Homework Struggles with my 3rd Grader

Now that school is back in session, my 3rd grader absolutely despises going to school and is asking me to homeschool her! Oh… umm… Well, I’m not so sure that this would be the best idea at the moment. But the homework battle is the worst. The craziest thing to me is that she doesn’t remember ANYTHING about the work when she gets home from school! She acts like she has never seen it a day in her life then gets very frustrated because according to her, they didn’t do the work at school. Now, I’m sure that they go over it in class but her frustration has caused me to search for ways to help the process when she gets home from school. To be honest, while looking over the work before diving into it with her, I feel there should be notes or something that accompany the assignments. At least any classwork completed that may help break down the information. Oh, I’m talking about math by the way. I enjoyed it when I went to school, many, many years ago but things have really changed over the years.

I often hear the ladies at my job (yes I still work a regular job) talking about after-school programs and tutors because the homework battle is a difficult task, but neither are in my budget. With school only being in session for about 6 weeks and the homework drama is in full effect, I need to find other resources before hiring a tutor. I bought homework aides, especially for math, to hopefully help the process along with a few websites. So here are the sites that I’ve found to help so far…

1. http://www.webmath.com/index.html

• • This site is for grades k-8.  This web site generates answers to specific math questions and problems when entered. The math answers are generated and displayed when the web user types in their math problem and clicks “solve.” In addition to the answers, it also shows the student how to arrive at the answer. 
  • I’ve tried this one. Now it’s not designed to be a fun interactive site but it helps. I would prefer that it gave a basic overview of how to set up the problem or ways to answer on your own before it solves the problem for you. When it gives the answer then explain, the “how to do it” factor is gone (my opinion only).

2)    https://www.coolmath4-kids.com

• • This site has games, lessons, quizzes, and more for grades k-6.  It makes the learning/ refreshing process fun. The games aren’t high-tech but they are child appropriate. Depending on what part of math you are reviewing, I would suggest that you explore all options because not every kid learns the same.  Make sure that you have adobe flash installed/updated as you will not be able to load the games.

3)   https://www.factmonster.com

• • This site goes over all subjects and it also gives pointers on how to study, research, take notes and speak! It doesn’t give grade range but from looking through the topics, it appears that it may be helpful from k-6 but I’m not sure. Please review the sites on your own 

I plan to try the other ones this week! I’ll give an update on our progress soon. I only listed 3 sites because it will be harder to keep my daughters’ attention flipping between several different websites. I have to hold her attention while I have it, for my sanity and hers!

In the meantime, if you know of any other sites please let me know. Also if you’ve tried any of the ones mentioned above, let me know how you like them. Good Luck on your homework journey!

Mona’s Marmalade