# Do you think chidren get too much homework?



## claire1978

Im interested in peoples views

Im actually getting quite down about it, feel completely drained today and have had a little cry, Ellis comes home with reading which we try and do every night, then theres spellings that he does alone when he wants to, then there is maths worksheets that he gets twice a week and there is never any explaination on it of how to do it and he never seems to know, he struggles tbh and it shows alot at home and the last couple of days he has been saying that he has to make a catapult or something from wood and mentioned nails, Im just clueless, I told him we havent got any wood, he said we need to buy some, now I know this has come from him but Im not gonna go out and buy something when I dont know what Im supposed to do with it. None of this is wrote down in a letter or his homework diary, Ive then got Rhianna who now brings home a reading book and also Jayden to look after too aswell as household stuff etc, all Ellis wants to do when he gets in is chill out and play, hes always tired from school and when i mention homework he just doesnt want to sit down and do it and i dont blame him after 6 1/2 hours at school

Im getting myself all worked up with it, doesnt help that its the time of the month and I could quite easily rip someones head off 

School was never like this back in my day


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## mommyof3co

I would really talk to his teacher. About a week after school started here they had a "curriculum night" where we went and his teacher gave a presentation about how her class would run, things with the school, special dates and all of that. Then she also made sure to mention that if homework is sent home it IS something that has been done in class and they know how but many kids will say they don't once it's time but that they really have. I don't think any teacher would send home something not familiar. But it does sound like communication is lacking. How old is your son? Granted mine is just in 1st grade but we get instructions for every project, we get a weekly newsletter from the school and one for 1st grade, and and explanation for all other homework..he gets homework Mon-Thurs


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## having#4

When our daughter was in grade 2 it seemed like she had an incredible amount of homework every night but now that she is in Grade 5 all she has is 20 minutes of reading, and play a game of math war. Her teacher has stated that this year the only time they will have homework is if they don't finish something during class time. Talk to your childs teacher about the work load and see what they have to say?


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## mandy81

I know how you feel hun, my daughter only just turned 7 and is in primary 3 in school she came home the other night with maths homework sheet, an english homeworks sheet, spellings that she had to read, write and spell, a colouring in sheet (to do with shapes)she had to colour and then her reading,
we sat at the table for 2 1/2 hours :-(, what 7 year old child wants to do that after a long day at school xxx


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## honeybuns72

claire1978 said:


> Im interested in peoples views
> 
> Im actually getting quite down about it, feel completely drained today and have had a little cry, Ellis comes home with reading which we try and do every night, then theres spellings that he does alone when he wants to, then there is maths worksheets that he gets twice a week and there is never any explaination on it of how to do it and he never seems to know, he struggles tbh and it shows alot at home and the last couple of days he has been saying that he has to make a catapult or something from wood and mentioned nails, Im just clueless, I told him we havent got any wood, he said we need to buy some, now I know this has come from him but Im not gonna go out and buy something when I dont know what Im supposed to do with it. None of this is wrote down in a letter or his homework diary, Ive then got Rhianna who now brings home a reading book and also Jayden to look after too aswell as household stuff etc, all Ellis wants to do when he gets in is chill out and play, hes always tired from school and when i mention homework he just doesnt want to sit down and do it and i dont blame him after 6 1/2 hours at school
> 
> Im getting myself all worked up with it, doesnt help that its the time of the month and I could quite easily rip someones head off
> 
> School was never like this back in my day



Oh dear I feel for you love....:hugs:

I too am a mum to three and my youngest is called Ellis. I have the opposite problem to you though cause here in Wales the children have to learn through play in class and no homework till the age of 8 or 9!! Although this sounds great it's not ideal because then I felt that he was behind for his age.......:dohh: My older boys were taught the old fashioned way and both could read and write properly way before Ellis could. This is a new way of learning brought in by the welsh assembly - they say they want to kids to be "kids" for as long as possible and want them to learn in a fun way.....this is all well and good until they get older and then are expected to sit down to read and write for 6 and a half hours in year 3. A lot of kids are finding this tough going......I dont blame them tbh.
Even before this new system came in my boys hardly had any homework in primary school at all - in the last year my son probably had 10 homeworks in the whole of year 6 and so now he's started secondary school is finding it unbelievablely hard going. He's doing his homework for about 2 to 3 hours every night and is already exhausted having being in "big" school all day......he's not a happy bunny I can tell you. Neither am I for that matter cause I have to sit with him making sure he does it properly......:wacko:......if it carries on like this for the next few years I may as well sit the damn GCSE's myself...:rofl:

So I guess what I'm trying to say is hang on in there and try not to get too stressed out about it all.........yeah right I hear ya say:wacko:

xxx


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## honeybuns72

mandy81 said:


> I know how you feel hun, my daughter only just turned 7 and is in primary 3 in school she came home the other night with maths homework sheet, an english homeworks sheet, spellings that she had to read, write and spell, a colouring in sheet (to do with shapes)she had to colour and then her reading,
> we sat at the table for 2 1/2 hours :-(, what 7 year old child wants to do that after a long day at school xxx



OMG are they taking the piss there in Ireland......that's way too much in one night. Like I said in the post above that's more than my son got in a whole month at the age of 11 here in Wales! Don't know why these schools can't find a proper balance -your little one is getting too much and mine was getting hardly any at all which was ridiculous seeing as he has now gone to secondary school and is getting loads of homework every night.......:dohh:

Fancy moving here to Wales then to avoid homework?.......:haha:


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## Dinoslass

I think that is too much homework. I know my niece who is 8 also gets so much and I think it is crazy. 
When I was small we never had homework in primary school, only secondary (we started that at age 12). Nowadays they do get some homework in primary school and I already thought that was ridiculous. Now I am talking about a history sheet to learn once every month and a geography sheet to learn once every two weeks. This is from about 9 years old. So I would say every day homework is too much!!!
I think they should learn at school and be able to play and be a child at home. The homework they do get here is to make them get used to secondary school homework.


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## Minstermind

I'm in Ireland too and my 6 year old has homework every night. Reading a page out of a book they send home, then a list of words from the book to read, then a column of phonics words, and usually 5 or so math problems. He's also learning the tin whistle so practices a bit on that. Fortunately, he is up to speed on reading and maths, so it takes him about 15-20 minutes tops to finish his homework. 

Provided they children are doing ok with the learning in school and well able to handle the homework assignments, I really don't think homework should take any longer than half an hour, particularly at the younger ages. Some children may need extra help learning certain things they are having trouble with, so obviously a little more time might be required...but I certainly, at the very worst end of the spectrum, don't think a youngun's homework should last more than 45 minutes or so. That's just torture after spending a whole day in school already. I'd recommend communication with the teacher for sure.


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## marley2580

Honestly I've never seen the point in homework. Surely kids should be learning in school and then relaxing at home, not bringing schoolwork home. I think we expect too much from kids.


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## leeanne

My daughter is in grade 3 and had a bit of homework in the past only because she had some reading assistance and some speech therapy and we needed to practice. This year, she needs to read a minimum of 15 minutes everyday...no biggie. She also has to do some phonics stuff that is to be done by the end of the week.

Jayden is in grade 1 and is also getting some speech therapy so he needs to practice at home.

However, I do know that it can get worse in later grades and I've heard it in other schools. Not sure how this school will be yet :)


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## leeanne

marley2580 said:


> Honestly I've never seen the point in homework. Surely kids should be learning in school and then relaxing at home, not bringing schoolwork home. I think we expect too much from kids.

And I kind of agree with this!


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## pa2k84

yes


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## Bekkiboo

I hear that they are considering stopping homework altogether because there is no point to it and as a previous poster stated, they should be able to relax at home not bring school home with them, they spend enough time there as it is! X


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## londonbabe

i had loads in primary school and none in secondary


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## steffi2

My son is in 3rd grade and he comes home at 3pm. He has a homework notebook, and in it is written all the assigned sheets he has to do or pages he has to answer per subject that day. It takes him around 45 minutes to finish everything. Then we have the quizzes that are just announced that day for the day after. Sometimes he has 2 to 3 quizzes the next day. There was a time he had 5 quizzes. I had to review him way past his bedtime to finish everything. he goes to a traditional school, and thank God he is doing so well and has received honors almost every quarter. he complains that there is no time for him to do anything else but study. I try to give him a bit of tv time when he gets home, and when we are done reviewing, he gets another hour and a half to play until he eats dinner and then he's off to bed at 7:30 or 8PM. He has to be up at 5am and leaves for school at 6am. Yes, I do think he has too much homework and there is no balance of extra-curricular activities, which we only get to do on Saturdays. I live in the Philippines by the way.


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## Sony72

No doubt about it. I hate homework, kids have long enough days at school. When they get home it should be about family time and winding down, not more work. If they can't get enough done in the long day at school, then either the teaching isn't good enough or too much is being asked of our kids. And most teachers I talk to feel the same way, they hate homework too. This is my favourite rant subject aargh!!


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## morri

hm I know when I was ins chool I never had too much to do. i always had few stuff to do but not too much. same with the other still kids that I know They all have a healhy balance.

(btw what do you do in phonics particularly?)


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## sing&lt;3

I didn't get any homework until I was about 7, and then it built up, although I would definately say that I got more homework in the last year of primary than the first year of secondary for some reason...

I can't remember ever finding it too much, really, although I used to do maybe 2 hours a night between the ages of 9 and 12.. But I was always a studious child, am an only child and had a SAHD who helped me with it, so I'm sure it was easier for me than most children just because of circumstances... The only time I've ever had too much is recently, but obviously you get a lot at A-Level and GCSE :lol:

xx


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## nightkd

marley2580 said:


> Honestly I've never seen the point in homework. Surely kids should be learning in school and then relaxing at home, not bringing schoolwork home. I think we expect too much from kids.

Exactly!! I had issues with homework, we sometimes ended up with great bundles of homework from each class and at one point I was seeing my dad every other weekend...We'd get big worksheets to complete over the weekend so I either missed out on precious time with my dad, or be stressed monday morning when my teacher yelled at me and gave me detention for not finishing my work!! :dohh:

I also used to make the point to my mum - she said "I've been at work all day you should be doing this for ME!!" - I was at school all day then had reams of homework to complete in the evenings and sometimes I really struggled. She actually wouldn't let me do my homework a lot of the time either....I remember having a piece to do for Religious Education on meditating, I had to complete the worksheet saying my mum kept interrupting me every time I tried to do it and said I should be doing stuff for her! Also our maths teacher did NOT want to teach, so we wouldn't do anything in class, and get sent home with homework that we had little clue how to do! I was a smart kid, but it still had me in tears some nights. :shrug:

I personally found it much easier when exams came around, to revise, reading books, making notes etc....I learnt WAY more from that than homework and in some cases the bloomin' lessons!! :dohh:

Anyway, I've got into a rant :blush: I feel very strongly as I feel I missed out on a lot of things due to the poor set up of our school system - teach the basics then leave it up to the kids to go home and struggle through the rest on their own - if they don't learn it's not the teacher's responsibility!! Home time should be exactly that, kids go home, relax, spend time with their families, so they're ready to face another day of school refreshed.


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## Mervs Mum

Up until this year (her 2nd year of GCSEs) I didnt think my daughter got enough.....at her previous school she got 45 mins per evening from age 9 - 11 and I thought that was about right. She usually did it at 'late school' with her teacher before I collected her at 5pm so once she was home she had nothing to do. I warned her that she'd get even more at her next school but this proved not to be the case at first.

I'm glad she got a decent amount because she takes it all in her stride now. She's doing her GCSE's this year (1 year early) and her coursework isnt due in until May and she just had 4 subjects handed back already marked at A*'s.


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## Tegans Mama

I do think that Primary school age children get too much homework. I don't see the point of a 5 year old having homework. I agree with structured play, learning through play etc but believe the homework is unfair.


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## helen1234

i love the idea of homework i'd say rosie doesnt get enough, it prepares them for college and uni, they'll be doing long essays at home then, not ony does homework make sure they are keeping up it teaches them time management and self control, an hour after school is about right, rosie goes to the libary at break time to do hers. primary school she didnt have that much just spellings and timetables really


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## Dizzy321

I do think too much pressure is put on children these days. I dont agree with homework say at the age of 4 or 5 I think leaning through play should be enough at this age. Jack gets a 'splatt pack' every 3 weeks at nursery, we just done his 1st one over the weekend and we had to listen to a nursery rhyme cd, bake some cookies, I had to put a recipe in a book, read 1 book and complete 2 sheets like match the foods, it was quite good & we enjoyed doing it x


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## amazed

My son who is in junior school brings home a lot of homework he is in the lowest groups in school, and really struggles his new teacher this term has been great through and he has been a lot better doing it... for the past 3 week since term began he has had a roman project which is fine exept i didnt go to school (was a rebel from middle school and got ecpelled from high school).... if there is no explanation on how to do it have a look online (i do this often) or ask his teacher what they want you to do OR ask her for ideas, goodluck hun i feel your pain i have been really struggiling with my sons!


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## belladonna

From working in a school I know that a lot of the work is stuff the teacher has run out of time to cover in class. I used to work with kids with special needs and they would be given exactly the same stuff to do as all the other kids, which for some was completely stupid as they were not able to do it themselves so would get into trouble when it wasn't done or their parents would do it for them.


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## swater

I would have a word with the teacher about the level of Maths homework he is getting. Extra work at home does help - especially with Maths as practice and repetition is often required. But it is vital that your child has the basic skills in order to progress to the more advanced maths. I would invest in some software. Look for software that has structured content and is engaging - worksheet simulations will not inspire him. Also make sure it teaches and tests as well as providing in-depth examples and references. 

Your child will improve in time, small steps build up Maths skills and remember to stay positive to avoid your child developing negative feelings about learning Maths.


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## aimee-lou

I went to boarding school and the juniors would get structured prep of no more than 45mins per night, 5 nights a week. Seniors got 1hour 15 minutes in lower senior and 1hr 30 for upper, plus an extra 'study session' on a Sunday of up to 2 hours. Personally, if Earl comes home with more than these levels, partcularly in junior school, I'll be having words.


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## Chloe's mum02

Yes, my daughter who is 8 definately gets too much homework. I feel so sorry for her. She works hard all day and then has to come home and do more work when she is tired and all she wants to do is play and chill out. 

She is so hard to motivate to do it as well and half the time I end up almost doing it for her!! It's easier!!

Amy x


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## kna

Sometimes it feels like they have a lot of homework, but that should not be the norm, because they are supposed to be taught in school with some homework for practice or get up to speed.

I would say check to see the depth of the homework, if it is minor practice on what they learned in school, then that is ok, but if it is extensive work that should be done or covered in school and it is the norm, then you need to speak to the teacher about it and get them to explain to you why the children have to do so much at home after school and if they can share an outline of what they have done in school then you can follow through to understand what has to be done at home.


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## pctvruth

Hi Claire,

There is a selection of films about homework overload on parentchannel.tv which may help.

Hope they do!

Ruth


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