Homework, whether you agree with it or not (I have heard of parents who believe that because children are at school all day they shouldn’t have to have homework too) is a part of the school years.
My youngest son was so excited when his speech therapist gave him some sounds to practice at home, ” Wow have I got homework?” was his response. He was the youngest of 4 and really wanted to be ‘big’ like his brothers.
When I was at secondary school I used to babysit for a local family and would take my homework along to do there ( it was always quite as the boy I was sitting would be asleep in bed when I arrived)
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Be aware that children can be dishonest about having homework, a friend’s son was meant to write any homework in his homework diary; that the school provided, the idea being that parents knew how much homework and the deadlines that their child had to do.This boy quickly realised that if he didn’t write his homework in the diary then his parents presumed that he didn’t have any.
I remember sitting down with my son to do homework, when he was graded an A for it my husband ( my son’s step father) sarcastically remarked that I should have been given the grade and not him!
I hadn’t actually done the homework for him, just helped him to work out the answers to the questions he was struggling with.
I would usually take my children to the library to borrow books or look things up to help with homework ( we didn’t have the internet then).
I have heard of children ( boys again) simply printing articles from the web and handing that in as homework- I doubt they even read it first!
When I was at school I found history really boring, the teacher would always give out an information sheet with questions at the bottom at the start of each lesson. After listening to him go on and on about this boring topic he would always say,” homework for today is answer the questions on the sheet.” Myself and a few other girls started to write down the answers during the lesson instead of listening to him, then when he told us about the homework we handed it in . The teacher got wise to this and at the next lesson he said, ” homework for this week is…you haven’t got any!”
We weren’t so keen in the future!
My tips for dealing with homework are:-
Don’t put too much pressure on children to do their homework, ensure that homework is done before they go out to play or sit down to watch television.
Set up a quite area away from the rest of the family and the television for doing homework.
Don’t get annoyed if homework doesn’t achieve the grades you were hoping for, praise children for trying.
If your child is struggling with homework make an appointment to see their teacher and talk about it together afterwards in a calm manner.
Not all children are A star pupils, I was told by my parents that schooldays were the best years of your life- looking back they may have been right as although I wasn’t keen on homework, I did enjoy school life.
As always questions, comments and topic suggestions are welcome.
Until next time.
Karen
x
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Some children have a really early start in order to get to school on time and put in a very full day. I am inclined to think they by the time they get home they really need a break from studying and shouldn’t be expected to do even more.
You are right about children who live far away from school having a long day Pearl, but it is still important that they keep up with homework so they don’t fall behind their peers I would suggest maybe having a snack when getting home then do homework before eating with the family x
My kids are a nightmare when it comes to homework. despite my setting by a quiet place to complete it, or offering help. They just don’t want to do it. The older two do theirs at school during break times. The Little Man has to be ‘bribed’ to do his. When I was a kid I loved homework, I preferred working at home to working at school.
#mixitup
Luckily both my daughters enjoy their homework at the moment. I’m sure it won’t always be that way! My eldest particularly enjoys her project homework as it’s a good opportunity for us to all engage in her learning as a family. It often involves a trip to the library, a museum visit or us watching a relevant film. She likes that she can teach us something about the topic that she’s doing and she’s always very proud of her final work, presenting it to us. I know that not all children have the time or money to do those things though and it can add to the pressure they feel. I do think it’s a useful way of getting parents to engage with their child’s learning though. #AnythingGoes
I hate giving homework. I am required by my admin. #mixitup
Interesting. My son does in enjoy some elements but when he first got it he hated it and protested a lot. My son is seven and he had five pieces of homework and I think that is rediciuolous age, all becuase of the whole sats stuff. X #anythinggoes
Mine aren’t too bad when it comes to home work most of the time. I think it’s getting harder though. They do love it when little, but it gets a bit much at such a young age #pointshoot
I am one of the ones who doesn’t believe in homework for younger years. Reading yes. Homework no. #TriumphantTales
I am pro homework – my first child had homework and adapted easily to the work load of High School and knew how to time manage for assignments. My second had no homework (or barely any) and we are still learning to manage assignments and study four years in!! It does my head in. I have to be so much more hands on at an age when I really shouldn’t be involved at all! #TwinklyTuesday
And again #KCACOLS.
Thanks for sharing with us on #PointShoot I am anti-homework for primary aged kids.
I am also against homework in the primary years, other than a bit of reading practice, thanks for sharing your thoughts x
Mine don’t tend to bring home much homework, they mainly get spelling words to practice or times tables for Math. I don’t mind primary age doing small tasks as to gradually prepare them for later years, but they should be based on a bit of fun learning to encourage a love of learning. Thanks for being part of #ABloggingGoodTime
I’m absolutely dreading these days as I know how much of a nightmare i was! #kidsandkreativity
I complained about my 6 year old daughter bringing 158 maths questions home with her one week, along with 20 spellings & her daily reading book. She’s not had maths since. #pointshootlinky
I’m not surprised to hear that you complained that does seem an awful lot of homework x
I’m not against homework – I just think there should be a good balance. My daughter is very good at getting it done straight away rather than leaving it till the last minute. Thankfully my son at primary doesn’t get any. The school made a decision not to set homework anymore and to have the kids read daily instead x #TriumphantTales
I remember feeling like I was drowning in homework in my GCSE years. I agree with previous comments about having a better balance. Great tips here, thanks for sharing xxx #KCACOLS
My oldest is 5 and he just started pre-k and speech this year. He was excited about homework too. But his “homework” was just reading every night, which we already do and site words to help him start learning to read. It only takes us about 20 minutes a night. I don’t think they need more than that at this age, but working with them a little each day is a huge step to learning to read. #KCACOLS
Totally with you on this, at 5 they are still quite young, plenty of years ahead for upping the homework load, thanks for sharing your experience x
You are so welcome. Thanks for sharing yours! 🙂
These are some great tips, I used to love getting homework – but I was a bit nerdy haha
Thank you for sharing this with us at #TriumphantTales. I hope to see you back next week!
I’m lucky that at the moment both my girls enjoy learning and doing their homework. I have to say that I think there needs to be a better balance towards younger children, I don’t think they should be given anywhere near as much as they are. Thanks for linking up #twinklytuesday
I used to love doing my homework, and my homework diary. But maybe I’m just a geek! We are a long way off the school years with our little one, but always interesting the read the tips. Thank you! #twinklytuesday
I have some struggles with my boys and homework. They are not keen on it and I have to check their bags to make sure there arn’t bits that need to get done. When they first got it they were so keen but the novelty soon wore off! Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next time.
Mainy
I was so excited the first time my son brought home proper homework to do (sad, I know!!) I love sitting with him and going through it with him. However, I’m sure the novelty will wear off quickly (for both of us!) when he’s older! #KCACOLS
I used to work at a university before, and can safely say that girl cheat too, not just boys (we had several cases of plagiarism, both from boys and girls). I think it’s important that children (even big ones, like the ones at our uni) realise that they are learning for their own sake, and that the things they’re learning can actually be useful for them. It all has to feel meaningful to them…
I’m not really keen on kids having too much homework, as I think they need to have time and energy for other things, such as interests which are not part of the curriculum but can still be useful for them in the future. And which support their present happiness and development x #KCACOLS
I don’t remember having much – if any – homework when I was in primary school, but my daughter is 4 and in kindergarten and already gets homework every day! I’m not really in favour of homework at such a young age, but its such a part of the system that usually it is parents that expect and demand kids be given homework, when it really is of no benefit to them. #bloggerclubuk
I think there is a place for homework in secondary school, to help towards exams etc but it makes me feel sad inside when you see 4 and 5 year old’s coming home with homework. #KidsandKreativity
I think I’m lucky in my two actually enjoy doing their homework. I like to space it out over a few days so it’s only small periods of time in one go, and we do it straight from school, and then they get to do what they like before dinner as a reward. Thanks for linking up to #KidsandKreativity, really hope to see you back next time.
My 7 year old gets spellings & times tables as well as reading and that’s enough in my opinion – everything else ought to be achieved during the school day #KCACOLS
Support and guide your child. Never do the homework for them. Helicopter parents become a crutch that will lead to insecurity and low self-esteem.