5 Keys to Homework Help from SCORE! Educational Centers

Chicago, November 16, 2005 – In today’s fast-paced world, it isn’t easy finding the time – or energy – to help your kids with their homework.

SCORE! Educational Centers, a division of Kaplan, Inc. and a leading provider of after-school learning programs for children, has some suggestions.

“Parents have to understand that homework is an extension of their child’s learning in school, and continues beyond the classroom,” said Melanie Manns, Principal at Dallas Independent School District.  “Skills and concepts that children learn in the classroom are reinforced through homework.  We encourage parents to stress to their child the importance of homework and to make it a routine and scheduled event every night.”

SCORE! agrees, believing that positive reinforcement, genuine praise, patience and support will enrich your child’s opportunities for learning at home.

Following are some suggestions for helping your child with their homework:

5 Keys to Homework Help

Turn Off the TV
Watch this week’s “Desperate Housewives” later – turning off the television not only eliminates distraction, it sends a signal that the work is important.

Create a Studious Environment
If you have a child who dislikes doing his homework, do your own “homework” with them.  Pay bills, read a book or newspaper, catch up on office paperwork – anything that involves quiet concentration.

Make a Schedule
If the amount of homework is daunting to your child, or the prospect of assignments in five subjects is overwhelming, suggest that she make up a schedule.  If she maps out the evening (“6 to 7: French; 7 to 7:15: Vocabulary cards…”), she should learn to organize her work, budget her time and figure out by trial and error how long various assignments take.  Inserting “8 to 9: watch “Smallville” or “computer” on the chart will give the kid not only a break but also something to work toward.

Become the Chief Learning Instructor
Become the resident Chief Learning Instructor.  Check that your child’s homework is done, and that the quality is high.  This shows that you think homework is important.  Checking how well the work was done is a tougher call.  On something objective like math, most educators believe that pointing out mistakes helps.  Homework is worse than useless if a kid has diligently practiced doing it all wrong.  Also, the child is more likely to learn from his mistakes one on one with you.  If your child challenges your authority and rejects your offers to help, it might make sense to visit a local tutoring center to get some outside help.

Help is Like Tabasco Sauce; A Little Goes a Long Way
In subjective areas like writing, think twice before you point out how your child might improve, say, her explanation of acid rain.  Such help is like Tabasco sauce: a little goes a long way.  Your child may feel that her essay is just fine, and won’t see why you want to sharpen her topic sentences.  Pick your targets: if you want to help your child with pronouns or tenses, stick to that and only that for a while.  Otherwise, she may come to feel that nothing she does is good enough.

These 5 Keys to Homework Help are brought to you by SCORE! Educational Centers.  SCORE! has 168 centers throughout the country for kids pre K-10.
 
About SCORE!
SCORE! Educational Centers, Inc. (www.escore.com), a division of Kaplan, Inc., is a leading provider of after-school learning programs for children in grades pre-K through 10.  With the goal of helping children reach their academic potential in math, reading, spelling and writing, SCORE!’s program includes personal coaching, positive reinforcement and a customized curriculum that adapts to each child’s pace and learning needs.  SCORE! serves 82,000 students annually in 168 centers located in 12 states across the country.  Kaplan, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

Press Contact:
Jenna Held
312-894-0693
Jenna_Held@kaplan.com

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