It seems from a number of threads on MN and talking to friends that most children get sent home with weekly spellings to learn from Y1 (sometimes YR). DD’s school have recently had a school-wide policy change and are no longer sending weekly spellings to learn and sentences to write, as they don’t feel it is working for the children.
DD’s Y1 homework currently consists of reading books and a maths game (both changed weekly).
While I’m grateful that DD isn’t drowning in homework (other friends say homework takes their DC 4+ hours per week!) I am uneasy about her having almost nothing.
If the school is no longer getting children to work on spellings and sentences at home, either they’re doing more of that stuff at school (reducing the time available to cover other learning), or it’s not being done at all. How much will the kids lose out as a result?
How can schools differ so much from each other in this matter?!
I suppose I’m a typical MN parent: a bit on the pushy side, with a child who is ahead of the curve academically. We’ve arranged our work hours so I pick her up from school every day, and in between after-school activities and playdates we do have time for homework (which we were expecting her to receive by this age), and DD would happily do a bit more ‘learning’. I would like to do some ‘work’ with her at home, but would prefer anything we do to support the learning at school. I do not want her to get ‘ahead’ so that lessons at school don’t teach her anything, but I would like to give her the opportunity to consolidate what she’s learnt at school.
Of course, she is learning in day-to-day life, and we talk about interesting things and try to give her a range of experiences. I am not looking for “she’s only 5/6 – let her be a kid” types of comments. I am sure I’m not being unreasonably pushy by saying that DD is very eager to learn, enjoys writing and maths, and has ample capacity for a 20-minute ‘homework’ session with me twice a week after school on top of her other hobbies, playdates and downtime.
Any suggestions what sorts of things we might benefit from doing together at this stage? (my dream would be a link to a website containing suggestions of weekly homework activities for Y1 to support national curriculum…)
Any comments on the school’s change of policy – pros and cons?
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No spellings, hardly any homework - Y1
34 replies
Ginmummy1 · 04/11/2016 12:46
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