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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think that 40 pages of maths homework is too much for a 7y old in his summer holidays?

53 replies

Saker · 26/07/2007 23:02

On the last day of term, Ds1's teacher merrily handed him his maths book (which is one of those fill in ones) with "Please complete" written on the top. He has only just started it so there are at least 40 pages of sums to do. It takes him about 15mins to do a page not counting the time I have to spend nagging him to do it. And what's more I'm supposed to mark it! (which is not that arduous but apparently the teacher said "I will not have time to be marking 30 maths book on the first day of term".

I don't remember getting homework until I was in secondary school and I really think it's a bit much to expect him to all that in what is supposed to be his break.

OP posts:

Twiglett · 27/07/2007 07:42

I'd refuse to do it .. I think 7 year olds need holiday

startouchedtrinity · 27/07/2007 07:50

Hand it to the head with a letter explaining why your ds won't do it. If you search there is alot of evidence as to why homework doesn't work at primary age. Try a google, print it off and give it to the head.

chocolateteapot · 27/07/2007 07:52

I wouldn't let him do it but would go and see the new teacher and explain why he hasn't done it ie. because I felt he needed a complete break from school work over the holidays.

Budababe · 27/07/2007 08:09

My DS has just finished Yr 1 (broke up June 20) and we were given:

a list of suggested activities - junior scrabble, playing a card game, keeping a journal etc.
We were also given a list of 100 words to read
he had done the first 2 sheets of 100 and were asked to revise these as well

DS's writing is really bad so I am getting him to do some of the basic writing workbooks too. He isn't keen! We are trying to do 4 pages of a workbook every day - sometimes manage it!

Haven't done any of the other stuff yet though. I have re-done the list of 100 words into little slips of 5 words each as reckon will be less off-putting for him.

40 pages of maths SOUNDS a lot but if you do a page a day and one day a week do 2 pages, it should be manageable. It is hard to get them interested/motivated though. My DS feels it is very unfair to have to do writing over the holidays but he really needs it.

taxidriver · 27/07/2007 08:13

wewere given NOTHING and told byyear 3 teacher, come september, to relax and enjoy the holidays as best preparation for school.
cheeky in your case that he isnt even going to mark it, nor be his teacher anyway in year 3.

if your ds enjoys doing it, i spose he could, but i think it is cheeky

startouchedtrinity · 27/07/2007 08:14

Budababe, just a suggestion but my dd1 practises her handwriting by making lists of things sh eis interested in. For example, sh eloves wildlife so we go out with a spotters' book and she writes down the names of trees, flowers, birds etc. Maybe your ds would prefer to write the names of cars or trains?

Saker, if you really disagree with this homework then don't get yoru ds to do it. It sends a really dodgy message to your ds to let him to think a strict teacher at school has more say over what he does than you do.

hufflebranpuff · 27/07/2007 08:18

I wouldn't be keen on this at all, but then I don't like the idea of homework for young children. My ds goes to the same nursery as mum22bys' ds but he doesn't do the homework, which they're fine about. Although he does get a magazine almost every week which (I think) contains the same sort of activities and he loves that.

I'm also a bit sceptical about any studies that show that children 'fall behind' over the holidays. How do you measure 3-4 weeks development anyway? Plus I suspect that it wouldn't take 3-4 weeks to catch up again.

The holidays are a good opportunity to focus on specific things that a child may be behind in, but that doesn't have to be done through boring worksheets.

mm22bys · 27/07/2007 08:23

Hi Hufflebranpuff!

There was none there yesterday...

Even this morning he was asking for his "homework"!

I did think it was weird at first, and didn't like the idea, but I don't force him to do it. Some weeks we don't do it, and they don't seem concerned either way.

I don't actually think a lot of the "worksheets" are age-appropriate anyway, and my MIL (who's a special needs teacher) told me that when he does learn to write that it's important that he learns to hold a pencil properly, and to the do the strokes in the right order, and I don't think the sheets they use have arrows...

Mmmm, maybe I need to re-think him doing the sheets, but it takes less than two minutes one day a week and he's only there for one more month anyway!

Do you know if the others do the work?

bran · 27/07/2007 08:29

I don't think it does any harm if he likes doing it, I just don't want ds to do homework because I have issues with it from my school days.

I think quite a few of the others do do the sheets. I was talking to another mum and she finds that if her ds does them with his dad it's a good opportunity for the data to find out what he's been up to at nursery. I think the association of the worksheets being from nursery prompts him to talk about what he's been up to there.

Budababe · 27/07/2007 08:30

startouchedtrinity - I do agree it may be more fun for him that way but his writing/pencil control and grip are so bad that I really feel he needs the practice of the back to basic stuff. The book he is doing has stickers for every page completed which he likes.

MIL is coming to stay on Wednesday and she used to be a reception teacher so I will be asking her to do some stuff with him. She is great at making it fun.

katelyle · 27/07/2007 08:34

My dd is going to a VERY academic grammar school in September, and I put my foot in it at the induction day by asking if there was any work she should be doing over the summer. "Rest and play" said her new teacher very firmly indeed.

Don't do it!

OrmIrian · 27/07/2007 08:39

No YANBU. However I wouldn't make him do it. If he wants to he can. If he doesn't, that's fine too. I can't help thinking that the teacher, by not marking it, is making it a voluntary activity anyway.

RubberDuck · 27/07/2007 08:46

Ds1 doesn't have any homework (he's 6 and just left Y1) but he's been asking to do stuff over the holidays - about every other day so far.

I've just been searching the internet and so far he's done some handwriting sheets, a couple of number ladder things I found on the BBC education site (which actually were probably aimed at the year below because he found them too easy) and I've printed off some very simple word searches in case he asks today and I know he'll enjoy those.

He could get the same (if not more) educational help from just general non-worksheety stuff, but he particularly wanted to do sheets - think he's playing at school, tbh! Though I think if it had been compulsory there's no way he'd have wanted to even attempt it.

Keep learning fun. If he asks to do it, let him. If he doesn't, ignore it. If he stresses, tell him that you will write a letter to the teacher explaining why you didn't do it.

constancereader · 27/07/2007 08:48

YANBU

I think holidays are for resting, relaxing, having new experiences etc. Not for working. He is only seven. I am a teacher too.

Worksheets are a bit pants IMO.

It has made me laugh reading all the posts though, just goes to show that whatever the teacher does SOMEONE is going to be annoyed about it.

RubberDuck · 27/07/2007 08:50

... I think teacher's giving nothing is better than giving something, tbh. If you want your child to do some work over the summer it's easy enough to find stuff on the internet - there's loads of educational sites out there.

RubberDuck · 27/07/2007 08:51

ARGH ... rogue apostrophe. Sorry. I haven't been doing enough worksheets this summer, obviously

tuppy · 27/07/2007 09:14

One of the things I like about the academic prep dd started in Sept is thet there is NO holiday homework for the children; that includes summer, Christmas, Eastaer and all half terms. She will be going into y4.

Had she stayed in the school her older brothers wenr through, she'd not have been given summer homework, but every other main holiday during the term at this age (say y2 onwards) would have meant maths worksheets, holiday diary etc hanging over us. Yes US as obviously a normal 7yo would need parental nagging to get through it all.

There are lots of fun ways to get in some covert practise of numeracy, literacy etc., without making a young child sit down formally.

skinnygirlNOT · 27/07/2007 14:19

I am a teacher and research shows that homework does NOT improve a child's test scores etc (read The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn).

How dare your son's teacher tell you to mark the homework- ask her for a share of her salary! She set it, she should mark it.

However, what is very important is that children don't sit and watch TV or play playstation games etc all day. They should be playing with friends/ siblings(developing social skills), seeing relatives, going to the park (exercise/ experiencing nature) and doing things as a family (which in my household is very dificult during termtime with all the useless homework my children are set!)

Oh, I nearly forgot, make sure they read loads- that is the most vital homework to be set.

TwoToTango · 27/07/2007 15:06

found your post really interesting skinnygirlNOT. Most of what you say and especially the last sentence is what my DS's teacher said at the last parents evening. the school never give homework in the end of terms hols.

startouchedtrinity · 27/07/2007 15:09

DD1's new teacher for next yr and the yr after is a big fan of homework, even blinking flashcards. I'm actively anti-homework and don't let dd1 do it when sh ewants to. I forsee trouble ahead.

Original poster

Saker · 27/07/2007 15:25

Thanks everyone I am interested in the variety of responses here. I know that 40 pages is only one page a day which isn't loads but he doesn't want to do it which means we would have to nag him everyday (and tbh it is a bit boring because it is just pages of subtraction and multiplication presented in different ways). I don't really see why he should have to when it is the summer holidays. He is very academic anyway - is well ahead in all subjects and is the oldest in his year so has a natural advantage so I don't think he will have trouble settling back in September. He does enjoy puzzles and reading and does lots of writing and drawing off his own back and we play lots of games and things with him. Maybe the teacher thought he would enjoy it because he is quite academic but I wish it had been a bit more optional.

I think I will see how much he will do by himself and try and encourage him to complete some of it but as people suggest send a note to the teacher saying I didn't think it was appropriate and he wasn't able to complete all of it if he doesn't finish it

I wouldn't mind marking it normally and really it does need checking as he goes along because otherwise he will just repeat the same mistakes - however I just think that's a cheek when she's set it to say she is too busy to mark it.

OP posts:

Original poster

Saker · 27/07/2007 15:28

We do try to have a balanced day - so far today we have been to the library, playground, had a very unhealthy lunch sitting on a bench in the park and the children are going to my mum's for a couple of hours in a minute. Oh Ds1 did play Buzz lightyear on the computer for half an hour this morning but then I played with him so it was quite interactive (lot of "Oh Mummmmmmy!" ). So my perfect mother halo is still reasonably intact (however just wait until the last week of the holidays ).

OP posts:

SSSandy2 · 27/07/2007 15:36

Are the other families you know planning on completing that workbook?

If he doesn't have to catch up with anything but is in fact ahead of the class, you probably aren't doing anything drastically wrong by not doing it.

Not having seen the book, I can't judge its usefulness. Might be a good thing. How about letting him choose 1-2 pages in each section/subdivision and if he has no problems with it, you can leave it with a clear conscience?

butterflymum · 27/07/2007 15:40

Quote: "Studies have shown that the 6 weeks holidays put the children back 3 - 4 weeks in sept."

Then I pity my children. Here in Northern Ireland they are on holiday for almost 9.5 weeks. Yes, 9.5 weeks!

SSSandy2 · 27/07/2007 15:42

OMG 9.5 weeks would be too long for ME (crap mummy emoticon)

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