We spent spring break in Pacific Northwest camping bliss.

Coming back to homework today was hard. It seems like I’m always starting the kids on a new homework routine. We do great for a while. However, gradually, we always slide into after school chaos.

Here’s our homework help evolution over the year.

1) The super-organized & colorful homework board.

We started the year with a complex system with rewards for positive behavior. It worked great, until I decided everyone was fine and I wanted to use the poster board for something else.

2) With the board re-purposed (darn false confidence), we resorted to a fancy timer.

It worked…until the timer ran out of batteries. It takes a special kind of batteries, and I keep forgetting to reorder them. Right now the timer is sitting in a drawer somewhere.

3) That led to our current system: outright bribery.

If my kids finish their homework by 3pm, they get three M&Ms. If their homework is neatly done, they earn a bonus.

It’s working for us for now. I’m sure we’ll be doing something different next year.

I don’t seem capable of sticking to one homework program, and one child has a really hard time staying focused without one. This post isn’t to say, I’ve figured it all out. Obviously, I haven’t. But I keep trying, my kids keep trying, and for us that’s no small victory.