In thinking 5 homework tasks/week is way too much for 5-6yr olds?

[hex]

dd has been given yet another homework task to do by her (state) primary school...she's just turned 6 and is in year 1 and currently gets given:

a) Two reading books/week (each 32 pages long)

b) 6 words to memorise for a spelling test on Fridays

c) handwriting practice for over the weekend

d) maths homework for the weekend

After a hard day at school, I would much prefer her to be out playing/doing sthg else..to say nothing of the pressure it places on family life to have to squeeze this stuff in.

Just wondering what other dcs have to do?

Strewth! I'm at all this. Poor children. Have any of their teachers suggested what exactly a 6 yr old is supposed to do with all this knowledge? What exactly are they going to write with their perfectly formed letters (sonnets, perhaps)? And what, read on their own so their parents can work a bit longer?

makes me so

Nooka, where can I get a copy of the homework policy for primary schools - is it accessible online?

OP that sounds like a lot of hw for a 5 year old. But teachers can get into trouble with some parents for not setting enough. What if you write in the home-school diary that dc hasn't done xyz hw, showing that it's with your approval. You can't stop the teacher testing the spelling, but so what if lo is on a certain reading book for longer than half a week?

My dd is in Yr 6 and has had lots of hw for the SATS but her teacher said to me - don't worry if she doesn't do it all, just write me a note in the h-s diary. I know that children have lives.

There are always parents who love homework - we call them Boater-istas!

I think that all schools should have their own homework policy (we only got it because of dh's stinky letter - although we might have had a copy with the dc's started at the school as well). I'd ask the the school secretary for one. The guidelines are national - might be on the DfES website, I guess.