Hi, guys. Welcome back to my channel and to a Homework Hacks video. You guys recently requested
that I make this. So I'm here today, sharing with you 10 top tips to help with homework.
And actually, when I was writing these tips down, I realized quite a few of them are also really
great if you are working from home. There's a few ways to help you keep focused. So either way,
I hope you really enjoy this video. If you do, give it a big thumbs up. And if you're new to my
channel, I would love you to consider subscribing. I'm Emily, and I'm a mom of three boys. They are
11, eight, and five years old. And all of them do have homework, but my eldest
has really stepped up lately. He's about to go to senior school. So we're preparing for that
as well. So I hope you enjoy these tips. But of course, if you have any of your
own homework hacks, please put them in the comments down below, because I'm
sure everyone would love to read those. But for my first hack, I wanted to show
you guys these procrastination cubes. I'm not sure if that's actually what these are called,
but that's what I call them. And they're pretty much timers that you throw,
and then whatever amount of time it lands on is how long you have to focus for or do something
for. And then when the time is up, an alarm goes off. So you don't actually have to just use these
for homework. You could use them for cleaning. You could use them in the kitchen. You could use
them for kids. If you wanted your kids to get ready really quickly, you could set a timer.
And there's two different ones. I have one for adults, which is actually for me when I'm trying
to focus on work, and then I have one for kids as well. So the amounts are different. So on the kids
one, it's one minute, three minutes, five minutes, or 10. And for the adult one, it's a lot longer.
It's an hour, 30 minutes, 20 minutes, or 15 minutes. So you or your child can just chuck one,
and then say it lands on 10 minutes. Well, you actually have to fully focus on whatever
homework it is that you're doing for that time, and then an alarm goes off. This has little
batteries inside it. And it's just really cool. Obviously, you don't actually need to have dice.
You could just set a timer on your phone. And there's also some really great timer apps as well.
There's one called Forest, where actually a tree grows while the time is going. And it's weird,
but you do actually want that tree to grow. So you carry on focusing on what you're doing.
So yeah, if you're working, you're trying to write a book, you're trying to focus on homework,
and in a world where everyone's trying to multitask and do so many things,
if this helps you focus, it's definitely a win. My next step is probably for children that are 10
and under, and that is to get involved with their homework and to make it really fun.
Sometimes, my husband and I joke that we actually have homework, because when my five year old
or my eight year old brings home that they need to make a paella because they're learning about
Spain, well, obviously that is going to involve us. But we make it an activity time at home,
make it really fun. And the kids love it because we're showing an interest in it. And when it
comes to spellings, one little thing that we do is, if they're really struggling to remember
a certain spelling, we'll make up a silly song with that spelling. It really, really helps the
boys remember the correct spelling of that word Bicycle. Remember.
B-I-C-Y-C-L-E. Yeah? And as much as it is great to get
involved and to help, there can definitely come a point with slightly older children
where you actually don't know the answers and you can't help. For me, it was year five. Maths,
I just didn't know how to do it. I was Googling like crazy. And actually, how my son learns math
has actually changed since I was at school. So if that's the case, then I cannot recommend to
you guys enough GoStudents. They're a one-to-one online tutoring service that you do from home.
So your child can actually get help in a subject that they're struggling in
from the comfort of their own home. You can also use it to work towards an exam or to push them
in an area that they're actually excelling in. It's a very individual service. They find the
perfect match between students and teachers. I actually had to fill out a questionnaire
about my son's learning habits, about his interests and his hobbies. And they actually match
you up with a tutor that is perfect for them. They make the sessions really, really fun. They use
music, online quizzes, and they also do games. They also offer tutoring for every age and in
every subject. So whatever subject it is that your child could do with a little bit of support in,
they will be able to find the perfect tutor for them. And GoStudent have actually said that if
you used the link in my description, you can get 10% off the tutoring packages and you can have
a free trial session. So your child can just test it out, see how they respond to a tutoring session
like that. We've had a great experience with Caleb and Fraser. Caleb has been having a little bit of
support in maths, especially fractions, and it's really helping him to come on.
But in the last two years, of all the tutoring type of things that we've tried,
I just find that it's so convenient, because it's all online. You don't have to put your child and
all the siblings in the car to get them somewhere to have tutoring. You don't have to have someone
physically come into your home. The kids actually want to do it. It's not a massive upheaval if I
say, "Oh, you've got tutoring today." They just literally have to go to their desk and to log on.
They don't have to physically go anywhere. And it's actually just made such a massive difference.
So whether you're working towards an exam, you just want a bit of support in an area,
or you actually just want to push your child in an area that they're excelling in,
I would really recommend GoStudent. So as I said, I'll put the links in the description
if you want to go ahead and check them out. My next step is to have a dedicated space
where you can do homework in. And it really doesn't matter where it is,
whether it's a full on desk or it's at your dining table or it's at your breakfast bar.
As long as it's quiet and free from distractions, that is perfect. And actually, when I was little,
I used to love to do homework at the dining table. And especially for younger kids,
you'll definitely want to keep them in your sight. So if that's the case, then I really recommend
making yourself up a little homework caddy. I've shown this in a mom hacks video before,
but it's really handy, because it has absolutely everything that you're going to need to complete
homework. So I actually bought the little caddy online, but you could literally use an old box
or an old cleaning caddy and just fill it with all the supplies you think you'll need to do homework.
So in ours, we've got glue, we've got tape, scissors. We've got pens, pencils, highlighters,
markers, a notebook as well. So when it is homework time, you don't have to try and find
everything you need, like, "Oh, where's the eraser? Where's the sharpener?" It's all
in here. So you're ready to go and you don't have to waste time trying to find your supplies.
And actually, even if you have a desk, this is just really handy to have everything together on
your desk. And that is actually my next tip, to have everything that you need to do your
homework before you sit down, or you'll waste so much time going to grab things. So have a drink,
have a snack available, have all the tools that you'll need to do your homework
and all the stationary as well. Yeah. There's something really nice
about sitting down to do your homework, having everything you need so that you can just fully
focus. And actually, when Caleb does homework, I make him this special surprise snack. I know
this might sound really weird, but it's honestly his favorite thing. I'll put just
five different types of food on a plate, just in very small amounts. But he gets really excited
that it's all different little snacks. And I don't know. Whatever can make homework a bit nicer.
And on the note of not being distracted, I would totally recommend if your child has
a phone or a tablet, to put it on airplane mode or Do Not Disturb. I actually really
like putting my phone on Do Not Disturb because you can make the settings on your phone allow
certain phone numbers to actually get through. So while I'm, say, filming a video like this,
I can put it on Do Not Disturb, but things like my child's school would be able to get through
or my husband would be able to get through as well. So, and you still feel like you're connected
to the people that need to be connected to you. And my next step is to open a window, because
fresh air and an oxygen will actually help you to stay alert and focused. And something else you can
try if you're struggling is to do a handstand in between breaks. This might sound crazy,
but any movement where your heart is above your head will increase blood flow to your
brain and actually help you stay focused. Increasing blood flow to the brain has also
been shown help with short-term depression, anxiety, and the stress hormone as well.
So if there is work that is causing you a little bit of anxiety, then it might be something to try.
And my next step is to use reward charts. I'm a huge fan of reward charts. I think they can be so
motivating at every age. And a top tip for me is to actually get yourself or your child, whoever's
doing the homework, to choose the reward, because that is going to be what really motivates them. So
whatever it is, if they want an allowance, if they want some sweets for movie nights,
a fizzy drink, or something like a Robux, that's what my kids always seem to want,
then let it be that, chosen by them. And then if they do their homework all week,
they can then get their reward. And it's something you can keep bringing up throughout the week like,
"Oh, okay. That's fine if you don't want to do your homework. But you know you won't be
getting," whatever it is that they've chosen. And I feel reward charts are just really effective.
And my next tip is super simple, but I think it's worth saying, and that is to
write a to-do list. Especially if you're in high school and you have a million different things
whizzing around your head, by writing it all down, it somehow makes it seem more manageable. And then
you can start ticking things off. And I would start with probably the easiest on the list,
something that doesn't take very long, just so you can get in a flow with it. And this is something
that I actually do at nighttime. If I have loads of different things whizzing around my head,
I'll put it all down on my phone, in a list. And then it's out of my head and I can go to sleep
and then work on the list the next day. And the last hack that I wanted to share
with to you guys is to really make the most of technology and how you learn. And what I mean by
that is there are so many cool apps and things online now to aid your learning. So say for me,
I really take information in from listening to it. I've talked on this channel before about
how I like to listen to books. And there's this cool app called Speechify, I think it's called,
and you can put any PDF document into it or text that you get, or even if you write an essay. You
can then write it, put it into it, and then listen to it back. You can listen out for mistakes and
also how it flows. And I just think there's so many cool tools out there that you can use.
So definitely look into things like that. But, yeah. Anyway, I think those were all
the tips that I wanted to share with you guys. I really hope you guys found it interesting.
Of course, everyone learns at different stages and at different ways. I actually found in lockdown,
it was so useful getting the boys to be active in between each subject, like going on the
trampoline, burning off some steam, so that they could get all their energy out and then focus.
So obviously, just take the things from this that would work for you. And I'd love to know
any of your tips in the comments down below. And yeah, thank you so much for watching. I'll put
the GoStudent link in the description as well. And yeah, I'll see you in my next one. Bye, guys.