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

[fedupfrida]

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?

That's true, I could just be very, very good at it

You ain't that good; I've noticed a couple of mistakes.

I suppose if the words listed for ten words spelling tests are commonly used words for primary school children, then it's useful to learn them? For the children who learnt it all at school by osmosis, there is no extra work involved. For the children who missed some or are behind, a bit of focused revision will help them catch up?

I don't agree with the twice a week book review in the OP though, obviously.

This seems really petty and unworthy of me but here goes.

Consolidation of skills through independent practise is absolutely fundamental to learning.

Some things need frequent practise.

It's actually only one misspelling in 2 different sentences, but does illustrate what I mean by random; 'practise' on its own is a correctly spelt word so in the spelling test, fine, but in those sentences, wrong.

YANBU. I don't see the point of homework in primary school bar things like reading, spelling practice and maybe times tables. But all that other stuff is so unnecessary at that age. Let kids be kids.

My dd is in y3. She gets spelling homework, not just learn a list of spelling but looking at a spelling pattern or an ending, etc. She also has online maths homework once a week. And reading 3 times a week, to be recorded.

We try to do it all, but it's tricky to fit it all in during the week (the spelling and maths are set on Monday and due on Friday), as we don't get home till 5:30, and she goes to bed at 7:30. She could do it at the childminders, but when the cm asks dd says she's already done it at home (because she just wants to play- who wouldn't)

For the children who learnt it all at school by osmosis, there is no extra work involved. For the children who missed some or are behind, a bit of focused revision will help them catch up?

I'm not sure, Abit; I've a feeling that if it had been set for homework, I'd have felt I should be doing something and been a bit confused. I might also have been the obnoxious child crowing about getting 10/10 while having done a fraction of the work of a child scoring more poorly!

Yes it's a noun so should be practice; practise is a verb.

Everyday a schooldays, as they say!

I suppose really- the point is homework works for some kids and not others. I spell well (although not always on Mumsnet to be fair!) because I was an avid reader - not because I had spelling homework. My Primary Scool in the 80s didn’t set it.

If you feel the amount of homework your child has is not working for them, I do think it’s worth discussing with the school.

I have concluded on reading this that stating your spelling is good, or criticising someone else’s, is a sure fire way to guarantee you will make a blooper in your own post

Both are English words spelt correctly. You can spell them; we all make mistakes. Sorry if I sounded patronising.

@Pengggwn all primary were called county primary (CP) and seniors were (cc) county comprehensive. Eg, Sudley CP COE (church of england - at the time) and Calderstones CC School.

Not once were schools ever referred to as state primary during that period how bizarre.

Are you sure you're not from Knowsley or Sefton, and thus a wooly backed imposter?

The problem is, pengggwn, you are assuming that my amusement at someone being ‘aghast’ at poor spelling has somehow meant I don’t take spelling seriously.

The opposite is true. I just disagree the best way of teaching it is by insisting small children learn it off by heart at home. Even if it is the best way, it is impossible to monitor.

You also might be interested to know I am not a million miles from you

I am a firm believer that homework for primary school children is wrong. I know one parent who simply wrote a letter to the school and said she was happy to read to and with her child but would not allow any other homework to be done in their home. I applaud that wholeheartedly.

My children had no primary homework; but they did of course have homework in secondary school. Some of that was frankly rubbish and of no educational value; but they soldiered on as best they might, except on a few occasions when it was so ridiculous that I vetoed it totally and told the school why. I sent them out to enjoy the sunshine.

The family lives of my grandchildren are totally blighted by the mad amounts of homework that they get - and then parents sit down with them to do it!! What is the point of that? - but if they don't then there is no way they can get through it all.

If your child is struggling with all that homework, then tell the teacher; and make the decision that she will do half an hour and no more. It is YOUR home and YOUR decision. The school do not own you or your child and have no right to upset family life.