And the latest hare-brained homework project is...

[Honourspren]

Outing, hence NC (though I like this new one, might keep it 😁).

For a class of 7-year-olds, homework this half-term:

Design and create a game that uses magnetic force. You will have a chance to try out your games and evaluate them as a class.

I am thoroughly annoyed, on several counts:

• The game uses magnets, which school obviously cannot supply. We therefore either have to fork out to supply our own or guess the school magnets' strength and dimensions. Kids whose parents neither own magnets they can spare, nor have the money to buy their own will automatically disadvantaged.
• There is almost no way to design a game without also supplying other materials. At the very least, cardboard - even if you go for a maze-type game, the paper won't be strong enough not to rip once you try out the game, and again, without knowing what magnets the school actually has, you cannot design a suitable map. This means planning for standard magnets, so enough cardboard for at least A3/A2 size is needed. For a racing game or fishing game (both suggested) you need to build 3D walls to stop the magnets from interacting with each other. You need a supply of paperclips for other games.
• Which means parents (let's face it, mums) will need to get involved. Find the time to plan and build together, even if 7-year-olds can decorate alone.

Now, my child is very fortunate. I know how magnets work well enough to help come up with a realistic plan (many 7-year-old plans are far too complicated and designing a working game is well beyond the mental capabilities of many young children, who will want to see theirs work come evaluation day). I can supply materials because I collect craft materials, I can supply magnets because I had the money to buy some. I can sit down with my child for a day and make a game, because I am fortunate enough to be off work.

Many children won't have that. Any of it.

We've done many craft-based activities that school asked us to do, but all of them so far were possible to do with little help. This one, however, is not.

AIBU to say that teachers should think carefully before assigning such projects to children over half-term?

Just don't do it.

I stopped doing primary school homework a year ago, it's very liberating.

I think nearly every 7year old i gave ever cone across ( a lot!) have more resourcefulness and creativity, than nearly all the posters on this thread! Lots of people have a fridge magnet 🧲 or some toy with a magnet in, otherwise you can buy one very cheaply (38p delivery free) online.The kid will figure out a game!

I think you’re overthinking the magnet here.

As for the whole virtue-signalling crowd - project, much?

I know my local area well. I live and work in it. People here are poor, and like I said, drug and alcohol abuse are rife. The priorities of families are, on the whole, completely different to those in better-off areas (so even if I was part of a school WhatsApp group they'd tell me to piss off if I tried to give magnets away). This is not the kind of area where these projects work.

I hadn't even thought of the health and safety aspect; that's a good point as the magnets we bought are quite strong, but small enough that they can be swallowed.

Agreed, this is homework that becomes the parents project ultimately. If they want to stretch kids creativity then do it in school time! Leave homework for memorisation, revising and reading, not being creative.

Why on earth are 7 year olds being given homework to do in the bloody holidays anyway?! Leave the poor little buggers alone and let them forget about school for a bit. (This is directed at the school btw not the OP.)

My DS had a reception homework task (October half term if I remember) to build a 3D model of a British Landmark. A bunch of 4 year olds. I am haunted by the memory of creating the Tower of London which ended up the colour of the Tah Mahal and DS coloured in maybe 6 windows with a Sharpie.

DS in Reception again (Feb half term) make a 3D dragon model. Scaled down, made from toilet roll tubes but still tool ages and DS's contribution was putting the plastic eggs in the nest.

I categorically refused to do any further such homework projects. I am really supportive on children completing a worksheet if they have it or reading etc but my DS isn't arts and crafty and it was really a competition for who had the best parent at home to do it for them. I became a much happier parent not doing it and DS was happier with me taking him to the park instead of shouting at the paper mache.

You really have spectacularly missed the point

Perhaps OP doesn’t know what particular mums are poverty stricken but simply knows that there are some in her school. So now to make her complicated homework even more complicated, she has to ask around all the school mums (during the holidays) to see who would like help. While, of course, managing not to sound too patronising!

It's in the same bracket with assuming that all kids get home at 3.30 with a parent who can then support them with the mountain of homework that they seem to get. Forget that one kids are at a childminder til 6pm, how at 6.30, with an evening meal, bath etc still to have.
I'll never forget my DGD getting a table, 12 by 12, of decimal multiplications. Yes, they wanted her to do 144 separate calculations to show she could do the same thing. Ridiculous. I told her to pick 4 and leave the other unnecessary 140. I sent it back with a note.

I hadn't even thought of the health and safety aspect; that's a good point as the magnets we bought are quite strong, but small enough that they can be swallowed.

Yes this could be a problem if there are younger kids in the home. Especially if they are left to get on with it with limited supervision.

I'm that kind of scientist too but I don't expect my 7 year old to be.

The learning outcomes for a 7 year old are likely to be along the lines of:

• demonstrate an understanding of magnetic forces
• demonstrate creative thinking and problem solving skills
• name one thing that magnets are attracted to and one thing that they aren't.

YANBU that the resource requirements for this project make it unsuitable for homework in a deprived area. There will be kids in households who will be lucky if they are able to cobble together a biro and a cereal packet.

I suspect that this teacher's own learning curve will be quite steep when it comes to the deadline for this homework.

Don't the children have to buy all of their own school books and stationery in Ireland? Not usually great for providing resources. I'm glad they did in this instance, though.

I always remember the time DS3 had to build a viking boat and I had the brainwave of getting DH to teach him how to build a simple 3D model on the computer! Only time I've ever had nothing to do with such projects and the teacher liked it!

Gosh I used to hate the primary school homework tasks.

I used to leave them to it.
The worst was: design an Easter bonnet... best one will win a prize!
Nobody needs to guess which abomination won...

It’s holidays and your dc is 7.
I would give the option of doing the homework or not.
My teacher friends are having a well earned rest and the dc should be too.

Because people can express their own opinion (you did invite them to) and they don't have to agree with you?

Which is why a national curriculum doesn't always work (I feel the same about housing policies). There should be flexibility on homework. The failing parents in my GC schools aren't lacking in money, certainly not in time. Their children are being massively let down because of excuses made for the parent(s). It's often the genuinely skint parents who have practical toys, because the expensive tech is outside of their reach. If you can't do the homework because of financial reasons then have a word with the teacher. But children should be exposed to STEM at home. They always have been via cooking, but because excuses are abound why that doesn't take place within homes (not homeless situations) they don't get exposed to the practical application of maths/science that children growing up in actual poverty used to.

YANBU. Neither of us is crafty here and we've also discussed the fact that neither of us appreciated such homework as children and would resent it as adults- including spending any money on it. We wouldn't be doing this, whereas reading, spellings, tables, a reasonable amount of work sheets, pick up a rock in the park and draw it, write your idea for the magnet game etc we would be totally on board with and would support.

The only exception for me would be if I had a very creative child of an age to do it mostly by themselves; if I had an arty child I'd probably also already have a decent amount of art stuff so little extra cost. Even so, if we had half term plans - or simply very poor time availability- we wouldn't be wasting time and money or rearranging life to do a craft crap project rand the school would be getting a polite note to say we didn't have time for it. Can you get your DC to draw an idea, write a note and just say you - plural- didn't have time to build it OP?

My school phased this out after the winner of the Build A Model Of Our Local High Street competition proudly announced post judging that "my nan made it". No one missed these sorts of homework.

Otherwise, there's the PA approach suggested by a friend of mine; once it had been marked or displayed or whatever, follow with an itemised bill for anything you've had to cover the cost of plus the cost of time per hr based on salary/ what your weekend overtime rate for work is. Do it every time. Dead seriously. Chase it up.

You are really over thinking this.

I've just remembered a toy I had as a child. It was a small plastic ballerina and a mirror, the mirror and dancer both had magnets so you could make the dance 'dance' sort of.

Thepassageoftime Surely by not doing it DC will feel upset,if all their friends have brought their games in though? I am sure no other parents think "yippee another pointless I mean interesting game ,for me to do over a week in half term!"

My favourite - and never forgotten - was in year 8. The history teacher said he was tired of marking essays on the Industrial Revolution and everyone was to do a project. DS said one friend was making a working model of a steam engine , while another was going to make a video of the Irongorge Museum (we don’t live near it). We ended up devising a board game based on the experiences of children. He is a parent now and still has the game.

I dreaded these projects (my kids are now adults, so thought they would have been done away with by now). The projects up more like a craft competition for parents (ie Mums) than anything worthwhile educationally. Luckily I had 10 years between eldest and youngest (4 children) and with sufficient bribe could palm it off on one of their older brothers.

If you think they are going to play the games, and if your DD is amenable, do the fish one. Colour the fish and get her to make up some forfeit cards if you pick up the wrong colour fish. That could be fun enough for the 7 year olds who've never played such a game to actually experience some magnet behaviour