Homework in year 1 causing tears. Is it worth it?

[RatOnnaStick]

So DS1 had his second weekly homework task yesterday. To make an aerial plan of one floor of a house he'd like to live in, and a key showing the various things he's put inside it. We had a go this morning and I think he did fine actually. Took him 10 minutes to do most of it but it ended in tears because he finds writing and drawing very hard (hypermobile hands) and, indeed, even his name at the top is not legible. But he tried. He had a go and surely at this age that's what matters isn't it?

Anyway, my question is, how important is homework at this age? And how much is he going to struggle with it if he can't make his writing readable? And what can I do to boost his confidence and not just give up when things inevitably get hard for him?

[bangingmyheadoffabrickwall]

Ask yourself - what is the worse than can happen?

No school surely would reprimand your child for no homework being completed through missed breaks, choosing time etc.

You won't get fined.

If they ask, be honest. Tell them that in your opinion, you either do not believe homework is advantageous at this stage of his education, is counter-productive at home, leads to tears and unhappiness or that he is getting to much and is detrimental to his health and well-being and interferes with his 'right' to play and be a child!

They may not like your answer - that is all.

PS: I teach Y1 and HATE homework. I don't mind the home readers but at 5/6 - they need time for other extracurricular activities and time to play - become bored and creative and use their imagination. Not stuck at the dining room table at loggerheads with parents for being forced to do something that, IMO, does absolutely nothing in terms of achievement and attainment and except tick boxes and 'looks good on paper'.

[Ldaniel]

Just to add to above. Another interesting fact is that its not usual for children at 6 to have unreadable handwriting. Every child develops at their own pace and it will improve over time. For boys especially sometimes their muscles that control their fingers are just not strong enough before 7 or 8 and it hurts to write. This comes eventually but not at the same point for every child.

I would encourage him to write but not let it get to the point where the uncomfort puts him off. Monkey bars, climbing and other gross motor skills are equally as important to developing good writing too!

[Ldaniel]

Hi there,
I was previously a primary teacher, in fact I've taught in year 1. Homework is actually not compulsory and personally I don't believe this style of homework is needed at all. There is actually research to say homework in primary school makes hardly any difference to academic results.

Its a personal choice, you can write in and say that your child will not be doing homework (except reading and maybe spellings which I'm excluding for now) or the other option is to set a timer for 10-15 minutes and let them complete what they can but no more after that.

I would also ask yourself how is this helping your child? If its expecting them to learn or do something that they have not learnt in school then this isn't what homework is for. Play and family time is more important when they are 6 or 7, as a happy well rested child learns much better when they are in school.

[Sofabitch]

Well i dont tell them they don't have to do their homework. I don't bring it up. If they ask to do something then I'll help them.

My older children are in seniors and there has never been a transitioning problem. Homework expectations are different at senior school.

Can't have affected them they are top set and predicted great grades.

[user789653241]

I don't think forcing a children who is struggling is right.

But I do agree with blue, since I came from a country homework in primary is pretty normal. I've told my ds that he has to do his homework from the start. But things have been pretty much no pressure at my ds's school until now anyway, and there weren't any tears until now.

[sonlypuppyfat]

Pick your battles, I am a very very easy going mum. My children are now in their teens I've never had any problems with them, never in trouble, always polite worked hard in secondary school very happy. Yet strict friends of mine have had their children go off the rails in spectacular style. Bullying children into doing homework when they are upset helps NO-ONE

[NotYoda]

I have some sympathy with the "when's he going to learn he has to do it?" argument

But actually, I have a 16 year old who was like this and whom I did not push.

He's fine now - has been since he was about 11

You have to weigh up the costs and benefits of homework, and how much stress it causes you and them

[mrz]

As a Y1 teacher I've never found it a problem

[Blue4ever]

Oh and if they cry long enough and hard enough, they will get their way and won't have to do anything.

[Blue4ever]

So how do you expect your child to do what they at asked to do in school if you tell them that it's fine not to do their homework?

[BabyGanoush]

Not worth it.

In yr 1! Goodness, not sven worth it in y6 imo

[sonlypuppyfat]

sofabitch my thoughts exactly

[Sofabitch]

I've never made my children do primary school homework. There is no evidence it has any benefit.

[sonlypuppyfat]

I'd never force a child to do anything if it made them cry, that's mean

[mrz]

And all of that is far more useful than spending an hour over a homework sheet.

[Blue4ever]

And about other stuff as well. We did bloody hours of cutting. It's really hard work for a child with dyspraxia to learn how to use scissors. That's on top of all the speech therapy. But I have to say that now, at 9 years old in year 5, there is very little difference between him other children his age. He is very resilient and hard working, even though he is still quite slow!

[user789653241]

OK, I am sorry, Blue.
As a matter of fact, my approach is exactly same as yours, about my ds doing his homework.

[sonlypuppyfat]

Mine never ever did homework until year 7

[Blue4ever]

Ds2 has a speech disorder, as well as dyspraxia, low muscle tone and Hypermobility. It's hard work for him, but he will only get better by practicing over and over again. I am not saying it's easy, it isn't.

[user789653241]

Like pp said up thread, in this case, the child has physical difficulty.
I wish people post after reading properly.

[Blue4ever]

We always do all homework, and have done so since reception, even if there are tears. If your child doesn't do homework because he cries, when will he start doing homework? In year 3? Or year 6 maybe he'll start stumping around making a fuss? No sorry. If a teacher gives them homework they do it. Simple. As a parent, if I start to say well, the teacher says you should do this but I say don't do it, it discredits the teacher's authority. That's not how it works in my house, they do what the teacher asks them to do. I know it's not a popular approach and I will probably get told off by some of you!

We have a schedule, the boys find it helpful, and so do I. They know that it's half an hour's homework Thursday and Saturday,Sunday it's spellings until they know all the words, and Monday before school they review the homework to correct any mistakes. Yes, we've had tears on occasion but now they know the rules are the rules, no negotiating.

[Kitsandkids]

I hate, hate, hate homework for my kids. I was 'academic' at school. I used to want homework when I was at primary school (we were never given it) and I used to love filling in workbooks from WHSmith. But none of it was a chore for me. I found most work at primary easy, so I enjoyed doing it.

My children do not find it easy. It is a chore for them. And without doubt, every week, at least their literacy homework will be too hard for them. So it causes anguish and frustration and further puts them off doing written work. I really think that homework, if given at all in primary, should be work that consolidates knowledge already gained. Not something the child obviously doesn't know. And if teachers want my 7 year old, who is not a fluent reader so can't read the words in the sentences on the worksheet, to learn grammar rules I wish they would send home work focusing on the same rule for a few weeks instead of nouns one week, then verbs, then adverbs, then prepositions and on and on and on. He needs lots of practise for things to sink in, so consequently he doesn't learn what any of the words mean because it doesn't matter what he does one day, the next time he will be working on something else.

[mrz]

It's a big deal if you are a child with physical difficulties

[twilightskyline]

I don'the see it as a big deal, I think it's great to get kids used to the routine of doing a bit of homework and remembering the skills they've been learning in class and applying them away from the classroom environment.

We had homework back when I was 5/6 in school - we were learning times tables, spellings and reading every week.

[nicp123]

I think you have to check you child's school Homework Policy.
In some schools the Early Years and KS1 homework is set at the demand of parents, whilst in other schools EY & KS1 Homework is only optional.
I found homework useful as it helped my DC's understand the importance of presentation of work and improved his fine motor skills. It did give him a boost of confidence as most of his homework tasks were displayed around the school as 'Good' examples. Homework wasn't stressful in our household as it was sent to us as a list of tasks to choose from on the first week of each half-term & only ONE task had to be returned every week. DC was always choosing the DT/Art tasks first.
Different story with older DC in High School: homework every evening and for at least three subjects at any one time usually extension of what has been taught that day in class.