Homework and Skills

The next two headings on our family responsiblity chart are Homework and Skills.

Homework needs no explanation. I will say though that I love Margaret's Pre-K teachers for sending "assignments" home with her. She sits at the island and works away while Andrew does his work each evening.

I created Skills when Tanner started coming home without any homework. I thought that he still needed to review some basics each evening. For us "Skills" includes spelling words, math practice and reading. It is just a quick review of the essentials. Plus it is good for me. It helps me stay on top of current spelling words and math topics. With Tanner not bringing home assignments it would be possible for me to have no idea he was struggling a little with a topic, like, say, long division, until I got graded work home at the end of the week. Reading is 20 minutes, kids choice. I like to think that is just a minimum to get them started, and that they will just read and read because they want to. While that does happen some evenings, and I love when it does, other times those 20 minutes are all the reading they get in.