How much time does your child spend on homework?

[Kitty 34]

My son is a Junior and probably spends about a half an hour every night doing his Math. When he was younger he spent easily an hour or longer every night.

Just curious on what grade your child is in and aproximately how much time does he/she devote to homework.

 

[canwegosoon]

Mine are in 3rd grade and have at least 1 hour of homework a night(and they do get HW on weekends and days off too-plus projects) I would say about 1 1/2 hrs M-Th and 1 hr on F, then they spend another hour on the weekend on the upcoming projects.

So your son as a JR. seems lucky IMO

 

[mickeyboat]

My girls are in first grade. They don't have any homework other than reading. There is no set time limit, and only assigned books once a week. So we spend about 15 minutes reading together, and they read on their own as well.

Their favorite thing to do is "school work" so they probably spend another half hour "playing school."

Denae

 

[SplshMtnLvr28]

I'm a freshman, and I have about a half an hour to and hour of homework a night. If I use my study hall effectively, I usually won't have any.

 

[golfgal]

Not much, 1/2 hour on average, some nights more, some nights none at all. Third, Fifth and Seventh grades have been the BIG homework years for us so far.

 

[jennyl772003]

My son is in 3rd and has about an hour a night. Not including his reading. If he has multiplication homework, it's usually 1.5-2 hours.

 

[RonnieJo66]

My DS is a junior and his homework load depends on which day it is. He is on a block schedule....odd & even. He also takes 3 AP courses, so I don't know that his experience will be true for all kids his age.

He usually has anywhere from 1-3 hours (depending on various assignments)

All I know is that I never had anywhere near the amount he does...wait, could that be because he is way smarter than I ever was!

 

[sharbear]

I have a Junior also. She has a study hall and does quite a bit of work at school so her workload depends. She's also on a block schedule and so doesn't have every class every day. I would say that usually she spends an hour or two during the week and almost all day on Sunday. She usually has a paper to write over the weekend. That's just homework, she also probably studies for tests another hour.

She also practices her flute for 1/2 hour and does another 30 minutes of ACT practice.

My DS was not as motivated as her and didn't get as much done during the day. Junior year he spent more like 2 or 3 hours doing homework and much of the weekend if he had papers to write. It was much harder for him to write, Math wasn't as easy for him, so it took more effort.

Junior year is the tough one.

 

[Stacerita]

The sweetpea does all her homework before I get home from work. Usually by 4pm its all done. And thats including the extra reading she does. Only if she has a special project or a report does she take longer with her homework. But I would think she does most of it within a 1/2. Shes in the 5th grade and everyone told us this is when they pack on the homework. So far it hasn't been an issue. But then again, she has only gone to school for about 13 days total for the year. Shes been on indepedent study. It used to concern me that she did her homework so fast and never had any questions for me or needed more explanation. But she gets great grades. So I shouldn't worry. Like today, she got a 110% on her math test. She always goes for the extra credit. She's motivated enough to get the homework done when it needs to be and spends as little amount of time on it as possible.

 

[Miller1412]

My daughter is in 1st grade and has close to 1 hour of homework a night. It has really been eating at me this year because I feel that it is too much. Not only that, but if the kids have a day off or long weekend, they are given extra homework. Exactly when are they supposed to play??

I actually am a teacher at DD's school (I teach K) and talk often with her first grade teacher, who is a good friend of mine. We've had many conversations about the work load and her teacher doesn't support the amount of homework either. The homework is given as a team effort by the first grade teachers and is largely driven by the team leader.

In some ways, I feel that all the homework is backfiring...I let her cut corners to get it done. If I expected perfection, she'd never be able to play. I wonder if this is teaching her to do less than her best. I love her teacher and I love the 1st grade program, it's just the homework load that doesn't sit well with me.

I should add...DD is an excellent and bright student, so it really makes me wonder what it must be like for a student that struggles with the concepts. The time must be even more for them. I also know that there is no possible way some of the kids are completing the work...they have no parental support and I wonder what happens with them.

There's a great book out called The Homework Myth... I really agree with many of the points that are made in it.

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

I'd have to say it depends on the night.

9th grade. Between 30 - 90 mins.

 

[poohbear2]

I think the rule of thumb should be 10 min of h/w per grade level. So if you are in 6th grade, you should have about an hour of homework.

 

[Aidensmom]

My son is in kindergarten, he spends about 20 minutes per night M-TH, no homework on weekend. This week he had a project to work on for Wednesday and Thursday - we did the whole thing yesterday and it took about an hour, but it was fun.

 

[DISUNC]

Have a 7th Grader and the school has a "NO" written Homework policy, since last year, just review!!!!

 

[KerriSue]

My DS12 gets about an hour every night. Of course, the lazy child he is, he has to whine and complain and turn it into two hours. He also plays the trombone, which he is supposed to practice 2 1/2 hours a week.

Did I mention I HATE HOMEWORK!! I swear the school and my son are killing me slowly. Its a conspiracy I tell ya.

 

[aprilgail2]

My daughter is in 2nd grade and it takes her about 10 minutes to do her homework, my friends kid is in the same class and it takes her 30 minutes to do hers...so a lot depends on the kid too. Sometimes my daughter will knock off the math on the bus on the way home (its less than a 5 minutes ride home).. But the school has the 10 minutes per grade rule, plus we get none on weekends or school holidays. Jr. High (6-8) gets the most out of any grade though, they tend to pound those kids and it eases off once they get in high school.

 

[Galahad]

DS is a Junior. He's in a lot of performing arts stuff that is part of school (they are call "co-curricular" because even though they meet after school they get a grade for it) so it's hard to guage. But 4 of his classes are AP classes so he's usually working until about 11:00 pm. So - several hours a night and about half of the weekend.

 

[slo]

My DD is in 2nd grade and we spend:

1/2 hour on math
1/2 hour on spelling
1/2 hour on reading

Total of an 1 1/2 hours a day

 

[frndofpooh]

DS (4th grader) gets 1.5 hours/night, usually divided over 3-4 subjects (math, social studies, science and latin).

 

[chris1gill]

This is a good question... my son is very bright, but not motivated... I'd say on average he has 3 hours a night and wakes up at 5:30 to study... He has trouble staying on task though, so I'd say at least 30-60 minutes of that is just spent wasting time... He says if he was motivated he could get A's, so instead he get's B's and is happy with that... That's his Monday-Thursday schedule, then on the weekend it varies, if he had a project he put off, add on 8 hours. He's in an advanced sixth grade program.

My daughter is very motivated, she's in third grade, in the same advanced program (my son started the program in fourth grade)... She maybe has 15 minutes a night & she wipes her projects out in no time. I'll be very curious how much homework she has next year, I'll be able to compare what it took him, versus what it took her... a motivated, vs. unmotivated student....