It is a social initiative that asks parents to spend thirty minutes a day with their children doing something positive and constructive.  Some of the things parents can do with children are as simple as reading a book,
doing a puzzle, or help study for a test.

Just thirty minutes a day equates to an additional 3.3 years of education.

Homework. Many students try to avoid it, but teaching and learning research indicates that children who spend more time on regularly assigned, meaningful homework, on average, do better in school, and that the academic benefits of homework increase as children move into the upper grades.

Parents and families play an important role in the process. Together, families and teachers can help children develop good study habits and attitudes to become lifelong learners.

30 minutes a day can make a lifetime of difference!

Teachers use homework:

• to help students understand and review the work that has been covered in class

• to see whether students understand the lesson

• to help students learn how to find and use more information on a subject.

Homework is also the link between school and home that shows what children are studying.

Research shows that when homework is turned in to the teacher, graded, and discussed with students, it can improve students' grades and understanding of their schoolwork.

30 minutes a day can make a lifetime of difference!

Most educators agree that:

• for children in grades K-2, homework is more effective when it does not exceed 10-20 minutes each school day

• older children, in grades 3-6, can handle 30-60 minutes a day

• in junior and senior high school, the amount of homework will vary by subject. Most older students will also have homework projects, such as research papers and oral reports, that may have deadlines weeks away. They may need help organizing assignments and planning work times to make sure homework is ready to turn in on time.

Your children's teachers can tell you how much time they expect students to spend on homework. Place most concern on whether the homework is meaningful and whether over a period homework is assigned in all of the student's subjects.

Ask your principal if your school or school district has a homework policy. If it does, make sure that you and your children know and understand that policy.

There are several ways in which you can help:

• Send your children to school each day, well-rested, fed and with a positive outlook.

• Take an active interest in your children's schooling. Ask specific questions about what happens at school each day and how your children feel about it.

• Try not to let any of your own negative experiences keep you from supporting and encouraging your children's learning. Let them know how much you care about education by continuing your own learning both informally and formally, to impress its importance upon them.

• If possible, set up a quiet, comfortable study area with good lighting and the school supplies that your children need. This can be almost anyplace in your home; you don't need a special room.

• Set a family "quiet time" where you and your children can work together on homework, reading, letter writing and playing games.

• Allow your children to study in the way each of them learns best. For example, some children work best when they're lying on the floor with background music playing.

Make homework a daily activity and help your children develop good homework habits.

30 minutes a day can make a lifetime of difference!