Homework for elementary age kids over Christmas break

[disneylovin24]

In these situations I tend to look at the big picture. She's in 4th grade. She completes her regular homework and is (from what we know) a good student. Even if the teacher DID give her a zero...who cares? Let him/her.

Again...4th grade. Not senior AP class. She's YOUR child, not the schools. If they feel that giving her a zero for spending a Christmas BREAK as an actual break is the way to go...then fine. Gold stars for all the parents who made their kids work over their break.

Send a letter explaining your position and leave it at that. If they threaten with "she will receive a zero" then reply and say "Great, thanks! Merry Christmas!"

She won't be rejected at Harvard because of it...I promise.

I don't like this. I agree that it is a lot of homework but you have to teach your child to follow teachers and cannot let them think (even in fourth grade) that they can get out of work because they find it unfair. Will not fly at all in middle or high school and it honestly should not, the teacher is in charge and even if you find the work unfair you have to do it, part of school.

Obviously elementary school grades do not effect a child's future but I think the habits they pick up in elementary school do. Most of the people I know that did well in high school had also done well in elementary school. I personally believe the habits you pick up in elementary school studying wise stick with you for your schooling life. How is a child that does not take school work seriously in elementary school expected to all of a sudden at the age of 12 buckle down and do well in school. A child that went through elementary school leisurely is not going to be capable of all of a sudden picking up great study habits in junior high.

My worry by letting your daughter skip the work is that she will expect in the future she can get out of other assignments she finds unfair.

Even if you don't like it, let the teacher do their job and respect that they are the teacher.

 

[disneylovin24]

I hate the homework, too.

How is it a positive learning experience when students rush thru it, have to be nagged to do it.

I guess it all depends what kind of learner you are but I have also found homework very helpful. In class you learn things but usually do not get to apply them until you do homework. You need to learn how to apply things and know that you can before tests.

Now in college I have had teachers that give no homework and thus never teach how to apply things learned so when tests come around it is very tough to do problems.

 

[disneylovin24]

Then the child would receive a zero. It would be a disservice her dd and the teacher if there wasn't even an attempt to complete the task.

OP, contact the teacher if you haven't already with your concerns. Your dd has been diagnosed with ADHD and this changes the scope of the post. Surely the teacher and school are working with you to help with her struggles. Maybe she can have additional time to complete the essays given the situation. My dd is in an inclusion class and those children are given extra time if it is needed.

Yeah this is important and changes the situation. I assume the teacher and school knows of your DD's condition and will probably work with you if you talk to her about maybe doing 1 essay or shorter essays.

 

[njpyro]

It seems to me like there is plenty of time to complete these assignments. You already have them, it's only December 18th and most schools don't start up again until January 2nd. Do the work now, get it out if the way and enjoy the rest of break. But please don't give your daughter the idea that she no longer has to do assignments that she thinks are unfair.

 

[brookmey]

Thank you for the helpful ideas. Her ADHD was diagnosed only about a week ago, so I'm at the beginning of the management process for it. It and its necessary adjustments are still pretty new. She is getting a modified assignment by only having to do 3 of the 5 choices.

Thank you for the suggestion of me typing while she dictates. That will save a lot of time. She and I sat down after school to work out a plan and timeline to get the assignments done without DD feeling like her whole break is all about school. I'm still not happy about this because I don't think homework should be given over breaks at this grade level. But, I would never let her opt out because I don't agree with it. If I did that, she would remember it in the future and not let me forget "that 1 time..." LOL

 

[threecrazykids]

I don't like this. I agree that it is a lot of homework but you have to teach your child to follow teachers and cannot let them think (even in fourth grade) that they can get out of work because they find it unfair. Will not fly at all in middle or high school and it honestly should not, the teacher is in charge and even if you find the work unfair you have to do it, part of school.

Obviously elementary school grades do not effect a child's future but I think the habits they pick up in elementary school do. Most of the people I know that did well in high school had also done well in elementary school. I personally believe the habits you pick up in elementary school studying wise stick with you for your schooling life. How is a child that does not take school work seriously in elementary school expected to all of a sudden at the age of 12 buckle down and do well in school. A child that went through elementary school leisurely is not going to be capable of all of a sudden picking up great study habits in junior high.

My worry by letting your daughter skip the work is that she will expect in the future she can get out of other assignments she finds unfair.

Even if you don't like it, let the teacher do their job and respect that they are the teacher.

While I appreciate your reply I obviously disagree.

Let the parent be the parent and the Christmas break be a BREAK.

Does the teacher have work REQUIREMENTS over break - as in taking continued education classes over the break? Highly unlikely - if they do, it would be voluntary.

Let these kids be kids...for cryin' out loud. Let the kids go out and play in the snow, burn some energy from being cooped up, and get AWAY from the school mentality during the break. Isn't that the point? Otherwise you are still "in school" and simply a logistics issue.

If they want to give these "assignments" as extra credit, fine. Good for those parents and kids who want to keep their nose to the grid over the holiday breaks.

And I don't believe that this child will now lose all respect for their teacher, skip out on homework, and live in a van down by the river when she's an adult.

To each their own - if they wanted to give my 4th grader a zero - let them. I simply wouldn't be rearranging my holiday vacation for essays. No way. Family time is so scarce anymore and I will fight viciously for it.

I have ZERO desire to treat these little beings as "mini grown ups".
There shouldn't be any requirement over break other than to have fun, enjoy time with your family, don't drive your parents crazy, and come back rearin' to go at the New Year.

 

[bigbabyblues]

I don't remember my kids ever having homework over Christmas break.

 

[sweetpeama]

We home school so it is up to my daughter who is school age if she is doing school work over the breaks. At this point because she has chosen to not do her assignments that she is well capable of doing. She doesn't want to do them because and I quote here "Their boring and too easy." The plan was originally to have from Dec 14-Jan 12 off for our Christmas holidays break other than her Chi Tu Do (Martial Arts) class starting back on the 7th and her Art and Kids Choir classes starting back on the 8th. Not sure when her German class will be starting back. So far she has had school to do this week. She will be getting Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off the rest is up to her.
On general principles I do not think that homework should be assigned over breaks. I think that I did have 1 teacher who assigned homework over Christmas break on year.
Our homework was
Watch a holiday or other movie of your choice
Read a fun book
Bake some cookies
Play in the snow if the wind chill is not too cold (that year was especially bad that recess was spent sitting on our desks tossing a foam ball trying to duck and not get out)
Spend Time with your family
Have fun

Of course we got very little homework assigned unless we choose to goof off and not get work done at school. When a teacher would try to give a bunch of assignments on a regular basis it didn't take long before their would be a visit with a bunch of parents and the school board. We were one of the highest ranking districts in the state too. Parents did other assignments to practice learning at home such as we have 35 head of sheep that lambed out this year resulting in 29 sets of twins, 2 sets of triplets, 1 set of quads, and 3 singles what is the lambing percentage.

Tammy

 

[Anastasi]

While I see nothing wrong with homework over the break, I am glad our district does not support it. There may be the occasional AP class here and there that assigns homework, but for the most part, it is frowned upon.

Our school calendar was built around making sure the High Schools finish the first semester before the break so that there is no studying for finals over the break.

Even our state athletic association does not allow any contact between a coach and athletes between 12/25 and 1/1, so even the athletes get a break.

Our district believes that a break is a break. The only exception is that reading daily is highly recommended. And the lower grades may give optional packets of work to parents if the parents feel that their child may slip over the break.

Now, don't ask me about summer homework for the advanced clases

 

[Anastasi]

While I appreciate your reply I obviously disagree.

Let the parent be the parent and the Christmas break be a BREAK.

Does the teacher have work REQUIREMENTS over break - as in taking continued education classes over the break? Highly unlikely - if they do, it would be voluntary.

Let these kids be kids...for cryin' out loud. Let the kids go out and play in the snow, burn some energy from being cooped up, and get AWAY from the school mentality during the break. Isn't that the point? Otherwise you are still "in school" and simply a logistics issue.

If they want to give these "assignments" as extra credit, fine. Good for those parents and kids who want to keep their nose to the grid over the holiday breaks.

And I don't believe that this child will now lose all respect for their teacher, skip out on homework, and live in a van down by the river when she's an adult.

To each their own - if they wanted to give my 4th grader a zero - let them. I simply wouldn't be rearranging my holiday vacation for essays. No way. Family time is so scarce anymore and I will fight viciously for it.

I have ZERO desire to treat these little beings as "mini grown ups".
There shouldn't be any requirement over break other than to have fun, enjoy time with your family, don't drive your parents crazy, and come back rearin' to go at the New Year.

Ours do. They do not get as long of a break as the kids as they have mandatory in-service days. It is also the time that they catch up on grading and planning.

 

[threecrazykids]

Ours do. They do not get as long of a break as the kids as they have mandatory in-service days. It is also the time that they catch up on grading and planning.

Right...but as you stated, their breaks aren't the same as the kids then.
That's different. They are working on the days they are scheduled to work, their break apparently doesn't follow an equal # of break days as the students.

For example: kids in a district close to ours go back to school the Monday following the New Year, however, the teachers in that district have in-service days on the 2nd and 3rd.

Now I'm not remotely suggesting these teachers DON'T work over the break - because teachers work hours WELL outside their scheduled hours, but as far as it being a "requirement" that is not the case.

I didn't realize that the OP's daughter already had the assignments until I re-read some posts. I thought the parents were just notified of the homework that would be given over break. If those are already in hand, then I would simply have her do them before break...there is plenty of time to get them done. However, if they had given them the day they left for break, I would have emailed explaining my stance and called it done.

 

[LSmith]

While I appreciate your reply I obviously disagree.

Let the parent be the parent and the Christmas break be a BREAK.

Does the teacher have work REQUIREMENTS over break - as in taking continued education classes over the break? Highly unlikely - if they do, it would be voluntary.

Let these kids be kids...for cryin' out loud. Let the kids go out and play in the snow, burn some energy from being cooped up, and get AWAY from the school mentality during the break. Isn't that the point? Otherwise you are still "in school" and simply a logistics issue.

If they want to give these "assignments" as extra credit, fine. Good for those parents and kids who want to keep their nose to the grid over the holiday breaks.

And I don't believe that this child will now lose all respect for their teacher, skip out on homework, and live in a van down by the river when she's an adult.

To each their own - if they wanted to give my 4th grader a zero - let them. I simply wouldn't be rearranging my holiday vacation for essays. No way. Family time is so scarce anymore and I will fight viciously for it.

I have ZERO desire to treat these little beings as "mini grown ups".
There shouldn't be any requirement over break other than to have fun, enjoy time with your family, don't drive your parents crazy, and come back rearin' to go at the New Year.

I agree with this 100%! Even my daughter who is in IB is not assigned homework over Christmas break.

 

[brmom]

Thank you for the helpful ideas. Her ADHD was diagnosed only about a week ago, so I'm at the beginning of the management process for it. It and its necessary adjustments are still pretty new. She is getting a modified assignment by only having to do 3 of the 5 choices. Thank you for the suggestion of me typing while she dictates. That will save a lot of time. She and I sat down after school to work out a plan and timeline to get the assignments done without DD feeling like her whole break is all about school. I'm still not happy about this because I don't think homework should be given over breaks at this grade level. But, I would never let her opt out because I don't agree with it. If I did that, she would remember it in the future and not let me forget "that 1 time..." LOL

Exactly....dictation and teaching the kid to type ASAP helps a great deal with the writing block. The other thing that has helped the most is find a tutor to help organize and reinforce the things learned in school. It takes some of the load off you. I am very bad about placing my relationship with the child over the importance of homework and school. Good Luck!

 

[mtemm]

yep, my 4th graders have to read a book and do cereal box book report, and my 6th grader has 2 projects for 2 different classes.

 

[joviroxx]

In middle school my kids always had to finish their science projects over the break....hated those darn things!

 

[LSmith]

While I appreciate your reply I obviously disagree.

Let the parent be the parent and the Christmas break be a BREAK.

Does the teacher have work REQUIREMENTS over break - as in taking continued education classes over the break? Highly unlikely - if they do, it would be voluntary.

Let these kids be kids...for cryin' out loud. Let the kids go out and play in the snow, burn some energy from being cooped up, and get AWAY from the school mentality during the break. Isn't that the point? Otherwise you are still "in school" and simply a logistics issue.

If they want to give these "assignments" as extra credit, fine. Good for those parents and kids who want to keep their nose to the grid over the holiday breaks.

And I don't believe that this child will now lose all respect for their teacher, skip out on homework, and live in a van down by the river when she's an adult.

To each their own - if they wanted to give my 4th grader a zero - let them. I simply wouldn't be rearranging my holiday vacation for essays. No way. Family time is so scarce anymore and I will fight viciously for it.

I have ZERO desire to treat these little beings as "mini grown ups".
There shouldn't be any requirement over break other than to have fun, enjoy time with your family, don't drive your parents crazy, and come back rearin' to go at the New Year.

I agree with this 100%!

 

[dsneprincess]

Last year, DS had a few pages in a homework packet for Home &Carreers over Christmas break. It was not long or hard, but angered me anyway because it is a BREAK!!! Also, this teacher only seemed to give homework, Halloween night, Thanksgiving &Christmas break.....I just assumed it was because she was a miserable person.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

I'm a third grade teacher and NO WAY would I ever assign homework over a break!! Kids need down time. In my experience, often when they've been given a break, concepts just "click" when they return. It's like the conscious brain needed to quit focusing on that task and let the unconscious mind at it awhile. Plus, the last thing I want to do as soon as I come back from Christmas break is have a big ole pile of grading waiting for me!!

I also won't give any homework on weekends.

 

[mamacatnv]

I don't like this. I agree that it is a lot of homework but you have to teach your child to follow teachers and cannot let them think (even in fourth grade) that they can get out of work because they find it unfair. Will not fly at all in middle or high school and it honestly should not, the teacher is in charge and even if you find the work unfair you have to do it, part of school.

Obviously elementary school grades do not effect a child's future but I think the habits they pick up in elementary school do. Most of the people I know that did well in high school had also done well in elementary school. I personally believe the habits you pick up in elementary school studying wise stick with you for your schooling life. How is a child that does not take school work seriously in elementary school expected to all of a sudden at the age of 12 buckle down and do well in school. A child that went through elementary school leisurely is not going to be capable of all of a sudden picking up great study habits in junior high.

My worry by letting your daughter skip the work is that she will expect in the future she can get out of other assignments she finds unfair.

Even if you don't like it, let the teacher do their job and respect that they are the teacher.

I do not agree with this. As a parent, I don't give the school that much power over my kids. School week is one thing, breaks are another.

Not requiring my kids to do the busy work that was assigned over breaks did not turn them into lazy incapable kids in Jr/Sr high. I tossed every break assignment that came along until DS was in high school. Today he finished his first term of his Doctorate of Physical Therapy graduate school program. I think he is managing his education just fine.

While I appreciate your reply I obviously disagree.

Let the parent be the parent and the Christmas break be a BREAK.

Does the teacher have work REQUIREMENTS over break - as in taking continued education classes over the break? Highly unlikely - if they do, it would be voluntary.

Let these kids be kids...for cryin' out loud. Let the kids go out and play in the snow, burn some energy from being cooped up, and get AWAY from the school mentality during the break. Isn't that the point? Otherwise you are still "in school" and simply a logistics issue.

If they want to give these "assignments" as extra credit, fine. Good for those parents and kids who want to keep their nose to the grid over the holiday breaks.

And I don't believe that this child will now lose all respect for their teacher, skip out on homework, and live in a van down by the river when she's an adult.

To each their own - if they wanted to give my 4th grader a zero - let them. I simply wouldn't be rearranging my holiday vacation for essays. No way. Family time is so scarce anymore and I will fight viciously for it.

I have ZERO desire to treat these little beings as "mini grown ups".
There shouldn't be any requirement over break other than to have fun, enjoy time with your family, don't drive your parents crazy, and come back rearin' to go at the New Year.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

No homework over the break for my kids. Heck, neither one has had homework this entire week and they're still in school. My 2nd-grader does have a science test tomorrow, but I think that's the extent of the actual work that's gone on this week.