I never liked homework when I was a kid. I hated it even more when I became a parent of school-age kids. Many reasons I was dismayed at the task of helping my kids with homework:
1. As a working mama with no yaya and kasambahay, I’m super busy with work, chores and errands.
2. My kids and I are already tired from a long day at school and work.
3. Weekends are supposed to be spent relaxing!
4. Aren’t I supposed to be done with schoolwork already???
I was so upset with homework that my husband Vince offered to take over the job, but since I’m the parent who’s in touch with the teachers and fellow parents, it’s actually easier if I do homework duty. We take turns now, or we handle specific subjects. Homework duty did lighten up but I still resented it, until I realized recently this very important fact: My kids’ school is not in charge of their education—I AM.
Vince and I decided to send them to this school because it’s considered as one of the very best in the country. Why should I then be upset if the school gives my kids lessons???
Yes, we’re being forced to spend time with our children but we’re spending that time doing something valuable: learning together. We have the incredible privilege of sharing our knowledge and wisdom. For example, our kindergartener Iñigo had homework about family. We don’t know how it happened but that turned into a discussion on how to make babies. Who better to teach our boys about sex than us, their parents?
The school is just the guide on what our kids should know academically, but when it comes to their real education, it’s up to Vince and me. In school, they are limited to 30 minutes per subject and lesson plans. At home, we take those lesson plans and expound on it. It’s Vince who patiently taught our sons to read, for example. The school may teach colors but I teach application through cooking and painting. The school teaches them handwriting but it’s Vince who strengthens the boys’ hands and fingers by making them play with Legos and and Play Doh. Their lessons don’t remain on the page because we make them come alive through daily teaching and practice.
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| My activity sheets take a lot of time and effort so that lessons will be fun. |
I realized that in many ways, we’re homeschoolers who send our kids to a learning institution for a few hours each day so that the boys have friends and learn to relate to people outside of family. But other than those few hours, their education rests mainly on Vince and me. Homework is homeschooling and, as parents and their first and most important teachers, I should never resent homework.
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| Never underestimate the power of rewards! |
I admit I still do! So we have little things that help ease the strain: We use their Legos for math lessons, we watch Batibot YouTube videos to learn Filipino, we play video games on the iPad to learn left/right/up/down/jump (and in Tagalog, too!), we test our knowledge on colors, counting and grouping when sorting the laundry, and all finished homework is rewarded by their favorite Nickelodeon TV show, three pieces of their favorite brain-fortifying Scott’s DHA Gummies, and a hug!
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| Always worth it to be my kids' teacher! |
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