Homework in Kindergarten
@jjallwilliams5 (26)
United States
November 2, 2007 12:56pm CST
My son is in kindergarten in North Carolina. He comes home every night with at least 2-3 hours worth of homework! Now I figured on him having homework, but at most an hours worth. Do kindergartens in other states have the same amount of homework?
5 people like this
6 responses
@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
2 Nov 07
my daughter is in her last 7 months of pre-school age 4 and they give her 1 long assignment per month. So they start early, but my nephew gets about 30 minutes a night on average. hopefully this homework situation isn't as stressful for your son as it seems to be on you. Hope it works out
2 people like this
@jjallwilliams5 (26)
• United States
3 Nov 07
Thats why it bothers me...because it is so stressful on him.
1 person likes this
@Ravenladyj (22904)
• United States
2 Nov 07
WHAT?! Homework in KINDERGARTEN?! Omg thats an absolute first for me!! Neither of my kids had homework in JK, SK or grade 1 come to think of it...Thats just insane! Mind you the school system here is VERY different to the way it is back in Ontario..but even so, even 30 mins of homework in kindergarten is nuts let alone 2-3 hrs!!
2 people like this
@copperkitten (3473)
• United States
2 Nov 07
He should only have 20 min or so of homework. My son whos also in kindergarten comes home with 2-3 papers to do and it takes him 20 min or so. I would talk to the teacher about it. It dosent seem right that he has that much to do!
@blueunicorn (2401)
• United States
4 Nov 07
That isn't a way to involve the parents! I don't know what your school district is thinking. If I were there I would be looking into charter schools, but then again we are spoiled here in AZ with charter schools everywhere we turn so we have an option. I know it might not be as easy in other places. Parental involvement in school work is extremely important, but I don't even think I would have time to put in 2 or 3 hours every night.
1 person likes this
@jjallwilliams5 (26)
• United States
2 Nov 07
I've talked to the teacher and it is the school district that enforces this. This is their way of involving the parents! I think it is a load of c**p
1 person likes this
@blueunicorn (2401)
• United States
2 Nov 07
Wow, that sounds insane jj! Have you talked to the teacher and asked if the homework should be taking this long? My daughter is in 1st grade, and last year she had about 40 minutes worth of homework every night. Now we are at about an hour, which is getting to be a little rough on her. I don't think Kindergarteners and 1st graders should have 2 or 3 hours worth of homework each night. That leaves NO time for the family to enjoy each other. I would strongly suggest talking to your son's teacher if you haven't already.
1 person likes this
@jjallwilliams5 (26)
• United States
2 Nov 07
I have talked to his teacher. She doesn't agree with it either, but is required to send this homework home with them. I was concerned that maybe he wasn't paying attention and getting his stuff done in school, so it was coming home. But she assured me that he is getting his work done quickly in school, and this is stuff that she is susposed to send home...it is not to be worked on in school. The school district wants the parent to be active in their child's learning, so all of it is sent home. But it doesn't make for a good environment because I have to fight with him to sit down and do it. He knows that he'll go straight from homework to dinner then to bed and have no playing time. It seems too drastic to me.
2 people like this
@blueunicorn (2401)
• United States
4 Nov 07
That is really too bad. Kids need time to be kids, too. Having so much homework is going to teach him to hate school, I think. Is it all required by the teacher to be completed? What if you limited the homework to one solid hour per night and explained to the teacher that you don't think any more than that is good for his developement in other areas?
1 person likes this
@PrettyViolet (86)
• United States
25 Nov 07
I suppose if the teacher tells me that all the homework is a school-board issue, then I would have to move up to the principal and ask him/her. If I got the same answer, then get ready to move on up to the school board. They have meetings where parents can stand up and voice their concerns. And that's exactly what I would do. You can see here that most people's kids don't have/never had that much homework in Kindergarten, and mine is not the exception. Homework for my kids didn't start being over half an hour until they were in second grade or so. And a friend of mine used to struggle with her daughter in the second grade, spending four or five hours trying to get homework done, and when she spoke to the teacher, the teacher said spend an hour on it, and if it's not finished, send it back and she can do it on her break time, she should not have to spend that much time on her homework. It was an issue between my friend and her daughter, because once she refused to spend all that time doing the homework, the daughter stopped having a problem with it. LOL
Now, my state is ranked very low in education, so I guess perhaps I shouldn't say much about this subject, but my kids seem to be learning at the same rate as kids from other states, so I would think NC wouldn't be so much different.
Check into this with the principal and then with the school board, and make your concerns heard. If you have this much homework in Kindergarten, what's it going to be like when he is in the fifth grade???
