Can you ask that a child be exempt from homework?

[Anonymous]

Before everyone starts attacking me, let me explain the situation. My daughter who is in 4th grade has adhd. She is above grade level in reading and makes good grades, but only because I spend A LOT of time supplementing her at home. She has issues with spelling and math that need to be remediated. This year, she is given a weekly spelling test, which we spend a great deal of time studying for, but honestly the word patterns don't make a lot of sense and I would rather, put her on another spelling program that would help her with basics she doesn't have. She is also required to spend four nights a week on a math website, which is a decent website, but personally I have found ways of supplementing her that are even better. She has one more year before she starts middle school, and I have seriously considered homeschooling her next year, except I do feel that she benefits from going to school.
I have absolutely no intention of making this request once she hits middle school, basically I feel that at this age, she benefits more from being supplemented by me, than from doing the homework her teacher assigns, and before I decide to take her out school, I want to know if this is even an option.

[Anonymous]

I told the teacher I would not spend more than 30 mins on HW. I feel it's a good compromise. She practices and gets work sheets done but there is a time limit so it's not a battle.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and I didn't ask. I informed them.

[Anonymous]

I do wonder about that.

The homework gets a lot harder to track in middle school. My ADHD kid is capable of doing the homework but has difficulty with all the administrative aspects of it like bringing the worksheet home and turning it in at the next class period. It gets lost in the bag, left in the locker, or just lost and have no idea where it is. In middle school, homework counts towards the grade.

I am going to ask at the next 504 meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and I didn't ask. I informed them.

Tell me how you did this. I have an advanced degree in education and I am totally against mandated homework for kids under 10 -- but that seems to be the norm in VA. Want to hear from other parents how you messaged this to the teacher and what effect it had.

[Anonymous]

Has she been tested for dyslexia? What kind of things are you doing at home to mitigate the ADHD?

[Anonymous]

I literally just said "We will only be doing 30 minutes of homework. What she doesn't finish will be left undone." If we run out of time I'll write a note at the top of the ws. My teacher said OK and I never had any pushback from her. I also have a degree in Early Education and I'm against homework for young kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I literally just said "We will only be doing 30 minutes of homework. What she doesn't finish will be left undone." If we run out of time I'll write a note at the top of the ws. My teacher said OK and I never had any pushback from her. I also have a degree in Early Education and I'm against homework for young kids.

How old is your child, and does your teacher count this against her in her grades?

[Anonymous]

2nd grade and it does not count. In our school I heard that HW does not count until 5th grade. I'm not sure how I'll handle it at that point.

[Anonymous]

I would think most 4th grade teachers, when presented with all of that, would be just fine with your daughter not doing homework. Just talk to the teacher and let her know your plans and rationale.
And who cares if it effects her grades? It's 4th grade. She won't need to submit her elementary school grades on her Harvard application.
But if you really wanted to be "offiical" you could probably get it included in her 504 or IEP (I assume she has one or the other for ADHD - if not, that's the first step)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would think most 4th grade teachers, when presented with all of that, would be just fine with your daughter not doing homework. Just talk to the teacher and let her know your plans and rationale.
And who cares if it effects her grades? It's 4th grade. She won't need to submit her elementary school grades on her Harvard application.
But if you really wanted to be "offiical" you could probably get it included in her 504 or IEP (I assume she has one or the other for ADHD - if not, that's the first step)

She doesn't have an IEP or 504, her grades are too good, but only because I work with her at home so much. It seems like a double-edged sword. She can only qualify for a 504 if her grades are bad, but if I work with her to make sure they're not, she doesn't qualify.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would think most 4th grade teachers, when presented with all of that, would be just fine with your daughter not doing homework. Just talk to the teacher and let her know your plans and rationale.
And who cares if it effects her grades? It's 4th grade. She won't need to submit her elementary school grades on her Harvard application.
But if you really wanted to be "offiical" you could probably get it included in her 504 or IEP (I assume she has one or the other for ADHD - if not, that's the first step)

I'm really nervous about broaching this, it just seems so entitled and pushy. Would you approach the principal first or go to the teacher?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would think most 4th grade teachers, when presented with all of that, would be just fine with your daughter not doing homework. Just talk to the teacher and let her know your plans and rationale.
And who cares if it effects her grades? It's 4th grade. She won't need to submit her elementary school grades on her Harvard application.
But if you really wanted to be "offiical" you could probably get it included in her 504 or IEP (I assume she has one or the other for ADHD - if not, that's the first step)

She doesn't have an IEP or 504, her grades are too good, but only because I work with her at home so much. It seems like a double-edged sword. She can only qualify for a 504 if her grades are bad, but if I work with her to make sure they're not, she doesn't qualify.

I do hate it that it works like this with the school.
My kid gets decent grades but I also help her a lot too.

[Anonymous]

I think this is fine for ES when most HW is practice/reinforcement. However, I teach MS (home with sick kiddo) and I only assign HW for preparation for tomorrow's lesson or completing projects. If my 6th graders don't do the assignment, it really hurts them.
My 5th grader has 2-3 hours of HW a night at her private. What we can't complete at night, gets done the next morning before school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is fine for ES when most HW is practice/reinforcement. However, I teach MS (home with sick kiddo) and I only assign HW for preparation for tomorrow's lesson or completing projects. If my 6th graders don't do the assignment, it really hurts them.
My 5th grader has 2-3 hours of HW a night at her private. What we can't complete at night, gets done the next morning before school.

2-3 hours? Jesus