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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

Does your child like homework or educational stuff

32 replies

Misstic · 27/12/2016 19:18

My son, who just turned 5, is bright from what I can see and based on what his school says. I am told he applies himself very well at school. However, he is generally less than enthusiastic about homework or doing structured learning at home. I heard parents say that their kids love homework, or loves to do maths. One said that her son actively asks to do maths or other educational things like spellings, etc.

Put it this way, if I said nothing to my son about doing homework he wouldn't eagerly ask to do it. 99% of the time is playing. He is an only child so we are constantly playing football, board games, lego, and a host other things including endless wrestling, etc. It is exhausting and I long for him to take a book and go off on his own to read or to ask to quietly do his homework or something academic - maths, etc. What makes some children at his age so keen on doing academic stuff without being promoted?

Should I do something to get him more excited about academic work. If so, how? He us very bright bit I think other kids will eventually overtake him if they are more enthusiastic about doing academic work without being asked.

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titchy · 27/12/2016 19:21

The other parents are lying.

LuchiMangsho · 27/12/2016 19:25

Mine does. I am not lying. He loves maths (doesn't get it from me!) and asks to do worksheets. Happily does his homework. Will happily go off and read in a corner. He has never been as physical and isn't hugely exhausting. Except that he talks non stop and endlessly.
We read a lot to him and I don't present stuff to him as 'academic' work. So I guess he doesn't see it as a burden yet. I am sure that will change.

Figure17a · 27/12/2016 19:33

The other parents have girls

I know you can't say things like that and I'm sure it's not universally true, but I'd have saved myself a lot if worry if I hadn't compared DSs to my friend's far advanced and perfectly behaved little girls

He's 5. Imo (with hindsight) they already spend too long doing structured educational stuff too young at school in this country, give the child a break at home.

Original poster

Misstic · 27/12/2016 20:05

I think that's right. Perhaps too much too young. Tonight, I told him that at his age I too did not like doing homework or educational stuff but I had to do it to ensure I had money to buy him toys, etc.

I am envious though of parents whose kids apparently do stuff unprompted.

OP posts:

Believeitornot · 27/12/2016 20:06

He's 5.

My dd who is 5 likes her maths and reading.

My ds on 7 only likes his practical project homework and hates the rest. Always has.

Believeitornot · 27/12/2016 20:07

Tonight, I told him that at his age I too did not like doing homework or educational stuff but I had to do it to ensure I had money

^but that's not true?

NotYoda · 27/12/2016 20:10

If he is playing with Lego and board games he is doing maths at home.

NotYoda · 27/12/2016 20:11

Do you really not see that playing is educational?

jamdonut · 27/12/2016 20:15

No you don't need to worry about it yet!
He sounds perfectly fine!
The only things you should make sure he does is a little bit of reading practice, asking him questions about what he has just read and checking to see if he understands unusual vocabulary.
And maybe number bonds and tables., If you get a moment.
Children spend long enough at school without having to go through it all again at home. They need time to be themselves and not constantly in " education mode" .
There may be some children who genuinely ask to do stuff, but I'm sure it mostly stems from the approval /attention it brings from their parents.

Eolian · 27/12/2016 20:16

My children are both bright and academic and generally enjoy school and are intetested in what they are taught, but that doesn't mean they don't moan like hell about homework! Hardly any children like homework. I don't think it's a very good idea to try and convince a very young child to enjoy homework by linking it to work and money though!

NotYoda · 27/12/2016 20:18

You can easily use Lego to teach number bonds, and times tables. Casually.
Some examples

Ragwort · 27/12/2016 20:20

At 5 my DS loved to do 'homework' and those maths puzzle books, I used to pride myself on having a bright, hard working, academically inclined child - 10 years later and we are paying for tutors to (hopefully) get him through his GCSEs .............. he is totally uninterested and unmotivated by anything remotely 'academic'. I really wouldn't worry about your DS at this age.

Original poster

Misstic · 27/12/2016 20:38

Thanks, yes I do know board games and everyday stuff can be educational. I'm referring to structured academic work like maths, etc.

I'm always grateful for the responses here. Thanks so far for the reassurances and the admonishments.

I don't remember liking homework myself so I don't want him to feel he must love doing it or to make it become a stressful thing for all concerned.

Perhaps it is not best to link the pursuit of education to financial attainment. Education can be appreciated for its own sake but I do feel though that in many respects we want our children to do well at school because we want them to be successful in life, which includes financial independence.

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RedNoseRumble · 27/12/2016 21:40

Ds (10) has always moaned about doing homework, wants to leave it until the last minute EVERY time!

He absolutely loves his whiteboard though. He loves practising multiplication questions with me, he'll push himself to do harder stuff, he can't get enough of it but if you put that same question into his homework book it would be totally different.

BackforGood · 27/12/2016 21:53

Ds ALWAYS hated homework - right through.
He's in his final year of university now and does it because he knows he has to.
At 5, he doesn't have to, and, imo shouldn't even be being asked to.

TenaciousOne · 27/12/2016 22:03

DS loves doing work. Sometimes he likes his homework mainly the experimental things. The build a castle or design a tea cup type homeworks he can do without.
This morning he asked me to give him spellings and actively wants to do the workbooks you can buy. I buy them so I get five minutes peace while he works through them.
On the other hand my niece won't do homework. Different children different outlooks. What about a sticker chart and a treat if he works x amount during the week?

RedNoseRumble · 27/12/2016 22:05

That's good to know, back.

RedNoseRumble · 27/12/2016 22:07

Have to add, ds is doing really well at school so the battle with homework isn't affecting his school work. I just worry about secondary school when they get so much more.

NotYoda · 27/12/2016 22:34

Sorry I was a bit snippy. I can't believe we've got to a situation where parents are worrying/feeling as if they should worry about their 5 year olds' desire to do homework

smellyboot · 28/12/2016 14:02

our school says NO homework for KS1. Let them play & learn

LilQueenie · 28/12/2016 14:15

DD loves learning. Some kids just do. I liked reading facts but hated 'school work'. At the moment anything DD 5yr shows an interest in I buy books on the topic (charity shops so really cheap) We also have few console learning games with her fav characters. All the workbooks are mainly with characters too. Barbie and frozen maths and english books for example. Just go with whatever topic they are into. That goes for cooking and baking too. Measurements and weights can be introduced here.

LilQueenie · 28/12/2016 14:18

on the subject of board games our school used orchard board games for spelling and math which surprised me as I thought it was all worksheets.

Witchend · 29/12/2016 11:36

I have 3 dc.
Dd1 loved homework. Used to use booktokens to buy workbooks, and do them for hours even at preschool age. Couldn't wait to start it when she got home.
Dd2 liked homework if it interested her. She'd do it as soon as she could anyway. Would choose to read over anything else.
Ds hates homework. Leaves it to the last minute and 20minutes of homework takes 200... Because the first two hours is a strop about how dreadful and mean the homework is.

I never had to ask the girls to do it, often I didn't know what they had to do. They'd have done it all, and any extension all on their own.
Ds needs to be reminded.

catkind · 29/12/2016 12:44

Aw, they're just different people aren't they? For mine, numbers and letters are just another thing to play with I think. Ones with even more exciting possibilities than lego!

5 is quite early for reading for fun, but it will come - and a bit more peace and quiet with it - but can't you have a break when he's playing with lego or drawing or building train track or doing sticker books or something?

Anything you can do? Presumably you read with him, keep taking him to the library and encourage him to start reading some words/sentences/pages for himself when he's ready. My two like some learning apps/games, would that be something you would countenance/he might enjoy?

sirfredfredgeorge · 29/12/2016 13:50

Workbooks are just puzzle books, they don't teach, so if they're the type of puzzles the kid enjoys, then it's quite likely they'll do them for pleasure just as lots of people do puzzles, especially if they're also rewarded by their parents for it (even just with praise)

DD has always had a very good attitude to learning - she chooses to review/practice things she thinks she needs to improve/consolidate - but not simply do make-time work at home.

Mind you, we also have heavily avoided any structured academic work like maths, etc being encouraged outside of school, that's so much of the school focus that she'll get more than enough there, so if she's going to work on any skills outside of school, better to do the ones they're not concentrating on. DD has found it all very simple to learn so far though, if she'd ever struggled with the academic stuff then it might've been different.

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