Homework on Weekends (spinoff of the Homework Packets thread)

[PollyannaMom]

The other thread about about homework packets got me thinking.

I love that DS's 3rd grade class gets all their spelling for the week on Monday and turns it in on Friday. It really helps us plan around activities so he's not doing homework when he's tired! BUT, I would love it even more if they got it on Fridays so he could sometimes do it over the weekend and have more balanced playtime during the week.

However, our school has a "no homework on Fridays" policy. It's supposed to preserve weekends as family time, and I do see the point to that, but if it was a weekly packet, you could still structure it that way if you chose to, it would just be more flexible.

Excepting math (which I think they really do need to keep up with each day) what do you think about the packet format?

And what's your school's policy on weekend homework?

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

no weekend or vacation homework here for ES or MS. The exception is two summer reading books and a small project to go with one of them. We try to get that done as soon as school lets out so we don't forget.

If my DS10 (who also gets his HW as a packet on Monday) got the weekend in addition to the school week, I am afraid he would just keep putting it off until the weekend. I like it the way it is now.

I assume that the teachers use the weekend to grade the HW.

 

[HelenePA]

the girls have homework EVERY single night.. weekend holidays included.. I would LOVE for no weekend homework. Does it kill them to do it for 20-30 min on the weekend? No but some time off wouldn't hurt them either. Thankfully my son doesn't have homework since he's in Pre-K. Homework starts next year in Kindergarten..

 

[mjkacmom]

Homework everyday, and for vacations, it depends on the teacher. Some is nightly, some packets - again, it depends on the teacher.

 

[Magic Mom]

I don't think we have a policy. They try not to give homework on weekends, but sometimes it works out that they have it. If she doesn't have homework from school, I make her get on Compass Learning to work on math and language arts skills.

 

[MM27]

my district's homework policy is 10 minutes per night per grade level. I teach 4th grade, so 40 minutes total. We are departmentalized though so I limit mine to about 20 minutes as does my partner. I teach Math, Science and SS and my students usually get Math every night.

I don't believe in giving homework just to give it. I also don't grade it. I give them credit for it being done and we go over it together the next day. Homework is 10% of the final marking period grade so having it done is an easy way to boost a grade. This way I can get a good idea of who needs extra work on the skill, who is ready to move on, etc. I don't look for just a right answer. In my class we explain EVERYTHING. My kids know that any time they answer something they better be prepared to explain WHY So I'll even be able to assess the kid that copied his homework or had someone at home do it for him. I don't do raised hands in my room. When you walk through the door you are volunteering to participate

We are on spring break this week and I did not give my students homework. I know of a few teachers in my school that were making huge packets to do over the break and I totally disagree with that. A break is a time to relax, recharge and have fun. They should not be stuck working. If parents want to have kids pratice skills during the break, that's fine, but I'm not assigning anything.

 

[Kies99]

I love that DS's 3rd grade class gets all their spelling for the week on Monday and turns it in on Friday. It really helps us plan around activities so he's not doing homework when he's tired! BUT, I would love it even more if they got it on Fridays so he could sometimes do it over the weekend and have more balanced playtime during the week.

I don't know if it's actual policy, but both my 1st grader and 2nd grader get their packets on Friday for the following week. Gives us a jump start on spelling and robust words as well as if we have things planned for the upcoming week, we can get some of the work done in advance.

 

[agnes!]

Hahahahaha, oh my, just wait until your kid/s get to high school... DD has probably at least 3-4 hours of homework and/or projects every. single. night of the entire WEEK. I would LOVE for it to be only 10 minutes per grade level... that would mean she'd have less than 2 hours a night!

agnes!

 

[dislaney]

Any day is fair game for hw now.
When younger I think some of the teachers tried not to give hw over the weekends but there was no official policy.

 

[RadioFanatic]

my district's homework policy is 10 minutes per night per grade level. I teach 4th grade, so 40 minutes total. We are departmentalized though so I limit mine to about 20 minutes as does my partner. I teach Math, Science and SS and my students usually get Math every night.

I don't believe in giving homework just to give it. I also don't grade it. I give them credit for it being done and we go over it together the next day. Homework is 10% of the final marking period grade so having it done is an easy way to boost a grade. This way I can get a good idea of who needs extra work on the skill, who is ready to move on, etc. I don't look for just a right answer. In my class we explain EVERYTHING. My kids know that any time they answer something they better be prepared to explain WHY So I'll even be able to assess the kid that copied his homework or had someone at home do it for him. I don't do raised hands in my room. When you walk through the door you are volunteering to participate

We are on spring break this week and I did not give my students homework. I know of a few teachers in my school that were making huge packets to do over the break and I totally disagree with that. A break is a time to relax, recharge and have fun. They should not be stuck working. If parents want to have kids pratice skills during the break, that's fine, but I'm not assigning anything.

I just want to say I hope my DS has a teacher like you!

 

[bumbershoot]

It's supposed to preserve weekends as family time, and I do see the point to that, but if it was a weekly packet, you could still structure it that way if you chose to, it would just be more flexible.

You'd think that sitting around the table while the kids do their work could still be family time...might help the kid learn better, too!

As a kid I would have LOVED to get a weekly packet. I'd take it, do the entire thing in a couple hours on Saturday, and not worry about it until the next week.

 

[PollyannaMom]

...As a kid I would have LOVED to get a weekly packet. I'd take it, do the entire thing in a couple hours on Saturday, and not worry about it until the next week.

That's what I was thinking.

 

[HelenePA]

Hahahahaha, oh my, just wait until your kid/s get to high school... DD has probably at least 3-4 hours of homework and/or projects every. single. night of the entire WEEK. I would LOVE for it to be only 10 minutes per grade level... that would mean she'd have less than 2 hours a night!

agnes!

honestly if my kids ever have 4 hours a homework a night we'll look into homeschooling.. that is just wayyyyyy too much. I NEVER EVER had 4 hours of homework a night.. did any of you?

 

[agnes!]

honestly if my kids ever have 4 hours a homework a night we'll look into homeschooling.. that is just wayyyyyy too much. I NEVER EVER had 4 hours of homework a night.. did any of you?

Your kids are young yet... If they take IB or AP classes in high school, I don't think 3 or 4 hours for a night is out of the realm of being a regular occurrence now. Of course, having the classes count for college credit takes some of the sting out of all the coursework .

If you have some friends with high school kids with high GPAs who are in Honors/AP/IB classes, ask them how much homework their kids are doing on a regular basis. It depends on which classes the kids are in (AP World History is supposed to be very hard, AP Latin as well) but I bet they're all doing at least 2+ hours every night with some 3 or 4-hour sessions sprinkled in every week.

agnes!

 

[PollyannaMom]

....I NEVER EVER had 4 hours of homework a night.. did any of you?

Definitely not!

I also didn't have "real" homework every night until the 2nd or 3rd grade. (In K and 1st, we had things like "Bring in something green this week." or "Think of 3 things that begin with A." School has certainly changed.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No policy but then again my dd is in 7th grade. Anything is fair game. My dd sets a schedule so she is not cramming at the last minute. She found out she is not cut out for last minute, it freaks her out.

 

[joviroxx]

DS in 6th gets homework every night, in every subject,even Fridays. Has had a few Science tests on Mondays as well which means weekend studying.

DD in 4th grade gets less but at least Math everynight but hasnt yet had HW on Fridays or weekends.

Science Fair is usually at the end of Jan so we spend a lot of time during Christmas break doing that.