Kindergarden/first Grade Homework?

My son is in first grade and in kindergarden he had a lot of homework. It seem pretty overwhelming at first. In first grade he doesn't have as much. I think they were trying to get him ready for first. I learned from his teacher that you should only make them sit for 10 minutes at a time to do homework. Then give them a 10-15 min break. It works great with my son and we accomplish a lot.

My 1st grader gets a homework packet sent home every week with 5 worksheets in it. 1 for each night . and they are also asked to read 15 minutes per night. There is additional homework if something is not finished in class. How much time we spend depends on my daughter sometimes she is too tired in the evening and has trouble concentrating.

We usually have one page of homework a night usually of spelling or math. They also want us to read a book a day or have our son read a small book to us a day. He does the written page and any other things he may have a problem with and that is it, we will read before bed. Usually time wise it takes maybe a half an hour. This is for first grade.

our school gives usually 1 or 2 pages of math, reading, and sometimes our kids have reading group in class and so they have to read the book at home and do a self to text. But that is usually 1 or 2 times a week. I would say on average 10-20 minutes a day

I don't know what district you are in, but my school district is highly competive and the amount of homework starting in kindergarten and first grade is way over board (in my opinion) and it just keeps getting more with each grade. It appears not to be classwork but "homework" that the teachers are giving because they are teaching to curriculum benchmarks and trying to get much more information in, then they can do in the day. You may need to set limits with the teacher if the homework is stressing your child out.... hope this was helpful

My son is in kindergarten and has home work every Friday night and sometimes during the week. The Friday homework is a letter book that he made in class, he just has to read it to us. During the week it is usually only work he didn't complete in class because he went to speech. That only happens maybe every other week or less and only takes a few minutes to complete.
My older son, currently in 7th grade, never had homework in K. In 1st grade he has spelling words to study and sometimes work he didn't complete in class.

Our school district has a monthly homework calendar that you pick 4 items a week to complete. Generally takes less than 5 minutes for each "task" and you do it on your time with a response journal due at the end of the month (which assignment did you enjoy, what was too hard, etc.). In addition, my son also brings home homework on the weekends due the following week. (Brings home Thursday or Friday and due the following Tuesday - he goes every other Friday) Generally 2-3 assignments that he can breeze through with ease (maybe math and/or word recognition, practice writing) and one or two beginning reader books for him to read to me. We can normally get it all done within 15 minutes. It just reinforces what they've been working on in class. Nothing else during the week besides the calendar unless he chooses to bring something home to complete if he didn't have time to finish in class. Hope this helps.

My son is in kindergarten and usually only has homework if he doesn't get his work done during class. Occasionally they will have homework projects and sometimes have ongoing word lists that they have to do.

Last year - in Kindergarten....my son never had homework. This year - in 1st grade - he comes home with some. I've talked with his teacher and it's because my son talks too much. She gives them plenty...plenty of time to finish in class...but when it's time to work on the next thing - if he's not done....it's gotta come home. Average....15-20 minutes on homework a night.

Hello Lisa,

When my daughter was in Kindergarden she recieved homework packs at the beginning of the week and had to have it in on the next Monday. (Recieved it on Monday, had to hand it in on the next Monday) We usually were able to knock out the whole pack in one night, which left the rest of the week to work on her spelling words. Now she is in the first grade and has the same thing. She gets her homework pack on Friday and has to have it in on the next Friday. It is usually 6 work sheets and a small book to read.(by small I mean only 6 pages with one sentance on each page) We do the same thing as when she was in Kindergarden, work on the pack one night and then concentrate on her spelling words for her spelling test, which they take a pre-test on Thursday and the final on Friday. So no matter what we are working with her at least an hour each day. Hope this helps!

P.S.~ any work that she does not finish in class gets sent home to be finished and turned in the next day.

I am an elementary school teacher. National and state recommendations are 10 minutes of homework per grade level plus reading. So your first grader should average about 10 minutes of homework and 15-20 minutes of reading with a parent. Most of our first grades send home 10 minutes of math as a review from what was done in class. Other appropriate homework for first grade is handwriting practice, math fact practice and spelling practice. Hope that helps!

I am a 4th grade teacher and have experience in both grade levels. For kindergarden it should only be word lists and maybe a homework project but nothing to lengthy. For 1st grade I gave homework packs which would be done every night and the page should take no more than 1/2 hour. And then I would have them do reading every night for 15 minutes. They also have word lists so any homework that takes longer than 1/2 hour is out of control. If you have any questions regarding homework feel free to ask.

Homework is usually additional assignments but,check with your child's teacher. Normally,for a really young child, 1/2 hour. If it seems to be excessive, ask to have your child tested. I'm a grandmother now, but when my daughter was in second grade, she had lots of homework. Most was unfinished class work. I was concerned but was continually told she was just immature. By the fifth grade, I demanded she be tested after one weekend with 9 hours of homework. She was found to be learning disabled. With help, she became a pretty good student and graduated from high school. Don't forget, you are your child's advocate.
M. W

My K son has a homework packet come home on Friday, due Wednesday. It includes 1-3 assignments of Everyday Math - finding patterns, estimating the number of grocery items in a bag, then counting and sorting them into logical sets, playing ISpy, etc. Some take only a few minutes, others take longer.

These are not things that were assigned in class and the kids didn't finish. It is HOME work. I imagine if there was something he hadn't had time to complete, there'd be much more.

I have a daughter in 1st grade and she has a average of 10 mins of homework at night. The rule I've been told in the past is they
should have no more then 10 mins per grade of homework so say if you child is in 3rd grade they should have no more then 30 mins
If they have more then that they might not be using their time in school properly. My oldest had a history of doing that.
Anyway Hope it helps.

Hi Lisa, I have a first grader. The only homework he has is over the weekend. Usually a few pages with some math problems and some reading comprehension. So far it has not been anything that he can't handle. Now he is bringing home chapter books that we read together (he does the reading while I listen, it's actually kind of fun :) He has a few days to read the book and then bring it back to school for an SRC test. I hope this helps.

I am an elementary school teacher. First grade students should have books that they bring home to read each night. This should take 15-20 minutes. They should also have no more than one type of homework assignment asside from reading. Kindergarteners may have some books as well that should be read each night. If not, I would suggest spending time reading a story/ stories to your child in both kindergarten and first grade. Reading is definately one of the most improtant parts of first grade. Being read to and exposed to print at an early age is critical for your child's development as a reader.

If you are seeing a lot more homework I would talk to the classroom teacher. Your child may have a hard time staying on task during the day. The teacher may be sending home the unfinished work.

Hope this helps.

As a teacher who has a masters and much experience I feel the homework for a k thru 2nd generally should be reinforcement of class work that is less than 15 minutes and provides reinforcement of skills the child has. After a day of school rather half or full and play these children are fatigued and additional work that is a challenge can be frustrating.

I taught in Grosse Pointe for 30 years. Homework for any Elementarty Grade is meant for mastery. It depends on the needs of a child. Whoa, a very broad question. Teachers design homework for a purpose,I would support her/him.
Early Elementary: 20 min.
Later Elementary: under an hour.