Homework and Learning Resources

I spent a good part of my weekend this past weekend doing college level algebra. Something about rationalizing and square roots of x. Fun times.

My son Andy needed some help with his homework and as the resident math whiz, I was called upon to help.

As parents, we’ve each got something that we can offer when it comes to homework and needing help. And then again there are areas where we’re not much good at all. Just this morning, I had to ask my family how to spell a certain word. Lucky my daughter Caitlin knew how to spell it. I’m not mentioning it here because she isn’t here to tell me how to spell it again.

When your child comes home with work he doesn’t understand, as a parent, you’ve got to come up with a way to help. I always start with the textbook, but sometimes that doesn’t do me much good.

I’ve mentioned before that many textbook publishers have supplemental websites that reinforce what the textbook is trying to convey. I would check that out next to see if it might help.

Finally, there are a lot of resources online that can help. Andy Googled one of his math problems yesterday and we found several websites that had tutorials on doing those kinds of problems. It helped a great deal.

In addition to searching online, here are some sites you may want to begin with:

Sparknotes was originally started by some Harvard students as a resource for students studying Shakespeare or other literary works. It’s been expanded now to include other subjects like philosophy and math.

The Discovery Channel has an excellent site with lots of resources for homework help on a number of subjects.

Homework Spot has resources divided by age, so that you can look for help for elementary, middle school, or high school students.

Math.com is a good site for – guess what? Help with math.

Finally, the library of Multnomah County, OR has a huge database on their website leading you to tons of links in a wide variety of subjects.

Try to enjoy helping your ADD Student with homework; I do.