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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this is too much to ask of 7/8 (yr3) year olds?

197 replies

emkana · 25/04/2011 08:36

about a topic, read relevant books/websites, digest the information, then write about the topic (seven subheadings to cover) using all your own words, plus illustrate appropriately?

OP posts:
Madsometimes · 25/04/2011 22:38

I have a Y3 dd2 and my heart would sink at that homework.

There is no way that she could get on with her work unaided while I did some ironing. She would expect me to choose a climate region with her, help her find appropriate references, help her break the information into the sub headings, give her ideas of appropriate diagrams to include and what to discount. Nightmare.

Give her a photocopied worksheet any day, one that she can complete without me sitting beside her.

RoadArt · 25/04/2011 22:45

I dont see waht the issue is here. Most children have something they are interested in, you dont specificy if it is a certain topic or whether they can choose.

It doesnt have to be war and peace, it can be as short or long as appropriate for the ability of the child. By Year 3, they will be encouraging research, using libraries, reading books, using the internet, talking to family. It gives a child a sense of achievement when they have collated information for someone else to read.

However, if it is too hard, too much of a struggle with time constraints, other commitments, then dont do it and send a letter to your teacher explaining that you made the decision that your child couldnt/wouldnt do it, and if she has an issue with that then talk to you.

Original poster
emkana · 25/04/2011 23:44

Oh yes far prefer worksheets.

OP posts:
colditz · 25/04/2011 23:59

Hulababy - the worst of it is, Ds1 has ASD and ADHD. he cannot possibly organise himself into doing all this. He can't dress himself without 4 or 5 reminders. They must KNOW I do his homework for him....

NetworkGuy · 26/04/2011 02:24

What timescale was given for this work? Is difficult to know if this is "too much" without knowing how much time is expected on this.

Madsometimes · 26/04/2011 07:36

Some children will come into school with pages of detailed work, laminated sheets, graphs and diagrams. Some will come in with half a page of writing and a picture that looks like it has been drawn by a seven year old. Then there will be everything in-between.

I have just googled climatic regions and the sources which come up are aimed at KS3 and above. So you would need a seven year old working at secondary school level to confidently find the sources, interpret them and rewrite them into the correct headings without any parental "help". I know that such children do exist but let's not pretend that they are average.

ChippingInLovesEasterEggs · 26/04/2011 08:13

RoadArt/NetworkGuy - read the thread, it's all there.

Colditz - I'd just write a note everytime until they get it sorted.

At this age I think any homework should be the basics - reading, maths, spelling etc Parents don't need project work. If the child is interested in something then you can spend time together looking into it. It isn't a lot of work over that period, but for parents like you (with another child with SN) or where both parents are working, or the children have a lot of activities it's not always easy to fit it in. Keep all but the basic homework for older kids.

Original poster
emkana · 26/04/2011 09:55

Exactly chipping. It's just not fair on those who can't do it for various reasons.

OP posts:
Bucharest · 26/04/2011 09:58

It's the sort of thing dd brings home (for the next day) but we are in Italy. I used to be Shock at the amount of homework they are expected to do and how quickly, but I've sucked it up now. (dd does it all on her own as well, whereas I know her best friend has it dictated to her by her mother, they see it as what they have to do, and surprise! the friend always gets 10/10 Angry)

elphabadefiesgravity · 26/04/2011 10:01

Dd in year 4 had a simialr topic (India). She had several weeks to do it and could use books, websites etc etc.

However ds year 2 had to write about a famous person. He only had one weekend and no access to suitable books (library closed in Sundays and we work on Saturdays) so the only way to do it was for dh to google with him. I wrote a thread about it at the time as I felt that it was way too much to expect a child of that age to be able to digest such information and indeed assumed internet access and huge parental input - unless you want your 6/7 year old googling unsupervised which I didn't.

Ds had no clue, dh virtually did it all for him.

BoffinMum · 26/04/2011 10:17

I'm sad to hear the obsessions of some parents with regard to homework is effectively holding other parents hostage. It's really not necessary for primary aged kids to do much in the way of homework at all, other than learn a few tables and spellings from time to time, and possibly the occasional simple finishing off exercise in year 6, so people should feel confident about saying to teachers that they'd rather not engage in these projects, if that's all the same.

At secondary level it's more important kids learn to study independently so there needs to be a couple of half hour homeworks a night in order for them to be able to do this, and parents need to be more supportive.

Bonsoir · 26/04/2011 10:31

My DD (6.5) wrote an Easter holiday diary every day throughout the holidays, in English (she goes to school in French) for her English tutor. She needed considerable help at the beginning of the holiday but was managing better and better on her own by the end.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 26/04/2011 10:35

I so agree with Boffin.....i hate it that DS is 8 and gets loads of homework - when I was his age we never got homework till secondary school and that seems better to me........

Too much homework will kill their love of schoolwork before the hard slog begins! Yeah, just a few spellings, sums, and reading should be fine......anything else and it just stresses the whole family out and DH seems to turn into Sargeant Major Shock

colditz · 26/04/2011 10:38

It's not really an option to say to the teacher that you'd rather not engage in the project if you have a child who will be set the project anyway then cry with anxiety until it's complete. And actually, his teacher is very nice and understanding, but she doesn't understand, being a teacher, that the majority of parents haven't got a clue how to teach, and that although Ds1 thrives with one-to-one, he doesn't get it at home because he has a little brother who is equally deserving of my attention, and whose education of the basics is being neglected through me having to do Ds1's bloody time gobbling homework for with him!

I'm fairly bright and can adequately teach one child up to about year one capability. After that, I'm lost. I don't understand the new maths methods and I'm not patient enough to teach someonething complex. '123' and 'abc', I'm good with.

goodbyemrschips · 26/04/2011 10:47

The timescale that this homework had to be completed in is huge in my opinion.

It is nearly two months [start of easter hols til end of May] for goodness sake.

15 mins a night two times a week bit longer maybe during a couple of days in the hols ...sorted.

I cannot believe that children of this age could not acheive it.

My son is 9 [so a bit older] but was doing stuff like this in yr 2.

BoffinMum · 26/04/2011 10:52

Colditz, really, if it's causing family disharmony then it's daft. FWIW I rarely do homework with my kids at primary level, and I am a qualified teacher and education lecturer, so I do know how to teach. I don't even listen to my kids read. They do just fine. The eldest one didn't do homework until she was doing her GCSEs and she got into Cambridge (an extreme case, admittedly).

I will help them with something if they ask, I get very enthusiastic if they are working on a self-originated project of some kind (for example my boys like making their own comics and practising animation and learning computer coding, also designing and cooking recipes and making greetings cards) and I do practise tables because they need the support on that, and if I am shelling out for music lessons they have to practice a bit every day, but otherwise I absolutely know they'll get to learning when they're ready so I rarely interfere. Honestly. Chill, people.

LilyBolero · 26/04/2011 10:59

Dd does that for fun! Honestly, she does! - she has done various 'information books' as she calls them - over the holidays she's been doing one on creatures of the sea, she's also done one recently on rocks - covering the various types of rocks - igneous, metamorphic etc, and then some specific rocks - diamonds, quartzite etc - she probably did 20-30 pages in total, all own words, with illustrations etc.

She is 7 and in Y3, will be 8 in August. But she is very motivated to do it, and is very able in literacy, I wouldn't have thought it was a good 'blanket' homework iyswim as I think lots of children would struggle.

goodbyemrschips · 26/04/2011 11:03

Why would a year three child struggle with this?

It is just reading some reseach and writing.

Original poster
emkana · 26/04/2011 11:11

Fine if they enjoy doing it, but my dd would much rather do role-play games with her sister, play with her dolls, play in the garden.

How anybody can say it is not difficult to distill information in your own words is beyond me, you'd find adults struggling with that.

OP posts:
goodbyemrschips · 26/04/2011 11:25

But you don't always do things in life that you enjoy, do you?

FabbyChic · 26/04/2011 11:26

How can you possibly say it is hard for them to write one sentance or maybe two.

Is it that you cannot be bothered to help? You do sign up over here to help with homework.

Am more than sure that there is an hour a day where you can help.

goodbyemrschips · 26/04/2011 11:35

Am I reading this correct?

There are some year 3 children out there that cannot look up some info then read a text and then write a few sentences in their own words to describe what they have just read.

If that is true I find it astonishing.

Please tell me I have read it wrong?

Original poster
emkana · 26/04/2011 11:42

The question is is there a need to do it? Aged seven I was doing nothing of the sort, aged 25 I gained a first class degree from a top German university, with a thesis that involved extensive research and yes, writing in my own words ;-). There was no need to do it aged seven to be able to do it later.

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goodbyemrschips · 26/04/2011 11:46

If the school sets it there is a need, maybe they are setting this type of homework because they should be able to do it but cant therefore are behind.

Are you saying that your child could not do this homework or just didnt want to?

Original poster
emkana · 26/04/2011 11:48

Don't see the logic in that argument. What I'm saying is that there is plenty of time to learn those types of techniques later.

My dd would not be able to do it without my help, and I would struggle to give it.

OP posts: