Homework over half term

[redskyatnight]

I was chatting to a friend today about her plans for half term. She looked a bit glum and said that her DS's school had recommended that children should be spending 20-25 hours over half term revising/consolidating the work they have done this year.

Her DS is in Year 5.

To be fair her DS goes to an academic private school (where all or most children will take 11+ and/or entrance exams to private selective schools) but is there really a benefit in pushing children of this age to do so much over what should be a holiday?

(very glad here that DS's school think that children should have time off and only vaguely suggested perhaps they could write a bit about something they did in the holiday "if they really wanted to")

So holiday homework? Good or bad idea for primary school children?

that sounds pretty heavy is she sure her DS heard it right? it isn't maybe 20-25 mins a day or something?!

I'm all for homework in holidays though, but maybe one project, not too heavy at that age, like researching something they're interested in (tied in with the next topic?) and making a leaflet or something.

We're actually that DH's DDs are in yr7 and they never get any h/w in the hols.

what also surprised me is that the idea is to revise/consolidate, it sounds very grown up, can't make up my mind about it being good or bad!

20 - 25 hours over a 5 day break. That's not a holiday at all! Do they have exams coming up just after they go back? That's the only thing I can think of to justify that much work.

Nothing formal here - a bit of reading dc (Yr4 and 7) had exams just before half term and need a break. 11+ preparation isn't really about what you can revise anyway, more practice tests and exam technique.

I do those hours over a week and I'm doing a degree. Can't be right for a primary child surely . My 9 yo and 7 yo have about 20 mins of homework to do.

Blimey, I thought Ds was hard done by with his homework! He is in YR3 and has to reasearch sedementary rocks and limestone in particular, and present it nicely.

He has done the note making part today, and will do the writing tomorrow and the drawings the day after, but it's hard work getting him to do it. Writing is not his forte, and as for presentation.....

20-35 hours a weeks is a lot of pressure for kiddies, is it an academic hothouse?

I will own up to doing ds's h/work - designing Florence Nightingale's medicine chest. It looks like mum made it and not a 7 yo. I know I am a bad, competitive disgrace

good god!! ds is in y8 and is supposed to be revising for his end of year exams straight after half term and is doing nowhere near 5 hours a day

there's no way I'd be able to get ds2 (y5) to do anything other than read

the whole point of holidays is to have a break and recharge batteries and go back more invigorated and ready to learn than before

Sounds like the type of school her DS goes to, the parents want certain results and the school wants to make sure the kids get those results, hence the school pressures parents as well as kids to do that amount of revision.

DS-yr5 has no homework (or he is keeping very quiet if he does).

DS-yr1 had homework (Carribean project report to write, I kid you not) over Easter and the other moms I've spoken to thought it was pretty absurd thing to ask of 5-6yos.

Ds, y2: has to play on bbc bitesize maths, ls1 and ks2 levels. Luckily this is one thing he's happy to do, so he's doing 20 minutes a night (his choice).
I have a friend who's children are at a private school and this sounds similar to their homework levels, crazy for kids that age

Wow!

DD (yr 3) had to 'research things that you find in rockpools' - ie go to the beach, draw a nice picture & label it

I have learnt how to spell anemone as a result (smug emoticon).

My Y2 class all chose a country playing in the World Cup and can if they wish find out some facts about that country to share with the class next week.

That is horrendous but then she chose the school. Poor kid.

4/5 hours a day on school work? I don't think any school would prescribe that..

Awful!

My dc has no homework, he's playing in the garden, learning to play swingball, reading lots, finding out all about the human body at the Natural History Museum (fab by the way, we'll be back), drawing pictures...in fact doing lots of spontaneous learning...all driven by him. We've had projects in the past though and I did them but I swore never again - we all hated it and I'm sure that's all my dc remembered about the topic, how boring it was because we wanted to go and do something else.

Where has love of learning gone? Doesn't it matter any more?

Glad it's not just me that thinks it was a bit OTT!! At the school (renowned for being very academic and quite pushy) they have exams at the end of each year so this is in preparation for them. They had a letter sent home saying that they suggested children spend 3-4 hours revising each of 7 subjects (history, geography, maths etc) and giving some details about what subjects/material to cover.

My friend did say she thought this was way too much ... but also feels obliged to encourage her DS to do it so he doesn't "fall behind".

My dd has come home from her academic hothouse school this holiday with a letter saying, please remember to have a bit of a holiday whilst ensuring that revision is carried out.

She is in y8.

No evidence yet of any revision going on, no matter how much nagging threats persuasion I do!!!

DS in year 9, is doing maybe 1 hour, max 2 a day. And he's sitting 3 GCSE papers in a few weeks. He probably has some homework festering at the bottom of his bag.

My DD2 occasionally gets 2 reading books over the holidays. Thats it!

Ugh. My Y3 DS goes to a v academic prep, and there is no half-term homework for him, thank the lord. His teacher is very insistent on holidays being holidays, and I agree with her. 5-y-o Y1 DD's teacher doesn't agree, though, so DD has a maths sheet, four books to read, and spellings. She also has to write a short story. Needless to say, it's all lounging in her book-bag awaiting a Sunday afternoon panic.

i HATE homework over holidays. And for Yr 5 I would be writing a note to the teacher and saying sorry but that is FAR too much work for that age group. Academic hot house or not.

Have decided that in a private school environment I am the paying customer and will remind them of that! If I am paying for a good education for my child I expect most of that to take place in school hours with some homework. At Year 5 level that amount of work to be done over a half term holiday affects the whole family's holiday time. And also suggests to me that the topics have not been covered enough and in enough detail IN school hours.

I realised from talking to my class that lots of them were going away over the holidays, so I sent home an extra reading book but no homework. They don't have to do it, and I don't have to mark it