Helping Children Make Up Missed School Work
If you have school aged children, then you know how easy it can be for them to get behind when they miss school. These days, even kindergartners come home with homework almost every day of the week. Therefore, if your children must miss an extended period of school due to a family vacation, illness, or for any other reason, it is important that you are able to help them get through the makeup work, as well as stay on top of the new work that is rolling in. After all, teachers generally have strict policies regarding makeup work, as well as time limitations, which can seriously stress out both student and parent. Here are some tips for helping children make up missed school work.
Plan ahead. One of the best ways to handle makeup school work is to get assignments as soon as possible after you know your child will be missing school. If, for example, you are planning a week-long trip to see the grandparents, then you can get the entire week's assignments before you even leave. That way, your child can work on those assignments during the trip itself, so as to keep pace with the class, even when not attending class.
Prioritize. If your child is coming home with makeup work plus new assignments, then it is very important that you prioritize both the homework and the afterschool time spent working on the homework. For example, math assignments must generally be done sequentially; therefore, the top priority should be finishing the older assignments before moving on to the new assignments. Additionally, any after school activities that might stand in the way of effectively making up school work should be put on the back burner until your child is caught up.
Discuss with teachers. This is especially important if your little one has an abundant amount of makeup work that must be done before new concepts can be learned (as in the previous math example). You don't want your child to be docked down for not handing in current assignments on time, but at the same time, your child cannot do the current assignments without first finishing the missed assignments. Explain this to your child's teachers and ask for their cooperation and leniency, and work with the teachers to come to a mutually acceptable due date for everything.
Making up missed school work can be stressful for your young student. Help ease that stress by implementing these suggestions for getting caught up.
About the Author: Retta Jeanty, NAC, CNA, NHA works full time in a
phlebotomist training center and regularly contributes to the development of
http://www.associationphlebotomytraining.com/. She is a single mother of 2 and knows how tough it can be to juggle a regular homework and activities schedule - let alone makeup work due to an illness. She recommends patience and communication with your child's teacher. Eventually life will get back to normal.
