Homework...
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Homework...
Finding this hard, watching poor DS work until 8-9pm every evening just to keep on top of it....but he needs time to relax.... hoping it will settle down soon.... any advice out there from post year 7 parents?
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stroudydad
- Posts: 2246
- Joined: Sat Oct 08, 2011 2:25 pm
Re: Homework...
Like mystery says a bit more info would give people a better idea of what to comment.. 
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tonbridgemum
- Posts: 421
- Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:46 pm
Re: Homework...
Yes! we had this problem in year 7 with my DS at his Grammar school. we emailed his head of year who was supportive and said DS should NOT spend more that 30 minutes on each subject given. If he was, we should 'round it off' and write in his planner and sign that he had done the required amount. It was easier said than done initially but because we had the back up email from head of year we did do it a few times. Luckily, DS speed up and actually managed to do more as the terms went on.
Its such a lot to manage early on - I know!! All kids are different and progress at different rates, even at grammar and I think there needs to be a bit more give and take in this in the early weeks until they find their stride.
They all need down time in the eve especially if getting home late after traveling - dont feel bad at trying to sort this before it becomes a bigger issue.
Its such a lot to manage early on - I know!! All kids are different and progress at different rates, even at grammar and I think there needs to be a bit more give and take in this in the early weeks until they find their stride.
They all need down time in the eve especially if getting home late after traveling - dont feel bad at trying to sort this before it becomes a bigger issue.
Re: Homework...
well, 2-3 pieces of homework set per night.
Maths and Science are all pretty easy, a page of questions, 20-30 mins, done.
But RE, Geography, Art, English, History are all setting posters, drawings, research.... they take a lot of time....
So if you have a club, i.e. Rubgy on Mon, gets' home 5.30 - 6.00, then you have tea.... after that you do a lot of homework but not quite all, so the next day you have all of that days and some extra, but you don't quite manage it all, by the end of the week you've been working hard but still the pile is growing more than its going down....so when is there time for relaxing, family, chilling, playing...
will it settle, or do we need to pile on the pressure.
And is it realistic for the schools to set so much, that if you have so much as one interruption, you can't get through the weeks work.
Or maybe by DS is too slow at it all....
Just hate seeing him work all day and all eve.... want to see some down time in there too!
Maths and Science are all pretty easy, a page of questions, 20-30 mins, done.
But RE, Geography, Art, English, History are all setting posters, drawings, research.... they take a lot of time....
So if you have a club, i.e. Rubgy on Mon, gets' home 5.30 - 6.00, then you have tea.... after that you do a lot of homework but not quite all, so the next day you have all of that days and some extra, but you don't quite manage it all, by the end of the week you've been working hard but still the pile is growing more than its going down....so when is there time for relaxing, family, chilling, playing...
will it settle, or do we need to pile on the pressure.
And is it realistic for the schools to set so much, that if you have so much as one interruption, you can't get through the weeks work.
Or maybe by DS is too slow at it all....
Just hate seeing him work all day and all eve.... want to see some down time in there too!
Re: Homework...
tonbridgemum wrote:Yes! we had this problem in year 7 with my DS at his Grammar school. we emailed his head of year who was supportive and said DS should NOT spend more that 30 minutes on each subject given. If he was, we should 'round it off' and write in his planner and sign that he had done the required amount. It was easier said than done initially but because we had the back up email from head of year we did do it a few times. Luckily, DS speed up and actually managed to do more as the terms went on.
Its such a lot to manage early on - I know!! All kids are different and progress at different rates, even at grammar and I think there needs to be a bit more give and take in this in the early weeks until they find their stride.
They all need down time in the eve especially if getting home late after traveling - dont feel bad at trying to sort this before it becomes a bigger issue.
Thanks tonbridgemum, it's reassuring to know these teething problems can be sorted and are normal...
Now how to tackle it... think we'll chat to form tutor at open eve and take it from there!
Re: Homework...
My dd spent most of her time on homework in Y7 as she was quite slow at it and there were 2-3 items a day. This was partly due to not knowing the best way to tackle it, partly due to spending too much time on some (esp. Art and art-related work) and partly the sheer volume. Some schools seem to pile on the homework early on and then relax by Y9. Others start slowly and build up. My daughter now whizzes through it in an almost too casual manner because she's had lots of practice! BTW If your son is dragging heavy textbooks home regularly then consider buying a few of the biggest ones. It means that they are always there so not forgotten, but saves his back too!
Last edited by 2Girlsmum on Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Homework...
Sent you a pm, OOCmum, but you beat me to it.
Re: Homework...
Dd2, in year 7 at gs, was been lazy regarding homework throughout years 5 and 6.
After nagging her daily after tea, she has reluctantly dragged her heavy school bag up to her room, tipped out all her books on to the floor and done her homework, with minimal help. This happened for the first fortnight.
However, she now seems to be struggling with the homework. She is stroppy because she is tired (huge circles under her eyes despite the fact she is voluntarily going to bed early every night), and I've noticed she's returned to her old habit of doing minimal homework, rather like she did in years 5 and 6. Each subject is supposed to take 20 minutes. She now does about 5 minutes per subject, unless I sit down and go through it with her, which I've done for the last week. I'm really not prepared to do that, I don't think it's good for her, and dh and I do not have time - we have three other children.She has to do homework on her own and spend more time on it.
I think your ds is doing really well, working for an hour. Could he change his routine? Is 8-9pm too late or is that what suits him? Dd2 does her hwk starting 530-6pm. Mind you, she's finished by 630pm at the moment! She's in the shower by 8pm latest and bed by 830, she is shattered. She used to go to bed at 930.
I think she is getting more tired as term goes on and hopefully will have more energy after half term. I suppose the other option is to save all the homework for the weekend, but that sounds terribly depressing, and I don't think she would do it any better. They've just got to carry on. There doesn't seem to be much time to relax.
As a post year 7 parent also, I spent too long helping my eldest with his homework in year 7, (in year 8 I left him to it and he was ok - perhaps he was more used to it, and less tired then?) I would encourage him not to spend too long on each subject.
I hope your ds settles down soon. Maybe try a different time to do homework? I'm no expert, though, and every child is different.
After nagging her daily after tea, she has reluctantly dragged her heavy school bag up to her room, tipped out all her books on to the floor and done her homework, with minimal help. This happened for the first fortnight.
However, she now seems to be struggling with the homework. She is stroppy because she is tired (huge circles under her eyes despite the fact she is voluntarily going to bed early every night), and I've noticed she's returned to her old habit of doing minimal homework, rather like she did in years 5 and 6. Each subject is supposed to take 20 minutes. She now does about 5 minutes per subject, unless I sit down and go through it with her, which I've done for the last week. I'm really not prepared to do that, I don't think it's good for her, and dh and I do not have time - we have three other children.She has to do homework on her own and spend more time on it.
I think your ds is doing really well, working for an hour. Could he change his routine? Is 8-9pm too late or is that what suits him? Dd2 does her hwk starting 530-6pm. Mind you, she's finished by 630pm at the moment! She's in the shower by 8pm latest and bed by 830, she is shattered. She used to go to bed at 930.
I think she is getting more tired as term goes on and hopefully will have more energy after half term. I suppose the other option is to save all the homework for the weekend, but that sounds terribly depressing, and I don't think she would do it any better. They've just got to carry on. There doesn't seem to be much time to relax.
As a post year 7 parent also, I spent too long helping my eldest with his homework in year 7, (in year 8 I left him to it and he was ok - perhaps he was more used to it, and less tired then?) I would encourage him not to spend too long on each subject.
I hope your ds settles down soon. Maybe try a different time to do homework? I'm no expert, though, and every child is different.
Re: Homework...
Thanks for all the responses, really calming to know we're all getting similar issues of varying degrees!
