How much homework do your kids get? (out of control, appropriate, daughter)

[Reneeme]

Originally Posted by golfgal

All of our schools do this. It is reinforcing the concepts learned in other classes. Kids don't need to only spell properly in their English classes. Translate it to real life, do they only need to spell properly for one part of their job and it is ok not to for other parts?

I know they need to spell properly in life (although at work, we can use dictionaries and/or spell check if needed). I just felt sad for my son yesterday because he did well on a really hard test in terms of answering the questions, but then lost 20 points due to spelling (spelling science terms). I have not seen the test yet so possibly there is more to the story!

Also, spelling is my son's biggest weakness so now I am realizing that it is going to effect his grades in everything. And again, on the flip side, now that spelling effects his grades, maybe he will try harder (he does well on spelling tests and then spells horribly when he is writing). Thanks for the information. I was not sure what the norm was for 5th grade.

[formercalifornian]

Reneeme, my daughter has the same issue with spelling. She is extremely visual, so she's able to create a mental picture of her spelling words. Unfortunately, that doesn't translate well to her writing. We think she might have a problem with auditory processing, because she's always struggled with phonetic spelling. She doesn't appear to hear distinct syllables, which makes it extremely difficult to apply the "each syllable must contain at least one vowel" rule. She's also somewhat tone deaf. Listening to her sing along with the radio can be painful. We also suspect that she might be mildly dyslexic; however, so far she is on target academically. I sometimes want to throw up my hands, but we're all managing to cope by taking it one day at a time. Hang in there.

[militarymom]

well my first grader has about 30 min each night. He has vocab words to practice spelling and reading. He has a spelling test every friday that he studies for with his journal notebook every tues/thurs. He has a book to read to me nightly and he typically has 2 (lame) busy work worksheets to complete.

[Reneeme]

Originally Posted by formercalifornian

Reneeme, my daughter has the same issue with spelling. She is extremely visual, so she's able to create a mental picture of her spelling words. Unfortunately, that doesn't translate well to her writing. We think she might have a problem with auditory processing, because she's always struggled with phonetic spelling. She doesn't appear to hear distinct syllables, which makes it extremely difficult to apply the "each syllable must contain at least one vowel" rule. She's also somewhat tone deaf. Listening to her sing along with the radio can be painful. We also suspect that she might be mildly dyslexic; however, so far she is on target academically. I sometimes want to throw up my hands, but we're all managing to cope by taking it one day at a time. Hang in there.

That sounds exactly like my son!!! I never tied singing and spelling together but it makes sense.

Has your daughter ever been tested for needing extra help? Have you tried to have her tested? I have tried a little each year to have the school test my son, however, they always have a reason why they do not think he should/can be tested, and I never push it because I have mixed feelings about it and I am not sure how to push harder (other people I know had to get very demanding!).

As a side note, my younger son is very visual, and he has a "drawer" in his head where he stores words he has trouble spelling, and he pulls out the words from his drawer when he needs to remember how to spell them! (this works for him, he does not have the spelling troubles that my 10 year old son has though).

Thanks

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Reneeme

I know they need to spell properly in life (although at work, we can use dictionaries and/or spell check if needed). I just felt sad for my son yesterday because he did well on a really hard test in terms of answering the questions, but then lost 20 points due to spelling (spelling science terms). I have not seen the test yet so possibly there is more to the story!

Also, spelling is my son's biggest weakness so now I am realizing that it is going to effect his grades in everything. And again, on the flip side, now that spelling effects his grades, maybe he will try harder (he does well on spelling tests and then spells horribly when he is writing). Thanks for the information. I was not sure what the norm was for 5th grade.

My 5th grade teacher gave me a dictionary with a note inside of it "because you are going to need it". I still have it today . I had to spend a lot of extra time learning to spell science/math terms too. You might want to look into a phonics program for him, I know Saxon has one that is a 'reading recovery' program for 4th graders but the phonics learned in that could help him tremendously. My oldest did this one summer and I was amazed at how much it helps. Our twins had the Saxon math and phonics curriculum in school and the words they could spell at a young age were just amazing (way better than I can do ).

[veuvegirl]

I think it is insane these days. My son in 4th grade has to read 20 minutes a night, practice his trumpet 20 minutes, and write in his journal for 20 minutes. That is an hour. This does not even count what is sent home with him each night, which is generally an hour minimum. He has no time to relax and have fun. He is signed up for some activities which he LOVES. I hate him not having any free time to do nothing. If he didn't like his after school activities, I would have him drop something. He actually wants to add more! He just hates the homework.

[formercalifornian]

Originally Posted by Reneeme

That sounds exactly like my son!!! I never tied singing and spelling together but it makes sense.

Has your daughter ever been tested for needing extra help? Have you tried to have her tested? I have tried a little each year to have the school test my son, however, they always have a reason why they do not think he should/can be tested, and I never push it because I have mixed feelings about it and I am not sure how to push harder (other people I know had to get very demanding!).

As a side note, my younger son is very visual, and he has a "drawer" in his head where he stores words he has trouble spelling, and he pulls out the words from his drawer when he needs to remember how to spell them! (this works for him, he does not have the spelling troubles that my 10 year old son has though).

Thanks

No, I've never had her tested, because she seems to be holding her own. She copes by looking up the words in a dictionary and dividing them into syllables, using a different color for each syllable and underlining each vowel or vowel blend. We also clap out syllables while driving. It's a slow process, but it seems to help her tremendously.

[yes101]

I am an 8th grade honors student and I have a lot of homework, and I finish it at around 11pm or so. And at school, some teachers don't even explain the classwork and notes, and it really hard to do the HW, and the "long-term" projects they kind of explain it and it is due in 4 days at the most, even on weekends. So why are we getting to much homework.

[NYMD67]

My oldest is in 5th grade and gets about an hour to an hour in a half each night, in addition to 1/2 hour of reading needed each night and practicing her band insteument 20 min. Each night ( parent has to sign off in it).So, I guess that is approx. 3 hours on school related work each night. Way too much time....
Parents are held accountable and need to sign off on homework journals each night.....
We have spent a giod part of this weekend so far on 2 major projects also due and a test on Monday... Ridiculous.

[imcurious]

The schools own you and your kids. They claim YOUR TIME as theirs - and everyone agrees. Even after it has been proven most homework is worthless in terms of actual value to the student.