Homework??

[sabby52]

Anyone else feel their kids homework is too easy?? My son gets so bored with his homework and its a struggle to get him to do it, he loves school and is doing really well (above average in all subjects) but he complains his homework is too easy, I kind of agree with him, his last maths homework was sorting out odd and even numbers up to 20 he is 8 years old and in primary 4 (year 3) this has to be too easy for an 8 year old On a Monday they get a little maths test for homework, it usually has 3 sections with 10 questions in each section, the last one he got he had it done in less than 5 minutes He gets timestables to learn every week and they seem to have stalled on the 4 times tables, my son has known most of the times tables for over a year now so having to write and learn the 4 times tables every night for 3 weeks has to be frustrating for him

Anyone else have this problem?? if so how did you handle it ? should I just let him keep learning at his own pace with me teaching him what he wants or should I encourage him just to do the work set for him? I dont want him being bored but then I dont want him going to far ahead and run the risk of him getting even more bored

 

[OmarsMum]

I have this problem with Omar in math, I had a meeting with his teacher, they have this monster math challenge , there are 12 requirements and it is for py1 & py2 students, Omar ticked them all on assessment (counting by 2s, even and odd numbers, doubles & halves to 10, number bonds to 20.. )

Now they give him more challenging homework sheets, he was given doubles to 20 as in the doubles of 11,12, 13, etc. , the 2nd sheet was creating all addition & subtraction sentences using 5 numbers , and as part of his new monster math challenge he should be able to write numbers upto 20 in letters, know a list of 3D shapes, recognize & read time, divide items to equal groups (intro to division), recognizing halves & quarters of shapes, recognizing the country money. He knows most of the new stuff but they are more challenging than what is assigned for PY1.

I use math whizz app to keep him challenged but I don't pressure him to use it. He already understands the concept of multiplication but his teacher thinks it's too early for a 6 yrs old to memorize time tables

 

[LoraLoo]

Sorry, replied on wrong thread!

I think our homework is just right. They usually get set 2 pieces a week- 2 pages from either their maths book, or spag books, plus spelling/writing.

I find it usually takes us around half an hour which is enough for that age imo.

 

[lindseymw]

Joshua doesn't really get homework. He has spellings to do every week but recently the spellings are so simple. I'm guessing it's due to the run up to SATS, making sure the children have the basics. They have started a small challenge for two children in Y2 (Joshua being one) where they go and see headteacher and she gives them extra spellings, this week it included 'Onomatopoeia.'

He doesn't get any other weekly homework. Each term they get a sheet with 12 tasks on which have to be done by the end of term, ranges from 10 mins writing exercise to building a model. All the tasks relate to the topics they are covering.

 

[tommyg]

I would get him to do what has been set. "if its easy you'll be able to do it double quick". If he wants to do other apps, work books then fine but really I wouldn't push it.

The teacher might have set it as a little revision before moving on.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I dont agree with homework taking ages. I prefer the more creative things for homework like reading and posters. I really hate it whrn they spend ages doing homework x

 

[loeylo]

I agree that it is probably revision. When I'm setting homework for my classes I make sure that they can do it unaided at home. It is to reinforce what it taught in school, and to get them into the habit of setting some time aside each night/week to study.

 

[OmarsMum]

I dont agree with homework taking ages. I prefer the more creative things for homework like reading and posters. I really hate it whrn they spend ages doing homework x

It's not about spending time on homework, it's more about keeping them challenged, we only get 1 math sheet per week, the ones given to the class are too basic like colouring the even numbers, he was too bored and ended up whining while doing it, when he was given the sheet with creating the addition & subtraction sentences he was excited, it didn't take him more than 15 mins to finish it, but at the same time it was challenging as he had to think of a pattern to follow to make sure he doesn't miss one.

He gets creative homework like creating pic collage on the iPad to cover the unit of inquiry they are learning. They were learning about fabrics & materials and each week they had to prepare a pic collage for a specific material assigned by his teacher then email it to her.

He gets 2 books per week but again for him they are boring as he has to move up one band at a time although he reads chapter books at home.

We also get a spelling sheet, but for him it is basic he even refuses to practice it daily & he leaves it to the day before the spelling test!

For us it's more about creating a balance while keeping him challenged, I don't want to sit at home & teach him new stuff, this is why I asked his school for advice and they were very helpful.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Ah, I just think its unnecessary.

 

[Natsku]

Creating collages on the iPad to learn about materials and fabrics? How can they learn about them if they aren't touching and using the actual material and fabric? That sounds weird to me. Technology has its place in learning but not to replace actual tactile learning.

 

[OmarsMum]

Creating collages on the iPad to learn about materials and fabrics? How can they learn about them if they aren't touching and using the actual material and fabric? That sounds weird to me. Technology has its place in learning but not to replace actual tactile learning.

They get real materials at school and we send some from home, and they also go to trips as part of their learning process. They prepared several material boards at school.

The pic collage is to think of new objects made of different materials like rubber, metal, glass, plastic, fabric etc.

 

[LaughOutLoud]

DD gets homework every week. Some times it's not much but others it's so intense an they do expect parents to help. So over holidays they get projects to do- I feel like it's way too much for a 6yr old an especially that they want parents to be involved. This is with weekly reading.

 

[sabby52]

Thanks for all the replies. My son is the type of child that likes to be challenged if the work is too easy he gets bored and moans about doing it I never push him into doing anything, he asks to do stuff, for example his timestables, his class didn't start learning the tables until after Christmas this year my son asked me last year could he learn them, he asked so I went ahead and taught him, to be honest I really thought they would have started learning them last year in school recently he has been asking me to teach him division, they have started basic division in school but he seems to need to be challenged a bit more. His reading I don't worry about, he gets one reading book a week and has that finished on a Monday or Tuesday evening so then he just reads what he wants (he is 2-3 years ahead in his reading and seems to be a very, very fast reader, his teacher thought he was skimming the books so set him a test on a couple he had read and he had read every word, his teacher was surprised because one of the books had 150 pages and was set for 2 weeks reading my son had it finished by Wednesday evening and could answer every question he was asked )
I really don't want to let him go to far ahead but then I don't want him getting bored He has lots of maths apps that he loves and he gets a science magazine every month which he is fascinated with.
I did have a word with his teacher about it and he said that my son is one of the highest for maths in his class and is the highest for Literacy, he said his comprehension and language is well beyond his years but he also said that he didn't want him going to far ahead incase he became bored in school.

 

[LoraLoo]

The last bit makes no sense at all, does it?
What a bright boy though x

 

[sabby52]

The last bit makes no sense at all, does it?
What a bright boy though x

He said if I work with him at home and let him go too far ahead then he will be repeating the same work in school and will probably end up getting bored. He said he wouldn't give him extra work as he already has 4 different level groups in the class and if he let Dec go ahead he would have to make up different work for him which would mean a class with 5 different levels. Sorry I should have explained that

 

[LoraLoo]

Ah that makes a little bit more sense.
We had a boy at school who was really gifted, he was actually a bit of a bugger because he just found everything so easy, it was notning for him, he got bored really quickly and would end up distracting the rest of the class. Was forever in trouble lol.
They ended up setting him INdividual work to the rest of the class x

 

[sabby52]

Oh my goodness that sounds like my son although my son is far from gifted At his last parent teacher meeting we were told about how he likes to roam around the class, his finishes his work then goes for a walk waiting for everyone else to finish He can hold 2-3 conversations at the same time and still be listening to the lesson so he is distracting his friends but still listening to everything that is being taught. I do have to say though he is never in trouble and him and his teacher now have a secret look, if my son is roaming or distracting his teacher will give him a look and he knows he needs to stop which he does with no fuss.

 

[LoraLoo]

Haha, that made me giggle! Bless him 😊

 

[Quartz]

Oh my goodness that sounds like my son although my son is far from gifted At his last parent teacher meeting we were told about how he likes to roam around the class, his finishes his work then goes for a walk waiting for everyone else to finish He can hold 2-3 conversations at the same time and still be listening to the lesson so he is distracting his friends but still listening to everything that is being taught. I do have to say though he is never in trouble and him and his teacher now have a secret look, if my son is roaming or distracting his teacher will give him a look and he knows he needs to stop which he does with no fuss.

Mine is similar but they get her to help once she has finished her work she can help explain it to the others who are having difficultly. She really enjoys that bit and it reinforces to her exactly how it works. They are often encouraged to do things in mixed ability pairs as well.

I must say though I thought odd and even numbers was on the KS1 syllabus (DD has been doing them for her KS1 YEar 2 SATS) so its seems odd in Year 3.

I can skim read too, I read a 1200 book on holiday in a week and could answer questions about it

 

[Natsku]

Sounds like me and my brother when we were in primary school, I was always asking my parents to give me maths 'homework'. Mum got us some maths workbooks to do in the end which helped and my brother got a special tutor at school to do extra maths with him.

I was always ahead in school but after I did my work I would help others so I didn't get bored too much and trying to teach someone something is a really good way of learning something thoroughly. That might be a way to bypass the boredom issue if you do teach him more at home.