Homework

In The Sims 2, The Sims Stories, The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, children and teens get homework on school days. Homework comes in the form of a school notebook, with differing covers depending on the student's life stage and the Homework can be completed at a desk or on the floor, and will usually take a Sim hour to complete. Failing to complete homework generally results in bad grades.

The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories
In The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories, children and teens will have homework in their hands after they get off the school bus. If possible, they will put the assignment on or by a desk, and seem to prefer the first desk that was placed in the house, even if it is in an illogical or inaccessible location. If a student has unfinished homework, he or she will put the new homework on top of it. The player can tell the student to put the homework down by canceling the "Go to School" icon. Homework can be moved in buy and build modes, though it cannot be deleted. A child's homework will be brightly colored, while a teen's homework will be plainly colored.

Clicking on the homework gives the child or teen an option to complete it or ask an older Sim for help. An older household member, when the homework is clicked, can offer help with finishing the homework. A child or teen who is being helped with homework will finish it faster, and will gain the memory of being taught to study. This will fulfill the "Ask for Homework Help" want, and will allow them to do homework more quickly in the future. If Seasons is installed, students will do homework faster in the fall, or after drinking apple juice.

Sims will not usually get distracted while doing homework, unless their motives are low. They are more likely to get distracted if they are being helped by an older Sim. It is usually best to ensure that both the student and the mentor are in a good mood prior to beginning the interaction, and that no other interactions are in their queue until the homework has been completed.

There is no time limit on completing homework, but doing (or not doing) homework will affect a student's grades. A student who goes to school in a good mood with all homework done will gain a better grade. Students will not be penalized for going to school with one piece of incomplete homework, but going to school with more than one piece of incomplete homework may cause their grades to drop.

Sims may have a want to do homework. This want will be fulfilled when they complete a piece of homework. This want will be fulfilled even if the homework they complete belongs to another Sim.

Young adults in college do not receive homework, but can optionally do assignments in order to improve their class performance.

If a teen has unfinished homework when he or she is sent to college or becomes an adult, it will disappear.

The Sims 3
On school days, children and teens will come home with homework in their inventory. This is unlike The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories, where they would place the homework down. They can simply "Do Homework" on their own, "Do Homework With..." another friend of their age group, or "Get Help From" an older Sim on the lot. Sims can also do someone else's homework, or copy someone's homework if that person already did it, although this can cause after school detention. Sims may stop doing homework if they are hungry, tired, have the "Stressed" moodlet, or have a low bladder meter. Sims with bookworm and workaholic traits, as well as logic skill get homework done faster, and the library is a good place to study. The level of logic skill does not increase the rate of finishing homework; only one skill point in Logic is necessary. In Supernatural, vampires also do homework faster than normal Sims, and witches may magically finish it in a matter of seconds with a chance of being Singed. Homework is a hidden skill.

Students who skip homework or do not complete it on time will receive a bad mark in the Homework area of their school performance (This can be found in the 'School' section of the Simology panel) and may get detention. Students who complete their homework on time get a good mark in this section. However, homework can be finished while at school using the "Work on Late Homework" option. However, if the teacher catches them, they may get an after school detention. Good students grow up to be good adults, so it is important that young Sims maintain good grades. If a Sim has an A when they age up, the player will be able to choose his or her next trait.

In Generations, children can bury their homework in the sandbox, but will receive a bad grade for doing so.

The Sims 4
Once Sims become a child or teen on-screen, they will automatically receive a homework book appropriate for their life stage in their inventory, whether or not they have attended school in the past. Children will have a yellow book labeled "Grade School Homework" while teens will receive a blue book simply labeled "Homework". When a student receives a B or above from school, they will be given the option "Do Extra Credit" if they have finished the homework by clicking again on their individual homework books. Children have the ability to receive help from adults. Unlike previous games, children who neglect their homework still have a fair shot at keeping their school performance high by completing other tasks such as maintaining certain moods or building skills. If a player's Sim misplaces a homework book or ages up to a child or teen off-screen, they can purchase a new homework book for §1 from a bookcase, or simply use another Sim's homework book. Unlike previous games, a homework book is not tied to a particular Sim.

If all four of a child Sim's skills (creativity, mental, motor, social) are at least level 3, "Do Homework" changes to "Breeze Through Homework", meaning the Sim is already skilled and can complete the homework more quickly. With all four skills at level 7, this changes again to "Dominate Homework," and the homework can be completed even more quickly. This speed boost is not available to teen Sims.