Nuffnang

Sunday 26 February 2012

Homework in Kindergarten




As if it isn't hard enough for a 5 year old to adjust to starting school they send home homework from the second week!

It's not often that I feel strongly about something, but this just ticks me off.

My view is that K-2 is about learning how to read and learn, then from year 3 it is about reading to learn.  To me it makes sense that homework should start in year 3 and that in K-2 should be a low stress, happy, learning time with lots of time for play.

Seriously, my Little Man is missing out on a couple of hours sleep (he still has a day sleep if he is at home) by being at school and I just don't think he needs to come home and do homework after being at school from 8.10am till 2.45.  That's a long day for a little person.

I don't mean reading a couple of books before bed, that is something we have always done, I mean, writing practice exercises, sight word exercises that I need to facilitate and do with him (with strict instructions on different ways to do this), I mean the research I need to do with him for his weekly presentation (last week was the letter M so he took millipedes and we had to research them) or the preparation for his book review that he has to give on his library books each week.  THIS IS KINDERGARTEN and quite frankly I send him to school so I don't have to home school and do exactly these activities.

I've taken a stand.  I send it back in the communication pouch untouched.

What's your stand on homework?



2 comments:

  1. Homework is one of the polarising things. Some parents expect it and some hate it.

    As a parent I wouldn't have wanted homework in the first few weeks of Kindy. I think Girl Child got homework in term 3 of Kindy (although they had home readers earlier). Of course then they never had any in Year 1 or 2 but she will be getting it this year.

    Is the homework negotiable?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for commenting, I'm waiting for the teacher to ask me about it. It is amazing to me that it bothers me so much!!

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