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Preschool homework? My daughters are 3.0 and 3.3 years old. Their new preschool teacher assigns homework; the first assignment was 6 worksheets to be completed between Monday pm and Friday am. I already told her that was too much for my kids to seriously attempt, and I do not do kids' homework. But some say any homework at all is too much at age 3. What do you all think? Of course we have plenty of worthwhile things to do during the few hours we have together each evening, but I am not opposed to them getting a little taste of the responsibility of homework. I'm thinking 1-3 easy papers per week, preferably ones that don't require any parental guidance.”

Asked by SKL on 6th January 2010 | 10 replies

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10 replies so far...

I think this question speaks more to the philosophy of both the school and the family. For example, I work for a child care learning center, and we do not think that "homework" is developmentally appropriate for young children. We certainly do encourage parents to work with their teachers and children to make connections between child care and home, and to extend the learning, but worksheets and handouts aren't meaningful to young children and can actually make them want to avoid homework when it comes time for kindergarten and first grade.

Remember that learning should be fun! If your children like to scribble all over handouts and worksheets and share what they've done with you, that's great! If you would prefer to take your children on a nature walk where they can collect items and take them to school to share, that's great, too. It's important to discuss with the program and the teacher the meaning behind the homework and your opinions about it.

-KA TwinMom

Flag as inappropriate Posted by KAtwinmom on 31st May 2010
I agree with you! For a 3 year old it's a lot. My son is in preschool and is 5 yrs old and he has a lot of homework already. It is good occaionally to sit down and go over things together, but sometimes it is a bit excessive. Sometimes I get home from work at 10pm and discover the next morning he has homework due that day and it can be stressful to have to get it completed in time. Also, he has started addition, subtraction and reading in preschool, which to me seems a bit much also.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by no on 21st March 2010
Teacher has changed her approach as her bosses told her she was using too much paper. Now she just gives a list of things the kids must bring to school once a week - e.g., 8 of something, something that starts with W, something square, something brown, something that flies. I like this better as it seems more age appropriate. But now that the kids are used to the idea of homework, I still give them something to write 2-3 evenings per week. Something quick they can do on their own and are interested in.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by SKL on 19th March 2010
Well, I was thinking we'd reached a happy compromise. 5-10 minutes of homework on M-Th as I'm starting supper. Developing a nice routine / habit. At least it was only on weekdays! But today the teacher provided a whole list of weekend homework to be turned in Monday morning. Now I'm getting ticked again. My time with my kids is precious. I have lots of things to do with them beyond what they are doing at school. Why does this teacher think we have nothing better to do than prep for her lessons? I really like her, but this just isn't reasonable. I don't see myself writing her another page-long letter about it, but for pete's sake. What would you do?

Flag as inappropriate Posted by SKL on 5th February 2010
Preschool for us was a few family projects a year (we did a family tree, and a holiday traditions box) but six worksheets in three days seems excessive for preschool.
Kindergartern was one worksheet a day and then it ratcheted up from there.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Mich on 3rd February 2010
Debra, I just don't have two hours a day to work with them on worksheets. I also think they spend enough time doing worksheets at school, for this age. My kids get home from school/daycare after 6:30 most nights, and bedtime is 8:30. In betwen those times, we have to cook, eat, clean up, bathe, and work on whatever learning and discipline is most appropriate for the given day. I have nothing against the worksheets per se, but most days, there is something more enriching for us to do together.

My kids are also academically advanced. My 3.0-year-old can already recognize all letters and numerals, write many of them independently, and read and spell more words than many kids entering the first grade. All this without her ever doing worksheets at home. My 3.3-year-old is a bit less advanced, but certainly above average; she's visually impaired and learns a lot better through music and movement. Worksheets fatigue her pretty quickly. Most people (incluing most teachers) seem to agree that at this age, worksheets are not helpful and could even be detrimental, especially if it's not the child's choice to complete them. However, there certainly is more than one school of thought on this.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by SKL on 10th January 2010
well, it's really all just reinforcement of a concept they are learning. My pre-school does not give homework except for sometimes cutting magazine pics out. BUT with all 3 of my children, they do many more than 3 worksheets a week here at home from me.We do workbooks, puzzles, activites and reading every day for a total of maybe 1-2 hours. When we head out in the car, they even grab a workbook or book on their own( I dont tell them too, they love it!) I make sure all of it is very fun and as a result my kids are very advanced both academically and "wordly". We spend many days at science centers, museums, library classes, etc..too. You can never learn too much!! Even at 43, I learn new things each day .
My suggestion is to take the focus off the word"homework" and just let them do it and have fun.Whatever it's called, they'll learn from it and it certainly can't hurt.
:-)
Debra

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Debra Ferrie on 10th January 2010
I think that homework in preschool is appauling. I could understand the school providing resources to reinforce what the children are learning or maybe some suggested activities/games/songs that could further emphasize the topics they're learning. Too early of an age to begin droning the children, don't you think. They should have personal time to think creatively, be imaginative, and have fun w/o homework. I'm sorry, I just think that's awful. I'm not against responsibilities to help out at home, to help them feel accomplished and find themselves as involved members of the family. They have 15-19 years of homework ahead of them, and years of report cards, competition, annual reviews...I would do all of this 'homework' in my own handwriting and sign my name at the top when it was time to turn it in. Seriously...homework at age 3?

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Meredith on 8th January 2010
I wrote the teacher a note today, so let's see what happens next. I don't know if it is the school's policy to give homework at this age, or not. I have been researching the issue online, and it seems most people who are in favor of preschool homework see it as an opportunity for the parents to be hands-on with their kids' education, which I personally find a bit ridiculous. As if I have no way of teaching my kids other than through school worksheets. If the homework isn't to be the child's personal responsibility, then I don't see the point of it at all.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by SKL on 8th January 2010
I think that 6 pages of worksheets is a lot for a kid that age too. I would think that anything that a child that age has to do would have to be supervised, if not done, by you which just puts more things to do on a working mom's plate. I would discuss this with the owner of the school to see if there is anything that can be changed. I have found that discussing things directly with the teachers is rarely, if ever, effective. The teachers at my sons school have the attitude that it is their way and they will not bend but the owner/director will always try to make the parents happy as to not lose customers.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by oceans mom on 7th January 2010