Ever searching for ways to make homework easier on The Boy, slow processor that he is, a couple of years ago I came across Quizlet.  Some general ed teacher-friends of mine swore by it as a way for their students to study whatever they wanted without wasting endless index cards on flashcards.

I first used it with The Boy for spelling.  Computers naturally engage his interest, and in fourth grade, he would come home with 4 page spelling packets to complete.  Overwhelming for any kid, an assignment like this would take my kid an entire week (and lots of wheeling and dealing on my part to bribe him to get it done).  After using Quizlet to help him study the spelling words, I realized that he could test on those words right on the site.  I contacted his special ed teacher who agreed that he could do that in place of those four-page packets, which were redundant for my little ace speller anyway.  Why inflict multiple pages of work on a kid that could spell the words correctly after a session or two pf practice on this website?  He would quiz on the words, and I would take a screenshot of his results and email it to his teachers.

It saved all of us a lot of unnecessary headache.

We are back to using Quizlet to study, but nor for spelling this time.  For big bad social studies tests, with thirty-five or so facts to learn on the study guide.  Last night, I searched the site for a set of cards about Egypt and Kush that had already been created by some other user, and I found quite a few sets (there are bound to be hundreds if not thousands of other schools using the very same textbook, right?).  I kept the cards I wanted, deleted the ones that didn’t pertain to The Boy’s particular study guide, and typed in anything that was missing.

The Boy and I went through the flashcards, while I let him look at the study guide to answer the questions.  He got three wrong, so we went back and corrected those three.  Then we played a game where he had to match the correct phrases and terms, all laid out on the screen in a random format, and it was timed.  We played five times so that he could try to beat his best time.

I bet The Boy didn’t even realize he was studying.  It’s simple memorization, but that’s our goal with testing, right?  And using a site like this that is web-based (and has an app!) and fun is one way to get my kid from point A to point B.  If you haven’t tried it with your own children (or something you have to memorize!), you should.  It’s another resource for those of us trying to handle the tide of homework.