Homework for summer!

[PrincessIneffabelle]

What fresh Hell is this?

My son just finished kindergarten and has two months of summer vacation until first grade. I'll be honest and tell you I was really looking forward to a break from homework, as would anyone who has experienced the joy of getting a five-year-old to do four pages of homework every week since August. Alas, when I unpacked his backpack on the last day of school, I found a workbook titled Summer Bridge Activities and a letter from the teacher explaining that if the children complete the book (about 130 pages with at least two "activities" on each page) and the reading list and turned it in to their first grade teacher, they would receive a prize and a certificate in front of the class. I leafed through this book and found that it is the same level of work he had for homework -- reading, word recognition, writing practice, simple math, pattern recognition, simple science experiments, etc. It even has sections on "character education" (manners & morals), nutrition, and excercise -- all of which I've been teaching him for the last three years anyway.

Now, don't get me wrong; I agree that he should continue to practice what he has learned this year, but this workbook is just way, way too much. He has sixty days of vacation and the book is 130 pages. That means he'll have to do at least two pages (four "activities") every single day, including weekends! That's more than three times the amount of homework he had when school was actually in session! All of this extra work on top of full-time summer day camp just makes me want to cry.

Has anyone else had this nasty little surprise? How did you deal with it?

[TX50]

"simple science experiments" for a five-year-old? Can you give an example?

[fuelair]

"simple science experiments" for a five-year-old? Can you give an example?
invisible ink(s), sun prints (On plant leaves is fun if you have some big ones),
Mentos' blow off, glycerin-detergent giant bubbles for starts.

[Lisa Simpson]

I have been sent those Summer Bridge Activities every year - and my kids have never finished one ever. The idea is that start to forget what they've learned after only a couple weeks, so if you keep up the work, they will have to spend less review time come the fall.

[Scottch]

Just do them yourself. Get it done in a day or so.

Problem solved :)

Scottch

[TX50]

I'll do them for you for a hundred bucks! (some of the answers might be wrong though)

[PrincessIneffabelle]

I have been sent those Summer Bridge Activities every year - and my kids have never finished one ever.

Thanks, Lisa. I feel a bit better now. When school starts this August and the teacher wants to know why his book isn't finished, I'll just blame you!

:p

[opqdan]

From what I understand, schools (especially at the lower levels) have a problem with getting kids to retain knowledge over the summer, so I suppose that this is an attempt to fix that.

While I don't have kids yet (which means I won't have kids in school until at least 2013 or so), I worry about what they are going to go through as students. It seems that schools are focusing far more on standardized testing and homework than they are on actually teaching. From what I hear, it is even becoming common to assign homework that isn't just review, but actually introduces new material, in which case, what is the point of having a teacher at all?

Not that it is the teachers fault though, I could undertstand that many have their hands tied by regulations from the local, state, and national level. It is, after all the NCLB act (at least in part) that forces schools to devote so much on testing.

I've had 2 books on my amazon wishlist (I use it to keep track of the books that I want to read) that deal with the effects that homework has on children, and from the sound of it, it isn't too positive. I haven't read either yet, though.

The Homework Myth - Alfie Kohn
The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can do About It - Sara Bennett and Nanacy Kalish.

Me? In 13 years of public school, I almost never did any homework (boy did that change in college though).

[Gertrude]

When will 5 years old children finally be able to live as 5 years old children?

I work with children from 4 to 12 in my summer job and this is becoming a big problem. Parents all want activities with 'educational values'. They drive an hour every morning for their child to attend the best elementary school in the area. They send them to Montessori schools at 3 so they can learn math. One kid that I know, a 4 years old, gets 3 hours/week of language courses: french, english and spanish. Where does it stop?

When I was a kid, we were still allowed to ride our bikes all day long and make war to our little neighbours. Actually, I think I started to really study for more than 10 minutes/day at the age of 13. And I didn't drop out!

[strathmeyer]

Will he fail if he doesn't complete it? I remember being only minorly inconvenienced when I didn't do any of my summer homework in eleventh grade.

[PrincessIneffabelle]

From what I hear, it is even becoming common to assign homework that isn't just review, but actually introduces new material, in which case, what is the point of having a teacher at all?


Indeed. One of my first thoughts about this workbook was, "If I wanted to home-school my kid, I would be doing it already!" :rolleyes: If everyone is so worried about the kids forgetting over summer vacation, then why do we even have it at all? Wouldn't year-round school be the answer to their problem?

Will he fail if he doesn't complete it? I remember being only minorly inconvenienced when I didn't do any of my summer homework in eleventh grade.

I was bad about not doing my homework in high school, too. :o

No, he won't fail if he doesn't finish it. The workbook is not mandatory ... BUT, if he finishes it and gives it to his first grade teacher this August, he will get a prize and a certificate in front of the class. So, the pressure to finish it is mostly social in nature, and at least partly directed toward the parents.

The big problem I have with this book is that it is just too darned much! If it was twenty-four pages or so, I wouldn't be upset at all. Remember, he's got eight weeks of summer vacation, so three pages a week would be reasonable. The workbook is so big that he'd have to do fourteen pages a week to finish it in time.

[Jorghnassen]

School starts in August? And is over already? Americans are so weird.

Back when I was a kid, there was no such thing as summer homework. In fact, I don't recall doing much homework during the school year either.

How big/important are the silly certificate and prize anyway?

/I'd rather have a summer vacation. I haven't seen those in years.

[NobbyNobbs]

I think this is outrageous. My son is in kindergarten and the teacher's attitude is "These are 5-year olds. Let's let them be 5 year olds." She gives homework approximately once a week, and it's usually on the order of "Bring in something that starts with the letter D". If a kid doesn't do the homework, no big deal. He's 5.


I'd ask the teacher if she has considered the per diem workload she is expecting. If you are not satisfied with the answer, I'd speak to the principal.

[Skibum]

My daughter would be thrilled to get a homework assignment like that.

I have no idea why she is like that, but she loves homework.

[PrincessIneffabelle]

I think this is outrageous. My son is in kindergarten and the teacher's attitude is "These are 5-year olds. Let's let them be 5 year olds." She gives homework approximately once a week, and it's usually on the order of "Bring in something that starts with the letter D". If a kid doesn't do the homework, no big deal. He's 5.


I'd ask the teacher if she has considered the per diem workload she is expecting. If you are not satisfied with the answer, I'd speak to the principal.


One of the first things the teacher told us was that homework was definitely not optional. The homework my son got every week in kindergarten was usually four pages of things like: writing letters and numbers, word recognition, pattern recognition, simple math, organizing objects by likeness, etc. At first, I was surprised by the amount and type of work he was assigned. Then I started to see that he was quite capable of learning all of the lessons and even more without undue pressure or loss of playtime. As a result, he can: count way beyond 100, count by fives and tens to 100, recognize short and long vowels, read and spell about fifty or sixty words, write unfamiliar words phonetically, name all seven continents, name all the months of the year in order, recite his address and phone number, make and extend patterns, add and subtract numbers, and he even writes a sentence or two in his journal every Friday. I was astounded at what he could learn and retain as a kindergartener. When I was in kindergarten (1974), we colored and recited the alphabet. At the rate they're going, I figure that next year they'll be working on that pesky cold fusion problem.

I've decided to forego the goal of completing the workbook. He can work on it two or three times a week for the sake of retention. I think the main problem is that the book is made for kids who have twelve weeks or more of summer vacation. My son's school is "semi-year-round" (how's that for nonsense term?), so they only have eight weeks. They get the other four weeks vacation in little chunks throughout the rest of the year.

I will tell you that the responses here have made me feel a lot better about the whole thing. :) My husband didn't seem to understand why I was so upset, and I was getting frustrated.

[Fnord]

Since I'm taking the rest of the day off, I've given my inner demons the chance to chime in on this one...

"Whaddaya want; a kid who's a kid all his life? Put him to work on day one with page one! Teach him to get used to the idea that there is no such thing as Time Off unless you've earned it!" -- Demon Authority.

"Don't worry, a little time off to decompress will be good for him. Let him be a kid. Let him grow up at his own pace." -- D. Leniency.

"Here, I'll do the assignments for you, and it will only cost you a few dollars a page. Then you can have him copy the pages off in his own handwriting, and the teacher will never know the difference!" -- D. Deception.

"How dare they force you to do their job! If that's what they want, then they ought to damn well pay you for your efforts!" -- D. Indignation

"He'll just forget what he learned, not that busy work ever did any good, or that it even matters in the first place. He'll eventually grow up, move out, and that's the last you'll see of him until his starter wife divorces him." -- D. Nihilist

"They're really trying to keep their hooks in him, eh? Not enough control during the other 10 months of the year? Look, you're his mother, so you are the one who decides what goes into his head and what he does in his free time, right? Just don't let those teachers turn him against you, or someday, he'll be turning you in!" -- D. Cynic

"Eh, who cares?" -- D. Indifference

"hay watts gong on?" -- D. Ignorance

[Solus]

I was going to write deal with! I'm taking summer classes and happy about it.
But then I read this about your five year old son.:blush: young children especially need a break; too much homework is unhealthy. If he enjoys doing then fine but let child have some kind childhood. It's not like your son will miss out on going to great university if he doesn't compete summer homework assigned in kindergarten! At his age it's unfair in my opinion.

[EatatJoes]

I am worried about this for my child. She is only 6 months old but I know the problem will only get worse in a few years. I'm afraid she'll be carrying home 15 pounds worth of books and homework every night at the age of 5. Just the thought makes me furious.
Anyway, I'm glad you decided not to finish the book. It'll be fun a few times a week if you find yourselves bored, but if it becomes a "job" than you pretty much suck the fun out of a vacation.

[Robaato]

Apropos of nothing, perhaps:

Here in Japan, when I tell elementary and junior high students that American summer vacation is a) 3 months, and b) no homework, there are shouts of indignation followed by impassioned entreaties to do school "American Style." Japanese summer break is six weeks, and is accompanied by a pack of homework assignments. Middle schoolers get one packet for each subject.

So, at least the book you got is optional...

R.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

I'll be honest and tell you I was really looking forward to a break from homework, as would anyone who has experienced the joy of getting a five-year-old to do four pages of homework every week since August.
Perhaps I misunderstand you, but I infer from this statement that your Kindergartener had homework. Surely this can't be true?

~~ Paul

[WildCat]

Perhaps I misunderstand you, but I infer from this statement that your Kindergartener had homework. Surely this can't be true?

~~ Paul
I'm with you Paul. I don't think I had homework in kindergarten, and IMHO kids that age should learn by playing games and doing other things kids do. Eating bugs, digging in dirt, splashing in mud puddles. A structured regimen of homework for 4 and 5 year olds? WTF?

[PrincessIneffabelle]

Perhaps I misunderstand you, but I infer from this statement that your Kindergartener had homework. Surely this can't be true?

~~ Paul

You inferred correctly. I had the same reaction you did when I found out, too. As my mother says, "Kindergarten is the new 1st Grade," ... except, I don't remember actually having homework until about 4th or 5th grade.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

You inferred correctly. I had the same reaction you did when I found out, too. As my mother says, "Kindergarten is the new 1st Grade,"
Ooh, that means that with just a little extra work in high school, I ought to be able to get a 2-year college degree by the time I finish it.

It doesn't seem to occur to anyone that there is significantly more stuff to learn now than there was in the 1950s. Something's gotta give.

~~ Paul

[bluess]

Homework started in Kindergarden. First grade homework (we did the first half of first grade, and then skipped Blue2 to the second half of second grade, long story available on request) was apx. 1/2 hour per night with adult supervision. Second grade homework was 1 hour per night with adult supervision, not including word card reveiws and independent reading.

Our schedule, due to our jobs, allowed us to be involved in all of this. One of the moms I know burst into tears at a birthday party, because she can't get it all done. The pressure on everyone is crazy.

We just started homeschooling - and while I still have an hour or so of prepwork each night, the pressure on Blue2 has reduced enormously and she seems to be having more fun and learning much more.

[gumboot]

Wait...

Do you Americans mean something different by Kindergarten? Here in New Zealand Kindergarten is pre-school. You play. You don't do homework, that's for sure. (At least I hope it's still that way!).

When you turn 5 you leave kindergarten (which isn't compulsory anyway) and go to "school" (primary school). Even if you were doing homework in kindergarten, you certainly aren't going to be doing it when you transition to school. It'd be akin to turning up to the first day at University and being asked to pull out your homework from the end of your last year at high school.

-Gumboot

[PrincessIneffabelle]

Gumboot, from your description, I think that your NZ Kindergarten is equivalent to what we call "preschool" here in the States. Starting at about age four, children start preschool here (which is not compulsory, but strongly recommended). The kids do have playtime in preschool, but they also start learning numbers, letters, how to follow rules, and very basic social skills. When I went to preschool (in the early '70s), it was called Nursery School and we played and napped. In Kindergarten, we colored, played, and napped. These days, preschool in the States is increasingly referred to as "Pre-K" or "Junior Kindergarten". At about age five, kids start Kindergarten, which is included in the elementary schools, they then go down the hall to 1st Grade at about age six.

I think that the "Summer Bridge Activities" books are a fairly recent thing; they are not mandatory, nor do all schools distribute them.

[Sansha]

I teach Yr 7 (first year of high school) and I give very little homework so I would be floored if my son came home with homework in early primary school (other than reading which I wouldn't consider homework). Being a teacher, I know it can be hard when the powers that be mandate things from on high.

Kids should be kids and I've never seen homework have a really positive effect on performance. It stresses out the good kids who work hard anyway and stresses out the teachers trying to get the average and lazy kids to do it! Why bother.

[Liquid_Grace]

I teach Yr 7 (first year of high school) and I give very little homework so I would be floored if my son came home with homework in early primary school (other than reading which I wouldn't consider homework). Being a teacher, I know it can be hard when the powers that be mandate things from on high.

Kids should be kids and I've never seen homework have a really positive effect on performance. It stresses out the good kids who work hard anyway and stresses out the teachers trying to get the average and lazy kids to do it! Why bother.

As an American with an American kid living in Sydney, I can tell you it's the difference between US and Australian education.

When my son was in 5th grade, in the US, 1-3 hours of homework per night was about normal.

Here, he gets a handout of his spelling words, and it's optional (he's in year six, going to year seven next year.)

His classroom teacher was horrified when I told him about how much homework he's had, and yes, it did start in kindy with him.

I like the school system here better, so far, but ask me again around HSC time.

Cheers,
Grace

[Oroborus]

Never too early to beat the child out of your kid.

[galnoir]

I teach first grade and I do give homework. I use homework as a way to individualize work. I make it clear to the parents that I expect them to help their child with it! A six-year-old can't read the instructions on a worksheet. I don't grade it but I do check to make sure that it was completed--or mostly completed--and that it is not obviously done in the parent's handwriting.

What is the point? While it is not explicitly stated, I am expected to give homework to my students. Our fancy "scientifically-based" curriculum actually comes with homework. If I don't send it home, I am not completely following the curriculum.

I hope what it does is this: give my students a sense of responsibility and provide an opportunity for the child and parent to communicate about school. (Often children go home and sit in front of TVs or video games until dinner. And then go back to their games after dinner, which they ate in front of the TV.) I want them to work together, I want the parent to help their child. Sometimes parents really don't know how to help. They may not have done well in school themselves and can be intimidated by a teacher and even just by being in the building.

Sending home homework can be a burden on the teacher, also. Which is why I don't grade it and I only send it home once a week and they can turn it in any day until Friday--although it is "due" Thursday, I always give an extra day!

[PrincessIneffabelle]

UPDATE: Out of thirty students in my son's new First Grade class, only two of them turned in the workbook.

[rjh01]

What a waste of paper to produce th book.

However I think post 31 is about the unintentional funniest post I have seen for some time.

[lightcreatedlife@hom]

What fresh Hell is this?

Has anyone else had this nasty little surprise? How did you deal with it?I have, it appears to me to be giving students a head start, keeping their mind in the game with a refresher course. And I don't agree with it, even though I talk about having access to the cirriculum over the summer months. It would be there for those who want to.

Apropos of nothing, perhaps:

Here in Japan, when I tell elementary and junior high students that American summer vacation is a) 3 months, and b) no homework, there are shouts of indignation followed by impassioned entreaties to do school "American Style." Japanese summer break is six weeks, and is accompanied by a pack of homework assignments. Middle schoolers get one packet for each subject.

So, at least the book you got is optional...

R.They talked about what the rest of the world was doing.

[lightcreatedlife@hom]

I am worried about this for my child. She is only 6 months old but I know the problem will only get worse in a few years. I'm afraid she'll be carrying home 15 pounds worth of books and homework every night at the age of 5. Just the thought makes me furious.
Some type of technology has always been used to lessen the workload. Paper replaced clay tablets. And I am not talking about completely replacing paper.

Anyway, I'm glad you decided not to finish the book. It'll be fun a few times a week if you find yourselves bored, but if it becomes a "job" than you pretty much suck the fun out of a vacation.
That same thing can be said of some schools. Apathy being tied to routine.

[bluess]

The hardest concept family and friends are having with our homeschooling is that we are not nailed to the books for 'x' amount of hours per day. Our schedule changes a little bit each day depending on my work requirements, what the lessons are for the day, how we are feeling, if there is something cool going on....

[lightcreatedlife@hom]

The hardest concept family and friends are having with our homeschooling is that we are not nailed to the books for 'x' amount of hours per day. Our schedule changes a little bit each day depending on my work requirements, what the lessons are for the day, how we are feeling, if there is something cool going on....
That takes care of routine, but your schedule is not entirely up to you, is it?

[bluess]

I don't believe any person's schedule is entirely up to them, so I'm not sure of your point, lightcreatelife@hom.

[lightcreatedlife@hom]

I don't believe any person's schedule is entirely up to them, so I'm not sure of your point, lightcreatelife@hom.
Lcl will do. The name was an accident, and it turns into a link when spelled out. I meant, is there a schedule you have to keep when going through the material? Like "okay here, you got a month to complete this".

[bluess]

Lcl will do. The name was an accident, and it turns into a link when spelled out. I meant, is there a schedule you have to keep when going through the material? Like "okay here, you got a month to complete this".

Oh, I understand now.

The curriculum consists of 158 lesson days. There is no requirement to stick to any particular rate of completion. We started very slowly, getting twenty lesson days done in two months. We are now on track for getting six lesson days done every seven-day week. Our schedule is a bit aggressive as we are trying to achieve two grades between now and the end of August 2008. For the curriculum we are using (Calvert School, and I highly recommend them to anyone searching for a homeschool curriculum), we might switch lessons within days or bundle two lessons days for a subject together. For example, one geography lesson required a sunny day so we could learn how to identify 'north'. The day that lesson was planned it was raining. So we simply switched two lesson segments. We also may take longer than expected on a particular segment. Yesterday, a 40-minute composition lesson took 1-1/2 hours, as my daughter really didn't understand the role of a paragraph in writing, and how to gather thoughts about a topic into paragraphs. She still isn't quite there, but I think her next composition will require less coaching on the topic.

[lightcreatedlife@hom]

Oh, I understand now.

The curriculum consists of 158 lesson days. There is no requirement to stick to any particular rate of completion. We started very slowly, getting twenty lesson days done in two months. We are now on track for getting six lesson days done every seven-day week. Our schedule is a bit aggressive as we are trying to achieve two grades between now and the end of August 2008. For the curriculum we are using (Calvert School, and I highly recommend them to anyone searching for a homeschool curriculum), we might switch lessons within days or bundle two lessons days for a subject together. For example, one geography lesson required a sunny day so we could learn how to identify 'north'. The day that lesson was planned it was raining. So we simply switched two lesson segments. We also may take longer than expected on a particular segment. Yesterday, a 40-minute composition lesson took 1-1/2 hours, as my daughter really didn't understand the role of a paragraph in writing, and how to gather thoughts about a topic into paragraphs. She still isn't quite there, but I think her next composition will require less coaching on the topic.
Of course it will. Add the motion of the sun and planets to your lessons.

[Tokenconservative]

From what I understand, schools (especially at the lower levels) have a problem with getting kids to retain knowledge over the summer, so I suppose that this is an attempt to fix that.

While I don't have kids yet (which means I won't have kids in school until at least 2013 or so), I worry about what they are going to go through as students. It seems that schools are focusing far more on standardized testing and homework than they are on actually teaching. From what I hear, it is even becoming common to assign homework that isn't just review, but actually introduces new material, in which case, what is the point of having a teacher at all?

Not that it is the teachers fault though, I could undertstand that many have their hands tied by regulations from the local, state, and national level. It is, after all the NCLB act (at least in part) that forces schools to devote so much on testing.

I've had 2 books on my amazon wishlist (I use it to keep track of the books that I want to read) that deal with the effects that homework has on children, and from the sound of it, it isn't too positive. I haven't read either yet, though.

The Homework Myth - Alfie Kohn
The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can do About It - Sara Bennett and Nanacy Kalish.

Me? In 13 years of public school, I almost never did any homework (boy did that change in college though).

Your best approach would be to private or homeschool your kids (when you do have some) the first 6-8 years. Give them that solid grounding, and you both won't have to deal with summer homework, and have kids that enter public high school ready to enter their 2nd year of college.

Yes, what you are hearing is exactly right. What the public schools are doing, is sending home "homework" that is new material and expecting the parents to teach it to the kids. My oldest went through this for 1/2 year in 6th grade with her "math" teacher. The teacher spent classtime having the kids grade LAST night's HW...that's all. Then handed out that day's HW...5 days a week. It was pure hell.

I don't have this problem now, as my kids are in high school and typically finish their HW almost before the teacher has had time to hand out everything to everybody in class. But then, we (mostly...save that 1/2 year) private and homeschooled them.

This has nothing to do with NCLB, but is impacted by state-level skills testing, most of which is designed to verify that the school is doing what it is supposed to be doing. Yes, many teachers hate that, but...welcome to the real world. I am "tested" daily at my job...if I fail to turn out a quality product, I go out of business.

Here, several schools have been shut down because they can't seem to turn out a quality product.

And that's a good thing.

Tokie

[Tokenconservative]

Homework started in Kindergarden. First grade homework (we did the first half of first grade, and then skipped Blue2 to the second half of second grade, long story available on request) was apx. 1/2 hour per night with adult supervision. Second grade homework was 1 hour per night with adult supervision, not including word card reveiws and independent reading.

Our schedule, due to our jobs, allowed us to be involved in all of this. One of the moms I know burst into tears at a birthday party, because she can't get it all done. The pressure on everyone is crazy.

We just started homeschooling - and while I still have an hour or so of prepwork each night, the pressure on Blue2 has reduced enormously and she seems to be having more fun and learning much more.


Good for you!

My kids LOVED their homeschooling experience and we found that it took FAR less time than we were warned by the public schools Scaremongers (I think that's an actual job title) it would take, to the point where most days we ended up with much of the day being "free time." They ate their lessons up at an enormous rate and were always ready for more.

Oh...and I loved it too.

Tokie

[bluess]

I'm having a ball. Of course there are days when she doesn't want to work. Or when I don't want to work. Or when we both would rather just NOT. But for the most part, we get a lot done and in very little time. We also picked a great curriculum, and I can now prep in about 15 minutes.

[Tokenconservative]

I'm having a ball. Of course there are days when she doesn't want to work. Or when I don't want to work. Or when we both would rather just NOT. But for the most part, we get a lot done and in very little time. We also picked a great curriculum, and I can now prep in about 15 minutes.

Good for you and her!

We used the Abeca (sp?) series which seemed really balanced, linear, and had a very clear parent-teacher guide system. Really walked you through it, and had lots of room for winging it...we worked (5th and 6th grade now) on some Poe and really had a good time with it and the kids were really starting to understand themes and imagery and what not.

Cost an arm and a leg, but hey...I buy the bumper stickers that say "think education is expensive? Try ignorance." Unfortunately, the public schools education IS expensive, and it's been proven that the longer kids stay in it, the more ignorant they become. So you get to buy ignorance at a very high price...whoopee!

We've had to put our kids in a public high school and what I am seeing is just that...they are LOSING what they knew from previous home and private education, quite rapidly. We have them in virtually all honors courses and one AP class (the only one avail. to 10th graders) and still they come home glassy-eyed from boredom and a lack of challenge.

Tokie