Does your kindergartener have homework?

[PollyannaMom]

I agree that it's too much! Our school handbook has the homework policy printed in it, and K students are only listed at 1/2 - 1 hour a week.

Our school also does not give homework on Fridays. (Though I would actually prefer it then, as we have more time on the weekend and I would rather DS could play after school.)

 

[jessica52877]

DS6 was in K last year. They go full days everyday here and had homework every night. The homework was expected to take no longer then 20 minutes per night. That did not include reading. It was all sent home on monday and returned on friday. Each day was usually 2 worksheets. One sometimes being write each spelling word 5x and then 2 sentences using them. That usually took the longest but still not long at all. We actually usually sat on monday and did them all. Honestly it didn't take my son more then 30 minutes to complete the weekly stuff.

He is in 1st now and has homework every night. It still so far is not taking him that long to do it but is sent home nightly vs weekly. I much prefer the weekly.

 

[PaulaSue]

My girls all have gone full day K and they all had 15 minutes of reading a day, and a worksheet every other day or so.

Maybe the extra homework is because of half day and not enough tie to get thought everything they need to do to be ready for 1st grade.

 

[mommyof2princesses]

Homework, if assigned, should be equal to the grade level in elementary school. for example:
1st grade = 10 min
2nd grde = 20 min
3rd grade = 30 min

I think kindy could have 5 min of handwriting practice, maybe, or to find and cut out pictures that begin with the letter they are learning. (I remember doing that when I was little....once upon a time.

I personally think that homework has gotten way out of hand. I taught 4th grade for over 7 years and as I got more comfortable with my teaching abilities, the less homework I assigned. I would try to keep it to 20 min plus the required reading in 4th grade. My parents appreciated it and the students had more family time.

We homeschool now, and I think that has also given me new perspective. Especially when I can get a 10 th grader through a days work in 5 hours with no need for homework and a 1st grader done for the day and 1 1/2 hours with no homework too.

 

[NorweJenNY]

Homework, if assigned, should be equal to the grade level in elementary school. for example:
1st grade = 10 min
2nd grde = 20 min
3rd grade = 30 min

I think kindy could have 5 min of handwriting practice, maybe, or to find and cut out pictures that begin with the letter they are learning. (I remember doing that when I was little....once upon a time.

I personally think that homework has gotten way out of hand. I taught 4th grade for over 7 years and as I got more comfortable with my teaching abilities, the less homework I assigned. I would try to keep it to 20 min plus the required reading in 4th grade. My parents appreciated it and the students had more family time.

We homeschool now, and I think that has also given me new perspective. Especially when I can get a 10 th grader through a days work in 5 hours with no need for homework and a 1st grader done for the day and 1 1/2 hours with no homework too.

Cool! I'm also a former-fourth-grade teacher-turned-homeschool-mom from NC! Maybe we should start a club!

 

[Britgirlus]

Wow - I'm amazed at the amount of homework !! My son was in full day Kindergarten last year (7.55am - 3.15pm) - and never had homework !! He's in 1st grade this year, and I'm expecting to see some, but nothing yet (he started this past Monday). They also have 3 recesses at his school but that's a whole other discussion

 

[princessmom29]

My DS just started kindergarten on Weds, but he did have homework on the first day. It was a simple project to make a little project based on a story they read that day (trace the child and a parent's hand, color them and put a heart sticker in each palm). The teacher says that she normally does not start assigning nightly homework until the 3rd week of school. The school district web site says that kindergarten will be assigned an average of 20 mins per night Mon-Thurs night. Our schools have full day kindergarten Mon-Fri. I didn't even know kindergarten was full day until I started looking into having him registered. When I was growing up, it was a half day 5 days a week. Schools still run kindergarten on the same schedule in the part of CA I grew up in. School is a lot different than when most parents were in school. Apparently kindergarten became much more academic after the no child left behind act was put into place. My son's teacher was teaching 1st grade 10 years ago, and she says what they teach in kindergarten now is actually the same thing they taught 1st graders 10 years ago. They really start them early anymore in public schools. Private schools and montessori schools still do start them later on the reading and writing. It is the reason that many parents are starting kids in school when they are 6 instead of 5 and are opting for a 2nd year of pre-k instead.

Our private schools are actually ahead of public schools in terms of reading and writing, and they send home less homework. It is a class size issue here. 22-25 is just too many to have in a K class with no aide so the work they don't finish goes home. I do think more than about20 min. of homework is too much, but they need some to start building good homework habits. I am all for academics in K. I think the more my child can learn, and the erlier she learns it the better. I want her to have all the knowledge she can as early as she can, and she loves learning new things. I think it is wonderful that they are geting more academics in K. most 5 year olds are capable of so much more than color, cut, and paste. The problem in our public schools is that so many parents don't send their kids to per-K or attempt to tech them anything at home. My sister is a public K teacher and she routinely gets 5 year old who do not know their ABC's, colors, or shapes, and have no idea what to do with a book. That is why my DD is in private K. They all have those skills already, so there is no need to spend a quarter catching them up. Seriously, I think we are selling our kids short by saying "they are just kids, cut them some slack." They love learning and will suck it up like little sponges given the chance.

 

[bellebud]

my kids are going into 5th and 3rd - they attended a private catholic school since pre-K. They got a lot of homework every single night, starting in pre-K. We started homeschooling this past March, so no more homework for us. But I have to say, I really thought much of the homework was "busy work". Some nights it was an acceptable amount, some nights it was just totally ridiculous. And pretty much all of it was parent/child homework - not really things the children were "reviewing" from the day - it that were the case, they should have been able to pretty much do it on their own. That was never the case. The schools are so broken, they need the parents to "teach" at home in addition to the regular school day. And as a nation, we're told we're very behind, so this still isn't enough. One of the many reasons we're now homeschooling.

 

[katyjeka]

Homework is a good thing, but too much is not!!! I have to wonder how the problem of child obesity in the US will be corrected if children spend the day in school and come home to 2 hours of homework. When do they find time to run around, exercise and be children?? Just a thought.

 

[princessmom29]

my kids are going into 5th and 3rd - they attended a private catholic school since pre-K. They got a lot of homework every single night, starting in pre-K. We started homeschooling this past March, so no more homework for us. But I have to say, I really thought much of the homework was "busy work". Some nights it was an acceptable amount, some nights it was just totally ridiculous. And pretty much all of it was parent/child homework - not really things the children were "reviewing" from the day - it that were the case, they should have been able to pretty much do it on their own. That was never the case. The schools are so broken, they need the parents to "teach" at home in addition to the regular school day. And as a nation, we're told we're very behind, so this still isn't enough. One of the many reasons we're now homeschooling.

I WANT to be a partner with DD's school, and be a part of her education. I would personally be pretty disturbed if I sent her to school and never got any homework sent home, or any communication as to what her progress was, or what I could work on with her at home. I feel like parents NEED to be a part of teaching their children, and DD goes to a school that actively encourages parent envolvment. I don't think all schools are "broken", but I will agree that the public schools in our area are. They focus too much on testing and not enough of teaching. I teach in a public high school, and my personal classroom philosophy is that we will take the standardzed tests, but I am not taking time out of my class to prepare for them. I am fortunate to work for a principal who supports this. I am much more interested in perparing the college track students I teach to succeed in college and in life that teaching to a test. The major problem in our school that prevents kids from learning is student behavior. We are an inner city school, and by and large our parents want to take no responsibility for their children's bad behavior, and will make no effeort to correct it at home. The students don't take responsibility for thier actions either b/c theyt have not been taught to at home. We have students that are taught at home that learning is not important, and that the school is "out to get them." It makes for a hostile environment in which to spread knowledge. I think that a lot of public schools will continue to be "broken" until this attitude changes.

 

[bellebud]

The major problem in our school that prevents kids from learning is student behavior. We are an inner city school, and by and large our parents want to take no responsibility for their children's bad behavior, and will make no effeort to correct it at home. The students don't take responsibility for thier actions either b/c theyt have not been taught to at home. We have students that are taught at home that learning is not important, and that the school is "out to get them." It makes for a hostile environment in which to spread knowledge. I think that a lot of public schools will continue to be "broken" until this attitude changes.

I couldn't agree more, and I live in a rural area. I'm sure it's "worse" where you are, but it's not great here either (it's everywhere). My mom drove a school bus for our local public school (where I went) from when I was in K till just last year. She says the difference in the kids and parents behavior today is very scary - the swearing, the attitudes, the sexual things happening on the bus - then the parents getting mad at the driver or the school because their kid got in trouble. I don't blame the teachers for the broken system - whenever I run into an old teacher of mine, they always say how different it is today, how it's all they can do to keep the class under control - forget about real teaching the way they'd want to. They have bigger problems to address, like student safety.

And I certainly want to be a part of my children's education - that's why I took it over.

 

[jodifla]

Study after study shows the typical homework is antiquated and not very helpful for preparing kids for the future.

My DS is in school from 9 to 4. That's really plenty of time to get schoolwork done in my book.

The "good" homework I can see is reading, book reports, things like that.

When I was in junior high school, I'd set up my friends in a little homework co-op. I'd do it one night, they'd do it the next, etc. It was just mindless busy work.

 

[rt2dz]

Yes, my kids have homework in Kindergarten. Kindergarten isn’t what K was when I went to school, that is now pre-k. Kindergarten is much more like first grade when I went to school; that’s why all those parents redshirt their kids a year. They are expected to be reading by the end of the school year.

My oldest had half day Kindergarten the year before the district went to full day. He had more homework with half day than my middle son is getting this year with full day. Why? They have more time to cover things in class. When my oldest was in K, he went to a brand new school and his teacher came from a neighboring district that had full day K. She told me (I got to know her quite well) that she would have quit if our district wasn’t moving to full day K. Half day or full day, they had to teach the same things. With a full day, they had more time to do it, were able to pull in more activities to reinforce concepts, and had to send less homework home. Plus, if the kids were having a day were things weren’t moving smoothly, she could spend time doing strictly fun activities to pull them back on track, where half day K didn’t allow for it and the kids just ended up with *more* homework. She told me that most her full day kids (from a very underprivileged area) could blow the water out of most her half day kids (from an affluent area, where they were getting more help at home). So, half day K could be the reason why so much homework.

Homework this year is reading aloud for 15 minutes per day (parent to child or, if capable, child to parent), going over the poem of the week (once a week), sight word book/flashcards (three times a week), and handwriting practice (daily)--which is like a 5 minute worksheet.

 

[princessmom29]

I couldn't agree more, and I live in a rural area. I'm sure it's "worse" where you are, but it's not great here either (it's everywhere). My mom drove a school bus for our local public school (where I went) from when I was in K till just last year. She says the difference in the kids and parents behavior today is very scary - the swearing, the attitudes, the sexual things happening on the bus - then the parents getting mad at the driver or the school because their kid got in trouble. I don't blame the teachers for the broken system - whenever I run into an old teacher of mine, they always say how different it is today, how it's all they can do to keep the class under control - forget about real teaching the way they'd want to. They have bigger problems to address, like student safety.

And I certainly want to be a part of my children's education - that's why I took it over.

Thanks for the understanding, and i totally didn't mean to slight you at all. I totally respect good homeschool parents who take on the enormous task of educating their own children and do there best to make it top notch!! We are really lucky to have found the school DD is attending. She had a really good preschool, but i just could not see myself sending her to public K, at least not here. We just love her school, and it is truly a place where the kids come first, and parents are active and involved. If we didn't have such a good resource on hand, homeschool my have been a decision i was forced to make, as much as I would have hated leaving my job to do it.

 

[fireflymedic]

My DS has been in school for three weeks now ...

On the weekends he has to write in his journal about what he did over the weekend ...

OK my boys are 3 and 4 so no school for thim, but your child knows how to write? and he has only been in school for 3 weeks?

 

[Camping Griswalds]

Our private schools are actually ahead of public schools in terms of reading and writing, and they send home less homework. It is a class size issue here. 22-25 is just too many to have in a K class with no aide so the work they don't finish goes home. I do think more than about20 min. of homework is too much, but they need some to start building good homework habits. I am all for academics in K. I think the more my child can learn, and the erlier she learns it the better. I want her to have all the knowledge she can as early as she can, and she loves learning new things. I think it is wonderful that they are geting more academics in K. most 5 year olds are capable of so much more than color, cut, and paste. The problem in our public schools is that so many parents don't send their kids to per-K or attempt to tech them anything at home. My sister is a public K teacher and she routinely gets 5 year old who do not know their ABC's, colors, or shapes, and have no idea what to do with a book. That is why my DD is in private K. They all have those skills already, so there is no need to spend a quarter catching them up. Seriously, I think we are selling our kids short by saying "they are just kids, cut them some slack." They love learning and will suck it up like little sponges given the chance.

I agree with you about the learning aspect. I agree about them being like spnges. But this is about homework. I just think that the OP wrote about it, and that is way too much. If your child is in school for 8 hours.....there is plenty of sponge time then. I want the nights to be just us...as a family. And really, with so many schools cutting out recess and physical education and music, and the overwhelming amount of childhood obesity, I wish the teachers would assign, "Healthy exercise" as homework. "Go take a walk for 15 minutes" might make more of an impact long term on the child physically and mentally as sitting and writing or reading for 15 minutes. I will be involved in either as a parent, but I think the homework issue is out of control.

 

[princessmom29]

OK my boys are 3 and 4 so no school for thim, but your child knows how to write? and he has only been in school for 3 weeks?

Mine does 1 week into K5. They taught them to make all their letters by the middle of K4, and she can write simple 3-4 word sentences.

 

[princessmom29]

I agree with you about the learning aspect. I agree about them being like spnges. But this is about homework. I just think that the OP wrote about it, and that is way too much. If your child is in school for 8 hours.....there is plenty of sponge time then. I want the nights to be just us...as a family. And really, with so many schools cutting out recess and physical education and music, and the overwhelming amount of childhood obesity, I wish the teachers would assign, "Healthy exercise" as homework. "Go take a walk for 15 minutes" might make more of an impact long term on the child physically and mentally as sitting and writing or reading for 15 minutes. I will be involved in either as a parent, but I think the homework issue is out of control.

You are right, there has to be a balance somewhere.

 

[kinntj]

Our district just opened up 3 classrooms of full day and 3 classrooms of 1/2 day Kindergarten. My DD is going to be in a 1/2 day PM K...our choice. Now, the principal said that full day students will have more language arts (reading and writing) in their day from 1/2 day classes, so homework is vital for the 1/2 day students.

We are expected to get reading assignments daily (when they learn a book at school they bring it home to read to us) with math once a week, sent home on Fridays. A larger writing assignment once a month (due at the end of the month). They have a science project they will have to pick from a list of things and bring it into school and show it to the class. Just an example of what we have here. Nothing too daunting.

 

[megthewonderful]

My son was in kindergarten last year and we did at least an hour of homework each day. I didn't mind doing the homework with him at all. He has turned into an excellent reader and shows a great understanding of math concepts. I have another son going to kindergarten this year and he just barely makes the cut off. He won't be 5 until the end of September and I hope he gets at least an hour of homework each day. He is going to need the extra reinforcement!