Excuses, Excuses- No Homework today!

By: June Owens

School is in full swing and so are a variety of sports, church, and other after school activities that compete for the evening hours. Add in the desire for children to simply hang out with their friends plus the need to get in quality family time with a reasonable bedtime and it’s easy to see why the word homework is so dreaded by many. My 2nd grade granddaughter is one that hears the word and often begins an impromptu game of hide-n-seek to prolong the start of desk time (and she is really good at the hiding part). Over the past two years, I’ve heard a variety of excuses she thinks teachers would be okay with if she didn’t turn her homework in as expected. Here are the ones that get me chuckling the most.

1. It’s really not HOMEwork, it is school work they want me to do at home. My teacher wants me to understand the meaning of words better, so she should understand that I will do my school work at school. My home work is things like making my bed and clearing the table after dinner and I only do those at home. Mom never sends me to school with a list of those things to get done.
2. My brother likes to make paper airplanes. I think he flew tonight’s homework a little too far and it never came back. He should’ve made a boomerang.
3. My teacher already has sooooooo much to do so she would really appreciate me not giving her any extra. I’ll just tell her the answers in class and she can then take a break from grading papers tonight. I bet our whole class would do this for her.
4. I was doing my homework under the tree last night. Two birds swooped down and carried it away for nesting material. It’s so cold outside that I didn’t want to take it back from them.

5. I’m really sick, contagious for sure. If I do the homework and turn it in, my teacher will probably get sick from the germs on the papers and she would be very upset, giving me a bad grade for that.
6. Everyone is giving up something for Lent. I chose homework.
7. I went mountain climbing this weekend and the homework fell out of my backpack. The other climbers are searching for it now.
8. Santa ran out of wrapping paper and had to use my homework to wrap gifts for his next deliveries.
9. It was in my back pocket when I went to the bathroom and flush, there it goes.
10. A pirate saw my homework while I was at the beach on vacation. He thought it was a map to his next treasure box and left me a gold coin instead. 

All humor aside, homework is important. Parents get the chance to give one to one support (but NOT the answers) that teachers may not be able to provide within a full classroom setting. Some kids will share struggles they are having with a given topic at home rather than fearing they may be the only one to not understand at school. Trust me, I’ve been there! In addition, teachers get opportunities to gauge how what is being taught throughout the day is actually being understood while ensuring each family knows how their student is progressing. Finally, children get the additional chance to learn accountability, time management, and perseverance skills needed well beyond the school years. Here are a few tips to make homework time a little more manageable this school year.

• Have a set area, a desk or work station ready with needed supplies (pencils, crayons, glue sticks, etc.) that is also free from distractions and consider a consistent homework time each day.
• Give time for a snack and some physical activity after school so children are ready to get focused.
• Encourage children to start with their favorite subject, sandwich a difficult one, and end with something that lands in the middle so they finish up feeling confident. It’ okay to take a break to get a drink, do a few silly dance moves, or get a breath of fresh air and then get right back on task if frustration or lack of focus is noticed. Setting a timer for this five-minute reprieve may help transition towards completion.
• When your child is doing homework, mirror their time. As they see you read, work on bills, or write grocery lists, they learn how their assignments, and perhaps completing things we really don’t want to do, apply to life now and for years to come.

I bet there are very few homework excuses teachers haven’t heard over the years. Maybe, just maybe, a few points for creativity and having a sense of humor should be awarded in lieu of a total incomplete/zero grade. Homework has its benefits and I fully support my grandkids as they work diligently to complete teacher requests in a timely manner. But for the record, I say we TOTALLY forget about history homework … It’s all in the past anyways!