Even as early as first and second grade, kids are getting piles of homework. And at that tender age, sorting it out and getting it done ends up falling on parents as much as kids. Here’s how second-grader Ann, 8, and her mom, Ellen, are working it out.

Ellen: Even in second grade there’s a lot more homework than people might think. There’s a solid hour a week, plus 25 to 30 spelling words a week, plus the requirement to read for at least 20 minutes a night. You know, I don’t think we even had homework back when we were in second grade.

Ann: Yeah, we get a whole packet of worksheets—6 to 10 pages—every week, plus our spelling words.

Ellen: Ann doesn’t even get home until 4:30 p.m., so that doesn’t leave her much time. Right after school she likes to play and relax, then there’s dinner, and then it’s time for bath and bed. So what was happening is that she would procrastinate and suddenly it would be Thursday night and all her homework was due the next day. And we’d start arguing and she’d be tired. It was overwhelming.

Ann: I would come home Thursday afternoon and sit in the TV room and watch some TV, and mom would ask me to do my homework and I kept saying no, no, no. Then she sat down with me and said we need a new plan. So we agreed to look at it right away on Monday afternoon when I got home from school. And now this Monday I finished my whole packet in one evening!

Ellen: What she’s found is that if she has the energy on Monday she likes to get it out of the way. I’ve seen her improve her performance at school just by doing her homework more efficiently and regularly. Also, with math problems, especially, I’ve found we should work on it for just 15 minutes and then move on. It’s much better to spread it out.