Do/did your kids have homework in yr 2?

[compo]

Mine just filled in a weekend diary of what they did in reception and yr one
yr two seems to be when homework starts
I never did homework except holiday diaries all the way through primary school

Reading- 3/4 books a week expected to be read to parents at home. Spellings start in Y2. Comprehension worksheet every weekend. Also one handwriting worksheet a week.

3-4 books a week? Seriously?

DS2 is in year 2. He gets a reading book home over the weekend, he usually reads a chapter or two, then it goes back on Monday. They listen to them read on Tuesday, then it comes home again till Thursday, again he reads a chapter or two. It takes at least a week to read one school reading book, it isn't unusual for it to take a fortnight.

He is an enthusiastic reader and reads a lot of his own and library books at home, but I think if he had to read 4 boring reading scheme books a week to me he (and I) would lose the will to live!

I agree with you, Domestic, that is one good thing about our dc's school.

Spotty, I might think my dcs were imagining things but I'm hearing from so many parents the different comments that their dc have heard or are making in relation to SATs and levels etc. My dc are ahead but I suspect that is played on. I've tried talking to both the teacher and the head and they lie, quite frankly - what they say doesn't square at all with what the children say and they can't all be lying and conspiring at 6 - parenst are seeing different things, too.

Very interesting about the homework, I've been categorically told by the head that the curriculum assumes they cannot carry out any self directed learning (e.g. projects) until Yr 5.

Fot KS1 SATS we got messages home saying that all dc needed to be in on time and having had 'a good breakfast' and they took their SATs in the hall in exam conditions, in rows at individual tables. Some dc couldn't sleep because they were so scared they would be late or do badly.

Mine only have reading until yr3 when they also get spelling each week and maths (1 page) once per term on average. Parents are also supposed to "ensure" their yr 3 DC know their 2, 3, 4,5 &10 times tables.

Spiritmum - I really don't know what to say in regards to the results and grading comparisons...Children of age 6, as far as i know, dont generally have a real grasp of what levels are so I can't imagine that they could fabricate this. Are they coming out with specific results or is it just general observations that could have been made possibly due to differentiated work in the class?

Different schools have very different approaches to teaching. Their ethos may be that the children need a lot of direction and strict structure. The school I work at has a very high percentage of children with English as an additional language so they simply can't learn in that way and we have a really nice balance of structure but one that encourages creativity - creativity is one of those things that language barriers don't hold back.
I obviously can't comment on your school specifically but I haven't come across a school that discourages this before, as children need to learn enquiry skills and more importantly enjoy learning.

As for the SATs, again, different schools do it in differnt ways - theres not strictly a right or wrong way...but its definitly not my way! Chn were all still in our classroom so it was familiar although tables were changed slightly and we said that "cheeky pixies" kept sneaking in to move them and had left some special work to do each morning that week - hilarious but they did soo well, tried really hard and were not stressed in the slightest.

Sorry again for the hijack haha.
xx

Domestic...seriously. If I never see a Biff, Chip and Kipper book again, it'll be too soon. Especially as DS2 is my 3rd dc to go through the school. It gets worse in the juniors. They also have to do maths and English h/wk every weekend in Y3/4, and then science every weekend as well in Y5/6. And in Y5/6 they also have to complete a history project every half term. I HATE primary homework!

Why did my bold not work??!!

DS1 started year 2 today. Consensus seems to be that it'll be the usual reading and maybe some spellings as well.

Am very glad as think they're still very young for much homework really.

No sats though to worry about - not sure if that makes a difference or not.