Does your teen or student currently have some missing homework listed in the grade book?
Of course they do! Most students usually miss a few homework assignments, even if it’s just one or two.
But what happens if your child regularly does not turn in homework?
There are SO many reasons students have a hard time with homework!!
They either 1) forget to write the homework down, 2) get home and forget to do the homework, or 3) they do it, and then lose it somewhere in the abyss at the bottom of their backpack where schoolwork is lost forever!!
So what can parents do to help our kids STOP missing homework assignments??
The BEST way we can help our teens STOP missing homework assignments is to get them ORGANIZED!!
How is this possible?
By getting your student organized, they will have a process for tracking assignments, working on homework, AND turning it in!
I am SO serious about getting organized, I even have a mini course all about creating an Organization System for your Teen!
If your teen forgets to write homework down. . .
Plenty of times, our students won’t write their homework assignments down because they think they will remember to do it at the end of the day. But after students go through a long day at school, by the time they get home, they have completely forgot ton what the assignment was!
So how can we help our teen with organization?
Part of creating a complete organization system is to have a process of tracking all assignments. The easiest way to track all assignments is to have an agenda, or day planner to write everything down. (and yes, I do mean EVERYTHING).
For example, students should get in the habit of pulling out their planner in every single class to write down what was assigned so that they do not forget an assignment, Ever!
If your student has a day planner, make sure they are using it frequently throughout the day. If they do not have a planner, you can sign up below to download one and print it off for your student to use.
If your student forgets to do homework. . .
Many students that get home from school, may not like to work on homework right away. They may choose to sit and relax for a few hours before they are reminded that they have homework.
If your teen gets in the habit of relaxing and never going back to focus on schoolwork, they may completely forget to ever get started on homework!
If this is a reoccurring problem for your student, then I recommend setting a routine or schedule for schoolwork, and all school related activity for right after school. So instead of coming home from school to rest and relax, they immediately get started on homework.
The goal for students is to get started on schoolwork as soon as possible so that they can get done quicker, and then are able to have the rest of the afternoon to relax with whatever time is left.
We want your student to learn to prioritize responsibilities before they can move on to other things!
Related: Setting up an Organization System for your Teen
If your teen loses homework. . .
If your teen uses “backpack organization”, then I bet they shove everything into the bottom of their backpack, never to be seen again!
So many times, this type of “backpack organization”, fails to actually keep anything organized, so students frequently lose homework!
So how can we help our students so that they never lose anything again?
Create for them a physical organization system so that every school related document has a place!
What does that look like? . . Folders, Binders, Notebooks, Tab dividers. Whatever you need to get everything organized so that everything has a place and nothing will be shoved into the backpack again!
By creating a system, your teen will be able to put their homework into the homework folder, where they will find it again when it is time to turn it in!
My name is Rachael and I have been a private tutor for over 12 years. I earned my undergraduate degree in 2 and a half years and earned my graduate degree by age 22. I have tutored dozens of high school students, college students, and graduate students. I offer my resources and experience to help parents learn how to best help their teen or child that is struggling in school.
