Avoid the Long-Term Assignment Abysss

Amidst the daily blitz of nightly homework and other commitments and responsibilities, it’s easy to lose sight of longer-term assignments. To keep long-term assignments from sneaking up on your child (and to avoid last minute panic), make checking in on papers, projects, exams and reading assignments a regular part of your child’s homework routine. Together with your child, review her assignment book and teacher websites to ensure she has all the information she needs. Then model how to work backwards from the due date and create mini-deadlines on a bi-weekly or monthly calendar to make the long-term assignments less overwhelming and more manageable. Actively tracking these assignments will help your child feel more confident and in control of when and how she’ll get them done.