Do you find your family struggling with the amount of kids homework you have to get through each afternoon? Our education writer has some tips for you.
When I started my teaching career, I believed that giving homework in at least three subjects was not a big deal. Now that I have my own elementary school aged children, I am feeling bad for all of the kids that I put through tortuous hours of homework. I find myself fighting with my third grader to focus and keep working as we trudge through hours of after school work.
Fifteen years ago, the general rule of thumb for teachers was to assign about ten minutes of homework per grade level. So a first grader would receive about ten minutes of work, a second grader twenty minutes and so on. But times have changed. With the implementation of the new common core standards and teachers feeling the pressure to get students to perform, those numbers have gone way up. Most teachers that I know are assigning at least an hour’s worth of work each night of the week, leaving little time for after school activities and play time.
Anne Davis says
@Anne
Hi Adelien,
I give homeschooling moms so much credit. I think it is great that you give homework to practice responsibility. Ultimately, that should be the point of homework.
kaldavis @optonline.net says
@Anne
Hi Angel. I find the virtual school so interesting. It seems that the amount of homework these days is overwhelming. Having a routine like you do makes a big difference. Keep up the good work.
Anne Davis says
Thanks for the comments. I love hearing how other families handle homework.
Adelien says
We are a homeschooling family. I just give “homework” to practice their responsibility. However, my youngest son is a part time homeschooler. He doesn’t have a lot of homework, but plenty of test. Thanks for sharing, from UBC
Angel@ HouseholdSavvy says
I have a first grader and fifth grader. My fifth grade attends a virtual school so she doesn’t have “homework” because all of her work is done at home, but my first grader does have a good bit of homework. Every time I turn around there is something else coming home to practice. We also have a snack after school then get right to it. I like to get it done and we can go on to do other things. Thanks for all the great tips! I’ll definitely keep these in my arsenal 🙂