To not make DD6 (Year 1) do homework?

[Thesnailonthewhale]

She was 6 in December, an she's above age related expectations in all areas. Reading age of 8y6m.doing Year 2 maths etc

School are getting a bit uppity about her not completing the set homework each week. (Spellings, some maths sheets etc)

She reads every day without being prompted and is incredibly inquisitive etc helps around the house, plays creatively, is active.
She counts coins at shops, does puzzle books, can tell the time to quarters and halfs and (still working on 5 mins) - weighs and measures ingredients for cooking and baking etc. (all applied maths)

Should I make her do the extra stuff? I can't see the point personally.

She's going to have to do homework all the way through her school life.

Surely the homework is easy enough for her. To me its a none negotiable and her having a tantrum should bot be a reason that she doesn't do it.

Would she do the spellings on a blackboard or whiteboard sheet on the wall or chalk them on the pavement? Photograph and send into school as her spelling homework

My child did reading in y3 but otherwise no homework in junior school. There were optional projects which dd loved. Other dc hated them. Parental involvement necessary! I was concerned secondary would come as a shock to her, but it didn’t. As she had dedicated time to do it, it didn’t seem onerous. DD2 was at a different primary and did have prep. She quite enjoyed some of it. We put her hobbies first though and sometimes homework was a bit rushed. I think keeping a love of learning is what matters, not a tick box homework exercise.

Does the school have consequences for not doing it? I can't remember exactly but I know there were detentions for not doing hw when my DC was in year 4.

My DC was miles above in year 3 so the teacher gave them extra homework especially for him.

If the school doesn't have consequences, then what can you do. But I'd fully support the school if they did have consequences and kept OP's DD in at playtime etc.

It's year 1. Do a sheet of spellings. Do some sums and get it done. Spend some time on it and once done, enjoy and go out and have fun.

It's not a tantrum.

Why wouldn’t you? The teacher has asked it to be done so she should do it, despite you thinking it’s beneath her.

I don’t understand why you don’t want the best for your daughter? You know there’s something wrong, and yet you won’t get her help.

I’m a teacher and not a fan of primary homework BUT at home we have a set time on a weekend that our kids sit down and complete it. I’m trying to instil the message that we value school.

I can't believe how many people "don't make" their DCs do their homework. It takes 5 min, shows them you take interest in what they do, shows that you value school. Have you considered how they feel when they turn up at school without anything when all their friends have done their work with mum or dad over the week end?

@Thesnailonthewhale

I haven't read the full thread, but have read your replies. It is possible she is associating the homework with school, and school is finished when she is at home; at her age she can't process why she has to do more work. If she is masking all day at school as well the poor thing will be frazzled. My heart goes out to you, and I understand you not forcing her.

If the homework is in sheets with lists of questions, it might be less demanding on her to do one at a time. Literally cut the worksheets up so she can only see the current mental demand. If she does one word/question and then plays for an hour, it is still better than none. She also may benefit from doing it in the morning after she is dressed for school, almost like a preparing for school task.

Homework is only supposed to be 15 minutes or something like that. It doesn't exactly impact on them being able to play with their friends. When my DD2 was younger she did clubs every day after school (her choice) and still managed to do reading, spellings and X tables (they only had written homework once a week).
In the OPs case it's different because her DD is having a meltdown over the homework so it's taking longer than 15 minutes.
So you've solved the problem for now OP but I really think you should speak to her teacher again. Keep up with the reading and see if you can "trick" her in to spellings but you and school need to explore why homework is such an issue.
I would agree it doesn't matter now but if she gets to 11 is she really likely to say oh okay I'll do homework now if she's never had to do it before? I think it's unlikely, unless you find out the problem.

Primary homework didn't used to be a thing in most schools 40 years ago and most children then managed to get into the homework frame of mind without problems at secondary school. The school day doesn't seem so long by that age, they need less sleep and they have more agency in their lives. There's no reason to suppose it would be different for modern children.

Schools are now expected to manage and teach a hell of a lot more than they did 40 years ago. There is literally not enough time in the school day to cover everything adequately, so the ability of children to practise what they’ve been taught, at home, is invaluable to both them and teachers.

That's simply untrue.

I did homework as a child and that was decades ago.

My own kids were in primary school 30 years ago and they had plenty of homework.

DD couldn't cope with homework at primary. She did lots of educational activities outside of school, but not more 'sitting down and doing a worksheet' - Scouts, cooking, museums, board games etc.

At secondary she had access to a homework club after school, and used that to do homework. She found it easier to do schoolwork at school, and then.leave the stress behind and come home.

At College now she does it at home or at College. I don't buy the argument that children should start doing something at a young age because they'll need to do.it later. We don't toilet train newborns, because they aren't developmentally ready, after all. Same with homework.

YANBU.

i don’t make my year 4 DS do it either.

It’s supposedly optional but I had remind his teacher of this when I asked her to stop bollocking him for not bringing it in. He does football 6 nights/days a week as he’s in an academy and spare time is time to be himself. Maybe if he needed the practice I would but he’s bright and has no academic issues.

DD is in secondary and it’s not optional so she does it and I help her as she does struggle academically in some areas.

But primary school homework is ridiculous. Actually I think secondary school homework bar exam revision is also ridiculous, and not indicative of adult life they’re apparently preparing them for

It doesn’t always take 5 minutes

And if you can’t think of any other way to show your child you’re interested in them then you need a better imagination.

Then spend longer than 5 minutes on it..... And do the work set.

If the school has no punishments for not doing hw, then what can they really do to enforce?

But if the teachers have punishments for non completion and persistent non completion, I'd fully support them administering them.

It's irrelevant to me how long it is supposed to take, it is the idea that you're supposed to take work home with you, I think this is an awful life lesson to be teaching children. What about work life balance? We're setting them up to think that you live to work and that their time isn't important.

Besides, it isn't 15 mins for my 6yo, and it's totally toxic. She's supposed to do reading, spelling and maths every day, as well as 6 'projects' every half term, which are labour and time intensive rubbish. Then she's supposed to participate in a 'homework exhibition' at the end of every half term, whereby all the children display their work and are given a sheet for their friends to rate their work and leave comments, and then from year 3, parents are also invited to participate in this ridiculous popularity contest. My son did it once, do you know how many kids and parents commented on his sheet? 0. He had a comment from one teacher. That did wonders for his confidence and self esteem.

Well in direct contrast, I can't believe how many people think it's okay to expect primary aged children to do homework. Even so far as to suggest that punishments should be given for not completing it. How toxic.

Then we need to address this as a separate issue, the answer surely isn't to pile more work and pressure on to primary aged children?!

It’s very unlikely a primary has sanctions for not doing homework. I’ve never seen that and it would be draconian. Teachers never mark homework at primary and the homework policy should state why they set it. Mostly it’s not onerous.

Not untrue for anyone I know, and i'm nearly 40. I didn't do homework until secondary, and my primary was the biggest feeder to the local grammar school in the area, so not setting homework clearly didn't have any impact on achievement.