Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Three Tips for ... Surviving Homework

An Ounce of Ketchup - 2009 - www.goaskmom.com - Used by permission

An Ounce of Ketchup is produced by A. L. Dash & Sons, PO Box 714 Graham, NC 27253.

Don't let the headline get to you. For some kids, math comes easy to them. Then there are the rest of us. Not to be stereotypical, but math can pose some special difficulties for our ADHD kids.

ADHD kids have a tendency to have difficulties with math facts, processing word problems and even following the order of operations. Special skills can help ease these troubles.

Here are three tips to help your kids survive and thrive math this year.

1. Make it fun. I know I keep saying this, but make the math fun. Despite common belief, you can make it fun. Let them do math facts online. Download a math game. In fact, you can even buy a math game for the Nintendo DS.

Several websites that may help are www.aplusmath.com, www.funbrain.com, and www.bigbrainz.com (which has a GREAT multiplication game that is free and downloadable).

2. Do what works. Math can be troubling because you have to keep track of all those darn numbers. Here's two ways to keep them in check. One unorthodox method is to take the notebook paper and turn it sideways. Then, when your student writes their numbers, they can keep them all in a row.

If you need a stronger way to keep track of the problems, have your student do their math homework on graph paper. If there isn't enough room, let them write in two boxes per number. Since going to this method, I can actually read my son's homework!

Another tip is to highlight the different operations in different colors. You could make addition green, subtraction yellow, multiplication blue and division pink. This will help remind our kiddos what operation they should be doing.

3. Practice, practice, practice. Unfortunately, the school day just keeps getting more and more busy. This means that there is less and less time for practicing basic math skills. Try to practice math facts 5 minutes a day or 10 minutes every other day. To make it easier, make a game of it. You can play bingo, have a scavenger hunt, play on the computer – whatever it takes.

Make sure they have samples of the exact type of problem they are working on. Modeling is very important with ADHD kids, especially since so many are visual learners.

Math can be fun...or at the worst, much less painful. Math is a necessary skill and all kids need to learn how to work problems effectively. Help take some of the stress out of math homework and become the math hero of your house today!

Do you have an ADHD/ADD educational issue you would like to see addressed? If so, please email me at info@mommyadd.com and I will try to feature it in a new column or on my blog at www.MommyADD.com.

THE TEACHER APPLICANT
Author unknown

After being interviewed by the school administration, the teaching prospect said, "Let me see if I've got this right? You want me to go into that room with all those kids, and do the following:

1. Correct their disruptive behavior
2. Observe them for signs of abuse
3. Monitor their dress habits
4. Censor their T-shirt messages
5. Instill in them a love for learning
6. Check their backpacks for weapons
7. Wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases
8. Raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride
9. Teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play
10. Teach them how to register to vote
11. Balance a checkbook
12. Apply for a job
13. You want me to check their heads for lice
14. Recognize signs of anti-social behavior
15. Make sure that they all pass the state exams
16. Provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps
17. Communicate regularly with their parents in English and Spanish by letter, telephone, conferences, email, homework hotline, web page, midterm newsletters, and report card
18. You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps
19. You want me to do all this and then you tell me I CAN'T PRAY?

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