How do you feel about students having homework on weekends? I'm not talking about special projects or practicing a band instrument. I'm talking about 2-3 hours worth of core subject work every weekend. I feel like the weekend is a time to relax, recharge and rest up for the next week.

We have some kind of homework every night. I guess Friday and Saturday are pretty much homework-free, but not Sunday. The kids get used to it and expect it.

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I'd rather they have two-three hours on weekends (or more) and much less during the week. During the week there's no time to relax for them if they participate in any activity (scouts, sports) . . . if the homework is given to be done over the course of the weekend, they can still get it done and have their family and relaxation time.

I agree with truble2301. A few hours on Sunday nights is preferable to a homework-packed school week.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I can't stand homework either. Don't tell my kids because I try VERY hard to have a good attitude about it.

It really irritates me if it is 'busy work' just for the sake of having homework OR if I am having to actually teach my kids... I can so rarely just have my youngest sit down and do homework without ending up sitting right by him for the entire hour or so that it takes for him to complete it each night.

Luckily, neither one has much homework on the weekends, yet... Oldest has it sometimes but he can sit down and get it done on his own in 30 minutes or less.

No, this doesn't take the place of homework during the week. This is just homework for the sake of having homework. We are going into the 7th week of school. DD is in 9th grade and there have been maybe 4 weeknights that she hasn't had homework. There's been homework every weekend.

We are very blessed here as the kids are given no homework (except special projects occassionally) on Wednesdays or on Weekends. They also have very little if any during the week. DS 13 has vocab words we go over Monday - Thursday but that's pretty much it.

I can totally see how homework on the weekends would be a complete bummer.

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ugh.. I dread these days.. my kids are 2 and 4.. My 4 year old was sent home with bible homework over the weekend.. Our bible was lost in a flood 3 years ago..lol geesh.. talk about more of an assignment than I thought.

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My DD is in 9th grade, too, and I share that frustration. Seems she doesn't do anything all week but school, athletics after school, eat dinner and do homework. She probably gets less than 7 hours sleep a night. Her schedule has no study hall, which stinks.

I am not a big homework person. I usually assign Current Events and Daily Oral Geography on Mondays, but it isn't due until Friday. If it's a particular concept that a child is having a hard time with or hasn't mastered, I may assign something. I just feel like most of them work so hard during the day, that they deserve the weekend and afternoons to recharge and be a kid. I do assign projects sometimes, but I learned that it's better to do the projects in class because then all the kids are on the same playing field. They can do research on the internet, print of pix, etc. at home, but I also allow time for that in class. It's working really well-and the students are doing their OWN work! Wait...I did assign math homework on Friday! We did a really tricky puzzle during enrichment Friday--their assignment is to see if their parents, or another adult that they live with, can figure it out! :-)

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I'm surprised that you know what homework your 9th grader has - I had no idea. This is the year when the student really begin to learn to juggle a variety of assignments and due dates because it's typically the first year when the student has 5 or 6 different teachers and they are not coordinating homework due dates and test dates. I may be a mean mom, but I expect these years to be preparing them for college and for independence, so I like to see them loaded up and challenged. I'll have to see if I feel the same way when my younger DS gets there next year; he isn't as strong academically as older DS (but has a lot of other neat things going for him! .

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

cj/ 9th grade is the first year your kids have so many different teachers? Here switches (different teachers for different subjects) starts in 2nd grade. By 4th grade they have 3 switches - SS, Science, Math and sometimes LA. In 7th grade they are in Junior high and have 8 - 9 different teachers throughout the day. I agree with you on your reply. I am all for homework on weekends. In the real world work doesn't stop just because it is weekend. Granted people may not be going into their place of employment but they are still working around the house or whatever.

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I don't like the homework, but, understand it is a necessary part of school work. I could understand if they have a big major report or project due, but, prefer the weekends be "free" time for them.

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No, I guess that wasn't really true. They do have 2 teachers for the primary subjects in 5th grade, then 3or4 in middle school...although my 8th grader is on a 2-teacher teacher team where one teachs LA/SS and the other Math/Science. (I believe that next year will be a difficult change for him) The point I was trying to make, but didn't very well, is that in high school there are a lot more tracks and course offerings. None of the teachers "team" teach or share lesson/homework plans to balance the homework like I believe that they do in the lower grades. But maybe I'm wrong...it happens!

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Both of my children are in jr. high with 7 teachers each day.
I will never understand the rush to make children grow up. Why can't they just be kids while they're young? Homework on the weekend is totally not necessary. It's no wonder to me so many students are already headed toward burnout before they even graduate high school.
If I don't show an interest in my 9th grade child's school work, who will? I still believe it's my job as a parent to keep up with what is going on in school.

I hate homework all around.

They're at school for seven hours a day, so I'm always puzzled why there is still another hour's worth of work to do at home.

Our 4th grader had six pages to do over Labor Day weekend. Hello. Please give us a break during breaks.

My 9th grader is apt to have 10 minutes to an hour and half to do, usually in Spanish, and occasionally in Algebra.

My two teenagers ALWAYS have some homework on the weekends. My DD does it right when she gets home on Fri. to get it out of the way. DD waits until Sunday to do his (though I ask him through the weekend "wouldn't you rather get it out of the way?") They also have homework every weeknight also. That is just H.S. in our area. But, hopefully they will be better prepared for college this way....

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Please don't interpret my lack of knowledge about the day-to-day homework assignments of my highschooler as a lack of interest or not doing my job. Said child has always pulled grades qualifying him for the Headmaster's List (top honors) on a honors (now AP-laden) curriculum. I have never felt the need to supervise his work, because he has always delivered the results. I try not to be a nag (about that at least) And he'll need to do it all un-supervised in college next year.

I will have to use a different strategy with DS#2, I'm sure. Although he has always been a child that needs to learn his own lesson, so I'll have to figure this out.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

My son had the option of 3 diffrent projects for a class <he's in 8th> 1 was earth is going to get hit by a meteor and he has to make a powerpoint presentation, collect facts and write an essay about it. 2 was something about a black hole, think it was also a power point presentation with that. 3 was to build a working remote control car that has to be able to go through a obstacle course

I never had all this visual presentations and stuff at school, hubby had to bring home powerpoint from work cause we've never had a need for it.



I try to stay knowing what the kids are doing, oldest had a period where I didnt check and always got a "Oh yeah I've done my homework" and that's the reason he's suppose to be in 9th not 8th. I go throguh his backpack to check his planner, he has to write in the planner everyday if a teacher checks it and it doesnt have the assignments in it he gets in trouble. my 9 year old I dont have to go check as often, cause I wait at the corner for him, he hops in and we go pick up his older brother, once we get at the school to wait he gives me all his papers without me asking hehe

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My kids have homework everyday. The ones who are in grade school, don't have homework on the weekends unless they have a special project, but my oldest DD who is in 7th grade, gets so much homework, it's ridiculous. She will start homework within 30 minutes of getting home and often not finish till right before bed. Weekends tend to be loaded with math and science, she will start on Friday night, so she can have fun on Saturday with friends, and then spends at least 4 or 5 hours on Sunday, not to include Study time....I think it's a bit too much.

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O-H-I-O

I agree with this sentiment for young children. Homework load needs to increase as children advance into middle school and high school or they will not be able to keep pace.

We are falling behind other countries in preparing our children in terms of academics and personal responsibility. I am not looking forward to the day when unskilled labor is no longer being sent off-shore, but is coming back to the US because that's what we have to offer. (I know, I know...off topic....sorry...but it blows my mind to be graduating kids that can't read and spell or make change)
cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Timely post for me, I was just telling my 6th grade dd that she needs to manage her time better. Her homework is online for every subject and for the whole week. I was telling her last night that she knew she had to read 3 chapters of the Golden Goblet by monday a week ago! She was in a panic that she wouldn't finish and that she couldn't get it done or the questions answered! Was this my problem, not really, she stayed up to 10:30 pm and got it done. Hopefully she will learn to balance everything. I can check out her homework and grades online, which is really nice.

My ds in 2nd grade gets a packet of homework on mondays, he can do it all in one day a spread it out over the week.

My dd in 4th grade gets homework almost everyday but it is due on different days and I don't help her with it because she does not want my help.

My daughter gets her Spelling words to write 3x's each on Fridays so they have a head start on them. She is in 1st grade. th grade Son only has Reading to do on Weekends(since they have a book report to do every month),

Poster Kathylun, how cool is that?!? I'd love to have that system here. That takes extra planning on the teachers part and a little extra work to get it placed online.
I am also able to go online to view my children's grades. It's so convenient and I know at a glance what's going on with their grades.

Kids need to be kids no matter their age, whether it be elementary, middle, jr or sr high. I would guess that DD had about 4 hrs. of homework this weekend. Add that in with church activities twice on Sunday and other family activities on Saturday, it makes for a busy weekend with not enough free "me" time.
My children are 7th and 9th grade and are very good readers, spellers and capable to make change. I have no doubt they will be very productive citizens along with a whole slew of other students.

My dd in 6th grade goes to a private school, so they work alot with the parents. But my two younger ones go to public school and thier grades are online too, just not the homework. Let's just say my middle one got in trouble for not handing in some work...and I knew this when I picked her up that afternoon.

I agree that kids need some homework, but most of what I see is busy work. They also need time to be kids. Our county is now going to full time 4yr kindergarten and head start.

I find it amusing when people talk about our kids needing responsibility. If that is the case why do we, as parents, have to check to make sure they do their homework. What happened to the days when the kids were expected to do it on their own? Parents were only involved if the child needed help and even then they tried to get the child to do it by himself.

I find it amusing when people talk about or country falling behind in the world. How come when we were kids (I'm 43) and we had less homework we were ahead of everyone else, but our kids spend MORE time on school now and we're falling behind?
Judy

I am 40 and I remember we were behind when I went to school, the Japanese were so far ahead of us.

My oldest is in 2nd grade and I have to say I hate (his) homework more than he does. Last year in first grade, it was all busy work and what I call 'mommy homework' -- projects that there was no way he could do by himself. They would watch movies in class and then send home a stack of worksheets. I kept saying, 'can't they do the worksheets at school and we'll watch a movie at home' <ugh>.

At least this year it is a little better and doesn't seem to be so much 'busy work'. He has weekly spelling words, practice math facts and one story a week from a textbook we keep at home with different questions each night. He's also supposed to read or listen to books being read to him for at least 20 minutes a day. On Friday they have tests on all of the homework stuff, so if you don't work on it during the week they probably won't pass the tests. DS has gotten smart now, he's started doing the story questions on the bus on the way home from school -- he gets off the bus and hands me the completed question sheet <yeah> and then we just talk about his answers.

Even my 4 year old (he's in pre-K) gets homework. Granted it is easy and most of it I can get it all set for him and walk away and he will do it himself. Although this week his homework is to make a dinosaur sock puppet. Fun, fun, fun for me (not).

Sarah..........mom to Jason & Devin