Miranda Marquit
October 6. 2009 16:58

My son had homework each day last year when he was in kindergarten. Of course, he has a little more this year, in first grade. I was surprised as well, since I didn't have homework until I was much older. It is nice, I guess, to get them in the habit of doing schoolwork in a responsible manner. On the other hand, it puts more on parents. While responsibility by parents is nice, as a volunteer in the classroom, it is obvious whose parents don't help much. And those kids fall behind early as their homework doesn't get done.

Annelise Pedersen
October 13. 2009 04:29

I think that , fair enough if they do get homework but, really I think they're too young in the sense that it puts huge pressure on parents and can cause tension when their children don't co-operate. There's plenty of time for homework later and if a parent does want to do extra work at home with their child then they would most likely do it naturally.

Amber
October 14. 2009 01:11

My daughter's only three, but I don't think kindergarteners should have homework, period. I am not looking forward to this! This is probably why I am still looking into homeschooling. If I'm going to be doing homework with my children anyway...

Karen Miles
October 14. 2009 05:50

No No No, absolutely not!  We need to let kids be kids.

Donna Chaffins
October 14. 2009 17:01

My son is in the first grade and he has homework on Mondays and Tuesdays.  So at least it isn't everyday.  I don't think kindergarteners should have homework at all.  There will be plenty of time for homework... let them be kids.  Learn to play and socialize in kindergarten.  

Sean Buvala
October 17. 2009 18:39

Wow! For me the question is, "should kindergarten students have any homework?" Too much pressure, too soon- and too many parents are buying into it. Intriguing question and interesting replies.

Donna Chaffins
October 18. 2009 08:27

@Sean - I agree.  Kindergartners should NOT have homework.

Annelise Pedersen
October 19. 2009 05:00

I don't even think children should be in school before 6 years old. In England they're changing the system soon  so that children will start school the first September after their 4th birthday! at the moment it's after their 5th birthday.

Cindy Campbell
October 23. 2009 22:53

Amy, you forgot!  We had the notebooks which we had to fill one page of with the letter of the day every week.  First week was A- pictures starting with A, next week B etc.  You did have Mrs. Jordan didn't you???  
But yes, the teachers in my school were very understanding if you were unable to get your child to cooperate and still are in 4th grade to an extent. If it is too much for you- tell the teacher and they can cut it down ( I believe they call that modified HW.) These are little kids who need to run and play and learn just by being alive!  I wouldn't worry so much about the HW, kid!  My parents had me in pre-school for the same reason I put my boys in- to learn independence.  It worked with one- not the other.  Michael was reading at 4yrs old- on his own, and Alex refused to read until he was in Kindergarten. (He also refused to learn to tie his own shoes until he was in 1st grade!  He was fully able, just stubborn!)  He didn't slow the class down one bit!  Yes the teachers will have extra reading time with those who are behind in reading, they do the same with Math at that age.  Pre-school is not mandatory where I live, it is expected, but there are always kids who do not have any schooling going into any Kindergarten experience.  Yes, school is different, thank God for that, but it is not always better.  They do push harder than they once did, but it now takes a college grad to be qualified to be a NY State employee- or even take the test to become an employee- instead of the HS grad of years gone by.  Because the worlsd is changing, the schools are trying to "help" the kids by speeding up the learning process so they have a chance in the "real" world when they graduate college.  Do I agree?  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Jan
March 8. 2010 15:02

No! This has been an issue for us. I feel there should be much more free play and creative time at the Kindergarten level. Why are we pushing them so early? There will be plenty of time for homework, they are too young to be sitting doing busy work all day. We wonder why kids are so unhealthy? Whatever happened to outdoor play and activities?  

Donna Chaffins
March 8. 2010 16:53

@Jan - I think the main reason for more homework and homework at such an early age, is "testing".  What I mean is that there is sooooo much emphasis placed on testing in schools and for the school as a whole to perform to a certain standard... that they are starting earlier and earlier prepping our kids.  This is just my theory, but I believe there is a lot of merit to this.

I agree that Kindergarten is way to young for homework!