"But, son, it's only January, the summer is still 5 months away!"

Is this something you've heard in your house?

Senioritis used to be a term just for 12th graders ready to get out of high school and on with their lives. But more and more, 7th and 8th graders are feeling the pressures of school and are zoning out.

Teachers try their best to keep lessons exciting, especially during the later months of the school year. But, that isn't always enough to keep our kids going.

A good way, I have found, to keep students interested is by changing how or when they do their homework. If you make them do their homework right after school everyday, they may see it as tedious and exhausting. Although some of our kids have no problem with this day in and day out set up, and others do need the regimented time table, still others find it grueling and can use some slack.

1. Allow them to break up their evening, so they don't have to do all of their homework at once.

2. Let them get a snack and hang out on the couch for a while before they have to sit down and work.

3. You should always check your child's homework for completion. If you can check the quality of the work as well, that's helpful to him/her. This is important for keeping your child accountable.