Homework in Kindergarten is ridiculous!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I assume we will have home work in K. We have had it prk3 and 4 so far. Typically not much a 1 page work sheet per day. Maybe 5-10 minutes. Some days we get it done others we have to skip or modify the way we work on the skill. There are sometimes on going lessons like working writing your frist name this month or read books about a certain topic they are learning about.
We do generally skip the break and holiday vacation packets though.

Let me tell you that we wish we had set the tone with homework earlier. Now it is pure hell some nights getting our children to do their homework. Looking back, we should have listened to the teacher and just done it.

[Anonymous]

Please, it's kindergarten. More likely consequences to deciding to have the kid do the HW than not, e.g. him or her burning out on HW eventually with joy of learning diminished.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone else agree that it's ridiculous for kindergartners to have daily homework? That this puts unreasonable stress on kids and families - ultimately being detrimental to both.

We go to a school in NWDC and KINDERGARTENERS are suppose to do daily worksheets (packets due weekly not daily), ST Math, and keep a reading log. At back to school night the teacher tried to assure us that it was just "20 minutes a day". Even if it doesn't take up more than 20 mins a day, that 20 minutes a day is

1) Taking away from the already vary short amount of family time that we get together.
(With work, we get from 6-8 with our children each day. That's important time to bond and to work with our children on their emotional needs and unique interests. Please don't take that away from us.)

2) Creating family discord
(Kindergartners are not at their best from 6-8 PM. "20 minutes" of work will require 20 minutes of nagging, reminders, encouragement, frustration, threats, tears)

3) Increasing mental load for parents with little ROI for kids
(The mental load for parents overseeing this is substantial. And there's no ROI. No study says that homework in Kindergarten improves overall education)

4) Creating unnecessary and detrimental competitiveness and labels among kids
(The teacher noted that kids know how far everyone gets in ST Math and that their identities start to form about being "good" or "bad" students)

Our friends who went through Kindergarten last year confirmed that it was a big issue for them for all the reasons noted above. I know there are educators who think this is ridiculous. I could tell our kindergarten teacher was unsure/uneasy about it. The hostility from parents in the room when this came up was palpable - our guts know it is wrong. This is HARMFUL not helpful to kids and to families.

Shame on DCPS. It's a detriment to DCPS reputation and trust among stakeholders.

I'm very tempted to just refuse to participate but my kid is a rule follower and that will devastate him. What to do? Get a petition going to make homework optional? How much support is out there for this?

You probably have some support, but there are always two sides to the story. Some parents want their children to have homework and academic success. Your rant about how unfair life is will only escalate as your child gets older. Remember one thing, who is the education professional? Would you do the same when listening to a doctor, lawyer, plumber, or anyone else who is an expert in their field? Just like in every case, you can either take it or leave it. If you decide not to do it, then there are also consequences.

NP. The problem with your argument is that those with actual expertise in this matter will tell you that there is no evidence that homework in kindergarten has any impact on future academic success.

[Anonymous]

Interesting article pertinent to this thread:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/weve-so-overscheduled-our-kids-that-doctors-are-now-prescribing-playtime/2018/09/14/cc31da80-b151-11e8-aed9-001309990777_story.html?utm_term=.492ea5d222d1

[Anonymous]

I remember having HW in kindergarten, and i turned out OK.

Our K son gets HW packets that are due weekly and he is happy to do them - he thinks they are fun - (and you still spend quality time with your kids while they do the packets). I was actually kind of amazed at how much he could read the fill-in sentences already.

No one is going to kill you if you don't do them every night. We normally do one page on Tuesday when he gets it since he's excited, another page while we wait for dinner to cook some other night, another page after dinner some other night -- it's not a huge deal. Oh, I don't do the reading log - I think it's silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I assume we will have home work in K. We have had it prk3 and 4 so far. Typically not much a 1 page work sheet per day. Maybe 5-10 minutes. Some days we get it done others we have to skip or modify the way we work on the skill. There are sometimes on going lessons like working writing your frist name this month or read books about a certain topic they are learning about.
We do generally skip the break and holiday vacation packets though.

Let me tell you that we wish we had set the tone with homework earlier. Now it is pure hell some nights getting our children to do their homework. Looking back, we should have listened to the teacher and just done it.

Cosign. We've had HW assigned for our child since PK3--usually only 5 minutes at that point. Never been a question for us re: whether to complete or not--we just did it, and she didn't mind and sometimes even liked it. I'm glad we had those early years to make HW part of the routine, so that now, it's a given after snack and before dinner. Spouse supervises HW and it's usually done by the time I get home from work, or they're working on it. I find it helpful to know what she's working on, and it allow an opportunity for additional practice/fine-tuning of certain concepts. Currently a 2nd grader.

May sound hokey, but I think the key is making it light-hearted, brief, and a part of the normal routine. If it's taking too long after school, perhaps ask teacher if it can be submitted weekly. Also, as a small incentive, maybe give a reward afterwards, like cartoon or play time.

[Anonymous]

I have not read all of the previous posts because page 1 was already starting to be ridiculous with name calling and rude posts....

Our son has had 'homework' every night since kindergarten, which is reading homework in two languages. He is dyslexic and we find the reading homework both inappropriate, too hard, and very boring with him. For the past three years (K-2), I have told the teachers at the beginning of the year what my plan was for regular learning supports at home that meet the needs of his dyslexia. That plan does not include any of their assigned homework. We are doing something more important that is actually helping my child learn. The timing and nature of that support is on our own schedule (it does involve fairly regular practice though with special materials -- I have had to adjust my work schedule a bit).

Bottom line: If you tell your teachers the plan that you have for reinforcing learning with your kids, or send a note with this plan, then you do not need to do the homework assigned in Kindergarten. Also explain to your child the decision that you, your spouse, and their teacher have agreed upon. I wouldn't let it slide because then they may think that homework is forever optional......

[Anonymous]

Move to APS and enjoy our "no homework" in elementary policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Move to APS and enjoy our "no homework" in elementary policy.

What/where is that? If it’s VA, it’s a no.

[Anonymous]

My kindergartener is excited to bring home his homework packet every Monday (btw...we are in DCPS in NE DC), and he enjoys writing his books, drawing images from the week and doing the basic writing/math exercises. I think the entire packet might take him 20 minutes for the entire week. He does it while we are making dinner or after breakfast in the morning or sometimes with a parent on the weekend. I don't mind getting him into this very basic routine, but maybe it just works better for his personality.