FCPS - No homework in Elementary???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I've read about studies that indicate homework increases the achievement gap.

So they should get rid of it then. Like that would help. UMC parents would make their kids do work anyway.

we have workbooks for DS if he doesn’t have homework. He does his reading, he does 10 minutes of writing. I might need to look into some spelling options. My spelling is horrible and I would prefer he not be like me in this area.

After 30 minutes of homework/workbooks, he can play on his iPad or video games.

Before some folks freak out, we stop at the park to play with friends 2-3 times on the way home from school. He loves his Cub Scouts and Baseball. He is outside and active and playing after school. He comes in and does his workbook and reading while I am making dinner.

Between his reading and language practice we rarely use the workbook. He is not overwhelmed and fully capable of doing what is asked. He just used some of his own money to buy a series of books that he wants. I was going to take him to the library to check them out, he wanted to own them, he used saved money for them. So I think he is fine.

Maybe you aren't the best teacher. Schools do teach this, just not the same as the way you were taught. Which sounds like a good thing.

Our Teacher flat out said they would not be teaching spelling. They want kids to use their vocabulary and not worry about spelling things properly. This sounds great except that DS knows that he is not spelling things properly and will only use words that he can spell correctly. So his writing at school is boring and we spend time at home working on spelling the words that he wants to use, which I am fine with. When we remind him that his teacher is not worried about spelling, because she keeps emphasizing that with the parents, he goes through his books to find the word that he wants to spell so he can spell it properly. He figured out Alexa last year so the spelling for anything he writes has sped up but he is not learning the rules surrounding spelling.

This started in Kindergarten when he would draw pictures and add labels. He would wait for me to go to the bathroom so he could label the things he knew he could spell and be done because the instruction to spell based on the sounds you hear drove him crazy.

That’s awesome. I love that he seems passionate about learning something. You never know where a spark like that will come from.

[Anonymous]

Moved my kid to Catholic. Public not rigorous enough. They are teaching to the lowest common denominator. And the SOLs.

[Anonymous]

My gosh - our FCPS has given homework out since Kindergarten. And a lot of it. I would love a no homework policy! You can clearly see what/how your child is doing from the work they send home every week. Our kids are busy at home playing, sports, dance, music, cooking, etc. I hate when I have to nag them to do their homework. Especially since they've been working so hard all day at school already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HW in ES should not be graded but should be assigned and expected. It does kids a total disservice not to help them build up a practice /habit of doing school work for extended periods of time to prepare for MS.

Our FCPS also has no HW and pretends that reading is HW. After K or at most 1st I would not say that is at all the same thing.

Kids aren't as dumb as you think. They can develop a homework habit starting in MS.

+1 it takes minimal time to develop a habit. They don't need to do practice homework for years just to learn the concept.

[Anonymous]

School dependent. My FCPS school has aquite a bit of homework. Too much.

[Anonymous]

I hated the amount of homework my kid had in 3rd grade. Every night (and part of the morning) was hours of science, math, social studies & reading that he agonized over.

I'm perfectly fine with homework but it definitely felt excessive. After enduring this for most of the school year, I reached out to the teacher because I thought she would be interested in knowing what this was like at home every night. Her response was to tell the entire class that homework was much more work for her than it was for them.

I would be thrilled with a no homework policy but happy with a reasonable amount.

[Anonymous]

This year my 4th grader seems to have a weekly homework, a few pages, I like it. Daily homework is too much for us since some days the kid has sport practice and other things going on, weekly homework is a nice balance - it enforces the concept of practicing at home and also provides scheduling flexibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I've read about studies that indicate homework increases the achievement gap.

So they should get rid of it then. Like that would help. UMC parents would make their kids do work anyway.

we have workbooks for DS if he doesn’t have homework. He does his reading, he does 10 minutes of writing. I might need to look into some spelling options. My spelling is horrible and I would prefer he not be like me in this area.

After 30 minutes of homework/workbooks, he can play on his iPad or video games.

Before some folks freak out, we stop at the park to play with friends 2-3 times on the way home from school. He loves his Cub Scouts and Baseball. He is outside and active and playing after school. He comes in and does his workbook and reading while I am making dinner.

Between his reading and language practice we rarely use the workbook. He is not overwhelmed and fully capable of doing what is asked. He just used some of his own money to buy a series of books that he wants. I was going to take him to the library to check them out, he wanted to own them, he used saved money for them. So I think he is fine.

Maybe you aren't the best teacher. Schools do teach this, just not the same as the way you were taught. Which sounds like a good thing.

Our Teacher flat out said they would not be teaching spelling. They want kids to use their vocabulary and not worry about spelling things properly. This sounds great except that DS knows that he is not spelling things properly and will only use words that he can spell correctly. So his writing at school is boring and we spend time at home working on spelling the words that he wants to use, which I am fine with. When we remind him that his teacher is not worried about spelling, because she keeps emphasizing that with the parents, he goes through his books to find the word that he wants to spell so he can spell it properly. He figured out Alexa last year so the spelling for anything he writes has sped up but he is not learning the rules surrounding spelling.

This started in Kindergarten when he would draw pictures and add labels. He would wait for me to go to the bathroom so he could label the things he knew he could spell and be done because the instruction to spell based on the sounds you hear drove him crazy.

Yes, that's kindergarten...

He is in second grade now and the Teachers in first, last year, and second have been discussing how there is no reason to teach spelling.

What I see happening is that starting in 2nd teachers edit spelling in writing more. I think it's a good approach. Kids who need spelling taught (beyond picking it up by reading) don't respond well to spelling tests/bees etc and the kids who pick it up by reading don't need it taught except through editing advice while writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At which McLean elementary school are you located? I thought the only two with no homework policies were Timber Lane and Haycock.

Haycock absolutely does NOT have a no-homework policy. DS (3rd grade) has had weekly homework packets every year - it's meant to be 20-30 minutes each night but last year he occasionally ended up spending a couple hours of his weekend (it was due Monday). Fortunately this year it's due on Fridays so he is scot free on the weekends.