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

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

Primary education

ok, so i said i thought homework was fine for little kids. i am now changing my mind. big time.

26 replies

LadyLaGore · 30/10/2008 17:28

ds1 is 5.5.
he is sitting on the kitchen floor saying 2 rubbish rubbish rubbish, im not doing it, i hate it, it feels funny, im not doing ANY homework"

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LadyLaGore · 30/10/2008 17:29

i tend to agree with him if im honest and think hes done enough while at school and ought to be able to chill out or run about once hes at home.
i havent said that to him tho. reckon that might not be helpful.
sigh.

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Saturn74 · 30/10/2008 17:31

what homework has he got?

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pointygravedogger · 30/10/2008 17:34

Your ds is toadally correct

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LadyLaGore · 30/10/2008 17:35

a few weeks backlog of spellings
a ditty book (reading)
library book

he is now in the loo muttering and occasionally shouting "rubbish!"

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Saturn74 · 30/10/2008 17:36

I'm with him on that one.
That's a lot of work for a little 'un.

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LadyLaGore · 30/10/2008 17:37

oh, and learning a line he has in some play or something.

and a sheet to practice the 'oy' sound.

he wants an icecream and the telly. and says he hates school.

i guess i'll put the hw away, but i also spose id better not do the ice cream and telly.

bugger this, why should we have to have this battle?

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mabanana · 30/10/2008 17:42

Ice cream and telly! Ice cream and telly! You are only five once.
Um, other ideas. Help him with his line once he is in bed all cuddled up after you've read him the book. The next night you can take turns reading lines, maybe.
Make a game of the oy sounds
There once was a boy (poke ds)
Who had a toy (wave toy)
It gave him great joy (ran about madly)

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LadyLaGore · 30/10/2008 17:42

i think the teacher ought to allow an amnesty on the backlog. thsat a mountain of stuff for a 5yo isnt it? hes a summer b'day, so one of the youngest in y1.

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twoluvlykids · 30/10/2008 17:42

you could make the reading fun, so he doesn't realise it's homework. then, as he's reading, he's also learning spellings!

but he's right - homework shouldn't be for little kids. or big kids.

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mabanana · 30/10/2008 17:43

I agree with you btw. Homework is horrid.

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LadyLaGore · 30/10/2008 17:43

mabana - you are ace. want to come live with my kids for about 18yrs?

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mabanana · 30/10/2008 17:50

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LadyLaGore · 30/10/2008 17:56

i told him id spoken to the ladies on the computer about it.
he looked wary.
i said youd all said he was should have an ice cream and watch telly.
he said 'yay!'

i think he loves you.

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Saturn74 · 30/10/2008 17:58

"the ladies on the computer"

Ice cream and telly is definitely the way to go.

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LadyLaGore · 30/10/2008 18:01

oh im well 'ard me. [rolls eyes]

i totally caved. at least theyre watching good wholesome cbeebies [hresigned face]

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hauntinghippipotami · 30/10/2008 18:20

Gawd that is a lot of homework for a Y1 child
Dd is in Y1 adn has no homework what-so-ever except the reading book she got the week before half term.
Our school has not even started spelling words for the Y1's yet - will probably do that after Christmas.
I do not agree with homework for little ones, and luckily so far neither does dd's school!

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LadyLaGore · 30/10/2008 18:23

dss' school doesnt do hw either... he is 8 (y4? 5? something liek that) and he only ever has spelling practice. hw is done twice a week in an after school session called prep or something. think that sounds much better.

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PsychoAxeMurdererMum · 30/10/2008 18:48

I hate HW, my children hate HW, and I don't force it (except for the two in seniors).

childhood is hard enough now without the added stress of HW when they get home from school. they have spent all day learning, now their brains need to mame sense of it all and relax.

I have told the teachers this year on year, and they are actually pretty fab. especially as for mine, it is half a battle getting them to school. getting them there and happy is good enough IMO

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AbbeyA · 30/10/2008 19:24

The school day is long for a 5 yr old-they do not need homework (other than reading).

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madness · 30/10/2008 21:31

What would happen if he didn't do his hw. Ds was never keen so often I just left it at that. Teachers didn't seem to be bothered about it.

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Katisha · 30/10/2008 21:33

We do the reading and that's all. I don't think young children need homework.

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TeeBee · 30/10/2008 21:38

I honestly think the best way is to get them to do it without even realising - through games and things. If they are really resistant I think you are going to do more damage by forcing him than you will by just leaving it at this early stage. He will cover it at school - the homework is just to reinforce it.

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scifinerd · 30/10/2008 21:41

totally agree with you all. I don't agree with homework at all, day is too long as it is, children start school too young and when are they meant to have downtime? Plus homework is also work for parents and frankly we have enough to do without extra educational duties.

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slayerette · 30/10/2008 21:45

DS (in Yr 1) has never had any homework apart from reading. He writes a list of spellings on Monday which he has to learn for a test on Friday but at the moment they're three letter cvc words which he knows anyway - I usually forget to even ask him how he's done, it's so low-key [rubbish mother emoticon]

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LadyLaGore · 02/11/2008 08:20

belated update (i thought id posted about this!)

teacher spoke to me at pickup on friday. she said he was getting so far behind the rest of the class (of 12) that he was really getting disheartened now and giving up before he started. she said shed spoken to him about practicing at home to help him with confidence (she says he has all his sounds and is not as 'behind' as he perceives himself to be) and could i 'support' him in this.
i said i was concerned too but that id had him being really unhappy at home and i didnt want to push him and turn him off. i said the psychology was all wrong for him in that he never got a proper 'break' from having to do this stuff he feels he cant.
so we agreed that he'll keep actual work for at school, she'll make time to do it there and all we'll do at home is the reading (which he likes) and i'll try to encourage him to write in other ways (birthday cards, shopping lists, a scrapbook about his beloved chickens, that sort of thing)
she also said shed think about it more over the w/end.
so im happy with that really, for now.

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