Do I intervene on too easy homework

[thirdfiddle]

I don't know if DD is gifted per se but she's bright and has been an obsessive reader since before preschool. Now starting year 3, has always found school really easy.

My question relates to homework. School is very light on homework in the first place which I like. Their English homework in year 3 is just spellings. It's highly unlikely there's going to be anything to actually learn all year, DD already knew them when DS had them three years ago.

But it's not just learning them. In order to do so they're supposed to do various exercises involving writing them out lots of times. So effectively her homework is writing out some easy words lots of times. I know everyone has to do easy work sometimes but whole year sounds a bit engagement-sapping to me. But I don't want to be a nuisance and I don't think homework is particularly important in primary.

Would you
a) just have her do it anyway
b) tell her not to do it and write a note
c) ask the teacher if she can have harder words or alternative work
d) make up different homework at home e.g. writing a story with the words in and hope that's deemed acceptable
Or something else?

Is there something else she could be working on in the scope of the same homework? Maybe she could use it as an opportunity for handwriting practice and focus on that as the purpose of the task, or use the spelling words as a base to think of/find more synonyms.
If you can, I’d try to come up with a solution that keeps your daughter interested but doesn’t add to the teacher’s workload and shows your daughter that you’re backing the school’s homework policy.
We’ve had problems with the maths homework being too easy and it’s so hard to get them motivated to complete the work, so you have my sympathy.

My dd had this issue with homework right from reception. We talked to school and they gave her homework for the year above until year 6 when she had extension work. She was becoming very frustrated with the easy work and enjoyed the challenge of harder homework.

Synonyms is a lovely idea thanks medianoche, perhaps we can mix up tasks from week to week. I agree wanting to seem to DD to back homework is an issue too. But maybe if we interpret it loosely enough but still use the words as a kick off point it could count.

That's impressive they went to the effort tidy - don't think that would work generally here as higher up the school homeworks are more often related to topics. We have not had problems with homework so far largely because there's been hardly any. (When they had a spelling challenge in reception they gave DD the year 4 list, but that was a one-off so less effort for the teacher.)

Give it a week to see if they start differentiating. If not go in and have a word.

It was only maths and spellings homework from the year above, topic stayed the same as it was open ended and therefore differentiated by outcome.

Give it a week to see if they start differentiating.
That would be lovely but ... I'll eat my hat. School's idea of differentiation is generally three levels of difficulty plus assuring us "oh it gets much harder in year x" (hint: it doesn't).

Is her handwriting beautiful? If not, perhaps use the exercises as handwriting practice?

Agree with wait a few days, then make an appointment to see teacher at the end of the school day and find out what they'd like her to focus on.

If nothing is forthcoming, look for Word Families, so finding other words with the same base-word (e.g. play: playful, playing, playground, display, replay, downplay) and their meanings.
Also wider definitions or uses of the word beyond the simple (sunlight playing on the surface of the water).

Her handwriting is lovely. It got a lot of focus in reception as everything else she could do standing on her head. at what they'd like her to focus on. I remember that being a useful phrase when DS wanted harder reading books. More lovely ideas for creative interpretation thanks.
And yes will def give it a week or three I'm just not optimistic given previous experiences.

The homework sounds awful. Plenty of children will not benefit from going through these motions to learn the spellings, even if they are not as talented as your DD. There will be quite a few fed up children and parents very soon!

In Y3 we managed to wait until the first parents’ evening in mid-October before mentioning that DD can already spell the weekly spellings – but that was because the only homework was to learn them (so she simply didn’t bother). If DD had had to do those exercises every week, we’d have felt as you do!

If there is a tendency for the school not to engage positively with the bright outliers, I’d avoid raising it with the teacher too soon. Instead, perhaps you could get DD to do the basic work for the first week, plus a little bit extra along the lines that PPs have suggested, such as writing similes or incorporating some of the words into imaginative sentences. Perhaps include a note to the teacher saying your DD knows the words so you’ll encourage her to extend the work if that’s ok. Make it polite, but not a request!

Hopefully the teacher will either encourage this or at least ‘let it go’ for a few weeks so your DD can have fun with her own version of the work until the first parent’s evening, at which point you can discuss her needs with the teacher.

Letitgo, I agree attempting to memorise spellings is of dubious benefit, specially as they make little effort to get the children to think about the phonics as they do it. It's all been write out 5 times etc, one year it'd be write out in a pyramid/bubble/different colours/funny writing. DS is not such a natural speller and it's done nothing for him, he'll get it right for the spelling test and the same word wrong in written work the week after.

DD seems to have decided to do the writing out for now, she wants to get in with new teacher. So at least we've ticked the box for this week. Think I'm going to ask her to do some sentences or something too so she's done something to engage brain.

(DS is year 6 now so we have the benefit of knowing what comes up next.)

DS is starting Y6 and his 4th year of weekly times tables homework and tests. He's known his tables forwards, backwards and sideways since he was 5. It's a non issue. He does the worksheet in 2 mins, aces the test, job done. Occasionally he times himself. I don't think it's a bad discipline for him to spend 5 mins a week doing something trivial.

It is useful ammo for me to persuade him to keep trying when he finds something else hard - others have to work on their tables every week, now it's his turn. It's also a useful "soft" way in to homework.

That's a different perspective thanks. DS is same about times tables. I don't much like the disrespectful attitude to homework that engendered though and was much happier when last year's teacher started giving him something more challenging. (Which he then also tried to dash through without thought and came a cropper. Still better year 5 than at secondary.)

BringMoreCoffee – agree that there’s little harm in doing something easy every week if it only takes 5 minutes. The problem is when it’s also time-consuming such as thirdfiddle’s DD’s homework.

thirdfiddle – totally agree about the disrespectful attitude that ‘easy’ homework engenders. Last year (Y3) DD would bring homework on a Friday, and would try to get it finished by 4pm (ie within 20 minutes of getting home). I’m sure she’ll complain or come a cropper like your DS when she finally receives something challenging!

I would flat out not have been able to complete such boring tasks even in reception. I remember getting into trouble often because the work was inane and pointless. Sorry your child is being asked to do such repetitive stuff.

Look at the each word and make a list of 3 synonyms and 3 antonyms. Then write a story using some of the words.

Organise your own homework using CGP books and/or get a tutor.

Don't make the teacher mark extra homework from home.

This appears to be another problem with the idea of what homework is - some people have the idea that it's important extra work that a child needs to do, and if it's not hard enough then there's a problem. Rather than it being a review and consolidation exercise which will always be a different amount of effort depending on how well the original was learnt. When it's easy you spend the time on other things (self directed learning of particular interest, leisure or practicing another area) when it's hard you do it.

If you can spell all the words, you don't need practice, so why would you bother doing it? I think it's also interesting that you say "we've ticked the box" Why is it about you?

I certainly wouldn't be asking the teacher for differentiation in homework - especially in a school which does not particularly set homework (they almost certainly set any because of parental pressure rather than a belief in it). If you want her to do extra directed work you can choose it (or even better she can, given that is the real aim here.)

Just don't do it was one of my initial options. My concern there would be "don't do homework if you don't feel you need to" isn't a great precedent to set. It wasn't presented as optional - we have had plenty of optional learning homework and DC have just ignored it. I think DD is worried she might get in trouble or miss out on house points or something if she doesn't do this one. So one option would be to ask the teacher for official approval for not doing it.

Of course I'm involved - other there would be no point me asking the question would there?

I don't think I would set extra work at home. DD reads loads and writes as takes her fancy. If I was going to set anything it would probably be music theory as less likely to duplicate with what they do in future in school. Not 100% about that decision as I have some doubts about coasting being good for them. DD learns musical instruments so at least she is getting used to challenging herself there.

If her homework's taking her 10 mins (which IMO is no bad thing in Yr3, there's loads of other things she could learn. Can she sew, knit, draw accurately, you say she plays an instrument so definitely any of that, can she climb, cook, grow things, rollerblade, swim? She would be challenged by one of these I am sure and it will help her be a more rounded person. I wouldn't focus on academics as she has years at school yet although any reading is good. Does she write stories, poetry? That's what I'd do.

Jim at reread your OP - it won't do her any harm to do boring stuff for homework, just tell her it"s character building then get on with other stuff. No harm in doing boring work. It's good practise for later unfortunately.

Jim?? Just.

It's only 10 minutes of wasted time I suppose by why can't it be 10 minutes of something a bit more interesting? Looking forwards, I want DC to learn to engage with homework and think hard about it, not to learn it's a boring pointless drudge. I don't suppose it's actually any odds to the teacher whether the page she glances over and ticks has repeated words or a handful of sentences.

I loved my thesaurus finding alternative words for essays. I was streets ahead of my peers in English but my math was always weak. Let her do whatever she enjoys. Think about outdoor sports activities. We have a young girls football club in our local park

My dd who was very bright ( still is) told me that she hated being bright because when she finished her work in she just got more, and the same with homework. She loved doing it in 10 seconds flat then reading her books.

What they like and what's good for them isn't always the same thing. Should the bright kids get in the habit of not working? Agree they shouldn't just be given the same work and extra on top, but I'd rather they skipped the dull bit and did the extra instead. We're not talking hours of essays here, just a ten minute homework that encourages using brain rather that a ten minute homework that encourages switching it off. It's not anything that's going to interfere with her social life either way.
But yes, definitely reluctant to go down the route of school isn't challenging you so let's get a tutor. She'd probably enjoy it but it might make school issues worse, and we already have lots of music and sport activities between the two DC, need some down time and time for play dates etc.