What is your homework situation?

So in our school the teachers assess the kids in Sept and homework starts in October. Here is our homework for first grade, each night:

15 minutes of reading
Math homework (I think it is one-two sheets)
Word Study work (they have 24 words they needs to learn to spell by the end of the week and each day they have an activity to do with the words)
Homework calendar: Activities they can choose to reinforce principles they are learning in school.

Please tell me this is normal and we will get used to it.

 

We usually have 2 books to read - a story from his text book and then a leveled reader. Two-sided page of math homework. 10 spelling words to practice. 6-10 word wall words to practice spelling and use in a sentence. So far we've been fortunate in that he knows the spelling words from kindergarten, so he hasn't had to learn to spell them yet and the word wall words haven't been too challenging yet, so we o ly do those 3 times or so a week.

He's has homework since the 2nd week of school (mid August). We've adjusted but it does seem like a lot for a 1st grader.

 

That seems like a lot to me, but we're in kindergarten. Guess I better prep for next year!

We get assigned homework monthly, and turn it in at the end of the month. A reading log, usually about 4-5 math worksheets, and general learning activities. We try not to spend more than 15 minutes a day on it, and don't necessarily do anything daily (except read a book).

 

That seems like a lot!!

I have two 1st graders and we do:

read a short book from leveled reader or chapter of a chaptered book( should be 5-15 min)
do a single math page from math packet for M-Th
really short handwriting page (if time, not sent back to school)


So it is 20/25 min tops, often not even....they are happy to read ( we read together before bed already) and the math is a single page of review or an activity. I am happy that we have a homework routine in place and it is just the right amount for now! It is only M- Th as well. No weekend homework.


Mine do not have spelling tests.

 

Kindergarten same class:
Reading log monthly
Month long parent student activities
Weekly color page-glue magazine pics to construction paper
Every other week skills page-rhyming words and counting

 

Our first grade teacher didn't assign a lot of homework except reading and learning spelling words. I don't think she even had to write them out like she's had to last year and this year. I was expecting more. But, this teacher had a lot of issues and I'm just glad that my kid wasn't one that would fall between the cracks. In 2nd grade, the amount of homework jumped but it was really no more than 10-15 minutes of work 4 nights of the week (there's usually no homework on Friday). This year, it's a bit more but not too bad. DD1 is pretty independent with her work and doesn't need much help (if any), so it's been relatively easy. I know that will change as the twins hit 1st grade next year.

ETA: It seems like our school breaks down homework like this;

Monday - spelling
Tuesday - math
Wed. - some kind of spelling and language arts activity
Thurs. - review spelling
Fri - usually no homework unless there is a project

They are expected to read at least 15 minutes a day, which we already do.

 

Not much here, but my kindergarteners have this:

Daily small book to read (just a couple of pages)
Daily writing sheet (sometimes 2)

 

That sounds like a lot to me.

When I taught 1st grade homework looked like this:


1. Dear Mrs. K. letters
A letter to each student is sent home on Monday. Please help your child write a return letter to me by Thursday (Letters are also accepted on Tuesday and Wednesday). A more detailed note will come home with the first letter.
NO DEAR MRS. K. LETTERS DURING WEEKS IN WHICH WE ARE NOT IN SCHOOL ON MONDAY.

2. Math
Home Links (copied on colored paper) are sent home intermittently.
PLEASE RETURN COMPLETED HOME LINKS TO SCHOOL THE FOLLOWING DAY.

3. W.E.B.
A self-selected book is sent home on Friday. Please listen to your child read and comment in the W.E.B. journal. Return book and journal to school on the first day of the week.

4. Spelling
A list of 8 spelling words is sent home on the first day of the week. Please help your child study these words throughout the week. A test will be given on the last day of the week.

 

That seems like a lot of homework for first grade. Does you county have any kind of homework policy?

Our county here has a policy of 10 min of homework per grade. So first grade would have 10 min. of homework nightly and so on as you go up the grades. :good:

My kindergartners have homework on the T days, so Tuesday and Thursday and it's a sheet glued into their homework paper, so far they have been review for them and they do them independently with no problems. :good: And each weekend they bring their reading group books home to read to us and we have to sign their reading log.

 

I am in Loudoun so I don't know if there is a homework policy. I will look it up in the handbook though.

 

Yikes, we're in K and we have no homework whatsoever. We're just supposed to read to/with the kids on a regular basis. Every once in a while they will send home some kind of project that requires parental involvement, but it is usually more of a crafty thing (which I'm no good at!) rather than academic work.

My kids actually make up homework, or bring home worksheets they did in class and continue working on them. But from everything the teachers have said, I don't think any of it is really required.

So that sure sounds like a lot to me! I have no idea whether our school will continue to be so low-homework in 1st grade.

 

The only homework my first graders have is by Friday they are expected to know their (10) spelling words and also be able to answer questions about their story for the week (reading comprehension). Some of the other parents have expressed concerns that their kids aren't being adequately prepared to learn how to do homework in the older grades but consistently none of my kids ever have homework, lol, so I'm not concerned.

 

Last year my two were in first, and they were assigned 8 spelling words each Monday and were tested on Friday for those spelling words. So we would practice a few minutes a night learning the words. I'd make up word sentences and they'd find the correct word, or make up word puzzles. They were also assigned a reading log and were required to read a few minutes each evening and write a sentence in their log. The teacher assigned a monthly homework activity, in which they were supposed to pick 3 activities a week (Ex - find 5 things that are square in your house, and list them, list 5 things that being with the letter A, play a board game with your family, count by 5's to 100, etc..The activites were simple and fun. So homework each evening was really 15 mins max and we often read, longer than that anyway.

In grade 2, it's a little more, with 10 spelling words assigned Monday. They are tested Friday and 5 mystery words are added in (to ensure they are learning their applied skills rather than just memorizing). They also are required to do reading in an assigned book and write a sentence or comment each evening. They are encouraged to have another book on the "go' as well and the teacher asks that they list all their reading activity. Finally, they are asked to do a special activity on their assigned reading book. The activity might be - finding 3 new words in the book and writing sentences with them, or making a crossword puzzle with new words and special clues, or drawing a favourite picture about book, and stating why that part was important. With reading and spelling we average about 20 mins a night and sometimes we'll add in an extra 10 min of reading before bed (usually me reading but it counts as part of their reading log). I'd say your kids have a lot for grade one!

 

Our district policy is 30 min a night for K-3, and that should include reading.

In K they had a two-sided worksheet each night, along with reading. It was sent home daily. They were usually really simple and could be completed independently. They had the same homework.

In 1st, they have different homework. My DD gets daily homework, usually spelling or math and reading. My DS gets a packet of worksheets and has to complete those, along with nightly spelling assignments. His homework takes much longer and it is totally busy work. Since the tasks are so easy and pointless, he really has trouble finding the value in them and staying focused, which is new behavior. The more challenging it is, the better behaved he is!

 

I must say that the 1st grade homework my girls bring home is super easy compared to the homework load they had in K. They get all the homework on Monday and it is due on Friday. It consist of 2 double sided spelling/phonic practice, ABC order of spelling words and a math sheet. We also need to read nightly. I try to have the girls get all the worksheets done on Monday

 

Mine don't have that much yet, but system is slightly different (they're much younger when starting big school).

Twins in Year 1 (2006 born, mine are end of November so only still 4): daily home reader and daily "high frequency words" which is tested on Friday. No maths, no Mandarin yet.

Oldest in Year 3 (2004 born): daily home reader, weekly spelling test, weekly Mandarin home work (sheet + book), weekly unit of inquiry home work (could be math, science, language, etc.) and they have to do their own time management to get it done. Mandarin is handed out on Wed, back on Tue. Unit of inquiry is handed out Thu, back on Tue. Plus I check the curriculum letter of the unit to see what she's supposed to know after 6 weeks and make sure she stays on track (her maths hasn't really clicked yet ...).

 

Not to be a pot stirrer (since I homeschool my kids), but really what is the point of so much homework (or frankly any at all) at 6 years old after they just spent 7+ hours in school? I can see that if kids dawdled and didn't get it done they might need to finish later (we have that situation sometimes, too). But I just don't get why they need extra work assigned outside of all the hours they're already in school. I get it some for upper elementary and certainly sometimes for middle and high school. But not with little kids.

 

I am actually with you on this. According to the letters we get homework is "supposed to reinforce concepts he is learning in school". One of my frustrations is that DS has no problem with the concepts he is learning in school so in order to broaden and extend the knowledge he is learning, I've had to modify the homework from the original list I posted. For example, he has word study every week where they get a list of words and each night, do a different exercise with the words. Each exercise is supposed to reinforce learning the words for spelling as well as teach a phonetic concept. I've added in handwriting sheets on monday where he has to trace the words and then write each of them 3x. This allows him to practice the handwriting style used by the county (he is actually behind on this since our K was in a different county) and reinforces the words. On Thursdays, I've added in sentence writing (normally he would just do an at home quiz) in order to get him to learn the definition of the words, increase comprehension, and build up his grammar use. There are nights I feel like I am homeschooling him but he likes learning and when I keep it at a certain level, he stays interested. I also know that his teacher is bound by certain restrictions. She has 27 kids at varying levels in her classroom. The homework she sends home is at the level of the standard required by the state. It is the goal of the school to get every kid to meet those standards and exceeding is just a bonus but won't really be addressed until 3rd grade when there are more options.

That being said, we are now in our groove and homework takes 1/2 an hour at most, unless DS decides he wants to keep reading. The biggest challenge I have is transitioning him from playing to doing homework and not getting a lot of complaining (some nights, complaining takes longer than homework).

 

I was just gonna post the same topic myself re. excessive first grade homework and expectations.

Mine have homework 5 days a week, consisting of at least 20 minutes of reading; to make this more challenging (for the parents, of course), they do not have a reading text/reader but we have to come up with appropriate books ourselves! From the local library, I guess....

Next, they have 5 sight words (memorization) a week; 10 spelling words, with written assignments two days a week; 2 pages of math one day; a sight word worksheet that challenges us (the parents, who have to come up with sentences including all words, which often don't go together well). In addition, a weekly reading log is to be kept, listing title/pages read/and a summary of the book (again, work for the parents, who hopefully know what they're supposed to be doing here?!)

And if that wasn't enough, now they have their first "time line" project (again, lots of work for the parents) for social studies/English, which an oral presentation in less than 2 weeks! (We didn't do anything like this before 6th grade or so).

Is this over the top - for first grade - or the "new normal"?

DeLana