YR1 3 reading books/spells/maths/lit homework!! FGS!

[mjp185]

OK I know I'm ranting but I am just so cross!
all this homework for a 6 yr old per week. To boot I've no idea which is a reading book, 'guided' (?)reading book or what. And DS1 is to shattered to be bothered to do any of it anyway!

DH and I both work F/T, its 6pm by the time we all get home. DS used to do h/work at afterschool club, but I was told it was to be done 'at home that is why its called homework'

I get so frazzled with DS trying to help with reading.

He's had the same spellings since 1st Nov. And lots of notes in spelling book to 'please practise' words such as 'come' 'going' 'said', DS keeps spelling them as they sound eg 'cum, sed etc'

Arggghhhhh!

DS has hated school since sept (have posted other threads about teacher complaining about his lack of concentration, disruptive behaviour)poor boy gets blamed for everything.

Is his standard of reading/spelling down to me or school as I've no idea how to help someone learn to spell or how they teach them to read!!!

Help, save me from insanity (or am I over reacting, you can tell me, honest, snivel, snivel!!)

Oh yes DS1 is eldest in class,missed school yr by a week

In yr 1 at dds school they get up to 20 spellings and two reading books a week, less if they don't read them or find it hard. I thought that was a lot! So no, I don't think you're over reacting.

As far as helping him goes, I would suggest trying to speak to his teacher and find out what method they use, so you can do the same thing.

I teach Year 3 mjp and they only get 15 - 20 spellings, maths, literacy and as many books as they read in the week (usually between 2 and 5 depending on their speed). This sounds like a lot of homework to me but I suppose it differs between schools. Think it's harsh that your ds is no longer allowed to do homework at an after school club - it's being done in his own time after all. Also, I'd say it is down to the school to teach him, after all, that is what we are -teachers! They can ask for your support and help but in the end it is our job! If the teacher is less than forthcoming could you have a word with the literacy co-ordinator or Key stage one co-ordinator?

we get a book a night, and 5 spelings a week for ds in y1.
dd in y3 got half an hour 5 times a week. we were told that after that time she was to stop work. work consistes of a range of things, reading once a week, writing, making things, research. she also gets 10 spellings a week

ds in yr2 gets 6 or 8 spellings a week (depends which spellng group he is in), a book in his book bag (but I have to admit we don't often read this) and an activity sort of task for the weekend (these we always do because they are quite fun). dh or I try and get him to do a bit of reading everyday (he likes to read dd's books to her - she's in reception and has a "reading to" book). Oh, and he still likes to spell like your ds when writing to himself.

DD1 (5 last May) in Year 1 gets a reading book from the reading scheme (ORT) which is changed (if I say so... I have to write comments in her book about her reading at home) 3 times a week. Sometimes her book is changed in between times too, if she reads to a TA or volunteer.

She also gets an 'enrichment book' which is easier than the reading scheme book and which she is supposed to read and enjoy on her own. We are not meant to comment on it. (She uses these to try to teach her 3-y-o sister to read! A teacher in the making!)

She gets 4 spellings to learn per week and they are tested on them every Friday.

Oh and she also gets a 'sound card' with words based around a different sound (e.g. hut, nut, shut, rut, etc.). She is just meant to look at these and read the words, but we have been using them to make up poems, which (to my mind) is more fun. (The poems are dire, but we have a laugh!)

I find that if we do all of this it takes about half an hour. We don't do all of it every day, though. If we write a poem, we don't bother with the spellings. If she read well the previous day and her book hasn't been changed we miss out the reading.

I am in the same position as you, insofar as I work full-time, so I don't generally get around to doing this till after tea (about 6.30). This isn't ideal, because she is often tired at that point. I do feel that she'd probably be reading and writing better at this point if I didn't work or at least if I picked her up from school at 3.00 each day. But she seems happy both with school in general and with the amount of homework she has to do, so I guess this is just the usual guilt on my part!!!

In your case, I think you probably need to go in and talk to the teacher and ask for some advice about how best to help your ds.

sorry for nipping off there, DS2 didn't want to stay in bed!!

Thanks for all of your input, I just feel like the worst parent in the world for finding this too much. DS2 starts school next sept so will have twice as much!!

I'll talk to the teacher and find out how they recommend teaching them at home,

to be honest though the reading normally ends in tears, DS1 and me, as we're both just so tired once we're home and I've cooked tea, laid table etc.

I know we all have to do these things and I'm not complaining about that, I just want to sit down with DS's after tea and play connect 4 or operation, you know wind down with them, after all thats what having children is all about isn't, enjoying them and having fun.

The maths and lit home work we do together and that fine, but the reading and spelling DS1 just hates, loathes and detests, I'm worried that if I keep pressurising him into perservering I'll totally put him of books for life!!!!!
Which I don't want to do as I am a real book lover!

Don't know what to do about the spelling thing, how to explain and get him to see why words aren't spelt/spelled as they sound. (think I need to reach for the dictionary myself there!)

PS Her spelling is just like your ds's except when it's a word she has just learnt for a test. She seems to think that vowels are an unnecessary waste of space!

just read this thread you are not over reacting. set a time limited and do what you can in that time. my Dd who is yr2 now was very much like this and I am a SAHM who is also training as a teaching assistant and struggled to help her so do not beat your self over it. The other thing is to prehaps change the books away from the reading scheme try things he is intrested in and comment on this in his read ing diary at least they can not be hard on him he is reading something and defintly speak to his teachers or key stage coordinator.

I'm sure I never had homework like this when I was in infant school, Mind you I am 28, things have changed somewhat since then.

I do try and set 20-30 minutes of reading/spelling time.

I think the way in which Jingellbells says they have spellings, rhyming word families , bell,tell, yell etc is great and I printed some off a web site a few weeks ago and he was fantastic, started spelling words before I'd even asked, brilliant, big hugs all round! But school don't do this, and I might confuse him.
The spells he gets don't seem to have a pattern, 4 or 5 letterd words, similar sounding. I am sur esomewhere there is a significance but I can't see it, but then I'm a dental therapist not a teacher!

I don't agree with hw at all in the infants other than 5-10 mins reading 2 or 3 times a week.

IMO, spellings don't need to be taught as a discrete subject until Y2. They should be taught and learned as an integral part of learning to read. Although this is just my opinion and I know that many infant teachers disagree.

However, I do sense a bigger problem with your post. Forgive me if this sounds intrusive but as your DS gets further up the school, he will be given more HW. If the teacher is doing his or her job, then he won't be overburdened but he will be expected to do it at home. Often he will need to discuss it with you or ask for help. You will probably find it even more stressful to fit it in then. Can I suggest (and this is the intrusive bit ) that you don't try and do it every night but rather set aside set times in the week. Wed eve and Sun afternoon is what I suggest to parents of my junior kids who work f/t. Otherwise you'll just run yourself ragged and have no week day quality time together. Fell free to ignore of course!
I'm sure it will get easier as you all get more into the habit of it.

Have you tried doing the letter and the sound thing ie A makes the sound a (you know what I mean ) and then think of a word that has the " a" sound at the beginning . Go throught the basics again to make sure he knows them and work on from there .

I know where you're coming from HM and agree, we don't do H/W on thurs because we have boys brigade, which I might add is THE only extra curricular activity, I told both my sons that 1 each was enough!!! See I told you I'm the worst parent!

In all seriousness though I am seriously considering altering my hours,so that I can work 9.30 straight thru till 3pm, no lunch, so that I can be there to collect them at 3.30. Obvious financial disad'ge, also people want dental appts early and late around work, so not sure how the boss would like it, Still, going to bounce the idea off her!

Isn't being a parent mind boggling, while the children sleep in blissful ignorance, ahhhhhhhh

Mandieb - your're right, perhaps I should cover the basics again, but surely that is the schools responsibility, Oh Oh feel another rant and thread coming on ...........

I think yr 1 homework varies according to the school. I certainly think my DS gets too much - on a friday we are given his homework book with either literacy or numeracy homework in it, plus 6 or 8 spellings. They have a spelling test on the following weds (ie 5 days) and the homework has to be in for then too. Then there are the reading books, which tbh we hardly look at because we do the homework at the weekend, practice the spellings on Mon and Tues night, he does karate on Weds and then I think Thurs and Fri he should just get some time off. Plus I work weds, thurs and fri and am not home till 6.30, and there's no way I'm going to spend my only hour with my kids doing homework.

I don't think my DS is in the top streamed literacy and numeracy group (I know they are streamed, but we're not officially told this), and his best friend in a different l&n group gets MORE homework than this.

However another friend at another school gets none at all, apart from reading books.

Just wanted to add some encouragement. ds was similar to your ds last year (when in yr1) and reading together was a very stressful activity. So we didn't do it. We just continued to read lots of books to him, talking about them, chosing funny ones or ones about things he ws interested in. We have a lot of dyslexia in our family, and the last thing I wanted to do was to make him feel stressed about reading (also I am a huge bookworm, and I found reading with him quite painful). We also did quite a lot of eye-spy type stuff with sounds and letters, rhyming words etc at the week-end. This year he has really improved, and suddenly he really wants to read. His spelling/handwriting still leaves a lot to be desired, but then he is only six! I am also a full time working mum, and it is really difficult to fit it in - I think homemama's plan is an excellent one.

I'm beginning to think its me that has the problem not DS. Perhaps I'm too impatient with him.

OK so now I'm off on a(nother) guilt trip.

We bought him one of those new writing leapad thingys, but it was way too easy and he was bored with it within the first use! What a waste of £38. I like it though!

I think I mightdo as a few of you suggested and let him choose which books he wants to read, he prefers factual books rather than stories, Set of encyclopedias for crimbo I think. Actually, thats not a bad idea, if there is a point to what he's reading maybe he'll have more interest.

youmay well find that you ds, like lots of boys prefers fact books over stories. My son much prefers fact books, and DK do lots of air planes , rockets etc that he might find interesting?

mjp185

Have been away having some food, but was thinking about this, and thought that my reply might have been too dismissive. I do think that the amount of homework your ds is getting is a lot. And, no, I never had any homework at all till I was in secondary school (and I'm 38). I don't have a problem with doing homework with my dd. I realise that the teacher cannot do individual work with 30 5-y-olds every day. However, I do think that parents need to be told exactly what they are meant to be doing and how to do it. Our school isn't bad on this, but sometimes I do feel I need more advice. I also don't feel bad about doing whatever I feel works with my dd (like the poems). So if you think that focusing on different sounds will work for your ds, then I'd say go ahead and do it. I'd also definitely second getting books he actually wants to read. Oh, and I like homemama's plan too (which is a bit like what I do... sometimes just a quick read of the book, some days the full works). It's a minefield, though, isn't it? Have just had dd's best friend round today and she reads incredibly fluently... started me wondering what I'm doing wrong! The whole thing is one big guilt trip... Sending you the very best of luck, anyway.

Mjp, please try not to let the guilt get the better of you. Remember, if you were a bad mum, you wouldn't be on here asking for advice and trying to do your best for him.

I posted on another thread recently (can't do links properly but the one titled 'rant about school (sorry long)' I think my post was the last on the thread. Anyway, I was recommending the Ginn biographies. These are good from Y2 onwards and IME boys especially enjoy them.

There is also the story street factual books which for Y1 cover topics such as 'how to play football' and 'What does a vet do?' These are generally bought in as a supplementary scheme by schools but you can order them individually from Waterstones.

Sorry to ramble, hope it helps a little.

We have lots of DK's EyeWonder books. ds can't read them, but I go on the premis that if he has lots of interestng books this will motivate him to think that reading is worth the initial struggle. Also they have great pictures, and now he know lots about a ridiculous amount of things, which gets him lots of brownie points at school (he may not be the best reader/writer, but boy he sure knows a lot, so they know he is bright!)

thanx everyone for your thoughts, glad its not just me, eh?

I seem to remeber the Ginn series from when I was at school HM, I will certainly look them up, also the eyewonder series (thnx Nooka)

I wonder if schools could compile a list of their recommended reading lists or collections of books for differently minded children, mind you they have enough on their plate already.

My dad said he had got a set of encyclopedias that he collected from the daily mail a few years ago (he thinks) and said he could have those, so its a start.

Also going to take him to the charilty shops this weekend and let him have a mooch through the books and let him have what he fancies, cheaper that way and I can give them back.

Probrably end up with a Haynes car manual or similar, Thnx again