School Aged Chidlren

kitty

I am wondering when do you make your kids do their homework?

As soon as they get home from school?

After dinner?

another time?



My daughter comes home and goes straight out to play with her friends and we do homework after dinner, but I know she is tired and focus. My neighbor makers her son do it as soon as he gets home and he grumbles I just finished school why can 't I relax..... so it got me to thinking when is the best time??

EMG_REL

Obviously my kid isn't school-aged yet, but when I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to do anything until my homework was finished. It was just a fact and became a routine. I wasn't the kind of kid who would complain, though, because I prided myself on doing well in school. As an adult, I'm grateful that my parents set in me a foundation of "work first, play after".

coryandamanda

My daughter's school sends home a calendar with the homework for the month. (At least for K-3 i think) We do most of it over the weekend because we don't have alot of time during the week. Monday Wednesday Friday she gets out of school at 3:15 and has gymnastics from 4:30-7:30. Bed at 8:30. With a regular kid's schedule though i would give about 30 minutes to have a snack/play and unwind. Do homework. Then if time allows they get more play time. That way they get a little break, but then they have incentive to not dilly dally and get the homework done and have more free time.

fisch

Jack goes to after school care until I pick him up around 5:30. He does his homework there. However we still review his homework with him after dinner, read, and practice spelling. His kindergarten is kind of intense. He has homework Monday-Thursday. I'm grateful it is mostly done when we get home because he tired. Some nights he only has 5 minutes of stuff to do, and some nights he has 30.

Shanny

I just can't believe all these young kids have homework! Not looking forward to this!

TheOtherLovingMoms

When my son was in a B&M school I would give him a snack and let him play for about an hour before he did his homework. Now we don't have to worry about homework since he is homeschooled and graduating this year!!

scorpiogrl7

My kid is obviously bot in school yet either, but when I was a kid I came home, hanged into comfy clothes, had a snack and got 30 minutes to unwind/watch a TV show then had to do homework. It had to be done by dinner time .

old mama

When all my other children were young they came home from school, had a snack and did their homework then were free to do what they wanted...it worked the very best...

But, my youngest is now in second grade from preschool on that kid is grumpy and stressed at the end of the day. He doesn't hate school but needs to unwind...He really doesn't want anyone to even talk to him much until he can unwind. So he gets his much needed snack and I try to reel him in later. It is much, much harder to get the homework done because it comes to a point in the evening that we have to stop what we all are doing to focus on homework. It will get worse next year. I remember with my older children 3rd grade really laid on the homework.

sara291

Ours changes a lot but typically z comes home to play & then home work before dinner. He has quite a bit. It is sent home Mon & due Fri though we do it how it best fits the family. He has a book to read each night, tons of sight words & 2 pages basically of some sort if reading or math work. I do not like him coming right home & getting to work. At 5 I want to make sure he has lots of just being a kid time. I can also tell he needs breaks & coming home to just sit & do more work is not going to help him overall. I've been hearing though the kindergardeners have more home work then many 2nd & 3rd graders. If z is having a hard week we often don't get it all done but we try or I save it for the weekends. Especially with this lovely weather we go right outside & play, then he sits at the table doing home work as we finish making dinner & then I try tossing in his reading book and sight words at bedtime.

Kari

Well, growing up I didn't have homework until 6th grade and got to choose when I wanted to do it. I was a very conscientious student but often chose to do it after dinner. As a teacher and parent I advise parents to let their kids play for a good hour after school. They need to unwind and relax a bit. If they have so much homework they can't get it done after dinner you should be talking to the school about the amount. It should be 10 minutes per grade, per night, maximum. And we have some parents who send in a note at the beginning of the school year that says their child will not be completing any homework that year because home is time for family, not more schooling. (Board member's children!) Love it!

TheOtherLovingMoms

I agree with Kari. 10 minutes per grade per night. That is what has always been told to me before I started homeschooling. If they have more than 10 minutes of homework a night then something needs to be said to the teacher.

SpermShopper

For years, throughout elementary, my daughter would come in and get started on her homework right away without me telling her, sometimes in class or on the school bus. Of course, this comes from a routine we have had in place. I would always have her do homework first; I think she just got in the swing of things and what was expected of her.

However, in the past over year and half since she started middle school, she comes in extremely tired and hungry. They eat lunch very early before 11a.m. She gets home around 4:30p.m and seems to be starving and grumpy, so routine has changed. I started having dinner ready when she gets home or by 5p.m whenever possible. She comes in, runs to the bathroom, and eats dinner while relaxing. Then she gets started on homework. Following homework, she gets to relax and does something fun. When it’s not possible to have dinner ready by 5p.m, she usually grabs a snack, takes an early shower to unwind before dinner, have dinner, and follows with homework. She does her chores just before bedtime.

I find enforcing homework when a child is tired and hungry doesn't go as well; which is understandable. I believe when a child is relaxed and fed, they are able to concentrate and stay on task, and overall learn and perform better. This is what works for our family and you will find what works for yours.

fisch

Kari I completely believe in the same homework philosophy. So much so that we are switching schools next year. The new school has very little homework, and a much more holistic approach to learning. After watching the race to nowhere and reading tons on the topic I am a true believer in thenon homework philosophy and eliminating stressors we put on kids when it comes to academics.

Zen

Shiloh gets very little homework in pre-K and I have been told there will be none at all in kindergarten. My 12 year old does his when he comes home from school Mon-Thurs. Because I have someone at my house Mon-Thurs. The weekends are a bit of a struggle because without my telling him to do the work and sitting him at the table, it does not happen. Similarly, my 15 year old always claims to have finished all her work but then when I go online to check assignments listed and ask to see ... it's another story. My exchange student on the other hand is the perfect model of an overachiever. He does his homework as soon as he comes home and has to be stopped from obsessing about long-term assignments that can be done over a period of time!

When Shiloh gets older, I am definitely planning to condition her to think "homework first, play second." It will just make things easier all around!

kitty

WIth all the focus on the core now instead of no child left behind. The amount of homework my child since kindergarten has been overwhelming.
She has 20 minutes of reading, 2 pages of math then she has a writing assignment and for the past week she has had an art project to work on too.
She is 3rd and this is the first year no spelling test otherwords she would have spelling words to study too.

Its hard cause my husband is blind so the work falls 100% on me plus I work full time.

Like tonight, she had soccer until 7 I came home, cooked dinner thru her in the shower and its 745 and she is doing math while trying to eat.. she did her reading in the car. She only has soccer 2x a week so its not too much.. but since we have no PE in our schools you have do some type of sports...