Homework - Asking for Advice

When Sweet Pea started Kindergarten she only had a tiny bit of homework every week.  She had to read or be read to for 5-10 minutes every night and had a worksheet to do once a week.  That worksheet always came on the same day so it was easy to remember that that was homework night.

As she's gotten older she's had more and more homework, and now that she's in 3rd grade, it seems to have bumped up considerably.  It's also random throughout the week based on what she wasn't able to finish in class.  She also has chores to keep up on at home, which aren't too time consuming but add up.  And we like to hang out with her as well, and she likes to go to friends' houses.

Homework is getting harder to keep up on.... and I know it's only going to get worse.

Until now we have agreed that after a full day of school, the kids deserve a break away from school stuff to relax at home for a little while before jumping back into it.  The problem arises when that break goes too long and nobody remembers that there is homework to be done.  We thought that after dinner would be a good time to remember to get it done, but it isn't working because fun things tend to come up after dinner causing her to either rush through it or forget all about it.  By the end of the day we're exhausted too and it can be hard to remember to get her on her homework.

So in order for her to get her homework done and out of the way so she can do other fun things that may come up later in the evening, she's going to have to get her homework done first thing after school.  I'm not happy about it, because I think she needs a break, but doing at other times doesn't seem to work right now.  Maybe as she matures and becomes more responsible and can focus on her work better?

My Question to all parents with school-agers, especially if they are older and you've been through this stuff before:  How do you handle homework?  I need some advice on homework policies and what works for other people.

Food For Older Babies

Question: What can I feed older babies who have outgrown baby food but can't really handle our spicy or tough to chew meals?

Answer:  older babies around 9 to 10 months can start having what you're having for meals... usually.  Be careful to make sure the food is soft and can be mashed up with their gums, and small enough that they can swallow it whole, which they'll probably do some of the time, without choking.  One thing I like to do for a quick and easy baby-friendly carb is to cook up a pot of brown rice (LOADED with pottasium, and better for you than white rice), and dump in a can of reduced sodium cream of mushroom/chicken soup.  Give it a good stir and divide it into freezer bags that you can thaw out when you need a little something for him or her.

When you've got it thawed out, add a vegetable of your choice.  I prefer canned vegetables for babies who are new to the whole table food thing because they are softer and easy for them to gum up.

Serve with some soft fruit cut into small pieces.  I like bananas (quartered down the length of the banana before removing it completely from the peel, then sliced up), tomatoes, canned pears or peaches (avoid heavy syrup, feel free to rinse any syrup off) mandarin oranges (beware, the poop will be awful), anything soft.

Another option is to use macaroni noodles with the soups. You can throw in some shredded cheese too.  Other ideas for older babies are crackers, regular cheerios, yogurt, cut up spaghetti noodles, diced toast, ground beef/turkey/chicken, soft foods with low sugar and low sodium.  Remember, honey is dangerous and can cause botulism.  You should not give them honey until they are at least one year old.  When it comes time to wean them off of formula or breastmilk, they should drink whole milk.  Our pediatricians tell us the extra (healthy) fat in whole milk is good for their brain development, and they should stick with it until they turn two, at which point they can switch to skim (or 1% or 2%). 

Check back tomorrow!