{"id":9041,"date":"2015-08-27T09:38:33","date_gmt":"2015-08-27T16:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kathrynpetroharper.com\/mindfullife\/?p=9041"},"modified":"2026-01-27T13:26:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T21:26:41","slug":"how-to-handle-worksheet-homework","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kathrynpetroharper.com\/mindfullife\/2015\/08\/27\/how-to-handle-worksheet-homework\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Handle Worksheet Homework"},"content":{"rendered":"

When your child greets you at the end of the school day crying, “I’m stressed! I have yesterday’s worksheet to finish and today’s and the spelling homework! I hate school!” — that<\/strong> is disquieting. After six hours of sitting (with 35 minutes of total<\/em> recess) and doing what one is told, to end the day with anxiety is a recipe for learning to hate school.<\/p>\n

I did not push Bean to do the worksheets, but she decided to complete them. They were easy — tracing and printing the letters C, D, E, and F, on two sides of a paper. Could that time have been better spent? Could she have played, or helped make dinner, or gone for a walk? Yes, but Bean was worried about submitting blank sheets. I asked more about how homework is collected. In past classes, all the folders were put in a bin, and a parent helper or the teacher looked at it. In this year’s class, the folders are kept on the students’ desks. At mid-morning, a student helper collects the pages from each student to bring to the teacher or adult helper to review. <\/p>\n

This requires producing papers on the spot, in front of everyone; it will be obvious when a student has nothing to turn in. So, I created a document that we’ll staple to any worksheets, and Bean will have something to submit. (To save paper, there are multiple forms on one sheet.) We’ll circle all the applicable activities for that day. <\/p>\n

\"Worksheet<\/a>