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Taking the Stress Out of Homework: Organizational, Content-Specific, and Test-Prep Strategies to Help Your ChildrenHelp Themselves
"As a mother of three, this book's practical road map for helping our kids learn independently is invaluable. This should be a must-read for all parents." --Jenna Bush Hager
Drawing on extensive experience as classroom teachers and the directors of their highly regarded tutoring business, Abby and Brian address a range of common frustrations caused by homework. They answer the most pressing questions on every parent's How much should I get involved, what does constructive help look like, and how can I help my child work independently?
Taking the Stress out of Homework breaks down for parents exactly when and how to offer homework support. Whether your child's stress point is executive functioning--the ability to plan or organize--or a subject-specific struggle in math, reading, writing, or standardized test-preparation, Abby and Brian use real-life stories to provide individualized, actionable advice.
At the center of Abby and Brian's philosophy is encouraging students to break free of the "let's get to the answer already so that we can be done with the assignment" mindset; they focus instead on a process-oriented approach that fosters engagement and self-sufficiency both in and out of school.
Filled with expert tips about how to build executive functioning and content skills, Abby and Brian share stress-reducing best practices so homework not only supports what kids are learning, but also helps build confidence and skills that last a lifetime.
Drawing on extensive experience as classroom teachers and the directors of their highly regarded tutoring business, Abby and Brian address a range of common frustrations caused by homework. They answer the most pressing questions on every parent's How much should I get involved, what does constructive help look like, and how can I help my child work independently?
Taking the Stress out of Homework breaks down for parents exactly when and how to offer homework support. Whether your child's stress point is executive functioning--the ability to plan or organize--or a subject-specific struggle in math, reading, writing, or standardized test-preparation, Abby and Brian use real-life stories to provide individualized, actionable advice.
At the center of Abby and Brian's philosophy is encouraging students to break free of the "let's get to the answer already so that we can be done with the assignment" mindset; they focus instead on a process-oriented approach that fosters engagement and self-sufficiency both in and out of school.
Filled with expert tips about how to build executive functioning and content skills, Abby and Brian share stress-reducing best practices so homework not only supports what kids are learning, but also helps build confidence and skills that last a lifetime.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
4 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 29, 2021
This book is a how-to manual for parents who want to help their kids with at-home learning—written by two experts who are teachers and run the only tutoring company in New York staffed by working teachers. Their approach is a practical and actionable approach to create life-long autonomous learners. The emphasis of their work is on executive function and organization, so children do their best with a schedule tailored to them.
One thing that really stood out about this book was how thorough it was. The authors spell out the specific ways we can help children without doing the work for them. It answers the questions of “how involved is too involved?” and “how do we set kids up for success and make them independent?” The advice is solid because it will help parents aid their kids in developing a skill-set that works across any subject. I found their approach especially important during Covid when many parents are helping their children learn at home.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at: https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/bri...
One thing that really stood out about this book was how thorough it was. The authors spell out the specific ways we can help children without doing the work for them. It answers the questions of “how involved is too involved?” and “how do we set kids up for success and make them independent?” The advice is solid because it will help parents aid their kids in developing a skill-set that works across any subject. I found their approach especially important during Covid when many parents are helping their children learn at home.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at: https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/bri...
March 6, 2021
Frank, funny, and plainspoken. Indispensable for parents of school-age children.
May 18, 2021
Platzer's best, darkest yet.
December 23, 2024
This could be the best book on helping your student get through school well. It's practical, is organized for quick review, and includes templates you can use to make for yourself. You can tell Freireich and Platzer are both teachers and tutors due to their ample advice that helps in the classroom as well as at home. It's also parent- and student-centered which is important.
An essential idea to get is that process is more important than answers. While a wrong answer isn't desirable, a correct answer gotten the "wrong" away could lead to disaster later. Understanding why an answer is correct is many times more important than what is correct. In addition, the goal of education is helping students become lifelong learners, so getting students through an assignment but not learning the process to transfer knowledge into memory defeats the purpose of schoolwork. In fact, a student could be persuaded that school is useless when the only goal is to pass an assignment, test, or class. We hurt ourselves in the long run when we focus on completion over process.
An essential idea to get is that process is more important than answers. While a wrong answer isn't desirable, a correct answer gotten the "wrong" away could lead to disaster later. Understanding why an answer is correct is many times more important than what is correct. In addition, the goal of education is helping students become lifelong learners, so getting students through an assignment but not learning the process to transfer knowledge into memory defeats the purpose of schoolwork. In fact, a student could be persuaded that school is useless when the only goal is to pass an assignment, test, or class. We hurt ourselves in the long run when we focus on completion over process.
September 27, 2021
This book was featured at our local library at the perfect time. We are having a lot of trouble with our third grader when it comes to homework and schoolwork. Math is the big one and the section on that was a godsend. So many good tips that I'm hopefully will help us. There is a lot of good information on writing too. I flipped through the section on the testing for stuff like the ACT and SAT because I'm not there yet. Seems like some good information if you in that age range though.
January 13, 2022
I am not a parent, nor a kid. I am a college student who wanted to find ways to help me be more organized with my homework. This book helped give me that. It's so good and gives great examples of what the authors were saying. Everyone should read this book, even college students.
July 30, 2023
I listened to this book as an audiobook.
There were some decent concepts for studying, most I already knew. Now if I could just make myself fins the time to do some of them instead of reading other things. . .
There were some decent concepts for studying, most I already knew. Now if I could just make myself fins the time to do some of them instead of reading other things. . .
February 12, 2021
Abby is a genius when it comes to understanding students and parents, and I do my best to keep up.
March 8, 2021
Its a good book, but if you live outside the US then much of the material related to specific tests are of limited use.
April 8, 2021
I am sure I’ll be revisiting this book at every possible age of my kids to figure out the strategies.
December 24, 2021
Some good tips. I like how the authors summarize the main points at the end of each section. However this book is too US centric and won't be very helpful to those who live outside of the US.
February 4, 2022
La última parte es enfocada para estudiantes de EEUU y su preparación para universidad.
March 29, 2022
Quite American focused in places. Some good practical tips and strategies especially on how to approach help and support.
February 10, 2025
Great, tangible, realistic examples with solutions that aren’t hokey or pandering. Targeted for 4th-8th grade, so I may read again in a few years since my kiddos are younger.
March 6, 2021
Frank, funny, and plainspoken. Indispensable for parents of school-age children.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews