summer homework?
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Anonymous
| Do you give your elementary school kid homework? is so, how much, and do they complain about it? I ask, because my rising 4th grader is so busy during the school year with school, homework, extracurriculars, that he really seems to need a break. I just don't want him to get too of practice with writing and math. |
Anonymous
| I don't give my rising 4th grader homework but his school did. It's a good lesson for him in budgeting his time and doing a little bit at a time to finish it. |
Anonymous
| I have "mom's summer learning" ("homework" has a bad connotation). My kids don't like it, but they don't make the decisions on this. I do it so my kids get to school in the fall and feel confident b/c they've seen it before. I also do it b/c there are things that the school doesn't spend time on that are important (memorizing math facts) or other things that are more wrote, that I can do with them. I'm just trying to make their school year easier and help them feel confident and successful in school. I'm not trying to make them geniuses or take them more than a grade ahead. We'll be busier in the fall when soccer and scouting and other activity start, so I want them to have a running start on the academics. |
Anonymous
| I bought a "bridging" workbook and a kumon workbook. The bridging workbook is designed to be completed one sheet per day, and covers a little math, language arts, and reading comprehension. It is mainly a review of the grade she just completed and a little intro to the subjects for next year. She also does 1 or 2 sheets of kumon math on top of that. She spends no more than an hour on them each day, and gets 30 minutes of screen time per page completed correctly (mistakes are reviewed and corrected after each session). Screen time earned can be banked for a later date, and no more than 2 hours of screen time can be used each day. She loves to play games on my iPad and so this is not a big chore to her. We strictly limit screen time at our home so this is a way for her to earn some coveted computer game/net surfing time. She does the worksheets every day except on Sunday, when my DH takes her to see a movie (which does not count against her banked screen time). |
Anonymous
| I agree with PP 100%. I make my rising 5th grader read 20 minutes a day, he has an IEP and worked really hard in 4th grade, don't want to stress him out too much. My rising 3rd grader is more advanced for her grade level, so she has a tutor for reading and writing. and can handle the extra work, she also reads 20 minutes a day. She is learning her multiplication and maybe division. My kids don't like it, but it's not their choice. And my husband and I know that it will make things easier for them in the fall. They have hours and hours of time for camp, video games, TV and the pool, vacation to the beach, amusement park and whatever fun non school activties. |
Anonymous
| Rising 6th grader is doing two math packets (one math problem in each packet every weekday) and rising 3rd grader is playing the 24 Game to speed up multiplication and division skills. Each of them are also reading at least 30 minutes a day. |
Anonymous
| Honestly...no. They love to read, but I am not making them do anything otherwise. Life is too short to spend our summertime on workbooks. We'd rather travel, explore DC, dig in the yard, spend time at the pool, play lots of board games and let the kids get bored enough that they have to figure out what to do. |
Anonymous
| i like "the bored enough they have to figure out what to do" comment. that is when my son invented a pulley system to turn off the light switch from his bed. |
Anonymous
|
Kids' school gives a summer math packet. One page a week of that.
They practice their math facts (times tables for the older grade schooler, addition for the younger) for about 5 minutes a night and do one page of handwriting practice. They like to read, so I don't have to assign that. |
Anonymous
Exactly! My kids are teaching themselves how to knit, baking, bird watching, learning morse code, and just playing together. There is nothing more important. |
Anonymous
| Third grade teacher here. We don't give our students homework during the summer. We encourage them to participate in a reading program through either the school or public library. My own child, a rising 7th grader, does have a math packet to complete for his school and is encouraged to read a couple novels during the summer. |
Anonymous
| A math packet? I would throw that right in the trash. It's summertime. The only academic work being done is reading. She has some math drill games on her ipad. If she wants to play those she can, but she is outdoors running around, in the pool swimming, cooking in the kitchen, and living life. |
Anonymous
It is required for many FCPS students. So you would still throw it in the trash because "it is summertime?" |
Anonymous
| 15:21 here. The worksheets take no more than an hour each day. She usually knocks it out in the morning after breakfast. The rest is free time playing outside, swimming, camp, reading, baking, or whatever she finds entertaining, mostly on her own with little parental involvement. We also travel extensively with her (worksheets are great time killers on the plane and in the car), go to DC and explore, have playdates, play cards, etc. There is no deprivation of summertime fun, that's for sure. It's only an hour each day, oftentimes less when she's really motivated to zip through them to get back to watching kitten videos on YouTube! Lol. How much leisure time does a kid need? |
Anonymous
|
As a teacher, it's probably a good idea to do a few things, reading, basic math. It's all about pacing, and doing a bit at a time. Interesting article on this issue:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-17/how-summer-is-making-u-s-kids-dumber-and-fatter.html |