I have recently heard people complaining about how much homework the kids in elementary school are being assigned each day. Can anyone comment on this?

Thanks

Charlene

is with Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

In K, my son had homework every couple of days, and it was almost optional. The teacher wanted to get him into the habit of doing homework, but didn't hold it against them if they skipped it once in a while.

He's in 1st now, and he gets homework every night except for Fridays. Usually it is one or two worksheets that take him less than 10 minutes to complete. I think that's pretty reasonable. Actually, I was surprised to find out that they are allowed a certain number of "misses" during a month (2 or 3, I think) where they can skip/forget their homework. I would have thought they'd be a little more strict about it, but I guess it is only first grade, after all. He's recently also been given three longer-term projects - a craft that was to be done with the whole family (read: me! ), a book report (which really just consists of writing the author's name, the title of the book, and one sentence describing whether he liked the book or not), and practicing his line for a play they will be performing in November. All of this seems fairly reasonable to me.

Now, I have heard that in the older grades, they often have a few hours of homework per night. I can't really comment on that, but if it's true, I really don't look forward to it - it's hard enough getting the little guy to spend 10 minutes on his homework without a fight!

Lisa

Lisa Clarke My Store: Polka Dot Creations My Blog: Dancing the Polymer Polka My Message Board: The Polka Dot Cottage My Silly Boys <------

Hi Lisa-
Is there anything we can do too explain to the teachers that the amount of homework that is being given to students at the elementary level is basically being done by the parents?

The reason why I raised the question of homework in the first place is because I saw an interview on Good Morning America and they person was explaining that giving lots of homework at the elementary level doesn't really help kids and actually makes their school experience more stressful. Also the research shows that this is not making them smarter.

I welcome your comments.

My son does his own homework. Often I don't even look at it before he sticks it in his folder to bring back to school. Now, maybe as he gets older and his homework becomes more difficult, I will have to be more involved. But right now, he's doing it himself.

Oh, I think I see where you might have misinterpreted what I said. I mentioned that I was the one who did his craft project. What I meant was that I was the only one in the house who helped him with his craft project even though the assignment was a "family" assignment. That's more of a lack-of-communication in my own house than it is a school issue Sorry if I wasn't more clear about that. He did quite a bit of the work on that project himself. I just helped with some of the cutting and gluing.

I think you'd probably want someone with older children in the district to weigh in on this topic, since my own experience is fairly limited so far.

Lisa

I am in the 8th grade and the homework we get usually doesn't get done in one night. I have to work on my math all week to get it done and sometimes I forget a page or two. I am on the school basketball team and I don't get that much time to do the work. Every day in class someone is asking me for the answers to last nights homework because I make good grades. But I don't really see how I get good grades because of the fact that I don't have the time to finish the homework.

I'm sure every school district is different. Maybe homework doesn't count as much toward your grade as in-school work does in your school. Good for you for keeping your grades up, even with your busy schedule.

Lisa

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Lisa Clarke
Have had your daily dose of Polka Dots?

I have found that the best way to handle homework, is to let the teacher know. If they don't hear from us, they have no idea that it may be too difficult or taking too long. Basically a child should have about 10 minutes of homework per grade level. This can obviously vary a bit, and does depend on the child, but for first grade, it really shouldn't take more than 10 minutes, 20 minutes tops. If my child is struggling or it is taking too long, I simply have them stop and I put a sticky not on it to let the teacher know how long it took to get to the point that he was at. With some of the 1st grade journal entries, I write what my child dictates because I feel that his thoughts are the most important at this point, and not him struggling to write. The teachers want the kids to do well and sometimes they just don't realize how long assignments are taking. My older sons 4th grade teacher last year made a point of specifically letting us know that she did not want parents to help with the homework. She needed to know what the kids knew and see the incorrect answers. That is the only way the teacher can gauge how the students are understanding what is taught.