If you follow me on any social media outlets you might have heard me talking about how I am quitting homework. Seriously. I’m done with homework. Did you know the research on homework isn’t strong. Let alone the research on homework for students with disabilities? I teach a lot of my students through DTT. I’m not ready to send these skills home for practice. Plus, check out this chart for recommended homework times:
And that is for typical students! Bottom line, we’re giving our students too much homework!
My K-2 students should have no more than 20 minutes of homework a night. And here I am putting together 8 DIFFERENT homework packets for 8 students working on different skills. Let me tell you, that takes me HOURS of prep a week.
Now, I know the parents in my program like homework because they like the structure and routine in their evenings and I love to help foster those skills. Enter Take Home Games. I’ve been thinking for a while about skills that our students have been lacking. A lot of my students get a lot of screen time and I bet yours do too, but a lot of students have no idea how to play basic board games. I kept thinking about this and that’s when I decided that I am going to replace homework in my classroom with Take Home Games. You heard that right, I’m scrapping homework packets this year and sending home family games for students to play. I will be combining this with Life Skills Homework from Autism Adventures because my students always need practice with Life Skills, too (and because her Life Skills Homework is pretty awesome!)
These August games are not only adorable, but they are perfect for students to take home and play with their families.
How do Take Home Games work, you ask? Let me tell you! I’ve put together 5 Take Home Games
for each month. I have 8 students in my classroom, so I have prepped 2 of each game and bagged them up for classroom use.
I’m only going to send home one game a week, so I need to make sure I stay organized and send home a different game each week. I’ve put together a set of organizational materials to make sure this happens. Check out this checklist I’m using to make sure I don’t repeat the games throughout the month.
Check out the games included:- Game 1: Fill the Crayon Box
Students and their families play this fun spinner game. Each player takes turns spinning their spinner and adding a crayon to their box. The first player to fill their box is the winner!
- Game 2: Roll and Cover
Students and their families will love this dice game! Each player gets a board up to 50 and chooses a Back to School themed game piece. Players roll the die (2 options included) and cover that many spaces on their number chart. The first player to fill their board is the winner!
- Game 3: Memory
Three different types of memory cards are included in this game set. Students and their families can look for letter matches, beginning sound matches, or sight word matches in this classic memory game.
- Game 4: Take the Bus to School
Your families are going to love this adorable board game. Students and their families take turns drawing cards and moving their bus pieces on the game board. The first player to reach the school house is the winner!
- Game 5: Build a School
This super fun dice game is going to be a blast! Players take turns rolling a die and putting the pieces on their game board to build a school. The first player to get all six pieces and build their school is the winner!
