For many children, and parents, holidays of the holidays are the sore note of the summer. Here are some useful tips to face the summer in serenity.
It is a summer day: warm, sun, tents tinks so as not to let the summer heat enter. The road under the house is quieter than usual: a few cars, replaced by the frinire of incessant cicadas. But in the history of this summer afternoon, here is the first disconnected note to Francesco’s house, eight years: mom asks him If he started his homework. The child snorts and she reproaches him, even yesterday the baby said “I do them tomorrow“And the same happened the day before yesterday and days before even. “When do you want to make these homework for the holidays that we then go to the sea? You won’t want to bring them».
Which parent with the children of the primary school (but, alas, even secondary of the first and even second degree) has never experienced a scene of this type in the first person? Probably very few. Let’s see a solution together, trying to understand When to do the homework and above all how to do them.
When to do the homework of the holidays
Before starting, it is essential to consider The importance of the common educational line by adults of reference, which are obviously the parents, first of all, but also the teachers. This is because if the child perceives an agreement, a harmony among the greats understands that that thing makes sense. Perhaps it will not be something he likes, he will protect but he will know that that thing there has a sense in his own way.
Once we decided they are to do, When it is good to do your homework? Obviously within this “When“We mean not only the moment of the day, but also their distribution within the long summer months without school. It is no small question.
In the teaching experience of the writer there are the most diverse stories: from the children who conclude the whole famous book for the holidays already in June so as not to think about it anymore, to those who arrive in September with the same material practically intons, a Those who work in jumps, a week yes and two no or vice versa, others who decide that they will do them only in July or only in August and so on.
THE Holiday homework They can represent a work space that gives even greater importance to the space of the fun of the holidays and which indicates a removal from what is imposed, which should be reduced a lot during the summer holidays to give space to new experiences. Also and not necessarily structured or mediated by adults.
So we understand that Holiday homework They need their frame, which we can build with our children. The frame implies these aspects:
- when to start them: it is good to provide a period of detachment after the end of the school year and before the following one to give the possibility on the one hand to enter the new routine and on the other to keep once, in September, to prepare with small actions such as Buy the notebooks, the case, the colors and gradually enter another routine;
- In what time to do them: preferably not on holidays with the family;
- In which days to do them: not necessarily every day;
- at what time of day to do them: on this obviously it is not possible to give precise indications valid for all children, but it is good to remember that The more a routine is established, the more effort decreases And this activity becomes a habit. They can be the early hours of the morning, if the child has no other activities and someone can supervise or after lunch or late afternoon. In any case, it is useful to also ask us which is the best moment for us, that is, which finds us more relaxed and better arranged if you need, to support them. It is important decide the moment with children And then build with them a sort of table quite flexible to welcome unexpected events (the last minute trip, the friend of the sea who comes to visit us and so on) but also firm enough not to allow too many digressions so as not to find themselves accumulating at the end what needed long times. If children are periods with mom and others with dad and others with grandparents, the routine of the tasks can be adapted to the specific situation;
- How long to dedicate to you: clearly if we have set up a good organization, a half hour can be enough for the little ones and an hour or a little more for the largest (secondary secondary).
Are holiday homework useful?
But why do the homework of the holidays? Holiday homes what they are used for?
From what has been said we understand one important thing: Holiday homes can serve not only to consolidate developed learning During the school year (for example, doing operations, write, reflect on the language but also on their experiences and so on), but also to develop a certain autonomy Compared to the organization of your time and also with respect to the possibility of “doing for yourself”, albeit within certain limits.
During the school year the homework is obviously there, but they are stuck within a thousand other activities and very often they do not really help to make learning take root because they are very executive, that is, they ask to repeat how much it was learned during the same morning or on previous days.
Here instead they come very different skills requestsboth from the point of view of reflection and the organization of one’s time, albeit helped. So we could conclude that they have their usefulness if they are not transformed into a race against the Settembrin time or if they become something purely executive by making them all together not to think about it anymore.
The risk that they become an arm wrestling between children and parents who innervates both (as in Francesco’s history) can be remedied with a good organization and with a wider reflection On how they can become a new opportunity to become big together.
Help or not children with homework?
Help me to do as solO: said Maria Montessori and this principle can also be applied to homework and in particular to holidays. Does it mean that they must be made by themselves? Or is it better to help children with homework tasks?
To clarify this point it is important to return to the concept of autonomywhich we mentioned before. Autonomy properly means giving a rule alone. Already in the meaning of the word the idea that reaching autonomy is a slow process that needs to be carefully supported by mom and dad is contained.
Autonomy does not mean not giving rulesbut share those rules within which the child can move alone. For homework it means sharing with him, as we explained in the previous paragraphs, a clear and understandable program that describes times and ways in which the tasks will be made, the possibility of obviously to be helped where the need was presented. Help the child do himself, it will mean being not so much to replace him and do before, but support the motivation of the childhelping him to tolerate the fatigue (bearable if first has been well organized) of the effort, the patience in teaching the alternation of commitment and free time, even in summer.
To support autonomy There are some small tricks Very important to keep in mind, who can go well beyond the summer holidays and who come to us from Jane in thesen, author of the beautiful book “The positive discipline”. We can summarize them in some places:
- Remember in advance of the child When the time of homework is without presenting them as a punishment. It is not very useful to remember the commitment when it is in the middle of a pleasant activity, but it is good that it is in a calmer and more relaxed context, for example after the shower or snack;
- To remember the commitment it is good to use Firm but friendly words. Children will be able to try a more or less long pit and spring, but maintaining a calm tone will help them keep calm;
- If they do not want or are incurred we can first of all validate their feelings by saying: “I understand that you don’t really want to do this, but it is your commitment and we discussed together when to do it. Come on, then we do something beautiful together“.
It is possible that all these passages are not immediate, but if we remain coherent adults, even if in the possibility of being flexible, children will gradually learn to take care of their commitments with increasing autonomy.
Concluding, it is possible Make the homework without stressless? With a little organization and creativity they can go to be hateful And uselessas Francesco said, to a new opportunity to grow together.
