Homework!

Who among us is not a wee bit humbled by the questions on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? So you may not know the homeland of walruses, but the good news is that you don’t have to be all-knowing to lend a helping homework hand to your grandkid. What you do need to be is clever enough to make it fun. If you can keep a sense of humor and a very thick skin (great protection against cranky students), you’ll soon be the go-to person when she’s stuck with math problems, an English essay or a paragraph to translate into Spanish.

“If it is something they have to memorize, make a TV show out of it,” suggests Sharla Feldscher, the Philadelphia-based author of the KIDFUN Activity Book. “Tell them, ‘Here’s your next question.’ Ring a bell when time’s up. Give a little reward, maybe a whole peanut, for every answer they get right.”
Consider turning social studies or English into a Jeopardy! game. Your grandchild has to give the right answer in the form of a question. When she gets a certain number right, she wins a small prize.
While reviewing for a test, kids tend to waste precious time going over what they already know. Increase productivity by making up flash cards with the material and dividing them into two stacks: those with facts the child knows and those with facts the child does not. Spend some time reviewing what she doesn’t know. Mix up the cards and divide the material into “knows” and “don’t knows.” Gradually, your grandchild will start to learn the new material, and the old material will be reinforced as well.
Even if math was never your strong suit in school, you can still help younger kids. For little ones who struggle with counting, make a game with something familiar. Count Cheerios, Goldfish crackers or grapes. Do math problems just for fun even when they’re not part of the assignment. For instance, talk about something the child loves, like ice cream. You might say, Mary has $5 and wants to buy an ice cream cone, which costs $1. How much change will she get back? What if she adds sprinkles, which cost an additional 50 cents?
Sometimes the best way to get a youngster to learn something is to have him explain it back to you after you’ve explained it first. Let him play teacher: Ask him to tell what he just learned to his dog, his student.
For many grandparents, the biggest challenge is understanding how the current mode of teaching has changed, says Amy Goyer, national coordinator for the AARP’s Grandparenting program. Then remind yourself that your role is to assist, not to teach your version. (And try not to grumble about your grandchild’s teachers!)
“Take a step back and realize that your job isn’t to do the homework, but to help your grandchild learn how to do it,” Goyer says. “The best thing to do is be positive, be patient and point out the child’s successes.”

Source: The Ultimate Grandparents Guide to Back to School, grandparents.com