How much homework for 6 year olds

I totally agree with Luckygirl, thatbags and others. Homework for primary school children is utterly absurd, especially at infant level, 4-7 years of age. A full day of schooling at that age is more than enough for them to cope with. And given that these little ones should be going to bed early on weekdays, having to spend up to half an hour daily on homework is encroaching on their very limited and valuable relaxation and family time.

It actually really angers me - we never had to do homework until senior school, neither did my DC. I don't believe there is any evidence that there is a correlation between primary school homework and academic achievement, so what on earth is the point of causing all this stress to children and parents?

Childhood is such a fleeting time. Children should be allowed to be carefree, to be able to play and relax and have as much down time as possible. They will be grown up for a long, long time.

pompa some families don't get through the door until 6 pm by the time the child or children are picked up from nursery or a childminder, then it's meal-time, bath-time and 6 year olds should be in bed by 7.30 after a full day.
Time for a story, perhaps a page of reading and that's it.

6 year olds do get tired after a full day at school.

Year 1 is still INFANTS!

Apart from reading to a parent or carer, and being read to every night to stimulate their love of reading I do not think they should have any homework.

I do agree with Luckygirl; it is all too draconian for little ones. If they have the kind of family who read, enjoy playing games or going on bug hunts, talking about the stars etc they do have a good start, but it should not be forced on little children - and on parents who may have been at work all day themselves.

"spent our evenings reading or drawing or playing board games in the winter, and outside in the summer."

Precisely, this is the educational play that children should be encouraged to do, rather than sit in front of a screen all evening.

I can't remember my two having homework. DS2 now tells me I should have been more strict with him! Not that my lack of supervision stopped him getting a 1st class degree. When DS1 was about 5, I offered to help him with reading. 'I'm a teacher,' I said. 'Yes,' he answered, 'but you're not my teacher.' What could I say? He turned into a voracious reader and still is.

I'm with Luckygirl and those with similar views on this. Homework for 6 year olds is ridiculous.

My poor daughter has to spend ages each evening getting her 6 year old to do his homework. She sits and encourages him but he is tired after a day at school and is falling asleep by the time he has finished. She recently had to get him to read a passage a day (this is on top of his usual homework) and then she had to complete a form to say he had done it. She was busy one evening so the next evening they did two readings and DD dated and signed the form accordingly. DGS came home in tears the next day saying he wasn't allowed a tick on the publicly displayed reading chart because he had not done one reading a day. DD went to the teacher to complain and was told that next time she should just lie about the dates!

Kids should be allowed to be kids. We didn't get homework until we went to the grammar school aged 11 and so spent our evenings reading or drawing or playing board games in the winter, and outside in the summer. Has everyone gone mad?

Gs used to have reading every night, spellings once a week. At the weekend he had something odd and esoteric to do. Like look in the night sky for several nights and record what you see. Not easy at 6. ...or 67. Amazing how many satellites we saw night after night.

When I said "structured" I did not mean by the school, but a time set aside each evening for a learning activity. That could be anything that offers a challenge whether it be a game, reading,writing,art, sport, etc.

Try dealing with a child who is reluctant to do it! It is a blight on home life and causes arguments and strife where none is needed.

One of my DDs struggled dreadfully at school and felt a complete failure (she now has an MA!) - no way would I have allowed that struggle to spill over into home life. She learned lots with us through play, playing card and board games etc. - and she did it with a smile.

Learning is not restricted to the school day - it is part of family life and no structured edicts from the school are needed for that.

Well done bags for standing your ground.

DS had a homework sheet each week from pre school age and that's 20 yrs ago.
GS who is 6, 7 in May had to .....
pick out the 6 adverbs from a list of random words then use them in a sentence. Plus read his book.
They alternate Maths and English each weekend and are expected. to read to an adult every night. Someone always sits with him when he's doing homework.
Vocabulary took him 10mins and we read his book for 10mins. He is happy to do it and sometimes asks to. He seems to enjoy a few minutes of 'one to one' without 4 yr old brother on the scene.

I don't think we should restrict learning to the "school day" we should encourage learning in all activities where possible, most children will want to learn new things and skills, that's what development is.
We just need to guide them in the right direction, offer them new challenges, even the dreaded computer games can be advantageous.
What i hate is when our grandson get fixated on some TV programme for hours on end. I will always try to distract his attention on to some other activity, go on a bug hunt, football etc

Absolutely thatbags. In a similar vein I do dislike the way 'playgroups' are now 'pre-school'. What is the problem of letting children PLAY ?

I recommend the book by Erika Ckristakis called "The Importance of Being Little" where she talks about the importance of play for children's learning.

Totally agree with you Luckygirl. The authorities in Beijing have banned homework for young children but I shall have to check with DD until what age. This does not of course prevent parents from taking their children to extra classes every day. It may also be worth saying that my GS starts school at 8.30 and finishes at 4.30. He is 6

I refused to allow Minibags to do homework right through primary school. If kids can't learn enough in six hours a day of formal schooling, then the schooling is crap.

She's now fifteen and a right swot, determined to get the highest grades she can and to go to university.

This is exactly the same result that my parents had with no primary school homework. It's exactly the same as my four siblings and me and it's the same as my two thirty-odd year old daughters. My parents, my siblings and I, and my elder daughters never had set homework at primary school. Ergo, the assumption that it makes a difference is nonsense.

Children don't need to be doing homework at primary school age to want to learn later on. So long as their learning spark is captured (usually through play, not study, in their early years), they'll be fine. Let them be kids.

???

Why do they need a break ?. They would be playing any way, they just need a short spell of play that is connected with their school work, we are not talking maths etc here, just some writing/reading/craft etc.
Our grandson is poor with his writing, so I asked him to draw his favourite superheroes and write their names as pompa does not know what there names are. He doesn't see that as home work, but it's what it is.

"....a structured period at home where they can engage in activities that reinforce their school work." Oh pompa give the poor little buggers a break! That just makes me shudder.

At the risk of sounding like a Luddite, I had no homework at all until secondary school and finished up with excellent tertiary education results and a satisfying career.

I think homework should be a part of the school day from the very start. It is important that children get used to a structured period at home where they can engage in activities that reinforce their school work. Obviously at 6 or less this should be a fun activity that they want to do and perhaps just for half an hour. They will then accept the more challenging homework as the norm when it comes along. I think this can be harder on the parents (especially if they both work), than the child.

None - absolutely none. No question about it.

These are small children and their happy time with their families is being buggered up by parents having to try and get them to do homework, which is wholly unnecessary anyway. Lots of parents are themselves tired from a day's work and having to cajole a reluctant, equally tired, 6 year old to do something they do not want to do can be the last straw.

If you have a child who loves doing it, then fine - if not then why should the school have the right to interfere with family peace and happiness for no good reason? Parents have the right to say no to this, and I know many who have - the teachers themselves have agreed with them that it is not necessary, but they have to have an eye to blasted OfSted - and data, and SATs.........groan.

Half the parents I know finish up virtually doing the darn stuff themselves for a peaceful life. What on earth is the point of that?

Oh - really don't get me on this subject. It is iniquitous. What are we doing to these children? It is total madness.

My granddaughter aged four gets homework. It seems to be the norm these days. I think it's very important to support the teachers and the school as any negativity towards them can easily rub off on a child. It's so important that our youngsters respect their teachers and learn to do what's asked of them.

My granddaughter does her homework, but with lots of help and encouragement from mum and dad.

It is ridiculous at that age but could your D sit down and do it with her . I found that was the only way to get mine to do it , I think that just keep saying" do your homework" to a young child doesn`t work . You have to try to make it interesting for them by getting involved . It used to drive me crazy when I had so much other stuff to do of my own too !

I think homework for 6 year olds, other than a bit of reading is ridiculous.