From the author: How to do homework with a first grader? Sit and check until the last comma? Give up and let him study on his own? Hire a tutor? With the onset of the school season, not only seasonal fairs and departments with globes, pens and notebooks of all kinds open, but also hidden talents, and sometimes even the fears of parents. Some suddenly remember how easy and pleasant it was to study, others share merciless ways to do homework assignments, others are studying codes, regulations and work programs, looking for pitfalls. And, probably, all parents in general dream that school will become a pleasant place for their child, or at least not a nasty one. How to help the child and parent cope with school neurosis – this will be discussed below. The first question coming from parents sounds something like this: “How to teach a child to study? So that he sits down and does his homework himself, and does not waste my time and nerves.” I will answer simply and categorically. You can learn to learn only by going to school, to the education system. All preschool activities should be devoted to playful ways of learning about the world. Thus, counting back and forth is perfectly illustrated by the wolf from “Well, wait a minute!” and a kid who could count to 10. Children easily and simply master reading at the age of 6 (plus/minus 6 months). Various attachments will help you hold a pen or pencil correctly, and drawn labyrinths, “Finish/repeat the drawing” games, and coloring books do an excellent job of preparing your hand for writing. The child also learns to love learning. With the help of parents. After all, if adults talk wistfully about their school years and talk with horror about homework, then children quickly become infected with their mood. A child is always interested in doing what he can do. By completing a task, enjoying a craft, a drawing, or an invented story, children feel successful. This supports their self-confidence, and, as a result, helps to nurture and strengthen the motivation to learn. The next question that puzzles many parents is “How to do homework?” And here the camp is divided in half. The first ones say that they should do it themselves, from the first day. At the same time, they strictly control whether everything is recorded, done and how. The latter say that he himself cannot do anything, which means there is only one way out - to sit with him. Both of them, sooner or later, break down. They get angry, scream, hiss, throw textbooks on the floor, tear up notebooks or drink sedatives, sob, clutch their heads. In fact, there is no single correct recipe for teaching this skill of “doing homework.” Something unique is suitable for each child, and the task of parents is to find this method with minimal losses. So how to do “homework”? Every adult once began his professional career as a young specialist, did something for the first time using a new technology (sharpened on a machine, baked a cake, or made his first “cold” call). How did you feel then? Do you remember? But you were not 7 years old, but 19 or 23, or even 46 years old. You tried, made mistakes, looked for a mentor or detailed instructions and tried again. Schoolchildren also learn a new skill for themselves - to study. Parents can be nearby, help make a plan (you can make it in the form of a comic or drawing) “How I do my homework” and respond to requests for help. Adults should praise the child for the efforts made, for the fact that today it turned out better than yesterday, faster or more smoothly. Keep in mind that when doing homework, first-graders can work concentratedly for no more than 30 minutes due to physiological characteristics. Fill the pauses with a slice of apple, a piece of chocolate, or physical education. The longer you “sit”, the more you yell at your child, the worse he will cope and get tired faster. By teaching your child to work with mini-breaks, you will instill in him a culture of mental work. Developing a new habit, new school behavior can take from one to 2-3 months, but if the child is often sick, weakened or hyperactive, then getting used to it can take longer. It is believed that the child adapted to new conditions then.