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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

How long would this piece of homework take your 6 year old?

39 replies

GentlyDoesIt · 10/05/2009 18:22

It's the usual "Write about your weekend" one.

DD (who is currently being assessed for SEN) chose to write "Me and Mummy went to eat a dustbin lid pizza." I encouraged her to find sounds for herself, and to write once in rough and once in neat. She sobbed throughout and continually called herself "stupid" and "crybaby." Like every weekend, it's been heartbreaking. I offered no criticism or harsh words and stayed positive and affirming all the way through.

I am struggling (but managing) to conceal how concerned I am about her, from her.

She's working on the picture now, which is her "reward" - she loves to draw and is now happily chatting to herself as she does so.

I just wondered how long writing this sentence might take other children? She's my eldest so I'm not sure what the normal range is at this stage.

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emkana · 10/05/2009 18:26

It would take dd five minutes, but would look very messy and would be spelt phonetically.

lljkk · 10/05/2009 18:36

Drawing is great, OP, develops fine motor skills brilliantly.

DS1 would have taken 5 minutes or so too, writing a sentence similar to OP's DD. He seemed quite average in Y1 but had a big leap in ability in Y2. I think DS2 will have similar ability at this point in Y1.

DD who excels in literacy (G&T list, all that) would have managed 3-4 sentences of 8 words length each, spelt correctly and not too messily written. But I dare to believe that she's the very top of her year group for literacy, (at-our-poxy-not-at-all-outstanding-in-any-category-on-the-Ofsted-report-school).

Toffeepopple · 10/05/2009 18:36

It would take DS five minutes (and look messy and be spelt phonetically) IF he were in the mood, otherwise it could take forever.

I would have no hope of making him do a clean copy though.

clayre · 10/05/2009 18:39

copying it or writing it herself? my 6 year old wouldnt be able to write that herself but would copy it in about 5 mins

Original poster

GentlyDoesIt · 10/05/2009 18:40

Thanks for the replies.

It's taken DD 45 minutes and about a pint of snot & tears. I am so worried about her. I know she'll be okay in the grand scheme of things, but right now I just feel like the crappest parent in the world.

OP posts:

Hulababy · 10/05/2009 18:42

Is she Y1 or Y2?

I help in a Y1 class and one sentence can take a child in the class anything from 2-3 minutes to the full 30 monute or so session.

I wouldn't get her to write in rough first. Just once is plenty. If she makes mistakes it doesn't matter.

Does she have some prompts to help her? - Try sparklebox.co.uk - you can print off lists of key words, etc. for her to refer to.

I would build up to it all gradually too. First week concentrate on first sounds of words. Next week get her to add some end sounds, and then build up to middle sounds.

Phonetically spelt is fine at this stage too.

lljkk · 10/05/2009 18:42

Yeah, no way DS1 would have done a cleaned up version, either.

KnickKnack · 10/05/2009 18:45

At 6, DS would probably have taken about 3 minutes, quite neat, and mostly spelt right.

When she reaches 6, I would guess DD would take about 5 or 6 mins, quite neat, but probably spelt phonetically.

I think most children will vary from one extreme to the other, and everything in between

Original poster

GentlyDoesIt · 10/05/2009 18:45

Thanks Hulababy. She's year 1. We've been asked to write out once in rough and then in neat, as first try is completely illegible (even for her & me).

I hadn't thought of a list of key words to refer to, though - I'll try that, thank you.

OP posts:

Notquitegrownup · 10/05/2009 18:46

Make sure that you add a note to the homework from you telling the teacher how long it took (and the bit about snot and tears too, if you like!) She should get a huuuugggeee star from school for her mega-effort. And if she doesn't, tell us and we will write back to her.

DS2 isn't keen on writing at all. So we started keeping a diary at home in which he writes about each day. For a while he told me what to write and I wrote it for him - it's supposed to be fun, not a chore - then he did a picture and labelled it (ie wrote one word)

We also do a bit of handwriting practice in there - a row of e e e e or whatever at the top of the page. Now he's starting to do it himself - not everyday, but when something exciting happens.

cornsilk · 10/05/2009 18:48

If teacher insists on a neat copy then I would scribe for her and let her copy that. 45 minutes of snot and tears is too long.

KnickKnack · 10/05/2009 18:49

Agree with Hula, I would not get her to do it twice. Just do it once and hand it in whatever its like...she's still very young, it doesn't have to be perfect. (I would worry that homework would become a huge chore and something she grows to hate)

While 45 min might sound like a long time, look at it this way...if she had only written it once, it would have only taken half the amount of time, 22 mins

Hulababy · 10/05/2009 18:57

If teacher is insisting on two versions then I would also consider being scribe for the first go, whilst she tells you what to write. Or consider the ssecond attempt being typed perhaps.

Does she have line gyuides to help her with forming her letters more neatly, etc?

Hulababy · 10/05/2009 19:03

Guide for helping her seperate words with finger spaces

line guide for writing letters showing where to start and stop upper and lower parts of letters and here

word mats

Original poster

GentlyDoesIt · 10/05/2009 19:04

I like the idea of me being "scribe" for the first try! I'll do that.

I did think that 45 minutes was too long. I think I just need to trust me and DD to best know what constitutes a useful amount of homework, and what doesn't.

OP posts:

Original poster

GentlyDoesIt · 10/05/2009 19:05

THANK YOU Hulababy

OP posts:

popsycal · 10/05/2009 19:09

can i just say that whilst sparklebox is a fab resource, some LEAs localy have banned its use in our schools
hula - i can tell you why offline
i wont use it

popsycal · 10/05/2009 19:13

www.s-tyneside.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102:sparklebox-now-bei ng-blocked&catid=3:newsflash&Itemid=66

sorry for hijack

Hulababy · 10/05/2009 19:16

Oh no Popsycal. I can't imagine not being able to use their resources, esp with the Y1 class I work with! And for my study support.

Would love to know more, if you can tell. You have my FB or email?

katiestar · 10/05/2009 19:17

Have you asked the teacher what you should be doing WRT helping her with her writing.At our school children write independently but just write down the sounds they can hear in the words eg 'duzn ld pz might be 'dustbin lid pizza'.As they get better at literacy they will be able to discern more sounds and also learn the high frequency words and spelling patterns.
Are you working with her the same way as the school is ? I would just get her to do it by herself at whatever level she can

FrannyandZooey · 10/05/2009 19:18

ds1 could not do this as he can't read or spell
if i wrote the words and he copied them it would take him about 10 mins tops?

DottyDot · 10/05/2009 19:24

Blimey - at 6, ds1 would have hated doing this and would have cried with buckets of snot and probably taken the whole weekend on and off to do it. And he's not being assessed for anything.

give him sums and he's perfectly happy but anything to do with writing and it's tears, tantrums and taking an age to do anything.

He's 7 now and in year 2 and hates to do writing homework and although he tends to get full marks in spelling tests, when he writes words they're usually mis-spelled and it's really, really messy.

Not sure if that helps! But just to say that maybe your dd will lean towards numbers, or art, or something else - and they change so much throughout each year you never know what might trigger a sudden enthusiasm for doing writing homework.

Hulababy · 10/05/2009 19:24

katiestar - that is exactly what happens in the Y1 class I work with.

When I am working with my IEP children I will often write on the reverse of the work what the actual sentence is, to help the teacher out, but only after the child has finished and left the work with me.

My comment for the child might be:

Star comment - you have written all teh initial letter sounds in your work

Wish comment - try to include more end sounds in your writte work; say the word out loud a few times and listen carefully.

Original poster

GentlyDoesIt · 10/05/2009 19:33

This is all quite reassuring, thanks.

My DD's school have recently had a really poor OFSTED and all the parents have noticed that the expectations on pupils have been too high since. When I saw DD's targets for reading this term (from a level 4 to level 12 by the summer - it has taken her all of reception and Yr 1 to get to 4) I literally LOL'd!

I help out at school one morning a week so I can give DD the same advice & learning styles as at school. That was the theory, anyway - what I've actually seen in the school has been such a confusing jumble of teaching styles that I actually feel less equipped to help.

Her SEN assessment has confused the issue a bit, too - I am all for extra help but I can't beat this sneaky feeling that the school's OFSTED report might look better if SEN could be blamed for some performance that is falling way below target - but that's me on a cynical day (and today is one of those days, so I hope no-one is offended and knows that this is just me feeling disempowered and confused).

OP posts:

DottedPyjamas · 10/05/2009 19:35

My dd would do it in about 2 minutes and she would probably get it all spelled right, BUT she's in Year 2 (July baby) so not really comparable. Even with her I have had plenty of days where she huffs and puffs, drops her pencil about a hundred times, says she's hungry, brings up some topic and talks about it for ages, or in general tries any distraction technique she can think of - making it obvious that she really does not want to do her homework.

I am so about your little dd calling herself stupid and crybaby. I hope you get some advice that helps (I know I've not been very helpful!), it must be heartbreaking for you.

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