homework.

[mel]

im just wondering if most schools do this now. my 5 year old son (year 1) comes home every night with homework. last week he had to find a number 8, draw it and write about where he found it (he cant write yet.) the next night he had to draw and colour a picture. every night he has 10 spellings to learn (lol, he cant spell yet either) oh yes and he has to read part of his school book every night (nor can he read) too. I told his teacher that she was expecting a bit too much of him but she seems to think that by pushing him he will learn quicker.

Surely this is too much to expect of a 5 yr old........or is it just me being the overprotective mum?

 

on another note...i told her that he cant read and just memorizes his reading book but she wrote 'very well read steven' in his record book.

[Brook]

Mel,

 

that sounds an awful lot of homework to me too

 

My son used to get homework once a week when he was that age, although we did reading together most days.

I think by pushing kids too hard it actually puts them off, especially if it's work that is far above their current limits.

 

Brook

[lil_me]

Sounds about the same as what my son was getting/doing, and it really helped him, but we also did work from home with him from very early on, every day. He didn't know a single letter at 4 1/2, and now he can read encyclopaedias. He now gets 3 reading books a week and 2 lots of homework on Fridays (one literacy one numeracy) and spellings which involve a work sheet and drawing pitcures aswell as copying the words on Mondays.

 

My youngest son is working on the jolly phonics series at school (he's 4 and in reception) and brings homework home every night to follow what they have done that day.

 

What I will say if he's expected to draw and colour a picture of something then make sure you help him with the visual side, for example of course my son knows what his house looks like if he sees it but last night he had to draw a picture of his house and couldn't visualise it, so I went out and took a photograph.

 

The reading book comment I would ask the teacher about, maybe its because he tried to read it.

Edited September 28, 2005 by lil_me

[Suze]

.............way too much, my kids have all had a reading book, and spellings once a week, normally 5 words. This sounds a lot for any child at primary school, what happened to coming home from school and chilling out.

[mel]

my mum phoned a teacher friend to ask her why so much homework. apparently its all to do with the governments league tables. children need to reach a certain level of education by a certain age so the school looks good.

[Kathryn]

I think this is too much homework, myself, especially the ten spellings a night. Schools have children from 9 till 3.30; the rest of the day should be for doing fun things, such as reading books for enjoyment or even playing on the computer (this helped my son's reading skills more than anything). I think my son only had "proper" homework from year 2 onwards.

[sharron]

my daughter is 5 and in year 1 she brings a biff and chip reading book home every night and she has 3 words to spell but she has them for a week or untill she has learnt them and then she can change them.

 

 

 

sharron

[phasmid]

Ask for a copy of the schools homework policy and see what it says. My feeling is that this is way too much. The amount stated in Sharron's post is the norm in my school.

[puffin]

That sounds much to much for a five year old - what on earth is the point of setting reading, spelling and writing tasks if he cannot read or write yet. There is a real risk that his confidence will be undermined and he will just give up or develop coping strategies such as memorising the book but not reading it.

 

If he is getting 10 spellings a night then that would add up to around 50 per week which is too many words if he is going to convert them from his short term to long term memory as most children need to repeat the same words for a few days. 10 words a week would be reasonable - but of little point if he is just learning this a a rote exericse and cannot read them. Pushing children before they are ready may lead to some short term learning but he will forget it quickly if

 

I am not in the UK as I live abroad but my 7 year old is in year 1 and has nothing like this amout of homework neither does my AS daughter in year 3.

 

 

I have found the government's guidline on the Department of Educations site: If you check out the guidance on pages 11 -12 (para 27) It states that for years 1 -2 homework should be about an hour per week - which would be no more that 10 mins/day or 3 homeworks of about 20 mins each week. It sounds as though your school is going over this - I would talk to the teacher again and ask for the school policy or if you get nowhere - go to the head.

 

 

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/homework/primary.pdf

Edited September 29, 2005 by puffin

[Tensing]

My 5 year old also in Year 1, has to read everynight, not a problem as he is a great reader. He also has to learn about 6 spellings a week (not so good at this). He also has a book to record book reviewsor character profiles in, though I am allowed to write these for him.

[jayjay]

Hi Mel, my son is 5 and he has one book a week that he has to read at least three times plus each friday he is given either number work for the weekend or english writing but it takes no longer then half an hour maximum hope this helps

[mel]

thank you everyone for your input, think i will have a word with his teacher tomorrow. he came home tonight with three different homework tasks, all to be done for tomorrow. i have left them in his school bag. we sat and read his schoolbook and i think thats enough for tonight.

[elainem]

Hi,

 

just a thought - does your ds have a statement specifiing a modified curriculum. If so then his homework shoud be differentiated accordingly too. If he doesn't have a modified curriculum may you could consider thinking about asking school. It seems very unfair to get him to learn 50 words a week if he can't yet read.

 

Elaine

[wishingwell]

Tread with caution! Teachers tend to view a parents attitude to homework as a strong link on how well parents wish their children to achieve academically through out their time in school. Children can surprise us, they pick things up with out parents knowing. Last year my youngest son started year 1. On the second day I collected him from school he began crying before he got out of the school gates. �What happened� I asked I was not leaving the school until I heard what had upset him so much. He replied �My bags full of homework� this little man had never lifted a pencil before starting school. I was prepared for trouble because he never showed any interest in drawing ever. He loved building and making things, new inventions daily. I got down to his level and assured him I would be able to help him get it done! At this stage I had not even seen what was in the school bag. Yes it was hard work there was so much, an example: full reading book, 5 new words to learn from word box, a letter from the alphabet and a number to learn and practice writing. Every night he had a new reading book and five new words this worried me. The numbers and letters were worked on every night for the week in different formats, which turned out to be fun. Yes I did help him a lot because he was really tired after school in 1st year. I wrote his words out and stuck them on my dinning room wall so that every time we sat down to eat or do homework at the table they could be included without making it seem like a chore. Help your son by holding his hand for writing, read the pictures in the reading books before starting to read the print, I?m sure my son memorized the words because I read it to him (I made sure he fully understood the story before we read.) Beyond belief he is a very confident little learner. Always praise every tiny achievement. I am concerned as to why he is doing 10 spellings per night I would get his teacher to fully explain this part. He needs to be familiar with his letters first. Spelling came this year in 2nd year (12 words for the week.) Your little son will surprise you at how quickly he will learn with your support. Believe in yourself and your son. Good luck.

 

Wishing u well

[Kathryn]

I think my son's school has a good attitude to homework. (He's in year 4). He has only one major piece of homework a week and it usually involves research or something practical -last week he had to measure all our forearms! He has a set of spellings every week and because he is doing exrta Maths he has weekly homework from this too, in the form of a game.

 

I don't think homework should ever be a chore in the early years. It should be something that parents and children want to do together. Otherwise it becomes this dreaded thing that's hanging over you all weekend until it gets done ihaphazardly and in a rush on Sunday night.

[smallworld]

My son, 5 has a differentiated curriculum.

Now in year 1 he gets a library bag with a book from the reading scheme and another he has chosen, plus 3 spellings, This is once a week.

I can't get him to even look at any of it, he tells me he does 'work' at school ! School don't push it (so far !!)

I don't think the other kids get much more than this, just flashcards to learn.

Why in the UK are we so keen to get our children reading and writing so early ? it doesn't seem to be the case in many other countries.

Let them play (and learn) in my view,

 

wac

[Kathryn]

Agreed, Waccoe. I grew up in a country where the school starting age was 5+ and trained to teach in a country where the starting age is 6 + . I think the end result is the same, and the ones who start their formal education later are probably subject to less stress and make the same amount of progress overall. I don't know if there is any research on this.

Edited September 29, 2005 by Kathryn

[smallworld]

I think there was some research to show that in countries where teaching reading isn't started until 6/7 that most children learn in a remarkably short time, presumably because they are ready to acquire this skill. I vaguely remember a documenatry on this topic when my eldest was learning to read (she's now 12)

I remember being amazed when I did a comparative education module that formal education in lots of countries didn't start until 7. I started full-time school at 4, no wonder I'd had enough by 14 !

 

wac