As you are starting back to school, think about creating a mindset to form new habits to usher in a positive start for your children. As you think of homework, do you anticipate a good year or does your heart sink? For some of you, a collective heavy sigh may come out as you think of the potential homework hassles starting up again. How do you turn hassles into healthy homework habits?

How do you utilize your student’s learning style in order to set up a homework environment conducive for successful study strategies? It can be as simple as A-B-C. In the article on “Loving to Learn”, we shared that it is important to observe your child to see how he/she learns best and use that as a starting place.

A: Attitude is everything!

Share with your child that homework is important! It isn’t a punishment given by the teacher, but rather, an opportunity to enhance what is being taught in the classroom. If you are positive about homework, your attitude is contagious to the children.

B: Believe in your child!

You build up your child’s confidence when you communicate that you believe in him and how he learns. It can be difficult to be a student and be in classes all day that may or may not be presented in the way he learns best. It is very draining if one feels stupid and can’t “get it”, even with a great deal of effort put forth.

C: Communicate with your child.

When you say, “Let’s work together to set up a homework area that helps the way you learn. Help me to understand how you learn so we can set this up to make it easier for you to do your homework.” Try something out and if it does not help, then move on to Plan B.

For starters, is your child more analytic or global? For example, if your child tends to process things in a sequential, logical manner, he is probably more of an analytical learner. These children see the details first, then the patterns and finally the whole picture. In other words, they go from part to whole. Whereas, the global learner sees the whole picture first and then the patterns and finally the details. If your child is more creative and thinks outside the box, she may be more global. This is why analytic students do not get overwhelmed with doing their homework. They go from the part to the whole, step by step. They see one problem at a time; complete it then go on to the next. Whereas the global students see the whole thing, get overwhelmed, feel certain they can’t get it all done, shut down and may not finish the task. It is not a factor of IQ, it is a matter of brain functioning.

Here is another interesting difference. Usually analytical thinkers are more comfortable working at a desk or table, with bright light such as with windows, bright lamps or overhead lights, and they often prefer a quiet environment to do their homework. Whereas global thinkers usually prefer to work with everything spread out on the floor or sitting on the couch or their bed, like softer light such as a lamp and prefer a sound component such as music playing in the background.

When you ask a teacher which students are the ‘good students’, he or she may name the analytic students because they are quiet, sit at their desks and get their work done. The global students are often on the move, asking questions, thinking outside the box, and forgetting their assignments. Please note― this is a generalization.

On the home scene, while in the quest of trying to help their children, well-meaning parents often purchase a desk, chair and lamp to set up a nice homework environment for their students. But when they go in to check on the homework status, they discover the desk has become a holding place for stuff and their kids are on the floor or on the bed. Yikes! What is a parent to do? Translation: the parent has set up an analytic learning environment and the child may be more of a global learner.

This chart may help you to see what analytic and global learners generally need in terms of environmental preferences even though every child learns differently and as such, your child may not fit into one of these neat and tidy little categories. You do not have to follow this strictly, find what works for your child. Remember, these are just general guidelines to help you get started.

	Light Preference	Sound Preference	Seating Preference
Analytic Learners	Bright light	Quiet	Desk or table
Global Learners	Soft light	Sound component	Floor, couch or bed

You might say to your child, "We are going to try a different learning environment for you to do your homework. If it works and your grades go up, great, we will go with it. If it doesn’t work for you, we will go to plan B."

The goal is to find the learning environment that works for your child. For the students who need the sound component when they work, there is one important thing to remember. A background sound that has words forms word pictures in the brain. Your student may try to assure you that having television or loud rock music playing is not a problem. Well, it is. Well-documented research has shown that classical music is better for brain development. Most children do not want to hear this. ☺ Our next article will be on “Classical Music and Brain Development”. Meanwhile, be very direct and clear with your student, kids do have an antenna for truth. You may say something like, “When you study with things that distract you, the brain doesn’t learn as fast or remember the information. I want you to do as well as you can in school. I know you want to spend as little time as possible on homework. Therefore, you may choose to study quietly or if you need sound, you may have classical music or some neutral sound such as a fan. Which do you choose?” If your child begins to form his defense with “But I know I learn better with the television on”, here is your answer: “Bring me the research that proves the brain works better with television and then we will discuss the possibility.” Don’t worry, there is nothing to substantiate that fact, you are on safe ground, but meanwhile it will buy you time, your child will be obeying you and he is learning. Package deal.

To turn homework hassles into positive homework habits, look at your attitude. Are there ways for you to be more positive? Have you taken time today to tell your child that you believe in him or her, and you know they can do it? Encouragement energizes us and helps us in the process. Communicate with your child that you want to work together to set up a homework environment that works for your child’s learning style. Experiment until you find what works for your child. You will see an observable difference when you find the one that works. You have taken the first step in forming healthy homework habits. Congratulations!