...... 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?

As to spelling - there are some children who are highly intelligent and good readers but who struggle with spelling. They are just bad spellers. I know several people like that. Thank goodness we now have spellcheckers and the education system should recognise that.

It’s very rare I’ve come across anybody with spelling that bad, pengggwn,and as you can probably infer from what I have told you, I don’t teach in the leafy suburbs.

I don’t have DC so I doubt anyone cares what I think but I’m quite shocked at all that. Especially since some kids don’t even start school til 6/7 in some countries.

I didn’t have homework til secondary. I had some spellings and times tables at primary - which was made fun by making it into a club/competition thing between the classes. But that was all.

Going back to the OP.
DD is in Y4.
She gets 10 spellings every week.
She also is supposed to read out loud three times a week.
Finally, there is one other piece of homework. It alternates between maths and English.

The pattern of homework was also true for Y3.

Very occasionally she doesn't get the homework done. They did set up a lunch club at school for those who hadn't done their homework. I went in and said that I did not want DD kept in at lunch as she needs a bit of time to run around and play with her friends, and that if she hadn't done it it was for a good reason and not because we couldn't be bothered. School immediately said fine, no problem. It never has been a problem - she's never been in trouble for the odd bit she's missed (maybe three or four pieces during the whole of Y3).
Your Dd sounds like she's getting far too much. I think I'd be talking to school.

I agree OP. Currently doing homework with my son whilst he is crying. Spent all day in the snow ( as 7 yr olds should) and now it's a horrible end to a lovely day.😢

We are very lucky here. Outstanding and high acheiving school but with a very relaxed attitude to homework. They set a couple of pieces a week from year two but are emphatic that if it becomes a fight or takes longer than 20 mins per piece then it should be left and the parent should document this in the homework book. We read a mixture of school books and home books every evening. Again the school recommend that if it becomes a battle then the parent should just read to the child. My son hated homework and really fought against it so we laid off for a year and now he is fine with it. My daughter loves it and asks for more to be set. Funnily enough though, she went to private school for a term. There was a much higher demand on the homework front and she really lost her enthusiasm for it.

YADNBU. I am a primary school teacher and I also detest homework. Besides reading at home regularly (which is the holy grail in terms of bringing learning across the curriculum on, in my experience) I think that primary school children should be allowed to be children. My school insist on sending homework but this year I decided to devise some more child-friendly stuff of which kids and parents choose just 3 tasks and submit once per half term. They include things like "design a superhero with superpowers" and "make a superhero snack". Believe it or not, however, I've had some parents complain that the homework is "rubbish" and that they would prefer spellings. It seems that not everybody feels the same.

Oh and I didn’t have homework at primary or middle school but was very motivated at secondary and uni and still love to read.

We have reading, 4 sheets of maths, 10 spellings, a tables or division test and a monthly project. I hate how long it all takes and how stressed my DC gets. We don't have the option of not doing some of it because they lose golden time. Her spellings have been ridiculous- I remember her having "suspicion", "suspicious" and "subtraction" at 5 years old! I wish they could just let them be children.

As a parent reading, tables and a few spellings is enough. I like the idea of more fun stuff especially for little ones. I've seen stuff like play a boardgame, make a den outside, make play dough, help cook something, visit a museum etc which are all good ideas if kids aren't already accessing those enriching activities at home.
But no parent wants to find out that their kid needs to make up a rap about the Victorian era after picking their child up from after school club at 6 and then having to make tea and fit a bath and listen to a chapter of reading before a reasonable bedtime.

It was more activity ideas than homework (as in the type where there's a deadline and the child is punished when it's not done).
It's no more ludicrous than ridiculous numbers of worksheets for children from reception age which is becoming common practice!
And the museum idea was one of my kids teachers and most of the class went as it's free and they got the chance to stand up and share what they'd seen at 'news time' on the carpet. Much more valuable than a worksheet I'd say. But what would I know as just a parent!

Well it's not something that all teachers agree on. As we can see from this thread as much as you may protest that those who disagree with you aren't actually teachers! I know for eg that my child's teacher has told me that she sets homework as it is school policy and if it was her choice she would set the bare minimum.
I know as my child's parent that due to him being autistic and dyspraxic him playing sport in a team after school is of much more benefit to him than the endless writing down of words that he can already spell anyway just so his sheet can be signed and he can have playtime at school.

Corbyns, I think homework activity was something like you say, I find it very patronizing and irritating. We do those anyway, but don't want to be dictated what we do for fun at home by school/teacher.

Well any homework is the teacher dictating what you do.
Most parents will do normal family activities like those described but in an inner city school in a rough area it was probably less than most.

I think Corbyn’s point is important, in fact - not all teachers do agree on this matter. I detest homework, set the bare minimum, don’t sanction kids who don’t hand it in (but I reward those who do) and try to set ones that are largely optional. Board games aren’t something I’ve ever done but the thing is, you will have some children who don’t have a quiet space to work, don’t have access to a computer, or just plain can’t do it.

We can all try and we can all get better at what we attempt. Provided the task is appropriate to the ability of the child, there is no reason they should not attempt it.
Yes.
I find the idea that some have that 'child x can't do X' as a flat out response is odd (SEND aside where there may well be some can'ts).
Expecting less of certain children just because is how we have 15 year olds without SEN with reading ages of 9 year olds.

Though the amount in thr OP seems excessive to me

Sorry didn't have time to rtft. Just don't do it. None of mine did anything more than reading/times tables until secondary. Just let class teacher know (politely) they won't be doing it.

Thank you so much to everyone. I'm sat here almost in tears at the realisation that it's killing off her love of learning.

I'm so sorry for the poster who's child in in tears tonight. I don't know about you but i vow that's never going to happen here again.

@Mishappening - thanks for the wise words. You are so right. Things are going to change. I can't do it anymore and i'm certainly not doing it to my child.

My issue is that the amount is excessive. I'm willing and able (I have 10 GCSE's, 4 A Levels, 1 undergrad, and 1 post grad - oh and all that without being given any homework from my primary school - imagine!) to sit down and help/encourage my child BUT no more am I going to allow it to go over 30-45 mins.

Thanks ladies for taking time out to reply - you're all ace.