Homework and Numbots at home expectation

[PurBal]

DS was 4 in July and started school in September.

Homework expectations are as follows:
-letter formation and phonic practice, daily
-reading book, minimum 3 times per week
-Numbots (and later TTRS), minimum 3 times per week

We are struggling. He’s too exhausted after school. He’s in wraparound care 3 times a week and once we’ve had tea and bath and bedtime story (we have another child so can’t just do the reading) we just don’t have time. On the days he’s not in wraparound one of us has both children so we try to do family activities.

We also have no way of delivering Numbots. We don’t have a tablet or computer. DH and I are reducing our phone usage too, so no phones around the kids.

It’s keeping me up at night, particularly the reliance on technology. The teacher says they put tv on every break time and from what DS said I get the impression it’s used a lot more than that. He’s 4!

We are far from perfect, but this is not a route I want to go down and I’m feeling forced into it. Learning should be fun but even in one half term we’ve gone from having a curious child who loves learning to having one that doesn’t want to do homework and complains learning is boring.

Does this sound normal? Should I push back?

Mine get no homework at all beyond their reading book which we aim for 3 times a week. Eldest just passed his 11+.

This sounds insane and a great way to give a child anxiety. What a ridiculous policy. Home is for family time.

Have you been in and spoken to his teacher? Don't lie awake at night, talk to the school.
And I would suggest ignore posts telling you that 'no homework is best' and 'my child never did any and just graduated Oxbridge'; you need to work with your DS's teacher/school.

Well one easy solution is for him to do his reading in place of the bedtime story? He reads to you instead of you reading to him, thats his daily phonic practice. Daily letter formation practice can be a couple of letters a day for a few minutes.

None of this sounds unreasonable or excessive to me tbh - do you not think any of these things are home responsibilities?

I don't think this is unreasonable but it thinnk perhaps you are thinking all these things take ages. Most homework i;ve found generally is 5-10mins max and with the reading books once they get more competant at reading i just let my 7 year old read what she wanted to encourage that love of books rather than reading the same one over and over to increase flunecy which is what they want initially.

Have you had anything fromt eh school about thier phonics scheme etc? We got sent the expectations about homework etc which was then followed up with a meeting about how best to support your child and the overwhelming message from that was that reading wiht them really helps (whether thats stories, signs when you are out and about, labels in shop etc) as you can find words everywhere.

Thoughts on what they've asked though:
-letter formation and phonic practice, daily - This could be simply sounding out objects in the room while having breakfast or writing a couple of letters sat at the table. probably 2-5 mins tops! even soudning out CVC words like CAT or DOG if you see one on the school run.
-reading book, minimum 3 times per week - Has his reading book actually got words in? My 4 year old currently has books with no words and simly tells the story to me, again less than a 5 min job. My 7 year old has much more extensive books and again they only take 5 mins tops, unless she's finding it really tricky (often takes longer to convince her to sit down and read it than it does to actually read it!)
-Numbots (and later TTRS), minimum 3 times per week - Numbots has only just been brought in for my 7 year old so are you sure this is for your 4 year old and not just a blanket "homework policy" for the school.
The expectation for my 7 year old is to do 3 mins 5 times a week, so not really a maaive amount of screentime, she does love it though and likes being able to compete with her classmates on which level they are on. And realistically you will probably need to help your 4 year old with it, so if thats 15 mins once a week at a weekend, when you have a lazy morning should be doable?

Hiya,

Please don’t let this worry you. You know your child best so don’t feel pressured to force him to do things when he is too tired. Our DD was also too tired in the evenings as we have to use wraparound care.

We did reading at weekends and homework too if there was any. This was fine for our DD who didn’t struggle with it but you may need to review this approach if for any reason it doesn’t work for your DS.

We also struggle with numbots - I actually think it is really good but we don’t have an iPad, it doesn’t work well on a laptop (she can’t press the keys fast enough) and I don’t like giving her my phone too often as it gets addictive. My impression is that it is partly to turn screen time at home into something more positive so if they’re not on the screen anyway then it’s less important. Having said that I do feel it is good for her maths and I too worry a bit about her missing out so this may prompt me to let her do it on my phone more often!!

He is only 4 and you’re his Mum so definitely prioritise what you think works for him but equally it is always worth talking to the school to explain your thinking and ask their advice. Our school are quite responsive to messages on the messaging system so see if you can chat to the teacher that way first if you haven’t as yet.

And don’t let this keep you up all night!! If you think you are overly anxious, perhaps seek some support for yourself too. There is no shame in that - motherhood and life can be hard and we all need help sometimes. I certainly have!!

best of luck x

Is the wraparound care at school? Can they help at all? I think there is a particular problem with homework for young children in wraparound, and perhaps the school can work with them to sort something. If they could take care of Numbots and a bit of letter formation, that might help a great deal.

We used to have a "homework menu" of activities related to the curriculum - it was all optional (there was an afternoon when what the kids had done was put on show), but I did think it would have been so helpful if the after-school club could have picked one or two activities to do, so that those children had something to contribute even if there hadn't been time to do anything at home.

I've had three kids go through primary school and honestly, just don't stress about it. It's not worth it. Loads of the kids won't be doing all or any of the homework for various reasons. The only thing that is important is the reading, make some time for that.

Do more reading at the weekend.
Have a go at some of the letter formation at the weekend if you want to.
Don't worry about Numbots, just let the teacher know you don't have/use screens.

@Namechange13101he has a book he has to write in as evidence of practice. Just 2 lines of letters. Trying to get him to the book is a mission but when I do he’s meticulous, rubbing out letters he’s not happy with and trying again. So it’s taking 45 minutes each time. Because we’ve reduced our phone use I actually have a notebook that I write in, and he has one too. So we are getting practice in, but not in the right place. Eg when we went for a walk in the woods he took a notebook with him and wrote what we saw. He sounded out what he knew and I helped with sounds he didn’t like sh and oo in mushroom.
Reading the picture books are fine because we do them with his younger sibling, but yes he has books with words in too.
Numbots, I thought the same but the homework policy was sent to all parents this week and separated out into EYFS, KS1, KS2 and Y6 SATS. So it’s clear this is the expectation for his age group.

@Janefx40DH, not wanting DS to feel left out, has been looking into the practicalities of purchasing a tablet for his use but it just feels insane to me to purchase something for 3 minutes, 3 times a week. We agreed that DS wouldn’t have internet enabled devices yet, but that decision has been taken away. The app itself is generally fine but I don’t think the competition is healthy for DS in particular.

@TooManyNiblingsI spoke to the teacher today about something else, she would be open to a conversation and has already said due to his age he doesn’t need to be in school until September 2026 so can take days off if it’s too much.

@Rosecoffeecupwe do story time as a family, we couldn’t replace it as it wouldn’t be fair on our other child and they share a bedroom.

@lanthanumthere are 50+ kids in the wraparound, school of 320 so possibly but I’m not sure he’d focus. Can ask though.

@VikaOlsonthank you, needed this!

I teach at secondary (GCSE only) and it's more homework than I give my students.

I also have a 4, 7 and 9 year old. If they want to do homework, they do it, if they don't then they don't. My 9 year old does some, my 7 year old hates it (always has, could never get him to do phonics but his reading is great because he'll read anything actually enjoyable) and my 4 year old loves his homework.

There's a huge value to be put on family life and things other than formal education. At that age there's a limit to what you can do because of bedtimes so just do what's fun for you and your child.

Your child probably gets far more from your bedtime story than they would from bedtime phonics practice and it's much more likely to lead to them actually enjoying reading which, long term, will result in them being a better reader.

@User0newe had another letter home today saying there is a shoebox craft project due in 10 days. With the helpful information of “in the past some children have added fairy lights to their models”. A 4 year old cannot do this on their own.

This kind of thing is 100% down to parents bothering the school to set it!