When your child comes home with math homework you don’t know how to do, you may feel like you should be the one back in school. You can still help your child with their homework even if you don’t think you can do the work. Here are some tips to get you started.
Web Help
Search the web for help. There are tons of free tutorials online to help kids – and parents – do math homework. Many of them are videos that can help you if you’re a more visual and/or auditory learner. Find a similar problem, and then try to solve the problems your child is doing the same way.
Communicate with School
Contact your child’s teacher if you are having trouble understanding the instructions. You may be able to schedule a time to come in and talk about the math lesson so that you can understand it better. You can also talk on the phone or email. Don’t be ashamed to ask the teacher for help. Teachers would much rather you take an interest in helping your child than to see your child not do well because they don’t understand it.
Reach out to the teacher to see if they offer tutoring before or after school. Many teachers are happy to offer some extra help.
Find a tutor for your child that can help them do their math homework. This might be an older student or perhaps a certified teacher with some extra time on their hands who is not currently teaching. Tutoring centers also offer structured homework help.
Approach your child’s teacher to ask for more resources to understand the homework. You might ask to borrow another helpful textbook, for example.
Read through any notes that your child took in class or that the teacher provided for extra clues on how to do the work.
Send a note to the teacher to explain what, in particular, you and your child do not understand about a particular problem. The teacher can then respond with some guidance to help your child solve the problems, which can help you understand how to do it, too.
Other Resources
Contact the local library and the school to see if they offer free homework help. Many times, volunteer tutors will help your child for free in these locations.
EDUCATION STAFF WRITER