Do your kids use pencils at school K-2?

[Anonymous]

My second grader's school supply list includes 24 sharpened pencils this year and she will definitely use them. She comes home with so much paper. Based on the worksheets she brought home last year from first grade, they're definitely doing writing and math by hand. I know they're also doing it through computer programs (Lexia and ST Math), but they're also working with pencils.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd say half the work is written, half on chromebook.

I wish we could opt out of the chrome book. My kids never had much screen time prior to it.

Odds are his future job will be in front of screens a lot or maybe a little but life has changed.

I’ve gotten through my whole adult life not using cursive writing including high school and college. And way too many people still use their lousy cursive writing that no one can read. I have no problem seeing them go.

Ours started chrome books in 3rd grade. You might think Chromebooks are easy to navigate like an iPad but it takes practice to get optimum skill and speed. Handwriting is secondary to learning as much as possible in a given time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Schools Are Banning Phones. What About Laptops?

Computers in class might actually hurt students.

https://www.washingtonian.com/2025/03/25/schools-are-banning-phones-what-about-laptops/

The article was mentioning their kid was online all day. That’s not typical. Kids use it inappropriately to play games (boys) but that’s not a reason to stop using computers.

What do parents hope to gain by not integrating computers into the school day?

[Anonymous]

I make my kids do worksheets, spellings, writing practice, cursive, multiplication tables and elocution practice at home.

I cannot control what they do in public schools and I have low opinion of private schools in US. So, I use the public schools as a mainstream socializing tool, but, what I need my kids to really learn, it is all happening every single day at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Schools Are Banning Phones. What About Laptops?

Computers in class might actually hurt students.

https://www.washingtonian.com/2025/03/25/schools-are-banning-phones-what-about-laptops/

The article was mentioning their kid was online all day. That’s not typical. Kids use it inappropriately to play games (boys) but that’s not a reason to stop using computers.

What do parents hope to gain by not integrating computers into the school day?

I would ban all computers from elementary school. I can't believe they give Ipads to kindergartners. They ruin kids' attention spans. They present too many tempting distractions (and seem like a complete nightmare for kids with ADHD). I think they're generally associated with lower academic performance. It's all the same reasons why schools ban phones. I want my kids doing everything by hand. They can learn about computers later. There's plenty of time for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I make my kids do worksheets, spellings, writing practice, cursive, multiplication tables and elocution practice at home.

I cannot control what they do in public schools and I have low opinion of private schools in US. So, I use the public schools as a mainstream socializing tool, but, what I need my kids to really learn, it is all happening every single day at home.

Sadly, this view of schools and this approach to instruction is increasingly common in families that value academics. I understand that it really is needed in many cases, but the decline in local public schools academic content (e.g, FCPS) since the 1990s is very sad. I know what I was taught. My kids are not being offered as much actual academic content as I was. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make my kids do worksheets, spellings, writing practice, cursive, multiplication tables and elocution practice at home.

I cannot control what they do in public schools and I have low opinion of private schools in US. So, I use the public schools as a mainstream socializing tool, but, what I need my kids to really learn, it is all happening every single day at home.

Sadly, this view of schools and this approach to instruction is increasingly common in families that value academics. I understand that it really is needed in many cases, but the decline in local public schools academic content (e.g, FCPS) since the 1990s is very sad. I know what I was taught. My kids are not being offered as much actual academic content as I was. Sigh.

And that has nothing to do with computers. I agree to not needing iPads in school. Wait until they can proficiently use Chromebooks, middle school would be ok with me.

We had textbooks back in my day and they were as dry as sand. So boring. I worked with my daughter and her 7th grade geography class on Chromebook. The material is vastly better because of the endless amount of sources for learning the subject. The graphics and videos are a helpful tool for students to retain and understand the content.

Japan for example. They learned the basic facts about Japan, the continent, the people, their government system, the usual. To add to the basics they had points of interest with all the countries studied. For Japan the video was about the fish market. Japan eats about 10% of the fish catch worldwide but are only 2% of the global population.

Japan has a bluefin tuna market that has auctions to buy these massive fish. One tuna was almost 600 lbs and was sold for $1.3 million US dollars. The video was interactive, there aren’t any passive watching like we used to do. At certain intervals the video would stop and ask questions about what they just watched. They couldn’t fast forward or skip any part in order to complete the assignment.

We were talking about Japan a few months later with someone and we both remembered the details of the lesson.

They read real books in English where they all get a copy. They use paper and pencil for math and science. The computer is a valuable tool if used correctly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS here - the new language arts curriculum implemented last year incorporates a LOT of writing, so we've been very pleased. We have an older child and the difference is night and day - it's so much better now.

Agree. We are with FCPS and my kid did a lot of handwriting this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make my kids do worksheets, spellings, writing practice, cursive, multiplication tables and elocution practice at home.

I cannot control what they do in public schools and I have low opinion of private schools in US. So, I use the public schools as a mainstream socializing tool, but, what I need my kids to really learn, it is all happening every single day at home.

Sadly, this view of schools and this approach to instruction is increasingly common in families that value academics. I understand that it really is needed in many cases, but the decline in local public schools academic content (e.g, FCPS) since the 1990s is very sad. I know what I was taught. My kids are not being offered as much actual academic content as I was. Sigh.

And that has nothing to do with computers. I agree to not needing iPads in school. Wait until they can proficiently use Chromebooks, middle school would be ok with me.

It has a lot to do with computers. FCPS mandates so many things be done on line instead of by a teacher engaged with the students. Teachers complain about these requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I make my kids do worksheets, spellings, writing practice, cursive, multiplication tables and elocution practice at home.

I cannot control what they do in public schools and I have low opinion of private schools in US. So, I use the public schools as a mainstream socializing tool, but, what I need my kids to really learn, it is all happening every single day at home.

I got tired of doing all of this. I can supplement one or two subjects, sure, but not everything! There’s no time for sports, music, family time, and we need flexibility in the early evenings. We switched to parochial and just supplement math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I make my kids do worksheets, spellings, writing practice, cursive, multiplication tables and elocution practice at home.

I cannot control what they do in public schools and I have low opinion of private schools in US. So, I use the public schools as a mainstream socializing tool, but, what I need my kids to really learn, it is all happening every single day at home.

Yes, this is the way to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make my kids do worksheets, spellings, writing practice, cursive, multiplication tables and elocution practice at home.

I cannot control what they do in public schools and I have low opinion of private schools in US. So, I use the public schools as a mainstream socializing tool, but, what I need my kids to really learn, it is all happening every single day at home.

Sadly, this view of schools and this approach to instruction is increasingly common in families that value academics. I understand that it really is needed in many cases, but the decline in local public schools academic content (e.g, FCPS) since the 1990s is very sad. I know what I was taught. My kids are not being offered as much actual academic content as I was. Sigh.

And that has nothing to do with computers. I agree to not needing iPads in school. Wait until they can proficiently use Chromebooks, middle school would be ok with me.

We had textbooks back in my day and they were as dry as sand. So boring. I worked with my daughter and her 7th grade geography class on Chromebook. The material is vastly better because of the endless amount of sources for learning the subject. The graphics and videos are a helpful tool for students to retain and understand the content.

Japan for example. They learned the basic facts about Japan, the continent, the people, their government system, the usual. To add to the basics they had points of interest with all the countries studied. For Japan the video was about the fish market. Japan eats about 10% of the fish catch worldwide but are only 2% of the global population.

Japan has a bluefin tuna market that has auctions to buy these massive fish. One tuna was almost 600 lbs and was sold for $1.3 million US dollars. The video was interactive, there aren’t any passive watching like we used to do. At certain intervals the video would stop and ask questions about what they just watched. They couldn’t fast forward or skip any part in order to complete the assignment.

We were talking about Japan a few months later with someone and we both remembered the details of the lesson.

They read real books in English where they all get a copy. They use paper and pencil for math and science. The computer is a valuable tool if used correctly.

Studies show college is pretty much the first time using a computer for more than 10% of the day is remotely possibly helpful to learning.

Studies also show -repeatedly - that paper reading or taking notes from a lecture is better for memory retention. Yes, even those "dry as sand" textbooks. But ideally what Charlotte Mason called "living books," engaging print books that really bring concepts to life. Video...isn't it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make my kids do worksheets, spellings, writing practice, cursive, multiplication tables and elocution practice at home.

I cannot control what they do in public schools and I have low opinion of private schools in US. So, I use the public schools as a mainstream socializing tool, but, what I need my kids to really learn, it is all happening every single day at home.

I got tired of doing all of this. I can supplement one or two subjects, sure, but not everything! There’s no time for sports, music, family time, and we need flexibility in the early evenings. We switched to parochial and just supplement math.

This is my issue too- they are already in school all day! Plus i have a fulltime job myself and am not a teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make my kids do worksheets, spellings, writing practice, cursive, multiplication tables and elocution practice at home.

I cannot control what they do in public schools and I have low opinion of private schools in US. So, I use the public schools as a mainstream socializing tool, but, what I need my kids to really learn, it is all happening every single day at home.

I got tired of doing all of this. I can supplement one or two subjects, sure, but not everything! There’s no time for sports, music, family time, and we need flexibility in the early evenings. We switched to parochial and just supplement math.

This is my issue too- they are already in school all day! Plus i have a fulltime job myself and am not a teacher.

DP and this was us too.

So now my kids are in private. Math comes from a workbook. There are worksheets for history. There are papers for writing. There are weekly spelling tests. There are grammar units. There are whole class novels, which are read aloud in the younger grades. Computer time is mostly (with some exceptions) typing practice for when they start typing more assignments in middle school.

Is it perfect? No. But is it what I want for now? Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make my kids do worksheets, spellings, writing practice, cursive, multiplication tables and elocution practice at home.

I cannot control what they do in public schools and I have low opinion of private schools in US. So, I use the public schools as a mainstream socializing tool, but, what I need my kids to really learn, it is all happening every single day at home.

I got tired of doing all of this. I can supplement one or two subjects, sure, but not everything! There’s no time for sports, music, family time, and we need flexibility in the early evenings. We switched to parochial and just supplement math.

This is my issue too- they are already in school all day! Plus i have a fulltime job myself and am not a teacher.

DP and this was us too.

So now my kids are in private. Math comes from a workbook. There are worksheets for history. There are papers for writing. There are weekly spelling tests. There are grammar units. There are whole class novels, which are read aloud in the younger grades. Computer time is mostly (with some exceptions) typing practice for when they start typing more assignments in middle school.

Is it perfect? No. But is it what I want for now? Yes.

This also is what we do, with a school curriculum either similar or identical to that description.

Honestly, we would homeschool -- for purely academic reasons -- if we could. For us, we need 2 FT out of house jobs to make finances work. So the above is the best we can do right now.