Do you have your kids do workbooks or similar in the summer?

[mtemm]

Thanks again for all replies. It's been a great discussion and has helped me as I bounce this off the wall. I ended up talking to my twins yesterday about it all. Summer reading/reports that are assigned by school are a given, and they read a ton anyway.

They understand my thoughts about math and since they will be entering a new school that is very competitive in math they actually seem to be eager to keep up and not lose ground. I asked what they wanted to do about it and they asked if I could print off some worksheets instead of getting workbooks. Both are really into history and want to do something for that as well, and I told them to have some fun with it and think about what they want to learn about. Tons of places in New England where we live, and we will be heading to DC/VA this summer as well.

They will definitely have tons of time for summer fun as well, I'm not worried about that part.

Still thinking about my rising 8th grader. He's had a lot on his plate this year. Need to sit down and talk with him and see what he thinks

 

[mamacatnv]

That starts in grade school and goes right up to 12th grade. If you just move into the district then they still have to do the project but they get the first two weeks of the school year to do it. So even those kids can't escape that.

Okay so that leads to my next question. Do all the students get a two week grace period or are those who are not new and who don't do the assignment automatically fail the first quarter on day one?

This logic fails me. Is this a private school? Surely there are kids who have parents like me who say nope, don't do it.
Per your words, my kid would automatically fail the first quarter. Why then would I even send them to school or encourage them to do any work for that entire first quarter? After all, they are going to fail regardless of what they do or how hard they work.

Sounds like a scare tactic to me and I seriously doubt that any public school could get away with that practice and if they do, shame on the parents who allow it to happen.

 

[dotfurio]

M-F we make them each read for 20 min and do math review online, which ends up taking 15-20 min. We have them do a few other things, like a chore or two, music practice, and non-screen time activities before they can get on their electronics.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Okay so that leads to my next question. Do all the students get a two week grace period or are those who are not new and who don't do the assignment automatically fail the first quarter on day one?

This logic fails me. Is this a private school? Surely there are kids who have parents like me who say nope, don't do it.
Per your words, my kid would automatically fail the first quarter. Why then would I even send them to school or encourage them to do any work for that entire first quarter? After all, they are going to fail regardless of what they do or how hard they work.

Sounds like a scare tactic to me and I seriously doubt that any public school could get away with that practice and if they do, shame on the parents who allow it to happen.

That's exactly how it was at my public HS, but the summer assignment was only for kids in/going into honors classes.

 

[msjprincess]

My kids have had summer assignments since Kindergarten. In elementary school they count as a homework assignment. In middle school they count as a project or report. So nowhere near 40% of their grade.

My son is going into HS next year. AFAIK his summer assignments count as a test or project.

 

[aprilgail]

Okay so that leads to my next question. Do all the students get a two week grace period or are those who are not new and who don't do the assignment automatically fail the first quarter on day one?

This logic fails me. Is this a private school? Surely there are kids who have parents like me who say nope, don't do it.
Per your words, my kid would automatically fail the first quarter. Why then would I even send them to school or encourage them to do any work for that entire first quarter? After all, they are going to fail regardless of what they do or how hard they work.

Sounds like a scare tactic to me and I seriously doubt that any public school could get away with that practice and if they do, shame on the parents who allow it to happen.

Public schools- The new kids get the two week grace if they are not registered by I believe it was 2 weeks of school starting, so if they just move in the district and are not registered by then they would not know about the assignment so they give them time to get it done. If is just English that the grade counts for so they would not pass the first quarter of English, not every single class so don't know why they wouldn't go to school for every other class if it only effects one grade. I have always hated the summer homework and as soon as they got it in grade school (usually before school ends they get the assignment) I have my daughter get it done and over with. The Jr. High ones were a bit harder to do that because they had a time frame to go online after each book and take a test so if she read them in June by the time the last test came in August she wouldn't remember each little detail and not do so well.

 

[mamacatnv]

That's exactly how it was at my public HS, but the summer assignment was only for kids in/going into honors classes.

Same here - "elected" classes - if the kid chooses to take the honors/AP then the summer assignment is part of the deal - I understand that and since its a condition of taking the class then IMO it should be done although I know many a high schooler, my DS was one of them, who did their Honors/AP summer assignments at the last minute or not at all and BS'd their way past their teacher.

Public schools- The new kids get the two week grace if they are not registered by I believe it was 2 weeks of school starting, so if they just move in the district and are not registered by then they would not know about the assignment so they give them time to get it done. If is just English that the grade counts for so they would not pass the first quarter of English, not every single class so don't know why they wouldn't go to school for every other class if it only effects one grade. I have always hated the summer homework and as soon as they got it in grade school (usually before school ends they get the assignment) I have my daughter get it done and over with. The Jr. High ones were a bit harder to do that because they had a time frame to go online after each book and take a test so if she read them in June by the time the last test came in August she wouldn't remember each little detail and not do so well.

I'm a rebel, my kid would not be doing that summer project and I would challenge a public school English class to flunk my kid for an entire quarter. This would be one of those instances of a hill I was willing to die on. No school gets to dictate what my kids do during their breaks/vacations unless, as I have stated several times, it is a condition of a class chosen by a high school student that has a summer assignment condition.

 

[North of Mouse]

since my kids started school I've always had them do workbooks over the summer. Just a few days a week, maybe half an hour or an hour total, to help keep their math skills up in particular. When they were younger they loved doing them, last year they weren't as engaged or interested.

Now that they are older (going into 6th and 8th) I'm thinking about just skipping it. They have summer reading for school (they read a ton anyway). I haven't decided yet which way I'll go, but am curious what others do

For our kids - no way! I felt like summer should be carefree - enough time for school work during school days/months. They never had any problems getting back in the swing of things once school started again -

JanaDee - agree 100%! Children need a break - I actually was a child once and remember the summers fondly!

 

[clori]

I'm in my 40s and we had summer homework when I was in school at least for high school. Each level had a list of books to read (choosing say 3 books from the list). The first week of school everyone who was there at the end of the previous year took a test 3 days in a row on the books of their choice. The grades combined counted as 10% of 1st quarter grade. Anyone new had time based on when they registered or worked something out privately.

My girls have had summer homework in reading/ELA since before starting kindergarten. I doubt they would have been penalized for it not being done in early grades. This year my dd entering 10th grade. All levels have to read 4 articles that don't look long and answer some questions for each article such as a claim made by the author, proof or quote to back it up, and a sentence about why the article was interesting. Honors also have to read 1 book from a list (extra credit for college prep students) and write 5 things (don't remember what). It counts as 5% of the 1st quarter ELA grade but no tests. AP English Lit and Language classes have more summer requirements. I have no idea how it is for new students. The school year hasn't finished and math isn't online yet but they get homework based on what math class/level they are going into in high school. In k-8 some years they had math homework but more often they are just told to review facts, follow recipes etc.

 

[marlynnp]

Lets say a student has 14 hrs available in a day after sleeping and eating and so forth. That's close to 100 hrs per week. To not expect or think your student can't do say 5 to 10 hrs a week of assigned homework in the summer, reading the classics and writing papers on them, math and such to me is just being lazy. I excepted more out of mine and couldn't imagine them spending a summer doing no brain work. One of the things that was attractive to me about their schools and to other parents as well was the summer homework.

oh please, it's not being lazy.
It's about not being BORING! I was always able to give my kids plenty of brain work without having to resort to workbooks.

 

[Southernmiss]

When my kids were early elementary, I bought into the they need some school work over the summer to avoid 'brain drain'. But about 4th grade I realized summer vacation is only 2 months long at best, kids need time to chill and childhood goes too fast. I got over the brain drain idea.

By high school they have summer assignments and band practice and sports activities and summer trips and part time jobs. All of which are educational in their own right.

And know what? My oldest 2 kids graduated at the top of their classes of 300 plus and the younger 2 are at the top of their grade.

School has been out here already for a month and I'm still waiting to catch my breath as their evening activities haven't stopped.

We don't need no education. Hey teachers leave those kids alone.

 

[mommasita]

The only time we had it was for honors classes in HS. There was always a book or two to read and papers on those books due, but not other than that.

My DD16 has 3 Summer books to read this summer.. There is a choice from about 20 books.. No papers due, that is the first week of school, so the books MUST be read. She is in IBO Private school, and we knew that in the beginning.. I see no issue, and she loves to read.. To be honest, she usually gets them done in the first few weeks.. Might be later this year as she has a school Europe trip..