AIBU to not do homework with reception age DC?

@SunStorms

No you haven't failed.
School would have told you if you needed to step up.

You will learn along the road. Don't worry too much.

I'm a teacher and it really annoys me that my child's infant school (so age 4-7) really pushes apps. We practise spellings and maths now and again, but not on a screen. If you're going to do one thing, read. Read, read, read.

Mine gets a phonics book to read (3-4 times), a book for us to read (we read lots so only read this if she asks for it) and a homework like record some things you did in the holidays using drawing, wrong or photos.

It's all fine, but I think only the phonics reading is really useful for us. The homework thing has been improved by asking her what she wants to do for it as she generally suggests something simple. I really resented that part at the beginning.

Plenty of time to catch up once you've spoken to the school.

I'd try not to dwell too much on your own schooling though because that's irrelevant.

We didn’t do homework in reception, DS was in the onsite afterschool club and they didn’t do homework with any of the younger children as a policy. As they were tired enough, and they needed to rest and some unstructured playtime after school.

Grated the tits off his reception teacher. Who accused me of being a bad parent because I worked full time. She now has a preschooler, has gone back to work full time, and her husband is my now DS year 6 teacher. Her husband has predicted my DS at receiving greater depth on most of his up coming SATS.

Just do what you can and what your child wants to do, learning should be fun and engaging at primary age, not fucking worksheets and ticking boxes.

hmm - I was born in 1984. No homework in primary school until year 5/6/7. (So early 90’s). Then it was minimal.

If you are in the UK, how often do you practice writing, reading, phonics, maths etc with your reception age child? Daily, several times a week, weekly, occasionally, never? How long do you spend doing it?

Read to them at bedtime, or they read, their choice. Write in the odd card, rarely. Maths as directed by child, they like to ask others maths questions, they are also allowed to play on a maths app to keep them quiet when needed.

It differs between schools. We've been at two primaries and neither did homework other than sending home a weekly reading book (in Reception a v basic phonics type reader).

We used to get a suggestion sheet each term for ways we could support activities but it would be things like looking at odd and even door numbers or counting parked cars. There was no obligation to do it.

Can you ask at parents' evening how you can best support your child?

Read the phonics book to back up the phonics teaching at school. Practice basic addition and subtraction and number sense every day buy in fun ways: count up red cars as you walk along the street, use toys or other objects to ask one more/one less, etc.

If the homework is reasonable, do it. If not, have a conversation with the teacher.

I was in a system where I learned to read at 7, too. That's Y3 here in the UK, when children are expected to be reading basic chapter books already and have their 2, 5, and 10x tables memorised by the start of autumn term.

Homework isn't compulsory for primary school age children.
However, my two dc get a reading book which they read and I have to record it say they've read, what worlds they found difficult to read ect. The school also set out a termly homework with 10 homework pieces to do but you don't have to do them. I tend to do some of them with mine as it keeps them doing different things. It normally includes spellings, maths, writing, art project often linking to science, history, geography or religion.
But tbh I do get my children to do two worksheets I print of myself a week, one English/literacy/phonics/ spelling and one maths piece

@Becles i agree - I remember bringing home a little tin of words I had to learn to spell for the weekly test.

I could read and write when I started school, I’d mastered lower and upper case letters. I think it was much more common for kids of the 80s and 90s to have stronger skills going into school, at least that was the case in my area. Far less for the teachers to do if half the class is free-reading by the end of Reception.

I would only do the reading. Homework for primary age students is ridiculous.

I completely disagree with primary homework, especially the kind that requires a device, passwords, parental supervision. I have 2 DCs at 2 primary schools and need 7 apps for their work, meals, payments etc. It is totally unreasonable.
I have always read with mine, and we have done science experiments, nature trails, times tables sume etc, but it's just out of control!!

My son is now in year 2, in England, main stream state school. He gets 'homework' - generally crafty stuff. Occasionally a bit of maths. He gets a phonics reading book sent home... the expectation is he reads it to us. Occasionally we get a maths sheet. That's about it. Homework - volume and type does seem to vary between schools!!

I'm opposed to homework at this age! Poor kid is exhausted by the time he gets home. Both his dad and I read to him every night, then, he reads to us. It's part of 'the bed time routine.' We do get him to read his school book... but also get lots of suitable books out the library to keep it fun and follow his interests. We'll mix fiction and non-fiction.

I do notice some parents are very unrealistic, competitive, pushy, brag, or down right lie about what their kids do and don't do. I also find some are just plain anxious and not able to apply a bit of reality/ critical thinking to the situation. It's just noise to me. Ignore em.

You sound like you are doing a fab job incorporating learning into life. We do similar.

In reception, the only homework mine had was a request for DC to read (or practice sounds is not yet reading) for 10 minutes - skip if your DC is too tired, but try not to skip to often. Plus parents encouraged to read to and share other books with their DC.

Yr 1 added weekly spellings and 1x maths worksheet a week.

And then they'd be random things connected to topics (like: draw, make or find pictures of castles - you can spot the competitive parents a mile off with that sort of thing).

TL:DR - it's worth doing the reading

DC's school set sensible homework in the younger years and it was the sort of thing engaged families would do anyway. Eg. Talking about colour, reading, what's your favourite story, some phonics.

Some of our friends had horror stories about multiple apps, books had to be logged on certain days in the planner, and parents had to sign into a homework platform that's similar to what we used at secondary to find projects to do. I'm supportive of school but would have probably requested a meeting if we were subjected to all that because it's not beneficial for children to have that much homework, especially when so many are in wraparound childcare.

@enchantedsquirrelwood you are perfectly entitled to make a stand against homework but this is poor advice to the OP.

My ds is in reception and he does ten to fifteen minutes of handwriting and reading practice 5 days a week. We aren’t religious about it but usually we find time to slot it in right after breakfast. It’s not arduous to read a little book and complete some phonics games and practice letter formation.

In my experience it is a really good way of encouraging your kids and for them to see that you are actively interested in their progress at school.

My dd did a lot of maths schoolwork on apps at primary school, and also spelling games and reading/word recognition. These games are engaging and the kids are happy to do them (often competitively).

I would definitely have a quick chat with the class teacher and ask for some pointers. You may also find the Induction presentation material is all on the school website so you understand how the school expects parents to engage in the children’s learning.

Well I was a teacher at that time so, clearly, my school was different. Not rubbish.

Never. Not until year 5 and 6.

I refused to do homework with mine. We read the school books some of the time but mainly our own. The research on homework at primary age does not make a good case for doing it and it caused lots of issues at home. When I talked to the school about it, the head of year was keen that we did it, but not their individual class teachers. It seemed to be a policy thing, partly pushed by parental request, more than something that met an educational need.

I resisted until they were secondary (but we moved country at age 7, so in a different system to the UK). They’ve had no problems adapting. My kids are high fliers academically, though. I might have taken a different approach if they didn’t seem to be thriving.

If you missed the school induction, talk to the school, find out why they set it and how they think it will help your DC. But don’t entirely substitute their judgement for yours.

The school sounds really obsessive

We get a phonics book (for them to read) and a fiction reading book (to read to them). No maths worksheets or anything like that. My daughter is meeting and exceeding I believe the EYFS now with a term left to go so she's not missing out on anything. We often read extra to her, leave a supply of pen and paper out for her to do any writing/drawing that she desires and she listens to a story player. I think it's also important for children to learn in different ways outside of school too. I know my daughter gets so much from being at Rainbows just like she does at school.

I think our school do maths homework from year 2 and then nothing really extra until year 7 (secondary from year 8 here) to prepare them for the level of work from secondary school.

I wasn't in UK school either but I suppose school has changed both i UK an my native country since I attended it. Not sure you can compare 1:1.

Talk to the teachers what you are expected to do and help your child with.

For our children it was reading (10-20 min a day), writing, spelling and math the first years of school.

Where did you go to school? Are your children bilingual?

If your reception child is willing to do homework and has fun, no problem. But if they are reluctant and don't want to do it, I can't honestly think of a better way of putting them off learning altogether than making them do it at home as well as at school.