I have a class of kids 9-11 years old and I always have conflict from parents on homework. What do parents like their kids getting? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks

I love homework I DON'T have to do myself. So not general knowledge/research tasks (lol I'm so academically lazy but then I've done my school years already - don't mind helping or explaining stuff though). Best homework in our house is the sheet with a little maths, language, spelling (putting spelling into sentences) and a task - task is often but not always related to the current study topic or current affairs and is research in nature but achievable for his age. We seem to be getting a variation on that formula each year since y3 (age7). Will be interesting to see what happens this year being his final year before intermediate.

Reading only, with some spelling words perhaps.
There is no good reason why kids shouldn't learn everything they need to learn in the hours they are at school.
Home time is for home, and relaxing.
I have never, thank goodness, had one of those sheets with random tasks not related to school work. However, it would send my ire through the roof, teachers should not dictate what kids do or do not do with their time with their families. And anything (other than spelling) that requires parental input, or will be better if the parents end up doing it is also a huge no-no.
Yeah, I'm pretty anti-homework!

Lol HC, so am I. I never punish for non completion of homework.

Thanks for that. A teacher next to me has always used Matrix and loves it. I know I can't please all parents, but I suppose I want something that kids can do on their own, want to do and is easy enough to mark...

I ticked something else, because I prefer there to be no homework. What I hate most is "busy work" - homework given for the sake of it, and that seems to have no learning purpose. And I really really hate homework that requires large amounts of input from me. Homework should be doable by the child, especially when they're older.

If I think homework is a waste of time, I tell DS1 not to do it. I have better things to do with my kids than boring homework.

On the other hand, the last term of school DS1's teacher got them to do a project of their choice every week, 2 pages, including pictures, on anything at all. DS1 loooved it. He learnt more doing those than he had on anything else all year, and he did lots of interesting topics. But I let him do it how he wanted, because they did nothing on it at school, so I figured it was up to him. He kept getting in trouble for not putting borders on the pages. (I simply rolled my eyes...)

We had these. Sheets with things like questions about decimals, when he hadn't even done decimals at school yet. I told him not to do them, and to tell the teacher I wasn't interested in doing his homework. Knowing DS1, he passed this message on.

oh that would hack me off too. Nice to know I'm not the only one who doesn't like homework - it feels like it in our school. Teachers are routinely asked for more homework . HC I agree with all your sentiments around homework - it really is the bane of my life and I do not look forward to fitting in three lots of homework a night over the next many years. It really does eat into our home time! DS1 can usually manage to get his worksheets done on the first evening in an hour but will be a much longer affair with DS2 and probably involving a lot of cajoling and bribing.

As long as it not some random research project that barely fits in with whats being taught in class that the teacher can't be bothered to teach Needs to be practice stuff, not new skills. And if its not going to be acknowledged or marked, don't set it!

Don't ask for much do I

Oh and if you're going to get them to do research tasks, teach them research skills - its not my job to do that, even if I do know how

Research is NOT looking for something on the internet and PRINTING IT VERBATIM

Actually, we got exactly the same thing when J was in Yr 3 in NZ. And it was fabulous! I can't remember exactly how it went, but he needed to do a page or two with title, every two weeks. Some weeks it was a story about what he had done, others he chose to research something he was interested in. It was pretty hard going for me, but that is one precious book! I still have the book when I've chucked out the rest and I got C to do one when he was the same age, in fact we found it yesterday when we were having a massive school room clear out. I'm all sad now because I can't get M to do one.


I've heard of ones where they have to do a few things from a list and it will be things like playing a game with the family, or helping cook a meal or other things that have nothing to do with school and everything to do with impinging on what is parental responsibility. Even if we do that sort of stuff, and we do, I'd still refuse.

LOL I'm so glad I'm not the only homework grinch!

I hate having to fill in those silly reading sheets, you know read each night and fill it in and me sign and eventually they work up to a prize. My kids read all day every day, if i tell the teacher that then that should be enough!

I dont mind them practising spelling words but i like it when they are taken from their writing errors instead of some random list.

When our kids were younger, they enjoyed (if thats the right word!!), doing homework that they had some control/input into.
Also project orientated things, rather than reading and spelling, which hey they're still learning.

When DS was about Y5, the kids all picked a letter of the alphabet out of a container, then had to do a project on something starting with that letter. DS got D, and decided on Disneyland. He did a great project about the history on how it was started, priced up holidays from NZ including airfares, admittance etc. He put a lot of effort into it, cos it was something he was interested in, and wanted to do, rather than being given homework from the teacher. He got a certificate at assembly for it.

This sort of stuff also teaches the kids how to research, which they're going to need to do when they get older.

As a parent, I preferred stuff which gave us a week or so to do. That meant, you could discuss with the kid, when they're (not the parent), going to do it. And they can plan around sports, and other committments. This also helps them learn time management skills, which is a great skill to have.

Sorry, I don't like homework either. I didn't send my children to school for the day only to have them do more school work when they get home!

What is the purpose of homework? Is it mostly to help those who are struggling? Or is it for the parents who like homework?

If the purpose of homework is to help the children who are struggling then I would send relevant homework to those children only (with a standard letter to the parents to make them aware of the purpose of this homework - so hopefully it would get done by the 'anti-homeworkers' ).

If the purpose is to shut up the parents that like homework. I would be sending a letter home to all of your children's parents asking what family would like homework and just send it to those people.

There you go - easy. Thank god I'm not a teacher!

I am anti homework as well and my kids aren't even that age. However my friends DD who is Year 5 this year LOVES homework, loves activities, worksheets, tasks to do and is very motivated. So I think that while encouraging reading is a really good idea and should be definitely part of a homework requirement in some way, maybe providing extra work for children who want to do it and parents can help direct that if they think its important.

I don't want to be doing the homework for my children, I don't mind providing some direction but I don't want to be the one who is doing it all so I do think that homework should be within the capabilities of the CHILD and not assuming that the parent is the one who is leading it all.

I don't know if it happens but I also think that if research is required then the final document has to be in the child's own words and not copied from a text or written by the adult. An important part of learning is rewriting things in your own words and its not enough to just print out something and say its done.

I think though if children are struggling then the parents probably need more assistance from the teacher as to how to help them... I'd have no idea where to start if I was trying to teach DS something the right way and if he was struggling.

Not only that, but it's probably obvious in their work.

I would prefer spelling words that have something in common, a spelling rule or phonogram to learn. DD will get spelling this year, it will be interesting to see what comes home. Her spelling has gone seriously downhill since she started school, she is misspelling lots of words she knows. She told me it's because she rushes to get it done and doesn't stop to think about the rules or proper spelling. If you don't get your work done, you go to catch up club. Better poor spelling than catch up club apparently.


Or even better, send them some guidelines on doing a project and tell them to sort it out their blardy self because teachers have better things to do than create homework for the sake of homework. The kid can bring it to school for show and tell when they are done.

We're not at that stage either. But both boys come home with homework now. We have a weekly task and a reader every night. The weekly homework we do on Mondays takes 20 mins, done while fresh and we often don't do a reader that night. I think you can make homework work for your family.

I also like to do 10-20 mins a day with the boys because I feel like I'm still. I agree that kids should be learning what the need at school but that learning should be supported and consolidated with parents in the home too.

At the start of every year - I make a point of meeting with my kids teachers - and I tell them how much I loathe homework, and they arenot to *punish* to my kids for non-completion.

My kids are BUSY ... they play lots of sports and other activities ... the last thing they need is me sitting them down to do homework.

The read everynight (both with and without us) - and we do their spelling lists ... anything over and above this - is bonus.

No homework is the best kind of homework here !!!

Homework in our house is up to the child. They all have a love of reading so there is no point asking to do more of that. Spelling at the school is very sparodic which is weird. But still, up to the kids if they are allocated it and if they want to do it. We do get term homework which I find painful because it is up to me as the parent to help them with it, but this becomes easier as the child is capable of doing more on their own.

I like your idea, Karla. Might do that myself, tell them at the start of the year what we expect for homework as parents.

My kids have matrix - through the term and projects and daily reading, spelling and maths. The kids do their daily stuff by themselves so its easy. But we like a lot of yopu are busy and are barely home after school - and when we are home I think its just as important to have friends around etc etc

I have 3 kids - so I barely sign anything (although the teachers know they do it).

The project work is the worst as a lot of it involved $$$ and parental involvement. This year the senior school did a pride challenge (4 things per term) - things like volunteer with a parent at the SPCA for term, explore a nature area that you havent been to before, write and perform a song in front of the school, go swimming every week for the term - blah blah blah - we didnt do it. What a load of cr*p.

Hi there,
I like what the girls have so far - which is spelling words and their maths lists (and they get tested on both at the end of the week).
Last year their then year 3 teacher said that they could do homework on a particular topic - but it was optional. Things like finding out info about the country that they were studying (Brazil). I thought that it would be good info for them to learn, so I helped them with that - and we all learnt something.
However, what I did find hard, is not knowing what they HAD to do (other than their maths and spelling), and the optional stuff. Our girls would come home with differing stories - one would tell me that they HAD to do it, the other would say the opposite. It would have been much easier to have a note from the teacher about what was expected and what was optional.

And I too find the reading logs a chore (as do the girls). However - their teacher said that she didn't mind if they didn't fill it out (a waste of money), just as long as they ticked the box on that day. I though that was a bit silly since they had the book to write in - so we agreed that they had to write the name of which book that they were reading at the start of each page or week - and write one comment at the end. They read every night and it's a problem getting them to stop reading!, so I don't worry too much about writing it down.

Oh God did someone mention homework. I already feel anxious about it. We get the sheet and some times topic, research work. It doesnt go down well in my household. We have had many battles, tears about doing homework.

I think it is good to set up good homework habits for college but it needs to be short and sweet.

i detest those stupid reading logs! last year our school invested in them to 'raise literacy' which was alright, i guess (i think they gave them to everyone) which i guess is fine to encourage children who don't usually read a lot, but i have a kid who reads ALL THE TIME, and he doesn't always read one thing at a time, so they are difficult to fill out, and frankly, i am kind of scatterbrained, so i took it out, forgot to fill it in, lost it for four months, found it, sent it to school (feeling terrible that it was EMPTY even though i knew ds had read every night - thankfully his teacher knows this as well) - he brings it home, i take it out and LOSE IT AGAIN, they have this book show where you're supposed to have the reading log to get in (way to encourage literacy participation, punish the children who lose/forget their books by not allowing them to participate!) - gaaahh! child has terrible large huge writing and spaces are small so not something he can fill out himself (plus he has inherited my scatterbrainedness).

i don't mind spelling, or maths, reading we do anyway, but anything required sustained writing is a PITA. a project thing sounds like fun. agree that it should be relevant and acknowledged - nothing worse than busting ass to force your kid to do homework only to have all that effort ignored. hate homework, it is so painful, last year we had none for 3 terms, it was bliss. not sure what this year will be like.

like louise i kind of think of homework as training for college etc, i don't think all kids need such a huge run up but i know that my kid (horrible and painful as i find homework to be) needs that come home, snack, sit down, homework routine hammered into him over and over again.... otherwise he'll end up like his mother who never did any homework and failed 90% of her internal assessments

That is blardy genius and I am going to do it, thanks for the idea!

I always tell the kids, if their sheeet is returned signed and incomplete, then that is as good as returning it complete - I would certainly be happy with a note saying homework isn't a priority so don't punish (not that I have punished).

So excited, talking to a team member yesterday, homework isn't pushed at my new school! Maths sheet of some sort (don't know what it is, something I think to support parents at home rather than be completed maybe?) spelling words, reading folder... I so hope that is continuing this year!

Teacup - maybe you shoudl sign M up to Goodreads and get him to monitor his reading on there, then print that out Have to say that I am a current addict on there

I think at that age the homework needs to be relevant to what is being done in class. Spelling, maths, reading. Maybe some small task related to whatever they're doing in class at the time. It should be something that requires little parental input.

And like a previous poster said, if teachers are going to assign research, teach them how to research. Both my kids have had kids assign this sort of thing, and they didn't know how to do it at the time.

combinations of options 2 and 3.
DS loves doing general/random knowledge stuff. I make him look it up himself but i help him by guiding i.e i can cook dinner at the same time sort of stuff while he talks to me from the computer
(he's made a few slide shows doing this sort of thing i.e animals that have lots of natural insulation, mammals etc etc -note any common theme ? )
I also like to see maths and spelling coming home regularly as gives me a chance to sit down 1:1 with DS and help him finetune any issues he's having with working it out/help him memorise things etc.
i do like the homework sheet to come home on monday and not need to be handed in until friday tho - then we can do homework on the nights we're not so busy instead of having a busy afternoon a meeting and getting landed with a pile of homework for that night too - i hate those nights!

reading wise - last year DS brought home a book to read over the week/fortnight and to write a review on it (usually quite a big book as is a good reader)

I agree

I think that consolidating learning happens in our homes all the time. It happens when our kids cook with us and we talk about fractions, when we discuss a book, when we play a game, when they want to write something and we discuss (as opposed to tell) how to spell or punctuate something, when we talk about clouds, or how seeds grow, or what is on the news, or find something on the Internet, make a picture etc etc etc. The list is endless, without any need for a worksheet. IMO consolidating and expanding on learning is just part of parenting, and I personally don't need a teacher to dictate how it happens. There is certainly benefit in knowing exactly what they are learning at school, but this is as easily done by a note home on what is being covered in the week or term as it is by a homework sheet.

^^

In a good home maybe, but in some homes kids just sit in front of the tv. Not all parents/caregivers interact well with their children and some are just working too long hours to have the time and others either aren't interested, don't have the ability or they have their own stuff happening.

Yes - and in those homes the kids pretty much bring nothing back. Homework only gets done if the parents value it, if they have time to do it, or if the parents think that it it says something negaitve about them. Very occasionally you will get a self motivated student who attempts it themselves (I have had a couple that it would break your heart to see their attempts to complete work without parental input of any sort).

And that is why I have never punished for them not bringing it back, not at primary level

oh thought of another thing. we used to have atlas wednesday - where they were given a name of a place and an atlas to bring home, then needed to find the place in the atlas - that was all that was required...but for us it meant we then talked about that place - might look up its history/pictures etc etc so wasn't really related to what they were doing in class but is good general knowledge stuff sometimes it did relate - i.e doing RE work and were asked to find jerusalem or talking about the pioneers that came to NZ looked up England/Scotland/Ireland etc etc

see I am a 'for' homework person. yes yes all that stuff we do at home consolidates it BUT as a busy parent I dont always take the time EVERY day to have all these deep consolidating talks, somedays its just about doing what needs to get done...so homework makes me stop and do what they need to be doing/focusing on with them and is a chance for some 1:1 learning which they dont get much of at school (not just to talk about ideals/concepts etc) but to sit down and SHOW DS how to do multiplication or whichever it is that he might be struggling with a little - mine also do theirs themselves quite a lot as they both like it-and Im there if they need me/want help/want to talk about it etc , having homework from school also means I dont HAVE to plan what i need to be covering with them. when we've had slacker teachers I've given them my own homework - spelling lists and maths sheets, and its a pain having to think and make them lol but i know mine benefit from doing it Vs not doing it.
I tend to think both of my boys chatter all day in class and prob do more solid learning (as in brain clicking into technical 'ohhh thats how you do it mode' ) in the 20mins of homework they do in silence lol

99% of the kids in my class are very motivated to do homework and even ask for it if I forget. I do have a chart where I put a smiley face each week if it is completed. I give out homework on a Monday and receive it back Monday, so with all the family time and sports trainings, etc they have all week really.... I don't punish non-doers and some like to do it at After School Care, etc.

One teacher at my school gives her kids 30mins reading a night, 20 spelling words and 10 basic facts questions every night. I spoke to some parents this year (whose kids were in her class last year) and most seem to have loved it! It was independent and just supported in class learning.

When kids get to intermediate/college a note from mum saying she hates homework or was too busy wont cut it. If you have work to do at home as part of an internal assessment, it just does have to be done - so I suppose it prepares kids for the routine of this? Obviously, this is just my idea though...

yes definately, once you get to highschool/uni not doing homework bcos it was a busy night/you watched the news instead doesnt cut it, and it doesnt get you through. so its good practice to put the idea/practice/habbit of it in place well b4 then for sure

By intermediate/upper primary, kids can read the instructions and complete follow up tasks without parental input (IF the work is follow up work, or continuation of assignment, such as assessment. Totally different to the sort of stuff mentioned on here (project work, 'new' learning, etc).

Basic facts, spelling, reading is just a continuation of in class stuff, and practice of knowledge/skills. That's all good. And unless the children are very young or have self management issues for whatever reason, can be completed completely independently.

I had one little girl who had noone that would listen to her read each day, she used to read to their dog

But by that age kids can do homework on their own. I certainly won't be helping them with homework at high school. (Well, I suppose I might help find a book or something.) By high school, they can choose whether they want to do it or not all by themselves, and wear the consequences.

My parents never made me do homework, and I didn't have any trouble picking which stuff was worth doing at high school, or at university for that matter. So I'm not convinced by the "creating good habits" argument.

Yeah, this. It's a bit annoying to not have time to bake with your kids, or to play chess, or to look up how to make samurai swords, all because there is some stupid worksheet to do.

we never got homework at primary school and when i got to highschool I used to brush it off night after night, i honestly dont know how i made it through lol - just crammed b4 the exams i think, I would'nt have made it thru the ncea system they have now thats for sure.
its really sad that some children dont have anyone at home to be interested in their homework with them BUT I think when you're thinking for a class you also think about the children that do and are motivated to do work.
we never dont bake or dont look up interesting things or go exciting places bcos of homework - but it is something we MAKE sure we make time for.

Yep. I don't think that you need to start creating good habits in early primary, intermediate is plenty enough.

Yep that ...

Ill stop excusing homework when a/they can read, understand, and do it themselves

We consoldate learning in MANY ways ... Im forever asking what/how they think something happens ... or I answer questions that arise. We read together and discuss things that arise ... but I dont need to read and discuss platapus just because this is the reader they have for the night - and they arent doing anything to do with them at all in class

I think encouraging kids to read, and ensuring reluctant readers are given books that interest them is really important and working on things like spelling or whatever is probably good too... but if there is too much parental involvement required, especially if the child can't do what is asked then I don't see the point.

I am happy to enable homework to be done - provide a space for it, do a visit to the library or set up a computer for an age appropriate internet search but I am not going to 'do' the homework.

I don't see the point of doing homework which is going to stress out the child and/or the parent. When the child is old enough to do the homework without needing a parent on hand then it should be encouraged more. Doing homework with 3 children who all needed listening to and supervision was taking literally hours a day! So I stopped and the kids did what they wanted/could. They are all great readers and read for pleasure. We do maths and spelling games in the car. Works for us.

Last year DD would get spelling on random days, she had a homework sheet she had to do, it was usually Family of Facts, maybe a crossword, and some grammar questions. I never pushed her to do it, I wanted her to do it, not have to make her do it. By term 2 she hardly did it.

I'm dreading this year, she has the DP as her teacher, and he's a tough nut.. I like the idea of going in and telling him what I think of homework... not sure he'll be very receptive to that.. worth a shot.

Tell me about it. My older ds had his first research assignment last year, and he had a bad case of 'if its on the internet, it must be true.' Honestly, I tried to get him 'researching' properly (we have a set of Encyclopaedia Britannica here) and how to write a bibliography etc, but not sure how successful I was.

And I am anti homework for primary school, too. My kids seem to be doing alright without it.

They do have reading logs (the younger ones do anyway) but otherwise, we engage in learning at home, and share with the teacher about what is happening (eg: trying out a science experiment at home, and emailing pics to the teacher and having ds talk to her the next day about it.)

I ended up teaching DD the same way I used to teach year 5s - give them a big piece of paper, and a bunch of post-its. Only important stuff goes on the post-it then they can sort it into groups of things that are similar. Plus you have to find it on 2 websites (or an encyclopaedia and a website) and there has to be an author and a date! Mean mummy but it worked!

We just revised how homework will be done at school - more activity based (so encouraging families to play games, write shopping lists and add up costs, cooking/weighing, and heaps others) Better than boring old worksheets!

I guess if families aren't doing that stuff already, it could be good but it's high on my dread list with DDs homework this year, those things are family life and parenting and I don't like school even suggesting what we should do in family life. I guess it's in how it's presented though, and whether there is compulsion.

I guess I'll find out next week what her homework consists of.

I'm so mean that I'd only let my kids do it at the library (no computers).



If I had to pick between them I would want worksheets. What we do during 'normal family time' is our business and I don't wish to have my afternoon activities or interaction with my children 'scripted' by teachers or schools. JMO.

I think that in a way its a good idea, if its stuff that is either not done at all with kids then its a good chance for kids to be involved or its already done then its easy enough BUT in some cases, like on a a daily basis or even a weekly one, as much as I'd love to be able to do that stuff with my school aged child after school, it would be sometimes near impossible... like for example baking... if I bake, I bake when there is the best time available... often that will be when my kids are out or asleep so I have maybe one child to bake with and not almost four IYKWIM... as much as I love doing stuff with my kids, sometimes I don't WANT to have three (or four) children involved in a process that takes me 10 minutes but would take us over half an hour not including cooking time. Because it wouldn't just be the school aged kid who'd want to do it. It'd also include the preschooler and toddler and the baby needing attention because its arsenic hour and we eat at 5pm anyway and the dinner is usually prepared earlier so only last minute things have to be done...

Baking for fun is done on holidays and weekends (to include the school aged child) or with children at home during the day who want to do it. And my school aged child tends to disappear during the process only to return at the licking the bowl stage anyway

Something like a shopping list would be okay, that's something I do sometimes do with the kids, we write it together.

Worksheets, providing I didn't have to do them with the child, as in sit down and prompt every single thing, would be okay I guess. And provided there was a point. Just to say that homework is provided I'd rather they had to do something outside that involved running around than sitting down completing a worksheet.

I guess the challenge is, it depends so much on what family life is like. Some kids get little opportunity to engage with their parents or whatever that the 1:1 time with homework might be really valuable time OR could impinge on what little time they have together. Some kids have done and get the chance to do that stuff regardless of what is suggested by a school. They might have sports or groups that are important to the family, they might have after school care to attend which might do homework or might not. Other children might have older siblings so they join in the gang and everyone does homework together. Others, like my DS, have younger siblings who are at a different stage so doing the homework has to be juggled with the preschooler, toddler and baby.

Of course that has been our choice to do it that way but for Years 1-3 I think reading is enough. From Years 4 onwards I could see worksheets and simple projects that require supervision and the occasional help from a parent to be appropriate but really simple and taking no more than maybe 20-30 minutes. From intermediate I'd expect them to have developed the the skills at school (like how to look up a book in the library, how to do a computer search, how to read something and then rewrite it in your own words) and to follow that up with a home based project that is relevant to that, again with parental support but not done by the parent and from high school they should be able to do it as a given. I don't know how that idea fits in with the curriculum as it stands, I've not looked past the first few years. I know that kids are meant to be able to retell a story which is really all research is in a way.

I think once high school arrives, particularly if children are wanting to or expecting to attend higher education then being responsible for your own learning is essential. The kids I've seen that have bombed at university have often had a lot of external pressure and no internal motivation so when the teachers and the parents are no longer part of the equation is all goes to custard. So I do that that encouraging independence and motivation is really important. And I think that can come from teachers and parents but there has to be that just right challenge... not so hard they can't do it, but not so easy they can't be bothered.

I guess the thing is too, no matter how cool teachers make home work... it'll be done by those who want to. Those who choose not to will either not do it because they feel that their children need other experiences or involvement in other things is more important, parents have made an informed choice or it will not be done because the parents don't actually care about what their kid does at school, don't care about learning and can't be bothered at all and wouldn't do it no matter what it is... The first set of kids will do fine without homework the second set of kids won't but not because they haven't done the homework per se but because the parents don't care about the education.

And then there is probably another group of kids whose parents actually can't help them because their own literacy isn't good enough, they don't have access to a reliable and functional computer that can do the work and they are a bit lost in the process. They're the parents who could benefit from help so their children could learn but how you do that I have no idea. So the kids don't do the work because they don't have sufficient support but not because the parents don't care but because they can't help.

What a ramble...

Totally agree KM (not about it being a ramble though!)

Luckily homework like that is optional and the principal is not keen on any children being punished for not doing it! That was my argument too.... its the kids who don't have the support who end up being punished (with silly homework club and stuff)

One part I do like was homework included (for year 3 and up) visiting the library, belonging to things like local sport clubs or St John etc. Things that a lot of our kids do anyway