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Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.



 
 
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  #11  
Old November 9th 05, 06:16 PM
Ericka Kammerer
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Default 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?


Ask the teacher what he or she expects. It's
a very tough line to walk. On the one hand, you don't
want to get suckered into doing every bit of homework
with him every time forever and ever. You want to
foster some independence, and you also want the teacher
to see a reasonably accurate reflection of his abilities
and understanding. You also have to have a limit on
how much you nag them to correct something. If they've
made a reasonable effort, then back off and let it
stand, even if it's not perfect.
On the other hand, there is often an expectation
that parents will be heavily involved in homework. My
experience is that they don't really do much in the
classroom ensuring that they learn to form their letters
properly, and if you don't step in to some degree,
they're *royally* screwed in third grade when they
try to move to cursive because they're forming all
their letters improperly. You do need to be aware
of what's going on with the homework and make sure
that there aren't areas where he's not developing
the skills he'll need.

Best wishes,
Ericka

  #12  
Old November 9th 05, 06:36 PM
Caledonia
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Default Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.


Ericka Kammerer wrote:

On the other hand, there is often an expectation
that parents will be heavily involved in homework. My
experience is that they don't really do much in the
classroom ensuring that they learn to form their letters
properly, and if you don't step in to some degree,
they're *royally* screwed in third grade when they
try to move to cursive because they're forming all
their letters improperly.


I'm in complete agreement with this hand, and confess I will fall into
the trap of the 'erase it and do it over' role w/r/t DD1's homework.
Her penmanship is not great, and she still will write 5's and 2's
backwards. This was fine, until they started having math homework (1st
grade), where answering 5+7 = 15 (backwards 2) was not cool. I remember
days and days of having to write circles, then vertical lines, then
letter a, d, b, c, q, g and so on -- those days, AFAIK, are about as
likely as kids still having a nap in 1/2 day kindergarten. So...I give
her penmanship homework, big meanie that I am, and she's pleased that
her teacher (who has a very hands-off approach to penmanship, except
w/r/t math) has commented on her improvement. But heavens, did they run
out of time to reinforce penmanship -- just for the sake of
legibility, even -- in the elementary grades?

Caledonia

  #13  
Old November 9th 05, 06:40 PM
Barbara
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Default Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.


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.

Barbara

  #14  
Old November 9th 05, 06:45 PM
Circe
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Default Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.

Ericka Kammerer wrote:
snip
You also have to have a limit on
how much you nag them to correct something. If they've
made a reasonable effort, then back off and let it
stand, even if it's not perfect.
On the other hand, there is often an expectation
that parents will be heavily involved in homework.

snip

All of my kids' teachers have made no bones about the fact that they
expect parents to correct the homework and ensure that it is done
properly before it is turned in. They have told me that the reason they
want us to correct the work is that if the child does it incorrectly
and is not corrected, he/she will "pattern" the incorrect
answer/technique and have a harder time learning the correct one. This
remains the case even for my third-grader. Sigh
--
Be well, Barbara

  #15  
Old November 9th 05, 06:46 PM
Nikki
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Default Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.

Caledonia wrote:

But heavens, did they run out of time to reinforce
penmanship -- just for the sake of legibility, even -- in the
elementary grades?


Not in our school. I don't think they do the circles and lines thing (I
remember that too ;-) but the teacher is upfront that she is pretty strict
about getting the letters and numbers right, etc. She does not expect us to
work on that at home necessarily but it is focused on at school. My son is
6yo and in first grade...and has a hard time with penmanship.

--
Nikki
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
EDD 4/06


  #16  
Old November 9th 05, 06:50 PM
Ericka Kammerer
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.

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
  #17  
Old November 9th 05, 06:51 PM
Michelle J. Haines
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Posts: n/a
Default Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.

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.

Of course, now the kindergarten programs are full-day, not half-day, and
the curriculum is probably half-way through what I did in first grade or
so when I was in school.

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!"

I didn't, and haven't, pointed out to her that's because she -redefined-
a kindergartener to nearly first grade age.

Michelle
Flutist

  #18  
Old November 9th 05, 07:36 PM
Banty
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Posts: n/a
Default Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.

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

  #19  
Old November 9th 05, 09:45 PM
Cathy Kearns
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.


"Barbara" wrote in message
ups.com...
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.


My children go to school in a small district where the cutoff is 12/2.
There is no homework in kindergarten at all, or in first grade until after
the 1st of the year. And then homework is limited through junior high.
Despite this the district tests extremely well, some say best in the state
of California. So at least you know they aren't starting homework young to
improve their standardized test scores.


  #20  
Old November 9th 05, 10:15 PM
Stephanie
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Posts: n/a
Default Homework for a 5 year old - how much involvement needed.


"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).


 




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