or maybe not!
I am starting to wonder about some of the homework that JJ is being sent home with. He has just turned 7 and he is one of the older kids in his class, Year 2. He only has homework once per week and then we are also expected to read with him and do to do spellings and phonics to help him learn new words and to spell. That is all fine but I am starting to wonder about some of the homework he is being sent home with! My expectation is that his homework should be academic in nature. In year 1 it alternated between maths and literacy and I would have expected that to continue.
Three weeks ago I nearly wrote this post when JJ was sent home with the homework to make an A4 Rainbow Fish to go on a display at school. He could colour, decorate, collage the fish how he liked to make it nice and bright and they requested he write a few descriptive words by the side to use on the display wall. At the time I thought fab, we are a crafty family. What great homework all the kids can make fish and we will have a Saturday crafting session.
Then last week his homework was to design a Harvest Festival poster. So yet again crafty and now today he has come home with the homework to make a rabbit puppet! Yes he enjoyed it and again it was no fuss for us as we love to create and have loads of stocks of materials but has it challenged him academically - I seriously doubt it!
I am questioning myself what it has taught him? Am I just out of date and not all homework should be maths and English nowadays? Anyone in the know, any teachers out there? I would definitely appreciate your wisdom on this.
I suppose to give them their dues, JJ did come home with a set of instructions of how to make the puppet and he had written these himself from instruction given to them in class. So the exercise was about following instructions, but still I am not convinced - can you tell?
What do you think?