For many families, homework has become a chore that has intruded on family life. The stress created by homework often causes many family disputes and parent arguments. Unfortunately, teachers and schools are often judged by the amount of homework they set, with a belief held by some that more is best.
Our school is joining a homework revolution, that many other schools are already a part of. This is a perfect opportunity for schools to work with parents to ensure that children are balanced in their activities and not spending hours on a particular activity such as Internet surfing.
Ian Lillico has conducted extensive research in the area of education and promotes a HOMEWORK GRID that strikes a balance for families attempting to juggle many commitments.
Education is a Partnership Ian Lillico says we need to broaden the definition of Home Work. Any work that children do at home needs to be counted and parents and teachers should work together to ensure that children do some work at home. But the work done at home should include some active work, not just the traditional sit down homework, with the aim of countering increasing inactivty by children.
The Homework Grid is a solution to the problem of getting kids to do something at home and not giving them a choice to opt out of family life. It will enable parents to get children to do their share of work in the home including housework, shopping, physical activity such as sport training and family outings such as walking, fishing and exploring the world – activities which enhance family life. It also covers areas such as reading, being read to, playing a game with parents, researching on the computer, music practice and many others.
It is recommended that children have two weeks to complete a homework grid, and that they do an activity from each box on the grid, to ensure breadth and diversity of work done at home.
The Homework Grid as suggested by Ian Lillico looks like this:
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Read a variety of books including school books
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Be read to by another member of the family
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Shopping with parents
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Physical activity / Sport training
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Housework *compulsory every night
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Art
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Teach your parents something you were taught at school
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Play a game with an adult
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Assignments / project research
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Meditation / Spiritual / Relaxation
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Use a computer for work
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Cultural / Music practice
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