Q: How have these weekly communications changed your perspective on your child’s development? Have you noticed new vocabulary or new skills displayed when you prompted your children specifically because of the homework?
A: I learned years ago with Kensi that children learn through play (a concept that has been discussed at KRK). It always amazes me when she applies what she has learned at school to the homework. She is constantly learning new words that I do not realize she knows, until she reads them in our books at night. Her most recent development that has amazed me is learning to sound out 3 and 4 letter words. Callen is starting to recognize most of his letters, which he just started pointing to random letters and recognizing them. With the counting concepts, we try to count random things in our daily life as well.
Q: How do you build time in your busy schedule for the activities as a working mom of 3?
A: Honestly, it's been very difficult to try to set aside time for the activities, especially in the beginning when we would delay bedtime to get some of the activities done. Now, I try to read all of the activities at the beginning of the week, or read them as soon as we get home in the evening, and try to incorporate it into our daily life. An example of this would be this week's concept of hydration for Callen. We went to the pool and played outside for several hours and I explained to them that we had to stay hydrated and asked Callen if he knew what that meant.
Q: How do you hold them accountable to want to do the homework with you? Carrying it back Fridays and forth on Mondays’ rituals?
A: Sometimes I just incorporate the discussions and questions into our normal daily activities so they do not associate homework as being a chore; however, I also make it part of our nightly routine, so that it becomes routine. We have dinner, go upstairs, get ready for bed, do the homework, and then read and go to sleep. Having them be independent, carrying the folders to school on Mondays and watching me sign off on the activities has helped them feel accountable for the homework.
Wise words from this mommy……”The homework activities are not hard to do, some do require more time than others, but I do find it hard to set aside the time to do it occasionally. Life is busy, but I do realize how important these activities are because it reinforces what they've learned at school. I try my hardest to make sure it always gets done. I do see it as home"WORK" sometimes, but I also see it as time spent with the kids especially since I've seen the impact it has had on Kensi's development. The biggest recommendation I have is to try to read through the whole week's activities at the beginning of the week, and see where and when you can incorporate it into the evening routine, so that way you stay ahead of it!”
Answers for Homework:
Family to Family
Here is another feature we’d like to share with you to inspire
a new partnership with our preschool families. Your blue
folder is your valuable connection from home to school.
It can be overwhelming at first thought, but here are some
inside tips from a busy mommy of 3, Ms. Victoria Pham,
who shares how she builds her children’s homework time
into her routine with the entire family.
Q: What has been fun about the blue folder home activities for you and your children?
A: The kids and I have enjoyed the activities where learning is incorporated into games. Kensi's favorite activity has been the clock memory game, and we still play that, even though we've lost some pieces. Callen loves the activities where he has to gather objects (usually his cars) and line them up to count.