My 5 year old is getting stressed out about homework

[Anonymous]

My daughter gets super frustrated with homework. And anxious to the point of crying if she doesn't finish her work. Apparently the teacher takes away recess from kids who don' t do it. Which I find unfair since a five year old doesn't have complete control over her schedule.

I have been experimenting with setting a timer. Whatever is done is done and we don't do more after that. Any advice on doing the homework while creating a positive environment?

[Anonymous]

1. don't make her do homework. 5 is WAY too young.
2. tell the teacher she won't be doing homework.
3. tell the administration the teacher is taking a recess. that is a completely inappropriate tactic to get kids to complete a useless assignment.

[Anonymous]

I would be taking time off from work and in the principal's office so fast heads would spin. My 5 yr old gets no homework except to "read with someone for 20 minutes a day - it can even be your pet!" and once in a while bring in something for show and tell.

If she were assigned daily dittos I'd have sent a note to the teacher saying my FIVE YEAR OLD has more important things to do like PLAY which is how small children LEARN. And if I heard she was taking away PLAY TIME for that I'd be talking to the principal immediately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would be taking time off from work and in the principal's office so fast heads would spin. My 5 yr old gets no homework except to "read with someone for 20 minutes a day - it can even be your pet!" and once in a while bring in something for show and tell.

If she were assigned daily dittos I'd have sent a note to the teacher saying my FIVE YEAR OLD has more important things to do like PLAY which is how small children LEARN. And if I heard she was taking away PLAY TIME for that I'd be talking to the principal immediately.

Absolutely.


That teacher is very under-educated if she thinks 5 year olds benefit in any way from homework. Her job as a teacher of such a young child is to let them play and learn, not to get them to hate school from the outset.

Can you switch teachers?

[Anonymous]

Kindergarten homework should be completely optional. It has no value at that age. Some kids love it, but it does more harm than good if she's crying over it. In our school district, the teachers are not allowed to take away recess for any reason.

I would complain to the point where the teacher either changes her policy so that homework is optional, and recess is never taken away. Or, the child is moved to another classroom with a teacher who actually likes children.

[Anonymous]

Talk to the teacher. 5 year olds aren't entirely reliable. If the teacher confirms that unfinished homework results in a lost recess, ask if your child attempting the homework, and then you supplying a note saying the homework was attempted but not completed in a reasonable time, would be sufficient for her to keep recess. Start with the teacher before you work your way up.

(There are studies indicating there is no benefit to homework for little kids, but unless you really believe in no homework I wouldn't start on that particular fight.)

[Anonymous]

Is this in public or private? If it's public, the teacher has to be violating a school policy. If it's private, the teacher probably isn't properly trained to teach young children.

[Anonymous]

I'm really struggling getting my 5 year old's K homework done each night. We don't get home until around 6:30. Before he had homework every night, it was a struggle just to get him and my 2 year old fed and ready for bed in time (with a little play time). Now, with homework in the mix, it's crazy. I've had to push bedtime to later.

AND, the winter break homework "packet" was insane! We brought it on vacation with us, but still didn't finish it and had to spend another hour on it after getting back. Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. don't make her do homework. 5 is WAY too young.
2. tell the teacher she won't be doing homework.
3. tell the administration the teacher is taking a recess. that is a completely inappropriate tactic to get kids to complete a useless assignment.

ALL OF THIS.

Kindergarten helps kids get used to the idea of school. We had "homework" which was a couple of activities that were similar to what was done in class. But it wasn't required. Taking recess is not acceptable. If the school tells you that it is, escalate.

[Anonymous]

My kinder son gets about 1 worksheet a night that takes between 2 and 5 minutes to complete (the hardest part is getting him to write his name). We either do it right after dinner or in the morning. If we don't get to it, I don't worry about it. We might do it the next day.. I just send it in when it is complete. I never bother to fill out the reading log- even though we read every night.

Basically, my kid doesn't stress because he sees that I don't stress. He knows that I think its important to do your homework, but that it is also not the end of the world if he doesn't. His teacher seems fine with this method.

Speak with the teacher and make sure you understand the whole picture. Are you sure recess is taken away for not completing homework? That seems like a strange consequence to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm really struggling getting my 5 year old's K homework done each night. We don't get home until around 6:30. Before he had homework every night, it was a struggle just to get him and my 2 year old fed and ready for bed in time (with a little play time). Now, with homework in the mix, it's crazy. I've had to push bedtime to later.

AND, the winter break homework "packet" was insane! We brought it on vacation with us, but still didn't finish it and had to spend another hour on it after getting back. Ridiculous.

^ the packet was over 15 pages long, and asked him to write stuff and do stuff that is really beyond what he is capable of. Some of the instructions I had to read over multiple times because I didn't understand it myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm really struggling getting my 5 year old's K homework done each night. We don't get home until around 6:30. Before he had homework every night, it was a struggle just to get him and my 2 year old fed and ready for bed in time (with a little play time). Now, with homework in the mix, it's crazy. I've had to push bedtime to later.

AND, the winter break homework "packet" was insane! We brought it on vacation with us, but still didn't finish it and had to spend another hour on it after getting back. Ridiculous.

You need to change your schedule if at all possible. That is way too late to be getting home and it's only going to get worse as the children get older. You can also see if your kid can do the homework on his own in daycare after school.

[Anonymous]

Homework is good to start them understanding its an expectation. We got it weekly so you could space it out over the week. Give the kid a snack or meal, then sit down with them and get it done. Do it together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Homework is good to start them understanding its an expectation. We got it weekly so you could space it out over the week. Give the kid a snack or meal, then sit down with them and get it done. Do it together.

Lamest advice ever. If a kindergartener is crying over it every night, it's not going to get done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm really struggling getting my 5 year old's K homework done each night. We don't get home until around 6:30. Before he had homework every night, it was a struggle just to get him and my 2 year old fed and ready for bed in time (with a little play time). Now, with homework in the mix, it's crazy. I've had to push bedtime to later.

AND, the winter break homework "packet" was insane! We brought it on vacation with us, but still didn't finish it and had to spend another hour on it after getting back. Ridiculous.

You need to change your schedule if at all possible. That is way too late to be getting home and it's only going to get worse as the children get older. You can also see if your kid can do the homework on his own in daycare after school.

Different PP but please check your privilege. When my DD was in elementary school I worked 8:30 to 5:30. I could JUUUUUUUST get to her school at 6pm when aftercare ended. Then we took the train home together and got home at 7pm. Her school started at 7:50 so I just made it to work on time - I couldn't have shifted my schedule earlier because then I'd have to wake DD earlier and get her to school earlier, etc. There was no other way to structure her day at all. So please don't just toss out "you have to change your schedule" to someone you don't know.