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Original poster

to ask how much homework your five year old gets

47 replies

Bearfrills · 18/09/2014 21:25

DS is in year one and now gets homework. This is what he gets each week:

  • reading book, he must read at home at least five times a week
  • ten spellings which he has to practice on two separate days, as per instructions, ahead of a test each week
  • a handwriting work sheet
  • a maths worksheet
  • 6-10 sums

Is it me or does that seem a lot for a five year old? The reading isn't an issue, we read together every night anyway but combined with everything else it's too much.

OP posts:
StripyBanana · 18/09/2014 22:50

Oh bear that is so sad :( I think that is why we have schools putting children off learning alltogether at such a young age.

Homework in primary is mostly pointless (except reading)

erin99 · 18/09/2014 22:51

What would happen if he didn't do it all? Nothing at all happens at ours if you don't hand it in. (DD was great at doing her homework but pants at handing it in!)

iamsoannoyed · 18/09/2014 22:53

My DD is in Form 2, but last year she had:

-1 reading book per night

  • a maths sheet 2/3 times per week
  • some spellings/sums 2-3 x week.

What your DS has seems more like what DD has now in form 2.

iamsoannoyed · 18/09/2014 22:54

School says they aim for 10-15 minutes per night in form 1, 15-20 minutes form 2

BarbarianMum · 18/09/2014 23:02

It's not so much the volume that would bother me, but it sounds so dull.
In Y1 my dc got reading (as much as you could) and a piece of work that reinforced something they were doing in class. This piece was generally very broad and could be interpreted in different ways

"This week we have been learning about the circus. Show us what you have learnt" was a good one. Some did drawings, some wrote, some practised circus skills, ds2 made a musical instrument for a clown and took it in to play.

TheHouseofMirth · 18/09/2014 23:05

My 5 year old in Yr 1 brings home 2 reading books a week for him to read to us and three more books for us to read to him. He will get no additional homework until he is in Year 3.

maninawomansworld · 19/09/2014 16:35

Holy crap... a 5 year old!
Personally I don't think children should get homework until junior school and then it should only be token work until year 7.

Numerous studies have shown homework for very young children to be unnecessary or even damaging if they are given too much too young. Kids need time to be kids!

I'd be taking it up with the school personally.

maninawomansworld · 19/09/2014 16:37

Meant to add that reading is fine, but parents should be doing that anyway. Ours always have a bed time story from a book, and in time they will do the reading when they've learned.

HamishBamish · 19/09/2014 16:37

DS gets the following-

  • 2 sets of 2 reading books per week (meant to be reading each night mon-thurs)
  • 1 lot of maths homework
  • 1 set of spelling (10 words) to be written out 3 times and then a test on Friday

That's about it I think.

LetticeKnollys · 19/09/2014 16:49

DSS used to get Mathletics and a reading diary, though there was not a compulsory amount they had to do in them each week. Over the weekend he would get a slip of paper in his book bag saying something like "this week we have been learning about money, over the weekend please encourage your children to work out as many ways of making up 20p as they can", or "next week we will be learning about otters, please find out ten facts about otters this weekend".

fairylightsintheloft · 19/09/2014 17:18

nope. my y1 DS has reading as a general "as often as possible" task and one thing set each friday that they have a week to do. So glad he doesn't get more as he doesn't get home til 6.30 after CM so not sure when he'd be doing maths and spellings Sad. I wonder if schools take that kind of thing into account at all?

LittleprincessinGOLDrocks · 19/09/2014 17:25

My 4 year old has just brought home homework - we have to make an instrument by Tuesday. Tuesday! Year 3 get a week to do 2 work sheets and read 2 books, but reception get just 4 days to make a flipping instrument! I have had no warning of this, and so will have to hunt out all the bit needed to make said instrument - my son is not big on gluing and painting, and I have no boxes or tubs as we binned loads the other day. Would it have killed them to give us a bit of warning?
On top of that he has reading and letter cards to read.

Reception didn't used to have homework when DD was there.

WhimsicalTwattery · 19/09/2014 17:39

My 8yr old DD (a little older I know) gets;
10 spellings on Wednesday to be learnt by the following week
15 mins of maths every day
Reading book, must be read x5 weekly
Clarinet, to be practised x5 weekly
Literacy home work 30mins, on a Thursday to be handed in on the following Monday
Another piece of 30mins homework on a Thursday to be handed in on the following Monday

She is knackered at the end of each week. How we're supposed to fit it all in makes me feel a bit Confused sometimes. we do have a life too school!

Admittedly she doesn't NEED to do the clarinet, but started it last year and wanted to carry on (this was before I knew just how much homework she would be expected to do).

She will be getting a cornet (yes a brass fecking cornet) in January to be practised 5x weekly.
Swimming lessons start after October half term too.

Ridiculous amounts of homework expected at school.
I would give anything to go back to the good old days of year 1 where homework consisted of 3x weekly reading and numeracy homework of 15 mins at the weekend.

MrsPiggie · 19/09/2014 17:47

In year 1 my DS was getting 10 spellings to do every day (but same words each week, just to practice them every day), a maths sheet a week, a book for reading each day and he was supposed to write something about the book in a log every day. It wasn't much at all, everything took about 5 minutes to do, apart from the reading. This year (year 2) he seems to be getting pretty much the same amount, at least so far.

TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 19/09/2014 17:49

Nothing apart from reading

fluffyfanjo · 19/09/2014 18:47

Wow Thats loads.

My DS is 4.5 and just started reception but we dont get home till 6pm and he's knackered,so its tea,bath story and in bed by 7 pm - we leave the house at 7am each morning so really can't see him being any less tired by the time he's in yr 1.

I really can't see how much productive learning will be achieved by having such a formal regime and I certainly never had any homework as a child in infants or juniors (other than a reading book).

Personally I reckon its all to do with league tables and SATs and has nothing to do with long term academic achievement - other countries don't start formal education till much later let alone vast amounts of homework.

AddUpToNothing · 19/09/2014 18:53

When my daughter was in year 1, she only ever had reading to do at home. I think that's plenty. But I'm not a massive fan of homework in primary school full stop.

pointythings · 19/09/2014 19:47

Neither of my DDs had anything like this much at five. It isn't a standard amount of homework and there is no minimum that schools 'have' to set. I'd be very Hmm about a school that thought this much homework was necessary at such a young age - it should be about reinforcing what's taught in school, no more than that.

As for the pp who mentioned making an instrument - I'd be cutting a 2 litre soft drink bottle in two, sticking some paper across the top and calling it a drum. No more than that - can be done in 10 minutes flat.

crazykat · 19/09/2014 20:16

My year 1 gets:

Reading book to read each night

A learning log with an activity every other week

10 spellings a week

Aeroflotgirl · 19/09/2014 20:17

That seems very excessive for a Reception age child, I would be talking to the teacher about it. Its not right.

ahfuckit · 19/09/2014 20:56

I think the school are wrong - homework in primary school is not statutory - they do not have to set it. My DD is in yr 1. I don't agree with homework so young and discussed it with the school. She doesn't have to do it. Studies have shown it is not beneficial.

bellybuttonfairy · 19/09/2014 21:01

Goodness!! My 5 year old gets one reading book a week and once a fortnight she has a small easy worksheet that literally takes 10 mins (so she can do herself).

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