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| Book Cover from Amazon.com |
Between her teacher and I, we have been helping each other with helping my daughter. However, there still lies this ongoing issue, when it comes time to turn in homework my daughter never has it. Do you have a kid who struggles with homework? Would you like some help with getting them on their feet? Well, get your calendars ready, break out the checklists, it’s time to review “From Homework HELL to Help!” by Chris Hare.
Opinion
Let’s start with the credentials because I think it will come into play here with this review. I formerly worked for a video game company (whom shall remain nameless because haters got to hate). I have a bachelors in Business Management, an associate in Business Management and I have my certification in Project+ from CompTIA.
“Mrs. Y, what are you blathering on about?”
Well, my friends, I know a few things about managing people. I also remember my way around a project as well. What does this have to do with this book? “Homework Hell to Help” is about teaching someone who does not at all have anything as I do in their background, how to help their child navigate through projects. Management of projects and people isn’t anywhere near as tricky as it sounds, and thankfully Chris can speak to it far better than some of my college professors could.
Using colorful metaphors, and exciting examples, the author takes us through ideas and problems that almost every normal kid has when it comes to schoolwork. Some of the issues are very much for teenagers. I doubt highly that my eight-year-old is about to have any high budget issues with a club in the next five years. However, that said, other problems are common. Chris walks us through several along with solutions. The key to project management, always have a solution ready for the problem at hand.
With this book, you have that very thing at your hands. Thus, for this review here is what I did. I read through the book. Then I went through each problem and picked out the ones that applied to my daughter and her homework woes. From there, I used templates that the Author included in email for me, and had her test the problems solutions for accuracy.
Here is the result. What problems did my child struggle with?
My child struggled with bringing her things home to work on her homework, and taking the homework back to school. It does no good to do the work without turning it in, and it does even less good to forget to bring home the homework in the first place.
What templates did I use to navigate it?
With the book and Chris’s help from an email, I got an Ishikawa diagram and helped my daughter figure out what was causing her to forget things. I also received a Sample task list, Risk matrix, and school reference template.
How easy was it to follow the solution and templates?
Very easy. Chris puts in the book “If you want this template email me” so that helps. She responds to the emails quickly. These templates were easy to adapt. The risk matrix mostly flew over my daughter's head, because she wasn't understanding it. But when I explained risks were like distractions, she started to get it. The other two were helpful in figuring out when to do things and in what order.
Was my daughter interested in trying it once I explained it to her?
No, but to be fair, she’s a third grader. I didn’t exactly expect her to be very excited to try something. That said, once I explained it, and we started to work on it, I found she was more excited to use the solutions presented.
How easy was it for my daughter to understand it?
Remarkably easy, once we got going.
How easy was it to follow the solution?
The first diagram told me that she was struggling with remembering. My daughter was feeling overwhelmed by all the work she had to do, so we implemented checklists and ways to help her remember what she was bringing and why. We also talked about checklists for School, and that's where the task list really came in handy.
Was the solution working like it was suggested to work, in the book?
Yes and no. Not every child is going to do the same thing. Mine is very stubborn. However, once I got her behind it, she liked it and was following.
How long did I test it?
I started on November 22nd and tested through December 5th so for about two weeks we got some work in to help her. Now, this isn't a perfect test, but I feel with the data from what she was doing with the templates and solutions, we are well on our way to an organized child.
In the end, how well did my daughter do in improvement?
I see improvement. I think if we keep this up we will have more gain and she just may get past all of her previous stumbling blocks.
Score
So there you have it. Did it work? To me it did. Now keep in mind this was me trying it with my child. You may find different results for your child. In the end, given the easy read the book was, the solutions outlined, and the templates provided as well as the accuracy of the solutions, this book has earned a score of 100/100 from me. This also goes under the "Mrs. Y Recommends" pile of my scores.
Again it’s easy to use primarily because of the layout, there is a proper solution, and the author is more than available for any ideas or templates you may need.
Not everyone can boast that the author will help them with a how-to book. I must also go out on a limb here, Chris is a WONDERFUL writer and dedicated to her goal of helping others. She even went out of her way to suggest to me in Twitter DM’s any apps for my daughter that is also located at the back of the book to keep her on time with what she’s focused on by using her tablet. I have a feeling Chris would do this for anyone who is using her book to help their kids.
"Homework Hell to help" is a fantastic book for your kids if they are struggling with organizing, and I highly recommend it from ages 8 to College. I think it probably works even better for the older kids.
