Any advice on how to get 6th grader to do homework?

Thanks for everyone's input. Yes we have been sitting with and helping with the homework. We also pay for grades, $5 for A, $3 for B, $1 for C. One made the honor roll and we rewarded that with a gift certificate and flowers. The problem is, it is very emotionally draining for us and disrupting to the family to have to fight about homework all the time. By the way, it has gotten better. We are now trying to put more of the responsibility on the one twin as she has expressed desire to get all A's this year and maybe move out of 7th grade into 8th sooner than planned. The other one is still fighting and is having a great deal of difficulty with math, so we are trying to find her a tutor. Pray for us!!

Hey you guys,
If you are foster parents you are good people, i am sure it is hard for you but, if I am right the girls should be in 9th grade, that is a big difference of grades. They must feel bad being in the 6th grade knowing they should be in the 9th. The school should have a plan going for them after school something else.
Best wishes

Kennysmom,

I really liked your post...and it made me think of something else to suggest. A good way to help their foster daughters develop a sense of permanence is to start some additional family traditions and link it to improvement good performance in school. For example, When report cards come out and they get their first A or B, the family could go for ice cream or a special breakfast or a special lunch. And it doesn't have to be expensive or complicated. The girls will experience themselves becoming a part of something enduring, and that will be a comfort to them, and a foundation to build upon in their lives.

Talk to them -- ask them why they don't want to do their homework. Look at the answers & look at their grades. If they need help -- get the needed help, talk to teachers & find out what would help them. Sometimes foster kids have a hard time investing themselves in anything -- especially if they've bounced from place to place. Help them see the value in education, by helping them understand that most people don't live like they have had to & that getting a good education is one way to stop having to live that way in the future. Could you adopt??? It might give them a sense of permanence.