Post by ilovelucyvv on Jul 23, 2018 8:09:47 GMT -5
Hi. This may sound pretty basic but this is my first time with a Kindergartener. DD is starting school at the end of August. She has a packet of homework to do during the summer. Most of it involves writing, but some of it is slightly more fun sounding. We started it a few weeks ago with the goal of getting it done a little at a time, but it is like pulling teeth. For example, one of her assignments is to write the nos. 1-20 and draw pictures next to each number. So, for example, write 1 then draw 1 hear, write 2 then draw 2 hearts... By no. 11 she was having a meltdown. Later in the day I tried to get her to do some more by offering her a reward if she made it to 20. She went from 11-13 before giving up again. I have been watching her, trying to encourage her, as she gets distracted really easily by anything and everything. I want to get a desk in her room but H wants to look for old one that we used to have first before buying a new one (which is annoying). But other than getting that set up, any tips or tricks for being more successful with this? If this is what the summer packet is going to be like, I am starting to get worried about the homework she will have to do with a quicker turnaround when school starts. She is smart but also very emotional and will be one of the younger kids in the class.
Our kindergarten teachers really emphasized that the homework they sent home should not take more than 5-10 minutes a day. It was really so that we could see what skills they're working on and give them a chance to practice with parents more than it was educationally necessary I think. It kind of forced parents who may not have been so involved to get more involved in their kids' education. Most of our assignments were things like "Read a story together" or "Count and add objects together." So I'd take it easy and break it into smaller pieces for the summer homework. I think we forget that something super simple like writing out numbers is actually really hard for a kid who is just learning. I know I have to check myself when it's taking longer than I think it should.
Writing is really hard for kindergarten kids, especially the youngest ones. So for writing assignments, I would break it up into REALLY small pieces. Like do 15 and 16, praise the ever living heck out of her, then go do something fun. Also, I sometimes sit with DD while she does her stuff and I do my stuff. Like write a grocery list or meal plan. It’s so she sees me also writing and Knies this is really something people do outside of school.
I would also do lots of stuff to help strengthen her hands. This is for ALL kids, so I’m not implying there’s anything wrong with her. Some great ones are PlayDoh, Legos, a white board on a wall, sidewalk chalk. All are helpful for getting those writing muscles read to learn. We tend to concentrate on stuff like reading to kids and having them recognize letters and numbers. But more and more kids are going to school with weak hand muscles. Mine both have them.
I’d have someone else do it with her. My kids knock out homework for sitters but whine to me (because they think I will be sympathetic? No idea as that’s not the case). Also figure out her motivation - I have one who is internally driven, one who wants praise and one who enjoys rewards (I told him when he finished a workbook we would get a treat. The next day he handed me the complete book except a couple pages he didn’t understand the directions. Epic tantrum when I said I had to work and could not go for a treat RIGHT THEN.)
I hate summer packets, now that we are in public school and the standards are so much lower we don’t get it - and having done both, I see zero benefit to anything beyond something like a “who am I” intro poster or something.
I really want to say don't do the homework. I think summer homework for an incoming Kindergartner is ridiculous, and I am not one of those anti all homework in elementary school (although I do see their point).
But in reality I would probably feel like I should do a little. There were a lot of tantrums with DS regarding writing. As you know he needed strengthening in every body part including the hands and eventually went into PT and OT. Not saying you will have to do that, but to echo mommyatty its really hard for some kids at this age. And we had a lot of struggles. He still writes really sloppy, and it is not his favorite thing, but I am happy to say that somewhere in K he became a lot less resistant to it, and more so in 1st grade. I would totally back off anything that resembles a power struggle or frustration whatsoever. Make it the most positive experience possible, if that isn't possible then I would consider not doing nearly as much of that homework. I kind of feel like the teacher should be taking the lead in teaching writing and making it fun, and I am more secondary/ support system for that. Not to say I don't teach my kids stuff, but if they are requiring this summer homework they had to know some kids would struggle with it, and have a plan for when they come back to school.
Post by covergirl82 on Jul 23, 2018 9:15:27 GMT -5
I would break it up, like for the numbers (writing the number then drawing a picture), only do a few or 5 at a time.
We didn't have homework in K. The teachers just ask parents to have kids read to them for about 20 minutes a day, and then maybe find fun ways to incorporate numbers and math. (For example, when you go to the library, have your kid count how many books they got. Then maybe count how many hardcover and how many paperbacks, and when you add those two together, how many books total? Or if we have 5 books but then decide to put one back, how many would we have?)
During the summer, I send workbooks with the kids to their in-home daycare. The usually work on them during while the babies/toddlers nap.
This is a very common problem. I'd probably work down not up though. Have her do 20 which will take a long time and then the next day do 19 and so forth. I don't think you can do more than 1-2 per day. It is a lot of work. My rising second grader would still need such a task broken up given his poor penmanship. His book report we're doing over the summer is being done in 20 mins blocks. We're working on and off in July.
Last year in kindergarten we got weekly weekend homework, which included things like reading, writing, math, and games with spinners. DS would get super frustrated with the reading and loved the math. So I would do things like, okay we do one sheet of reading, now we can do math. And alternate with things that he liked more. He also would get super distracted, so I had to make sure to keep his little sister away from him while he worked, also things like not having the TV on in thebackground. I also tried to do it when he wasn't super tired, so not in the afternoon (this didn't always happen because weekends are busy).
Can I throw out that I also didn’t know summer packets at such a young age were a thing? My kids are in a competitive academic prep school, and DD’s summer “homework” as a rising 1st grader was to read 5 books and to indicate with a smile or a frown if she liked them. She did it in one afternoon, but we have continued tracking what she’s reading because she’s enjoying watching her list grow.
I agree mommyatty. We had a K readiness list, but nothing else. After K we went to a stop the summer slide program where they gave us fun worksheets and things to do. I think we did their games maybe twice, and then nothing else the rest of the summer. This summer they didn't even have that program, and DS voluntarily brought home his math workbook and without me saying anything did a couple of pages in that. There was never anything formally assigned.
I would have her draw dots and use whatever writing tool she wanted (gel pen, crayon, marker). DD rising 2nd grader hates the draw out your work with pictures parts and her teacher suggested the kids either use dots or lines instead of the boxes that is preferred in common core.
We got homework packets after K going into 1st and DD finished them the 2nd week school got out. We got another set of packets for this summer and she hasn't really touched it. She has chosen to work in her brain quest 1st and 2nd grade books instead. I've also got a reading list from the library lady at schools so we have been plugging away at that list.
I like the packets because it gives them something to do but it is also hard to fit in when she has been at a sports camp all day and is mental & physically exhausted by the end of the day.
We had something to do during the summer before kindergarten, but it was more of an assessment to get the kids into the right level groups. So I didn’t help with it at all because I wanted t to be an accurate assessment of what she could do. So she wrote a bunch of numbers backwards and left other stuff blank and that’s how we turned it in.
DD1 didn't have any homework going into K or 1st grade. Her homework in K was very limited - she would bring home a worksheet to complete 1-2 days per week, usually for math. Their attention span is short so I would start with one page at a time and praise after it's completed. It was like pulling teeth some nights but she had to do her homework before she could do anything fun after school. There was one morning she still hadn't done the worksheet and I told her that it was fine, it's her responsibility to complete and if it's not done, she will need to tell her teacher why. She quick finished it before the bus came because she didn't want to disappoint her teacher.
WAY too much work for one sitting. I would get these, and start with 20 and count down. One per day. If you don’t finish, oh well. No more than 20 minutes per day, with a target of 10. This is why I *am* one of those “no homework at all in lower grades” people. It makes learning less fun, which can last a lifetime.
Post by ilovelucyvv on Jul 23, 2018 12:56:16 GMT -5
Thank you for your perspective! I'll lower my expectations and try to break it down into smaller pieces. I am starting to get nervous because there are still quite a few tasks left in the packet and some I expect to be even more painful... such as recreating a story in a library book by drawing a series of pictures and writing sentences. There are 12 different activities in this packet and we've completed about 4.5 of them so far.
ilovelucyvv, if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen. You don't want to put her off going to school. Have her pick out the pages she wants to do and for the picture/writing book report just have her write out the title of the book and write 1 picture of what she liked best and call it good. That packet sounds more intense than what my DD has and she is going into 2nd grade.
DD's packet contained some 6 problem per sheet math pages, Tanzy puzzles, read the short paragraph and answer A-B-C answers stuff about a variety of things. Her Scholastic works books are harder and have more variety which is probably why she likes doing them better.
Thank you for your perspective! I'll lower my expectations and try to break it down into smaller pieces. I am starting to get nervous because there are still quite a few tasks left in the packet and some I expect to be even more painful... such as recreating a story in a library book by drawing a series of pictures and writing sentences. There are 12 different activities in this packet and we've completed about 4.5 of them so far.
Writing sentences is very much an end of K skill so I'm surprised that is there.
I would have her dictate them to you and note that you're written what she said.
For context, my DD just finished k and all she knew going in was her letters and how to write her name. She didn’t even know what a sentence was. We did a play based preschool and didn’t do stuff like that at home - in my opinion, that’s what k is for. And she can now fully read and write in complete sentences. She was very successful in k after knowing nothing going in. I can’t believe some of the stuff your school is asking incoming k kids to do.
Post by mustardseed2007 on Jul 23, 2018 13:37:14 GMT -5
My rising first grader would be screwed trying to do this homework. The math he could do but not the sentences. But then he's behind, with a tutor, and being evaluated for dyslexia so grain of salt I guess.
Post by freezorburn on Jul 23, 2018 15:29:57 GMT -5
Same as sdlaura here. DS would not have been able to do the packet you described as a rising kindergartener. But doable now that he is finished with K.
In our area I think there was a lot of push back in HW at lower grade levels a few years ago, so that has dialed back a lot. We were only asked to read every day if possible, and to keep a reading log.
I would not do this. Kids going into K do not need homework. It's not developmentally appropriate and when her teacher asks, I would explain why I didn't make her do it.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Thank you for your perspective! I'll lower my expectations and try to break it down into smaller pieces. I am starting to get nervous because there are still quite a few tasks left in the packet and some I expect to be even more painful... such as recreating a story in a library book by drawing a series of pictures and writing sentences. There are 12 different activities in this packet and we've completed about 4.5 of them so far.
That is totally ridiculous. Has her teacher ever taught kids before?! Writing is REALLY hard for kindergarteners. They can't spell...
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
I would not do this. Kids going into K do not need homework. It's not developmentally appropriate and when her teacher asks, I would explain why I didn't make her do it.
I bet that's not super helpful, sorry!
I totally agree with this. K should be mostly play-based, and it’s a shame that it isn’t. There is plenty of time for homework in the older grades. Homework in K should be encouraging them to get lots of activity and take part in shared reading with a caring adult.
Post by sandandsea on Jul 24, 2018 12:08:03 GMT -5
This sounds similar to our K Homework but not before school even started. They did a ten minute assessment of each student at the Beg of year to see where they were. I hate homework packets for the summer but do understand why it’s important to do something academic over the summer. Ds did a school like summer camp for 6 weeks so if he would have had homework to do I wouldn’t have made him do it.