important issue I should support.”

The bill’s inclusive language reflects that not all people who menstruate are women, and not all women get periods, which was important to those who lobbied for the legislation.

“It will make it more comfortable for everyone … then people can use whatever restroom they want without being worried,” Bramwell Lundquist, then 15, told MPR News last year.

But some in the Republican Party — which has increasingly promoted anti-transgender policies and rhetoric — see that aspect of the bill as a reason to attack Walz.

“Tim Walz is a weird radical liberal,” the MAGA War Room account posted on X, formerly Twitter. “What could be weirder than signing a bill requiring schools to stock tampons in boys' bathrooms?”

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Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt made a similar argument in a Tuesday appearance on Fox News .

“As a woman, I think there is no greater threat to our health than leaders who support gender-transition surgeries for young minors, who support putting tampons in men’s bathrooms in public schools,” she said. “Those are radical policies that Tim Walz supports. He actually signed a bill to do that.”

LGBTQ rights groups have cheered Walz’s selection and praised his track record, which includes a 2023 executive order making Minnesota one of the first states to safeguard access to gender-affirming health care, as dozens of states seek to ban it .

Walz, who once earned the title “ most inspiring teacher ” at the high school where he taught and coached football, hasn’t responded publicly to the “Tampon Tim” taunts. But he had strong words for his Republican opponents on Tuesday night.

“I'll just say it: Donald Trump and JD Vance are creepy and, yes, weird,” he tweeted , repeating the put-down he helped popularize in recent days. “We are not going back.”

Many on the left see “Tampon Tim” as a compliment

Democratic Minnesota Rep. Sandra Feist, the chief sponsor of the bill in the state House, sold it as a "wise investment" , explaining to her colleagues last year that “one out of every 10 menstruating youth miss school” due to a lack of access to menstrual products and resources.

She defended it again in a tweet on Wednesday morning, saying she was grateful to have partnered with Walz to address period poverty .

“This law exemplifies what we can accomplish when we listen to students to address their needs,” she wrote. “Excited to see MN representation at the top of the ticket!”

Feist ended the tweet with the hashtag #TamponTim.

Other Democratic figures have embraced both the hashtag and the policy behind it.

The case for free tampons and pads in schools

Many social media users responded that providing tampons in schools isn’t the bad thing that Republicans are making it out to be — and in fact, they see it as the opposite.

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said it was “nice of the Trump camp to help publicize Gov. Tim Walz’s compassionate and common-sense policy,” adding, “Let’s do this everywhere.”

Former Georgia State Rep. Bee Nguyen said Walz, as a former teacher, understands how the lack of access to menstrual products impacts educational outcomes.

“This makes me an even bigger fan of Tampon Tim,” she added.

Nearly 1 in 4 students have struggled to afford period products in the United States, according to a 2023 study commissioned by Thinx and PERIOD. Experts say period poverty is more than just a hassle : It’s an issue of public and personal health, dignity and more.

The Minnesota students who lobbied for the bill testified last year about having to miss class because they were unable to afford menstrual products, being distracted from schoolwork and tests and feeling that adults didn’t take their concern seriously.

“We cannot learn while we are leaking,” high school student Elif Ozturk, then 16, told a legislative hearing in 2023. “How do we expect our students to carry this burden with them during the school day and still perform well? The number one priority should be to learn, not to find a pad.”

• menstrual products