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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

are you hacked off with "weekend" creative homework

55 replies

instantcuppa · 25/01/2015 11:15

Year 1 DS gets complicated creative homework every weekend eg create an A2 colour poster using different media, fonts, pictures superimposed from different media, about the Dickensian era that requires enormous amounts of parental input. I'm fecked off the school sets homework that a child can't complete by themselves but requires parents to do it for them unless your DC can be trusted with a Stanley knife and computer and printer which ruins our entire weekend. What do you do with these projects? Leave your DC to do it and suffer the consequences of getting laughed at for having the messiest poster?

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FobDodd · 26/01/2015 10:03

"This weekend DS has to make a model depicting the Great Fire of London from cardboard boxes.

Oh joy..."

I hope you just set fire to the boxes, chucked a bit of water over the lot, and sent it in as the aftermath of the fire.

Waitingonasunnyday · 26/01/2015 10:03

They are a pain for children who want to produce something good but then need a ton of help - sometimes we manage ok and other times descend into chaos. I have found the 'make a model of x' is suited to making it in minecraft and printing off a picture of it. Or doing it with Lego. Also, you can get 24 packs of pritt stick quite cheaply on amazon.

FobDodd · 26/01/2015 10:07

I ignored the "draw a picture of " homework and concentrated on the spelling and reading. The spelling turned into handwriting as y Y1 child still doesn't know how to form her letters correctly. We got a note in the homework folder to say that we must complete all the homework. Grrr

SoupDragon · 26/01/2015 11:39

Aren't the more creative HWs simply art homework rather than maths, science or English etc?

noramum · 26/01/2015 11:53

It is not the weekly one which is a problem, it is the tasks we get for the holidays.

Normally it is a craft project for the new topic of the next term, an Alien, a theatre out of a shoe carton, a map of the layout of Fantastic Mr. Fox over the summer holiday! (for which we had to buy the book). The Christmas holiday one was to build a prehistoric house with the respective research, ok, they gave 4 weeks to do it.

DD is not very good at craft, no way she can do this on her own despite having great ideas. Also, DH and I work virtually full time so at least 1/2 of each holiday she is in some kind of kids club or stays with friends. It eats into the family vacation time a lot and it is not really something you can do on a rainy day when you are away.

SirChenjin · 26/01/2015 17:10

Do teachers set homework themselves, or is this completely pointless homework required as part of the various National Curricula - does anyone know?

catkind · 27/01/2015 00:08

Aren't the more creative HWs simply art homework rather than maths, science or English etc?

It's not the fact that it's art that bothers me (though the fact that it's never maths does bother me); it's the fact that it's not an art task that DC can do or even understand on their own. And usually requires English and history/geography/science or something and research skills too.

Like noramum's example - if they'd already been learning about prehistoric houses in school and then were asked to make one, with a suggested method and a couple of pictures, that would be a good homework, reinforcing school learning, approachable, open-ended enough that the ones who want to go to a museum and produce elaborate sculpture can do so. But asking that task cold of a 5 yr old is basically requiring the parents to go and do the research and think up a craft to do.

nousernamesleft · 27/01/2015 00:54

The worst one we ever had was "build a model of your house. Be as accurate as you can".

We'd moved house less than a week before, from a square, like everyone else lived in, to a 300 year old hodge podge of buildings that someone had joined together randomly.

I informed dd (primary 5) that she could do a square and pretend that we still lived in our old house, but that wasn't good enough for her.

She built an amazing, fairly accurate model, using 6 boxes glued together, and gallons of sellotape, paper mached it, marked windows and doors (all of which I had to cut so they opened the proper way), and basically spent the entire half term (and a lot of tears and tantrums) on it.

She's now left that school, but it's still on display in the foyer, and every time I see it, it makes me feel sick, and reminds me of that hellish holiday. I told her teacher that next time there was homework like that, dd wouldn't be doing it. And she never did.

However, in Scotland at least, you can opt out of homework at primary level really easily, we did for most of P7, due to going through a majorly tough time, and really not needing to worry about homework. And, to be honest, that sort of homework is just crap.

Namechangeyetagaintohide · 27/01/2015 01:06

I'm one of the few on mn with no children but I'm only in my 20s - I can't believe 5 year olds have homework now ?

That's just odd. I wouldn't allow it to be honest.

Namechangeyetagaintohide · 27/01/2015 01:07

I really don't agree with children that young having things to complete outside of school as well as school. It's just too much.

catkind · 27/01/2015 01:36

On the other hand their time in school is much more play-based than it was when I was young. (Admittedly a lot longer ago than you namechange!)

Namechangeyetagaintohide · 27/01/2015 01:43

Is it ? Interesting.

I still think a sort of clear distinction between school and not school time is also important. Sort of this is school time I do xyz and this isn't so I can choose (within reason !)

noramum · 27/01/2015 07:07

I don't mind homework, in fact I like to see what she can and does in school. The school is useless with informing about her progress, two mini parent evenings are not enough.

DD actually likes doing homework and her usual one is age and level appropriate and hardly takes more than 20-30 minutes unless she got stuck with geometry last week. Poor DD, the concept went totally above her head.

I also don't mind the research as it is a good tool to learn but it is too much in a too short amount of time. Give me a couple of weeks and we can plan it, give me a weekend and we are doomed.

pushmepullyou · 27/01/2015 07:28

We have these. Notably "research an animal and build a habitat for your animal", "research unusual plants", "this week in maths we are focusing on weights. Please do some Baking and weigh the ingredients. Write the recipe in your homework diary"

Y1, set on a Monday and needs to be handed in on Friday. We both work full time and it is a nightmare getting it done (they are mildly told off if it is not completed). Reading and spellings as well

creambun2014 · 27/01/2015 07:36

With my 6 year old if she doesnt know it I say you know what to do just turn your laptop up and google it. The beauty of the internet!

TheFirstOfHerName · 27/01/2015 07:44

This term, my twins will be doing a compulsory art project set by their primary school. Each child has to create eight pieces in different media inspired by one piece of modern art (there are specifications about some and the others are a free choice).

That makes sixteen pieces in total. A few of these (ceramic, acrylic, textiles) will be completed at school, the rest will be done at home.

DS3 has chosen a Mondrian and is already planning a sculpture using nails and wood.

SirChenjin · 27/01/2015 07:55

However, in Scotland at least, you can opt out of homework at primary level really easily

Really? Not at my DCs Primaries, you couldn't/can't. Homework is set, and you are expected to do it.

noramum · 27/01/2015 10:52

With my 6 year old if she doesnt know it I say you know what to do just turn your laptop up and google it. The beauty of the internet!

DD recently told me when I said "I don't know": "Ask Google"

BMO · 27/01/2015 11:26

If your child is too young to do their homework by themselves, and you don't want to do it - then don't.

If the teacher says spend 20 minutes on it/only as long as they can concentrate - then do that fgs, don't insist on spending hours!

If you don't have time - just tell the teacher you didn't have time.

Honestly, if my 5 year old had a "research a dinosaur" type homework we would spend 5 minutes on google and then he'd write a sentence or two, or even a drawing/print a picture and label it. 20 minutes tops.

Orangeanddemons · 27/01/2015 11:34

I hate them too. I've just spent Sunday doing dd's homework researching a European country whilst she went into meltdown.

My best story about sodding creative home works is this: when ds was in Year 4 they had to decorate an egg in a creative way for a competition. He was beside himself with stress. I made the feckking thing. I have a degree in Design, spent 10 years as a designer,and teach Art and Dt. My egg was magnificent. But it didn't win.... One wonders whether the Michelangelo parents were the winner I was very proud of my amazing creation.

BMO · 27/01/2015 11:37

It probably didn't win because it obviously wasn't made by a child.

Heels99 · 27/01/2015 11:43

Nope! We don't get anything like this! If we did I would give the kids the craft box and let them get on with it or not bother doing it. Evidence shows this type of homework e.g make a poster, has no educational value. You can choose not to do it!

SoupDragon · 27/01/2015 11:44

I've just spent Sunday doing dd's homework researching a European country whilst she went into meltdown.

What is the point of you having done it?

If DS2 (he was the main culprit for this out of the three SmallDragons) refused to do his primary homework he went in without it and I told the teacher I had encouraged him and given him every opportunity but he had refused and had a meltdown and they were welcome to hand out whatever consequences they felt appropriate. Often he meekly did his HW in lunch time. We had discussed this at parents evening.

Equally, they have handed in HW that was shoddy but 100% their own work.

My egg was magnificent. But it didn't win

Good.

SoupDragon · 27/01/2015 11:45

When these HWs are set, they are expecting something to be handed in that is of the standard of an X yr old child. Not an adult.

Heels99 · 27/01/2015 11:48

Why are parents doing their kids homework? What do the kids learn from that? Pointless, go out and do something nice with the kids instead, they get nothing from watching you make a bloody egg for them fgs!

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