How to Make Homework Fun for Kids

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Homework is one of those things that you will either agree with or disagree. Agree, because you know it’s a way to help children to reinforce skills or it’s a good way to prepare them for content they will be covering or maybe you are using it for enrichment and extension. Disagree, because you are always chasing up kids who didn’t do their homework or struggling to find time to mark homework or even set homework, particularly if you are creating a worksheet for it.

We can’t dispute the fact that research shows that homework has little impact on academic success in elementary grades. There is, however, the suggestion that homework has benefits in other areas. It can teach self-responsibility. The child needs to find time to sit down and complete their homework and then remember to pack it and hand it in. Parents can also benefit from their child’s homework. It can help them learn about and become more involved in their child’s education.

Homework, however, can be very stressful for both parents and children. After a long day at school, today's children not only have to come home to homework but need to participate in so many extracurricular activities. It's exhausting being a kid!

Homework Games

If you need to assign homework you can make it more interesting and less stressful for both parents and children by using homework math games. After all, games are fun!

Consolidate Basic Number Facts

I designed these games because I wanted to help my students consolidate the basic number facts – addition and subtraction. I didn't want to be giving them worksheets but rather I wanted them to have some fun as they were really consolidating those addition and subtraction facts. Each game is designed to consolidate a single thinking strategy so if you have been focusing on teaching doubles plus one facts at school you can send home the doubles plus one game. It makes it so easy to reinforce these basic facts.

Accountability

The left-hand side of the game has the thinking strategy to prompt the child as well as the answers to each number fact. Before the child starts the game this side of the game is folded over. When the child lands on a number fact they must write it down and answer it – now you have your accountability. If they don’t know the answer they can open up the side and ‘sneak a peek’ before closing it again. My parents love them because it gives them the math language that we use in class and the strategy needed to help their child work out the answer. My kids love them because it's a game.

There is no die needed for the game just a coin. Why a coin you may ask. Well if you flip it and it lands on heads you move two spaces, tails you move five. Any small object can be used as a marker.

I have also included a game with mixed facts. It has a recording sheet that asks the student to not only record the equation but to say what thinking strategy they used. This really helps them gain mastery of the addition and subtraction facts.

I hadn't considered it but one of my customers said that she also uses the games in her math journals. They're also great for using in math rotations. I also like to print them out and give them to students that I tutor – the ones that need more time consolidating the basic facts and could do it easily with their parents. And don't forget those kids that you know are going to forget the number facts over a break.

The summer slump

The summer slump is real! Kids forget so much of what they learned the year before.

One way to help reduce this ‘learning loss' is to send home a summer pack containing games of all the strategies you've covered during the year. If you've got some kids who are already showing great fact fluency just send home the game with a mixture of strategies. Include both addition and subtraction for extra practice.

The addition strategies covered are :

Counting on 1
Counting on 1 and 2
Counting on 1, 2 and 3
Making 10
Doubles
Doubles + 1
Doubles + 2
Adding 9
Adding 10
PLUS a game that includes a mixture of strategies.

The subtraction games focus on :

Counting back 1
Counting back 1 or 2
Counting back 1, 2 or 3
Count Up
Take from 10
Doubles Takeaway
Build on Doubles
Subtracting 9
Subtracting 10
PLUS a game that includes a mixture of strategies.

You can also grab a pack of multiplication games. They cover each fact from multiplying by zero and one to multiplying by twelve. The pack also includes two mixed multiplication games.