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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

...... to be fed up with the amount of homework my 7YO gets?

271 replies

fedupfrida · 10/12/2017 09:41

My Year 3 child gets what i think is a LOT of homework and it's starting to cause more and more family stress, especially at weekends.

It doesn't help that she hates doing homework and would rather be playing (which 7YO wouldn't?) but here's a list for a normal week;

Times tables,
2 or 3 pages from a Maths workbook,
10 spellings
2 (yes 2) book reviews per week,
Literacy/Science homework (usually a piece of writing, reading comp etc)
Reading every night.

How much does your Y3 child get and am i BU to be fed up of the sheer amount of time it takes and eats into our precious family time at weekends?

OP posts:
Original poster
fedupfrida · 10/12/2017 11:37

Found this:

In 2013 the Secretary of State for Education abandoned the previous time recommendations for the amount of time children of
different ages should spend completing homework.

Any teachers know if this is true?

OP posts:
Auvergne · 10/12/2017 11:41

What would the Head do, cloud.

leccybill · 10/12/2017 11:47

So she's expected to read two full books a week? By Y3, some books are lengthy. DD in Y3 likes David Walliams books now but they are not short.
How long do the reviews have to be? DD has a reading record with a small (1 inch tall) space for a review and a rating. They are expected to do roughly one every few weeks.

Emerald92 · 10/12/2017 11:47

It is a lot! Ridiculous!

You do realise you can write to the school and withdraw from homework? It isn't compulsory.

CorbynsBumFlannel · 10/12/2017 11:56

Ds gets spellings, times tables, online maths and daily reading. Recently found out that he has Maths and English worksheets as well which haven't been making it home. I won't be pursuing those!
It's ridiculous. Especially for my child who does well academically but has ASD and struggles socially. When he gets invited to a friend's house for tea the school can go whistle if they think I'm going to make him stay home and do homework instead.

flumpybear · 10/12/2017 12:21

DD is year 4 now but last year she had 10
Spellings which needed to be learnt and also written into sentences (sometimes multiple spellings per sentence so didn't need 10 sentences iyswim.
Also some maths stuff or questions on a book they're reading in class - not nearly as much as you're saying
In year 4 her teacher says homework should take 20-30 mins max plus spellings - I think that's ok but it takes her longer as she
Procrastinates!

leccybill · 10/12/2017 12:24

On a side note, my DD is at after school club until 5.30. She goes to bed at 7.30. Between eating dinner and having a shower, there's not a great deal of time for homework!

Original poster
fedupfrida · 10/12/2017 12:28

leccybill - No, not expected to read full books. DD is reading chapter books too. They expect them to review where they are up to (in those 3-4 days! remember it's twice a week) so it ends up being a recount of what we've just read rather than an actual review. So usually a couple of chapters. It's crazy.

They have a full A4 sized, lined book and are expected to write at least half a page a time. OMG. Something's got to change.

OP posts:
Original poster
fedupfrida · 10/12/2017 12:30

Thanks everyone for your replies. It's been enlightening to see what other children get.

OP posts:
leccybill · 10/12/2017 12:31

Gosh, wow. That's too much. They are 7.

DD just writes "I like the story so far, the characters are funny especially Tom" or something like that. Half a page is just nonsense.

user789653241 · 10/12/2017 12:35

Agree with Kokeshi. Without book review, it's not too bad.
It makes more sense to do a book review once a half term or whatever, rather than doing it 2 books a eek. Reading just become chore, not enjoyment.

I would speak to the teacher in your position. At our school, homeworks are compulsory from yr3, so simply not doing it isn't an option. They will be kept in during break to finish it.
If there are many parents who are unhappy, can't you voice the issue as a group rather than separately?

Flumplet · 10/12/2017 12:35

My y2 gets activities set on mathletics, activities set on reading eggs, a reading book, spellings and a Friday project. I’ve posted about this before as it causes an awful lot of stress in our house as we don’t all get home until gone 6 most evenings.

user789653241 · 10/12/2017 12:36

*week, not eek! Grin

cloudyweewee · 10/12/2017 12:36

The Head would probably tell the parent that doing homework is in the home/school agreement and that the child should at least attempt to do it. We used to give homework out on Friday and expect it back on Monday but it was then changed to being handed.in on Wednesday so that the weekend children didn't have to complete it during the weekend

Pengggwn · 10/12/2017 12:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

leccybill · 10/12/2017 12:52

Penggywn Some kids do. But it's quite a small room with kids of all ages playing games, the TV is on, it's a bit chaotic to concentrate on homework so DD tells me. It's fine in warmer weather as they can use the playground and field. But tricky this time of year.

KathyBeale · 10/12/2017 13:01

I feel quite strongly about excessive homework for primary school kids. Mostly because they take a lot of supervision and if they have parents who don't have the time, space, inclination, or ability to help them then they are immediately at a disadvantage.

My y3 gets spellings, regular reading, and mathletics (which normally takes about 20 mins). My y6 gets literacy homework too which is normally researching something to do with their topic and writing a paragraph on it.

I think both of those are fine for the level they're at. Their school is very strong academically.

OP, like others have said, I would question that amount. I know many teachers who aren't keen on homework. I would ask why they're setting so much.

Marcine · 10/12/2017 13:02

My year 3 has spellings and a maths worksheet, and reads 3x a week.

Pengggwn · 10/12/2017 13:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

leccybill · 10/12/2017 13:13

I wish she could go home at 3.15 like her classmates but unfortunately I'm a teacher too and I'm at my own school frantically trying to get things done so I don't have to bring loads home with me.
I do believe homework is valuable and of course, good prep for further study down the line but at primary, a more flexible approach is best.

Pengggwn · 10/12/2017 13:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

leccybill · 10/12/2017 13:18

I suppose not and thanks for being kind. Just feeling particularly guilty about my workload this time of year and missing out on watching DD in school concerts etc. But hey ho, that's for another thread!

CecilyP · 10/12/2017 13:23

I think homework is just as important as it has ever been, but is undeniable that family life has changed. Thirty years ago children didn't go to after school club, they went home for 3.30pm and played/did homework for a couple of hours before tea. Different world.

Did primary children even get homework 30 years ago? I know it was rather more that 30 years ago that I was at PS but we got nothing; we weren't even allowed to take anything of the school's out of school. So PS homework didn't really exist in the age of SAHMs.

AuntLydia · 10/12/2017 13:26

I'm 41 and never had homework in primary school....my year 3 child has a homework 'menu' sent home every half term. There are 12 tasks on there of various difficulties and subject areas and she has to do at least 8 of them in the 6 weeks. I really like this system, it means we can be flexible about when we do it and because she chooses the tasks she's more engaged with it. We also read every night. I would be majorly stressed too op. I work til 6 and she's in bed for 8. It wouldn't leave a lot of time for us to spend together. At their age they learn loads just through playing too, she's always drawing and making stuff. This weekend we've done no homework but she's built 2 things out of some kits she had given to her for Christmas.

Hermagsjesty · 10/12/2017 13:26

I wasn’t thinking that Cecile.

I certainly didn’t get homework (in a mainstream, state school) 20-30yrs ago. Just reading books - which I didn’t have to write reviews on and occasional ‘project’ type stuff over the school holidays.