One benefit of being a stay at home mum is that I can help OJ with her homework. The past few months I have come up with a few different ideas to help her with her spelling, her maths, and even her motivation to do her homework.
The homework sheet looks intensive right? Well it isn't too bad. Her teacher is really good too. If I want to do something with OJ that isn't on the sheet, she's all for it. I just write a short note underneath or make sure there is evidence in her homework book for her to see. Her teacher also uses the SeeSaw app, and I sometimes send her a photo of the activity too.
You can see the spelling words down the side, and the boxes of the activities. In the first column of boxes they have to do three activities, second column two, and the third one. They need to be highlighted or crossed off and signed by parent.
Spelling Activities
The one area that OJ finds difficult is spelling. She said to me one day "Mummy. Spelling is hard. I can never do well!" It broke my heart to hear her being so hard on herself. I know in school I struggled with spelling. It was something that never came easily to me. I wanted her to feel confident with her homework and improve in her results this year. So, I keep coming up with ideas to help her.
1. Flash cards
Each week I try to write out her words onto card so that she can use the flash cards to spell words out or to use for writing activities (I will elaborate later on this.) I shuffle the cards and then pull out a card and get her spell the word out verbally. This way she doesn't have to write the words out- makes it go quicker. It also makes her try to remember the spelling out of order of the list.
2. Alphabetical order cards
I came up with an idea of using the flash cards to help with ordering for alphabetical order. OJ first struggled with this task for homework. I wrote out the alphabet on the top of her page and then got her to use the cards and place them in order. She then used them to write the words out in her book. It took a little longer but it helped visualise the order.
3. Look-Cover-Write-Check
An oldie but a goodie. When writing out her spelling words I get her to look at the word, cover the word, write the word, and then check she spelt it right. Sound simple? That's because it is. But it is effective. It makes the brain work a little harder to try and remember the spelling, even in the short term.
4. Find-A-Word
Oj and I created a find-a-word using her spelling words. I drew up the table (just quicker! I don't have a working printer) and she wrote in the letters for the words. Her teacher commented that she enjoyed finding the words.
5.Bounce the spelling
An activity I have used previously but not this year was to use a basketball and bounce the ball and say the letter as it reaches the ground. Example: B-O-U-N-C-E, on each letter the ball is bounced. OJ loved doing this, but got frustrated if she spelt it wrong and would fumble the ball. Another way is to bounce the ball to another person and spell the word between each person. I played this game in class, in groups, and the group who finished the word first got a point. If a letter is said wrong, the word needs to start again. The kids loved it.
Do you have any spelling activities that you use?
Number Activities
Number work... *Sigh.* Trying to work on so many different things with number with OJ. Quickfire number work is something I am constantly struggling to help her with. But we have made a few different "games" of such and activities to help her.
1. Whiteboard
A whiteboard and marker is a teachers and parents best friend. Kids love to use whiteboards. I find their easier to write on and easy to wipe off if they make a mistake.
The activity we were doing here is a simple one. Write out the numbers 1-10 across the top. OJ has been reversing numbers (especially 3,5,and 9.) We kept the numbers across the top for later activities to refer back to. Easiest way to have a visual for her to use.
2. Dice game
I never used to see the importance of dice. Since becoming a teacher...Oh my I love them. So simple and versatile. Easiest activity we have played is roll two dice and add together on whiteboard. Fill the board. Too easy? Try with more dice. To make this even harder is to have a timer going, too. Have them try and beat the timer to make 20 rolls etc. OJ has a dice that has 9 numbers on it and we have played it with that dice, too. There are various ways of using dice to get quick addition skills going.
3. Board Games
Board games are great for number work. A great number game is Rummikub. It encourages ordering skills, adding skills, and number recognition.
A rummikub game is super cheap from Kmart, too. It can be played with only 2 players, or up to 4. Join in the whole family and make a night of it. But shh, don't let the kids know they are actually learning new skills!
Snakes and ladders is another perfect game for number work. Especially knowing how to use a 100s chart and addition.
Are there any other board games you play that helps with number work and skills?
4. Create your own game with a 100s chart
Creating a 100s chart by hand is tedious. But we did it. I drew up the squares and had OJ add the numbers (practising number skills right there!) and then we made up rules on how to play a racing game to 100 with dice and stickies from Coles for counters. Super easy!
OJ came up with the idea of maybe making it in to a snakes and ladders type game later on.
The possibilities are endless with this! Need subtraction? Start at 100 and work back.
Working on odd and even? If land on an even do star jumps, odd pat your head etc.
5. Hit The Button
An online fun game that is a huge hit with OJ. It can be played on the computer, laptop or phone with the app. It uses quick fire skills of adding to various numbers, doubling, timestables, division. They have 1 minute to get as many right as they can. OJ has loved beating her own score and getting the "High score" achievement. I have also played this game on the IWB in the classroom. It is always a huge hit with the kids.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
6. Card Games
Using cards are a super easy way to create games and activities. There are so many activities that can be done with cards.
One game we have played (that OJ actually taught me!) is that you place two cards down, and your partner puts down two cards. You need to remove all Kings, Queens, Jacks and jokers from the deck first. Each person adds their cards up and whoever has the highest number keeps their cards. Repeat until all cards are gone. This can be made harder by using three cards each.
Another is to use the place value system of hundreds, tens, ones. Place three cards down. e.g. 5, 6,7 is 567. Partner does the same. e.g. 3, 5,4 is 354. The 567 is the winner of the cards. Repeat until all cards are gone.
Teaching your child how to play a game like solitaire is also helpful with number work. Especially with number ordering.
Are there any card games you have played that help with number work?
7. Timestables
Argh the dreaded timestables... When walking around Kmart I found this awesome resource. A write and wipe timesables book! OJ has loved using it and surprised me on which ones she already is confident with. Super easy to use and no mess.
Timestables are very much one number aspect that needs to be rote learned. But then the concept behind the timestable needs to be reinforced. 2 x 2 is two groups of two. This can be easily shown on a whiteboard with dots or pictures. Writing out a worded problem using "groups of" can help with their reading and their number work.
8. Money work.
At Kmart I found some play money to use for OJ. We have played shops- "If I had this $5.00 and got a lolly that cost $1.50. How much change do I get?" We have used magazine pictures of food or toys with prices and worked out how much things together will cost, or how much change would a person get if they bought a product. Having hands on money helped with understanding what money can be used as well as the number understanding.
Money is hard! If a child does not understand subtraction, money skills is difficult. Be patient with this one.
9.Time
Oh my! Time is another hard one. It is either super easy for a child, or super hard. No in between! I have found this on a class scale too. Easiest way to teach time? Ask the time regularly. Don't tell the time. Ask "oh, What is the time at the moment?" or "I need to be at your grandparents in half an hour. What time will that be?" Have them work it out first. Show them how to work it out if they still struggle.
I have even made a paper plate clock to use with hands that swirl using a pin. This really helped when showing time changes and how the hour clock changes when minute hand moves. Use different colours for the hands too.
Writing activities
If you have a child that struggles with writing, you will know my pain when I ask for OJ to do any type of writing activities... Tip? Keep it short and quick. Then work up from there.
1. Sentence work
Using the flash cards from spelling work earlier, I had OJ grab three words out of the cards at random. Using a word she needed to write it into a sentence. Super easy, super quick. Then I got her to try make the sentences interesting using an adjective. Extend on the sentence. This can be done on a whiteboard or on paper. It also encourages writing complex sentences rather than simple boring ones.
2. Create a story
This is something I have done with OJ from an early age. For the younger years, the child can tell the story and the parent write it. When able to write short sentences, I wrote a sentence of the story and then OJ wrote the next one. It created a very interesting story.
OJ has taken to creating her own story books. One she has been working on is a comic book. Doesn't sound like a writing activity? Open up a comic book and see the amount of writing there is in the bubbles and boxes.
3. Handwriting book
Something that doesn't seem important to most but working on a child's handwriting can influence a lot of things. Especially when the writing is very illegible. If a teacher or reader cannot read the writing, understanding can lack and marks can be lower. Confidence is another aspect that people don't take in to account. If a child has neat writing, that is written quickly, their confidence is boosted.
I got a handwriting book from a bookstore one day and OJ has completed a few pages so far. She even asked to complete a page rather than watch tv one night! Shocked me! The handwriting books are good as they encourage sentence writing and correct punctuation etc.
The link below is the book I got for OJ. They have targeted handwriting to each grade.
https://www.booktopia.com.au/nsw-targeting-handwriting-year-3-jane-pinsker/prod9781877085383.html
Extra work
1.Typing game
OJ came home from school the other day and asked to play a game on my laptop that she had played in class during rotation work. It is called "Dance Mat Typing." It teaches kids about the home row of letters on a keyboard and the correct way of fast typing using the correct fingers. It has four levels and characters throughout that sing and interact with the player. It can be super annoying to listen to as a parent, but OJ has really improved already with her typing. (She is a one finger typer.... *eye twitch!*
2. NAPLAN book
This year is NAPLAN for OJ. I am super anxious on how she will go. Not for her marks but her confidence and behaviour surrounding the tests.
At kmart (again) I found this NAPLAN book that has all areas in the one book. It is huge and heavy but the activities are pretty good. We haven't done a lot of the book yet but I plan to get her to complete more the closer we get to NAPLAN.
I find a lot of the pages need parent help as they are quite difficult to understand first time seeing them. This is something I think NAPLAN is very daunting for the younger ones. Not only is it the first time doing a proper test, but the questions being asked are new and worded differently to those in class (most of the time.) If your child is doing NAPLAN this year, especially in year 3, I would recommend beginning to help with worded math questions, grammar questions etc. This book has been really good for those things.
Reading
The last thing I want to write about is Reading. Reading has always been a struggle with OJ. "I can't read" was a common statement said when OJ was asked to read something. How have we overcome this? Well with a lot of hard work and a lot of tantrums.
My biggest tip: Find an interest of the childs and use it. If they like sharks, find books on sharks. Find information pages on sharks. Find anything written on sharks. If the child is interested in the topic, they will read it.
Home readers.... I am very much on the fence about readers. Many readers I feel are out-dated and boring for kids to read. Especially in the younger years. I say many though. Not all. OJ disliked the readers so much. I made a deal with her very early on: Readers first and then the book you want to. Now she just reads what she wants to read.
She came home from school asking to find the Famous Five books because a teacher mentioned them and she wanted to read it! We went to a book fair on the weekend and she found a Kim Impossible book she wanted.
I got her a $1 book at Kmart called Frooties. It was comic like with pictures and bubbles for speech etc. She loved it and I had to go find the next book for her.
I have given my old kindle to OJ to use and found some very simple kids books that were free. Some information books on animals etc. Some narratives.
Where ever possible I have encouraged reading with OJ and this has motivated her to read. I buy her books. I show her my love of reading (teach by example!) and encourage her with her reading "You know that word." "Keep going!" etc. Most of the time it is confidence that hinders her reading. If your child is the same, just keep pushing. Be persistent. Be consistent. Read every single day. Slowly they will learn and become confident.
There you have it. A simple homework sheet can become so much more with some extra input. Don't ever think that because the teacher sets homework each week that that is all the child needs to complete. Especially in regards to reading- don't just do the home readers. Encourage more!
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