NO ROOM FOR DISTRACTION
WHY EVERY KID NEEDS A HOMEWORK HAVEN
While some kids love school and eagerly start their homework when they get home, others dread everything about it. They might not enjoy what they’re learning or have a difficult time sitting down to study. You could try countless strategies, such as hiring a tutor or offering rewards, but the solution might be simpler than that. If you don’t have a dedicated homework area in your home, now is the time to create one. Start by determining the best location in your home. Ideally, choose a location without distractions, such as a bedroom or office. However, if your child does not work well without supervision, put them in a central location. If you don’t have the space in your home to set up a dedicated homework area, you can create a homework basket or cart to break out whenever it’s time to do schoolwork. You also need to gather supplies and set them up for success. Consider the assignments your child will need to complete during the school year and provide them with the necessities for each assignment. Younger children will likely need paper, crayons, scissors, and glue, while older kids should have access to pencils, erasers, a calculator, and a dictionary.
Toph’s Tax Triumph
Coming to the Aid of a Grieving Widow
Some of our smallest cases are also the most interesting. A small issue we handled recently for a widow burdened by her late husband’s tax debt was also one of the most rewarding. Her husband had died recently and unexpectedly, after being diagnosed with cancer in his late 30s or early 40s. He had been in the trucking business and piled up a sizable tax debt before they were married. To avoid the problem, he started a new trucking business and put it in her name after they were married. So, this couple went from having a tax problem in his name to having a tax problem in her name. She came to us after his death, beside herself with worry over a $10,000 tax bill the IRS had been trying to collect. Although that might seem small by most people’s standards, she couldn’t afford to pay it, and it was a big stressor for her, especially when she was already grieving the loss of her husband. This widow’s case posed a rare opportunity to resolve a client’s tax problem without dealing directly with a collections issue. Our client was not liable for her husband’s tax debts because she had been reporting her income as “Married, Filing Separately.” Her returns, however, showed her late husband’s 1099 income from the trucking business and her W-2 earnings. We found that all the income from the business had been going to her late husband, as shown by his bank accounts and other documents. He had stopped filing returns altogether in the apparent hope that he would drop off the IRS’s radar. We filed amended returns for the widow to show the IRS that its collection efforts were mistaken. The income from the business had never been hers and her late husband should have claimed them. The IRS accepted her amended returns. And after the agency invalidated the penalties associated with her late husband’s tax debts and reduced her taxes to only what she actually owed on income that was legitimately hers, she received a $3,000 refund!
All that’s left is organizing everything they’ll need. Separate everything into bins, cubbies, or baskets by their subject. You could apply labels to each bin to ensure everything stays organized. This will help your child focus only on the task at hand. Once you establish the space, you must set ground rules to ensure your child does their homework.
Restricting the use of phones or tablets is a must in today’s day and age. They may say they need it for their studies, but it will distract them.
If possible, set specific times your child should be at the desk doing schoolwork. Even if they don’t have homework that day, they can still benefit from studying. While it might not fix every school woe, creating a dedicated homework area for your child could help them foster a love of learning!
Not surprisingly, our client was hugely relieved. In thanks, she immediately left us a five-star Google review.
–Toph Sheldon
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