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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

My 4 year olds homework??

132 replies

pollylocketpickedapocket · 19/03/2021 16:02

This is my 4 year old homework. I need google to do it, seriously maths has changed since I was at school.

My 4 year olds homework??
OP posts:
Original poster
pollylocketpickedapocket · 19/03/2021 19:04

@Happymum12345

Perhaps the teacher was desperate to find some homework and came across this quickly. It does look challenging but not impossible for reception if explained properly. Imagine having your work put on an open forum for the world to critique during a pandemic. It’s not nice. Just tell the teacher if it’s too hard for your child.
She’s actually doing quite well with it. I was surprised that this is set for 4 year olds. I wasn’t criticising anything.
OP posts:
Original poster
pollylocketpickedapocket · 19/03/2021 19:04

@littlewhitestar

I'm nearly 50 and remember counting faces and vertices on 3D shapes in reception as extension work for the "top table" although they didn't call it that obviously. I guess it could be the same for your DD?
I’m 42, honestly couldn’t tell you what I did in reception.
OP posts:
LadyCatStark · 19/03/2021 19:09

This is 100% year 2 work. Also, lazy table naming from the teacher! The hexagons and pentagons have the most sides and are clearly the top groups, what about the poor old triangles and circles!

CigarsofthePharoahs · 19/03/2021 19:11

My year 2 child did this work during lockdown. However the teacher attached nets of the shapes for us to colour in and make. Given we'd been learning about Ancient Egypt we turned the pyramid into... a pyramid and I drew Khufu in his sarcophagus on the bottom! Having the nets was really useful for him to understand how the shapes worked. My son, that is, not Khufu.
Having said that, my year 5 child was set some long division during lockdown and at one point we were trying to divide by seventeen. I let him off that one.

Findahouse21 · 19/03/2021 19:17

My dd covered this last year in reception too. Most of her class found it okay as we did talk about the set work most days as it was during the first home schooling period..

moanieleminx · 19/03/2021 19:21

I am a montessori teacher and you can teach a child this. It's just about introducing the vocabulary.

I wouldn't give it in a worksheet though.

I would do a treasure hunt for the shapes in the house or your immediate environment. And then we walk turn it over in our hands and point to the different parts, saying the words over and over.

Once you have been playing the game, ask them every now and again to show you the random different parts.

On a piece of paper, it's just too abstract and not age appropriate at all.

SakuraEdenSwan1 · 19/03/2021 19:35

A 4 year old does not need to do homework, never mind sheets meant for another year group. Hand it back in with your thoughts on it.

HowManyToes · 19/03/2021 19:57

It’s too hard for her age, definitely. It would be a good extension task if pupils had solids to hold and count there faces, edges, vertices.

But your comment about maths changing since you were at school is Hmm I’m pretty sure 3D shapes existed when you were at school!

KoshkaKills · 19/03/2021 20:00

They have homework in Reception!?

Ours just have their reading diary and word list to learn over the year

berryhead2013 · 19/03/2021 20:06

My daughter has just had this in lockdown she is primary 2 age 6

Original poster
pollylocketpickedapocket · 19/03/2021 20:08

@HowManyToes

It’s too hard for her age, definitely. It would be a good extension task if pupils had solids to hold and count there faces, edges, vertices.

But your comment about maths changing since you were at school is Hmm I’m pretty sure 3D shapes existed when you were at school!

Yes! But I don’t remember vertices, maybe I’ve just got a bad memory!
OP posts:
Original poster
pollylocketpickedapocket · 19/03/2021 20:09

And I definitely wasn’t doing it at 4!

OP posts:
lms2017 · 19/03/2021 20:11

My son is reception but one of the older ones he is 5.5 years .... Some are still 4 you an really notice the children which are still 4.

We had this same sort of thing we had to do during lockdown and to make 3d shapes too!

We just changed the words to sides /points etc surprisingly he knew alot more than me.

CuddlyDudley · 19/03/2021 20:15

To be honest this was introduced during home schooling for ds5 (reception) to learn but obviously explained in a more age appropriate manner and with some age appropriate activities. He was really comfortable with it and found the actual concept easy to grasp. Put this sheet in front of ds and he would be able to read it and possibly do some of it based on what he had already covered in school but i would probably have to explain and answer queries.

Defmy · 19/03/2021 21:13

QueQueQue

Yes, I know. That's why I suggested the OP use the PPPT to assist if necessary because (a) it's in colour (b) she will come across more accessible versions of the same content.

Defmy · 19/03/2021 21:18

What hard is not counting edges, faces and vertices. That is being taught to some extent at this level (though not necessarily using all these terms). It's absorbing the black and white 3-D image on a page, then reading the terms. The questions at Reception should be in response to handling the solids and experimenting with them to discover the difference between a curved and straight edge, the stackability of flat faces etc. That leads somewhere. This seems suspiciously like a worksheet that was printed off because it came up first on google. For children at this level who have had sporadic access to school anyway, I think this speaks of a poor academic environment or a teacher pushed too hard.

Thiswayorthatway · 19/03/2021 21:22

My year 1 child has done this work

KarmaViolet · 19/03/2021 21:23

DD had this exact worksheet in reception last year. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Hmm when I saw it.

Talkwhilstyouwalk · 19/03/2021 21:27

Presented in a very dull way. We covered
3D shapes during homeschooling and they did things like go on a 3D shape hunt. They did count the edges and surfaces as a class but there was no mention of verticies, I'd have had to have googled that one.

LemonRoses · 19/03/2021 21:30

I’m sure lots of four and five year olds could do this. It’s about as interesting as watching paint dry though and hardly likely to create a lifelong love of learning.

Flowers24 · 19/03/2021 21:39

Omg!!

Original poster
pollylocketpickedapocket · 19/03/2021 22:07

@Defmy

What hard is not counting edges, faces and vertices. That is being taught to some extent at this level (though not necessarily using all these terms). It's absorbing the black and white 3-D image on a page, then reading the terms. The questions at Reception should be in response to handling the solids and experimenting with them to discover the difference between a curved and straight edge, the stackability of flat faces etc. That leads somewhere. This seems suspiciously like a worksheet that was printed off because it came up first on google. For children at this level who have had sporadic access to school anyway, I think this speaks of a poor academic environment or a teacher pushed too hard.
The teacher in question is lovely but inexperienced, I’ve questioned her methods before in other posts. The school is a state school but very high achieving. My initial thoughts were that the children would need to physically see the shapes to know completely although having gone through a few this evening my dd seems to know them maybe through repeatedly hearing the properties?? I’ve no idea, my schooling was a long time ago and for various reasons I didn’t go past year 9. It’s really important to me that my dd gets the best shot at her education as possible so yes, I’m clueless and want to know everything that’s going on.
OP posts:
Coronateachingagain · 19/03/2021 22:08

@LadyCatStark

This is 100% year 2 work. Also, lazy table naming from the teacher! The hexagons and pentagons have the most sides and are clearly the top groups, what about the poor old triangles and circles!
It's normally Y1 Spring term for a private prep, Y2 for state. If she can deal with it, then maybe the teacher thought why not. The problem is, will it stick? Not as fun as other more age appropriate activities. Also as someone said, they tend to forget so they will be going over it periodically
Defmy · 19/03/2021 23:44

pollylocketpickedapocket

I really respect your dedication to help your child. I'm home schooling at the moment but have lots of school involvement - sometimes it's easier to just get on with it yourself. At first it's a little daunting but there are lots of resources to help you. If you're able and willing to sign up to some online learning sites, it is a little bit easier because they can tailor the content to the answers your child is giving and ensure everything gets covered. If not, it's still perfectly possible.

I think you're spot on to think the child needs to handle the 3-D shapes - they definitely do. You can buy these shapes, find them in the 'wild' in the house, or make them from nets available online. Twinkl tends to have a powerpoint on any subject under the sun at this stage so it's often useful to find that and watch it.

White Rose Maths have lovely videos that explain things for parents too! The School Run explains exactly what your child is expected to know by the end of each year.

Meatshake · 20/03/2021 00:45

The problem for me isn't the concept, more the worksheet- it seems a fairly joyless way to do it. A dull worksheet with fairly complex terms for a 4 year old? I've got a 4 year old not far off the cut off (she's one of the older ones in the year) and the thought of her having to do this if she were a couple of weeks older troubles me- she'd have no chance. Wtf are we doing to these kids?