DS, Y7- pls suggest how to structure homework so it doesn't overwhelm us!

"I would encourage anyone to get Publisher tbh. It makes it so easy for them to do posters and leaflets as homeworks."

Without risking to start a religious war, it's worth noting that for those in the Mac camp, Pages (the word processing component of iWork) has a very effective page layout mode as well as a Word-alike word processing mode.

My kids use it heavily for posters and handouts and suchlike, this being a Mac/Linux/Solaris household, and the results look good and because it's part of Pages, the learning curve is eased by being mostly the same as the stuff they use for writing. This won't help with templates, because Pages can't read or write .pub format, but there's an extensive library of templates in Pages and a bit of "do it yourself" rather than "fill in the blanks" never hurt anyone.

And of course this way my children have access to a complete suite of Helvetica Neue, which as I'm sure roisin will realise is about a million times better than the horrors of Arial or (shudder) Cmc S*ns.

I would encourage anyone to get Publisher tbh. It makes it so easy for them to do posters and leaflets as homeworks.

I am very passionate about layout and design and when ds1 was in yr7 I taught him various key rules to stick to on design and now he's superb on this and very, very quick at pulling something together. I actually commissioned him this week to do a poster for me for work, because I was frantically busy and knew he could produce a really professional-looking piece in about 25 mins!

Seems like DDs account wasn't set up correctly before but by tonight when DH helped her get connected to the school VPN it was working properly(including using publisher remotely, but would be good to get local copy so thanks for the info). So DD is mightily relieved and Daddy is a hero . Whew. I passed on the advice about doing computer stuff ASAP, striking while the iron was hot, and I think for once DD took note!

Software4students prices are amazing tokyonambu - I was about to link to them too. It would appear not many know about it - even the young chappy in Currys was amazed at their prices when he checked their website to check the info the doddery old lady (me :) ) has told him!!

By the way, and I know it's a little late for this, but I have a simple solution of video games for my two children: we don't have any in the house, and never have done. Sorted. Probably easier in an all-daughter household, but there have been occasional outbreaks of "but all my friends have them".

Publisher is available from as part of the bigger Office bundles. You can get Office Professional Plus (the all things and every thing bundle) for £40. See here.

DS1 has just started in Y7 and seems to be getting between 1-3 pieces of homework everyday, some longer tasks, some very short.

We've instituted new 'rules' for the two eldest boys, because they challenge every boundary so we decided an 'all or nothing' approach would work. So DS1 gets in about 4, changes, gets drink/snack and starts on homework straight away. And so DS2 has been doing similar but with much more low key stuff (reading, spellings - he's in Y1)

We had the benefit of DS1 having done all his homework before his first weekend 'off' so he just got to do whatever he wanted over the weekend (whereas in Y6 there was lots of lastminute argy-bargy about finishing things on Sunday night). I've been encouraging him to get ahead of himself, so the weekends are his real 'downtime'.

He gets to watch tv or go for a bike ride (though is getting a bit dark later now...) once we've had dinner and he's finished, but we have (following Swedes' lead from another thread...) banned all electronic/screen games between after dinner on Sunday until after dinner on Friday.

This may seem harsh to some of you but we have 3 very volatile boys, and the games just wind them up. So in fact everyone is much calmer and happier and getting on with the homework. And I don't particularly see much wrong with DS1 beginning to learn the difference between 'work time' (midweek) and 'playtime' (weekends)...

Slight disclaimer: we are only ONE week in . I'll be back on soon tearing my hair out because novelty has worn off and battles have resumed...

I don't ban xbox either as it can be a useful carrot. DS did masses of homework earlier in the week to free up time for the imminent arrival of "Halo Reach" (its a big deal in boy world if you don't know what it is!).
LOL at the Treaty of Versailles inthesticks

I've been reading this thread with great trepidation.

I have three dcs, and ds1 (the eldest) is currently in Yr6. Their Primary School has a ridiculous system called "Home Learning" whereby they get a sheet every three weeks with lots of "ideas" and "suggestions" as to what they might like to do at home; they only need to do one task in that three week period. Everything is very vague and unspecific, often with no measurable outcome. A good idea for Infants perhaps, but for children about to move to Seniors??

Ds1, like many, always chooses the easiest thing and spends about twenty minutes on it, and this is all he needs to do for the next THREE WEEKS.

Pleading from Yr6 parents that the homework really ought to ramp up in preparation for senior school have fallen on deaf ears at the school, so we are all very worried about how we will deal with the shock of an hour of homework per night in Yr7.

Some great ideas in this thread, though, but with 3dcs I think the challenge will be getting them to take responsibility for their own time-management to a large extent. I also feel an exercise in X-Box rationing coming on!

I don't ban x box entirely but it is only allowed in strictly allocated time slots (2 boys), and subject to homework / sports activities.
Plus one day a week it is switched off completely.
I am in the process of drawing up a new x box rota because DS1 is now in Year 10 and his homework has increased, plus he is going to a tutor once a week. It's like the Treaty of Versailles.

DDs school has a homework schedule with 3 subjects per evening, and the guidance is that it should take roughly 60-75 mins.

Her primary school used to set 2x30 mins plus 15 mins reading anyway so she's used to it and it's not been too bad so far, despite having to get up earlier and not home till 4:45 or so.

She went straight out to play with her friends tonight - she should turn up again soon for tea (though yesterday she ate there, returned at 7, sat down and did an hours homework without a word from me). She's always preferred doing her homework after dinner rather than straight away.

However - I shall definitely heed the advice about doing computer stuff ASAP! Her first glitch is that she didn't get onto something straight away, and it turns out that the teacher had made a template in Publisher - which (a) we don't have on our PCs, (WTF do schools use non-bog-standard software?) (b) she's been unable to access at school from her account, and having not realised the problem till a couple of days ago hasn't been able to find the IT tech bod

So she's gloomy and saying she'll get a penalty point, I've told her to get the content in some other format to prove to the teacher she's bothered, and to make it quick to do properly when she can - do you really think a teacher would penalize a new yr7 for IT problems?

ps - I'm sure I've heard gripes about schools using Publisher before, is it worth buying and does anyone know of a cheap student edition, it seems to be quite expensive.

DS1 started high school (with the best results in the area) a month ago and so far has had a tiny amount of homework.

His school handbook states that there are two types of homework, the type set by teachers and the regular reviewing of work done in class that all students should do every week... DS1 cannot get his head around doing homework on his own initiative, therefore, I have had to introduce a system where he earns time on his X-box live account by being tutored by me (apparently we are the only parents on the planet who ban the x-box during the week!).

Sorry I haven't read the whole thread!
DD2 has just started secondary school and has three 30 minute homeworks per night. I have to really 'spoon-feed' her and sit beside her to coax her into working - so it's quite unbearable at the moment! Luckily DD1 just got on with it and I didn't even notice if she had homework at all!
I'm hoping at some point dd2 will get on with her work without me, but I'm not sure if it's really going to happen

I think sometimes there is not enough clarity about how much in quantity is required. In primary school my DCs got one set each of English and Maths per week and they were expected to spend an hour on each.

In year 7 they are often given 2 or 3 subjects a night but much less is expected per subject. Often the teacher wants a few lines about a subject rather than an in depth essay. Unless the teacher is very specific (200 words/ 1/2 a page etc) the child is left unsure what is required and can easily do too much.
Most schools give each pupil a journal or diary and it should give guidance on how much time should be spent on homework in each year.

fsmail, you are dead right, but unfrtunately DD is asking fir help / reassurance all the time as she is so worried about doing it right.

It is herself putting the pressure on, and I'm not sure how to deal with that - any ideas?

Sorry read that it would overwhelm 'us'. I thought homework was for your DC. At secondary school surely it is up to the child to organise it. I think it would be better. When I was at school my parents never asked about homework and when I did not do it, I bore the consequences and learned from that. Surely we should not get involved unless they ask for help or am I just being mean.

Don't know what to think about the whole homework issue really. DS2 in Yr 5 has far more homework than DS1 who is in Yr 8. Apparently, the Head at the secondary school doesn't believe in homework so they seem to get very little. I'm not sure I approve but this year the school achieved 90% A-C grades in 5 subjects including English and Maths at GCSE and the A level results were very impressive too so I guess they must be doing something right.

Hi There.Some interesting ways of doing homework on here[helpful]
DS1 started SCHOOL ON 6TH sEPT and homework is 3 subjects like the OP.He gets in at approx 4.30-4.45 and gets changed,has tea then homework...before 7.30, so he can have some fun tends to do the subjects as he is given them so it dosen't build up.I expect if there is a more thought provoking one he can take longer over it.Lastweek he did his homework on Sunday middayish.

Luckily she's loving the school and there has been less homework so far this week.

Oh gosh, what an awful way to start secondary school! Your poor DD!

Well she has just started Y7 and last week she got about 20 pieces which took her about 16 hours?

I did complain politely and so far this week she has had about 4 pieces, taking about 2 1/2 hours so far. It is spread out evenly, and generally she has a week to do each piece.

I agree, 1.5 hours a night is too much. But I think part of the problem is that she is so damn conscientious, that she takes ages over everything

bigTillyMint - how much homework does your DD get, and how old is she?

What I really meant in my post was that I think that homework should be spread as evenly as possible across the week. Though I think that 1.5 hours every night before they are 15 or so is way too much!

"I really don't think he should be doing 1.5 hours of homework on one day ever, though"

Bonsoir, could you tell my DD's school that please?

If your DS1 gets home at 3.15, he clearly has plenty of time to do one hour's homework every night and one or two extra actitivies.

I really don't think he should be doing 1.5 hours of homework on one day ever, though.

I think that slumping in front of the TV before homework is a very bad idea as it means their brains switch gear - making it very hard to get back in gear for homework. Can't you all go out for a walk after school if they don't like sports?

Ds gets parental input in that if it's not good enough, he redoes it or adds to it. He also gets parental input in that I have held off since school started last week to see if he would knuckle down, but he hasn't - so prep at home starts again tonight, and I will sit there with him and read whilst he does his homework.

His school which has a large churn at KS3 as it is International has let him coast for the past two years despite my various conversations with his HoY, and I told them it was a mistake to let him do so and he wouldn't pick up at Year 10. So far, I seem to be right. I foresee a fun time for the next two years.