If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#21
|
|||
|
|||
Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.
In article , Stephanie says...
"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message ... Barbara wrote: Banty wrote: In article .com, Barbara says... SNIP I think homework for 5 yos is awful. So I'm not much help. Yeah - I think she should involve herself right to the school board. Banty A lot of 5 year olds are in first grade (school districts like NYC with a 12/31 cut-off; do any school districts still have a 1/31 cut-off?). No I'm referring to homework being given at such a young age. I admit I was being flippant.. Banty I knew that! It's just that when people refer to 5 year-olds, I think most people think kindergarten. But in school districts with later cut-off dates, that's not the case. NYC still has a 12/31 cut-off, so there's a lot of 5 year olds in first grade. When I was a kid in Philly, the cut-off was 1/31, so first grade was 1/2 over before I turned 6. While I don't advocate a lot of homework for first graders, I don't find it unreasonable, either. I do. There's precious little evidence supporting the notion that homework for early elementary does *anything* useful. Encourage reading at home. Send home a list of spelling words for the week. But don't load them up with daily homework in first grade. It's just flat out ridiculous, and ultimately, I believe it has a lot of negative unintended consequences. Best wishes, Ericka I don't understand the concept of getting ready for 3rd and 4th grade homework in kindy and 1st grade. But that's just me. (Or then it isn't since I've seen such articles on the 'net). Especially if you consider that the given reason for homework in the 3rd and 4th grade, absent any evidence that it does actual educational good, is that the 3rd and 4th graders need to "develop good homework habits" for later! Some years back when I needed to give a presentation for upper mangement, my second-line manager wanted me to 'dry run' a presentation for him to make sure it'd go OK. My first line manager, on learning that, sceduled a 'dry run' in front if *him* the day before that to make sure the 'dry run' would go OK! aRRRRGH A year or so later, there was a Dilbert strip on exactly that topic. Maybe there are pointy-haired elementary school teachers. Banty |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.
I don't understand the concept of getting ready for 3rd and 4th grade
homework in kindy and 1st grade. But that's just me. (Or then it isn't since I've seen such articles on the 'net). My feeling is that kids need to practice what they've learned. I just don't think it's unreasonable to ask a kid to do ten math problems, write sentences using his spelling words, read a paragraph and answer a couple of questions about it, or perform other simple reinforcing tasks. Obviously, others disagree; we'll have to live with that. Barbara |
#23
|
|||
|
|||
Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.
Michelle J. Haines wrote:
Barbara wrote: It's just that when people refer to 5 year-olds, I think most people think kindergarten. But in school districts with later cut-off dates, that's not the case. NYC still has a 12/31 cut-off, so there's a lot of 5 year olds in first grade. When I was a kid in Philly, the cut-off was 1/31, so first grade was 1/2 over before I turned 6. While I don't advocate a lot of homework for first graders, I don't find it unreasonable, either. The cut-off date in Wyoming is 9/15, so most of our kindergarteners are six here. And Kirk's mother (a school counselor) says that unless the kids are six by -March- (the previous March), she strongly discourages them from sending them to school until the following year. Am I misunderstanding? You mean she thinks they should be 6.5 before kindy starts? Doesn't that make for a lot of 19 year olds graduating from high school, by which time they're really over H.S.? Lesley |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.
Michelle J. Haines wrote: It was kind of a funny moment, really. We homeschool, which my MIL abhors, and I had commented negatively on the local school going to all-day kindergarten. "Our kindergarteners have had full days for several years, and they do just FINE. Most of them are reading by the end of the year!" My kids were in preschool for several years before they went to kindergarten. They wanted full days. One of mine was really disappointed on discovering not only was it not full day, but that because the afterschool program wasn't up to much, it was actually going to BE only a half day. (The other was in a school with a great after-school program, and didn't notice the difference.) I don't know what half-days do for kids these days. Many of them have been accustomed to being in preschool. Many will be in afterschool care anyway, rather than going home. |
#25
|
|||
|
|||
Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.
polzovatel wrote:
Hi, I've got a question about homework for a 5 year old. My opinion is that you should encourage his independence even at this early age ,explain to the child what's needed to be done and how to do it , let him do it by himself as much as possible, leave it as it is if even it's not perfect and help him if he asks for assistance . This is my perspective on it also; My 5 year old gets 2 short assignments on a Tuesday and its due on Friday. Parents are expected to help out and sign off on the assignments. After we go over the instructions, I let her do it as much on her own as I can and help when needed. As far as nitpicking every little thing, I really cringe at that approach. I think its giving the wrong message about learning at this age. Gentle corrections as you go along, or noticing a common error (ie: making an S backwards, etc) and then arranging an activity later to help them master that skill seems appropriate, but giving the message that 'you're doing it wrong, thats not right, do it this way, thats not the way its supposed to be...' in my opinion will not help your child be a better student, it will only lead to frustration, disappoinment in never being good enough, etc. Of course, I have a 5 year old daughter who sort of does this to herself (perfectionist), so I sort of back off of that a lot to let her see that it doesn't *have* to be perfect in most cases, it just has to *be* done the best we know how. Cara |
#26
|
|||
|
|||
Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.
In article ,
Banty wrote: In article . com, Barbara says... Banty wrote: In article .com, Barbara says... SNIP I think homework for 5 yos is awful. So I'm not much help. Yeah - I think she should involve herself right to the school board. Banty A lot of 5 year olds are in first grade (school districts like NYC with a 12/31 cut-off; do any school districts still have a 1/31 cut-off?). No I'm referring to homework being given at such a young age. I admit I was being flippant.. Banty I knew that! It's just that when people refer to 5 year-olds, I think most people think kindergarten. But in school districts with later cut-off dates, that's not the case. NYC still has a 12/31 cut-off, so there's a lot of 5 year olds in first grade. When I was a kid in Philly, the cut-off was 1/31, so first grade was 1/2 over before I turned 6. While I don't advocate a lot of homework for first graders, I don't find it unreasonable, either. I don't think it's reasonable or necessary in 1st grade. Banty I'll go further: I think that homework before about 4th grade is just plane evil, and ought to be completely done away with. There is NO evidence, anywhere, that homework before that does any good whatsoever, and for some kids it just sets them up for homework being a constant struggle. -- Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care |
#27
|
|||
|
|||
Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.
In article ,
Banty wrote: In article , Stephanie says... "Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message ... Barbara wrote: Banty wrote: In article .com, Barbara says... SNIP I think homework for 5 yos is awful. So I'm not much help. Yeah - I think she should involve herself right to the school board. Banty A lot of 5 year olds are in first grade (school districts like NYC with a 12/31 cut-off; do any school districts still have a 1/31 cut-off?). No I'm referring to homework being given at such a young age. I admit I was being flippant.. Banty I knew that! It's just that when people refer to 5 year-olds, I think most people think kindergarten. But in school districts with later cut-off dates, that's not the case. NYC still has a 12/31 cut-off, so there's a lot of 5 year olds in first grade. When I was a kid in Philly, the cut-off was 1/31, so first grade was 1/2 over before I turned 6. While I don't advocate a lot of homework for first graders, I don't find it unreasonable, either. I do. There's precious little evidence supporting the notion that homework for early elementary does *anything* useful. Encourage reading at home. Send home a list of spelling words for the week. But don't load them up with daily homework in first grade. It's just flat out ridiculous, and ultimately, I believe it has a lot of negative unintended consequences. Best wishes, Ericka I don't understand the concept of getting ready for 3rd and 4th grade homework in kindy and 1st grade. But that's just me. (Or then it isn't since I've seen such articles on the 'net). Especially if you consider that the given reason for homework in the 3rd and 4th grade, absent any evidence that it does actual educational good, is that the 3rd and 4th graders need to "develop good homework habits" for later! Some years back when I needed to give a presentation for upper mangement, my second-line manager wanted me to 'dry run' a presentation for him to make sure it'd go OK. My first line manager, on learning that, sceduled a 'dry run' in front if *him* the day before that to make sure the 'dry run' would go OK! aRRRRGH A year or so later, there was a Dilbert strip on exactly that topic. Maybe there are pointy-haired elementary school teachers. Banty I think more likely pointy haired school boards . . . -- Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care |
#28
|
|||
|
|||
Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.
Lesley wrote:
Am I misunderstanding? You mean she thinks they should be 6.5 before kindy starts? Doesn't that make for a lot of 19 year olds graduating from high school, by which time they're really over H.S.? I think I misspoke. She thinks they should be 5.5 by the time they start Kindergarten. I was thinking six, because under the 9/15 rule, our oldest daughter would have turned six a few weeks after that. Our first son and most recent daughter would turn six about a week after that (birthdays of 10/19, 9/22, and 9/24 respectively). So I tend to think of "starting age" of kindergarten as six. Michelle Flutist |
#29
|
|||
|
|||
Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.
polzovatel wrote: Hi, I've got a question about homework for a 5 year old. My opinion is that you should encourage his independence even at this early age ,explain to the child what's needed to be done and how to do it , let him do it by himself as much as possible, leave it as it is if even it's not perfect and help him if he asks for assistance . My husband seems to think that he's got to stand behind his back all the time, point out every time when he does not form a perfect letter, rub it out and ask him to do it again and again... I think from such an experience the child might just hate the whole process in the future or alternatively expect detailed instructions and approvals from us when he's much older. Any views? I think it depends on the child. If he is able to complete work himself and you are both happy with what he produces then he doesn't need to be helped. However, if he needs encouragement to sit down and focus on a single task then you'll need to sit with him while he learns to work independently. It also depends on his level of perfection. Some children may be keen to get apsolutely everything correct and beautiful. Some may be able to do this, while others may find it very frustrating and may need you to step in to point out that they've done well or worked on a task long enough. It also depends on the school policy. Do they expect perfect work, or at this stage are they more keen to see that the child has spent 30 minutes working on something independently? My son is 6. At this age I think learning homework practices is more important than the actual work he's doing. I want him to learn that it's important he sits somewhere quietly and spends some time focussing on the work. So, we decide when the homework will be done, sit together and read through the task then discuss how it will be done. Some work requires me to sit with him, while other tasks he can do himself. But I always ask him whether he'd like me to help. I don't want him to sit struggling while I'm cooking dinner, but want him to know that I'm there 100% if he needs me. When he's finished I praise him, then depending on what the task is I either ask him whether he'd like me to show where he's made a mistake or I tell him I'm going to go over it with him (say if it's a task I know he finds challenging). I make sure he knows that I think he's done a great job, but that his teacher will be even more pleased if she can see that he's worked that extra bit harder to get it right. I always note down when I've helped him so his teacher knows how much input I've given. Mary Ann |
#30
|
|||
|
|||
Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.
In article ,
"Welches" wrote: We were told that they should be doing about 40 minutes of homework a week, which sounds a lot to me. That sounds ghastly! I've been going to Kinder Orientation (DS1 starts school next year -- February for us) and we have been told that the kindergartners will not get homework for at least the first half of the year; they are learning so much that they will be exhausted when they get home. And she wasn't speaking of the intellectual rigours of the curriculum, but of getting used to bells, lining up, lunchboxes, uniforms, working in a group of 20 or a group of 6, working alone, keeping quiet in class, making friends, etc. -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) "In Melbourne there is plenty of vigour and eagerness, but there is nothing worth being eager or vigorous about." Francis Adams, The Australians, 1893. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Child Support Guidelines are UNFAIR! Lets join together to fight them! | S Myers | Child Support | 115 | September 12th 05 12:37 AM |
misc.kids FAQ on Breastfeeding Past the First Year | [email protected] | Info and FAQ's | 0 | June 30th 05 05:28 AM |
Private child welfare group making strides after one year | wexwimpy | Foster Parents | 0 | March 12th 05 10:48 PM |
Time Article - What Teachers Hate about Parents (x-posted) | Rosalie B. | General | 528 | March 4th 05 02:46 AM |
misc.kids FAQ on Breastfeeding Past the First Year | [email protected] | Info and FAQ's | 0 | July 29th 04 05:16 AM |