First of all, it is very important to check that the work is done.  Ask on a regular basis to see the orange notebook.  Homework assignments are printed there in English.  Make sure they are done properly.  Homework is also posted on the website and you can check during the day if you have time to see what work needs to be done that evening.  Children [this age] are still too young to imagine that they are working for their own good.  Above all, parents must show the importance they themselves place on the homework being done.  [Homework is not mandatory]:  it is almost always a review, and the exercises can be done by the child by himself.  But your children may need you in order to recite their tables or recite a text or a poem.  Homework is given ahead of time [to give you some flexibility].  If you have planned a family gathering, for example, you can thus get the homework done ahead of time so as to not be bothered by work that needs to be done just when the whole family has an occasion to get together.  Occasionally there are school events that cause me to fall behind in the lessons.  Do not do homework which is too far ahead of the classwork.