Getting 4 year old to do homework - Page 2

[eepster]

My 4 yo never has homework, especially not now since school is out for the summer.

He practices piano from his piano lessons, but those are very casual (it's a class specifically geared to preschoolers/kindergarteners, not the tradition doing scales stuff.) The teacher was very clear that practice was optional and should be kept short and fun.

The teacher of his arts & crafts class at the rec center let us take home a project that some of the students hadn't gotten to yet. She just thought they might enjoy it though, and isn't going to check up on who did it and who didn't. Some students just declined to take it with them and that was fine.

[Mpenny1001]

DD went to a play-based preschool at age 4 and would have a little project to do at home about every other week. She loved them and asked for more. She also loved her "homework" from kindergarten last year. It was mostly fun stuff like writing about herself or her family, doing little science experiments, cutting out things from magazines, catalogs, or grocery store ads on a specific topic, etc. In kindy she also had a weekly take home book to read.

I think it's a good way to keep DH and I involved in and aware of what she is doing in school and don't have a problem with it.

[IntrovertExtrovert]

I would talk to his teacher about whether this homework was mandatory or optional. As others have said, you really don't want him to associate school with punishment. At this age (heck, at any age) learning should be mostly enjoyable.

[jenger]

Originally Posted by LynnS6

No 4 year old should ever have homework. I might see an 'assignment' such as 'bring in something blue' during the week they're talking about blue, but if my child were in a preschool where they were getting worksheets of any sort at any time during the day, my child would be out of there so fast the director's head would spin.

Worksheets at 4 are not developmentally appropriate practice. Worse, they stifle love of learning later on.

Exactly!

Originally Posted by MusicianDad

If, at 4, DS starts bringing homework home... Then he gets pulled from the class. I too believe that no 4 year old should ever have homework.

And that!
If my 4y/o got a worksheet, I don't think that I would have her continue at the school!

(Keep in mind, I have no idea the specific details of your situation!)

[Geofizz]

To not totally jump on what everyone else said, but, yeah, not appropriate on a variety of levels.

HOWEVER,

DS has "homework" for speech therapy. We do that. We do it 1-2 times a day, in addition to integrating it into our daily conversation more recently.

It took a while before we found our groove and we were able to do it regularly without making him hate it. We make it a game, or we make it part of another game. Every time he jumps one of my checkers or gets a king, he does a speech card. That kind of thing.

At this point, he's used to it and it's just part of our routine.

...but no worksheets.

[serenbat]

totally opposed - and I know a five year old that is in "summer-school" for 9 weeks because of fear of having to re-peat kindy!

I don't see the educational value of homework, be it as simple as a reading assignment at that age.

[limabean]

Originally Posted by LynnS6

No 4 year old should ever have homework. I might see an 'assignment' such as 'bring in something blue' during the week they're talking about blue, but if my child were in a preschool where they were getting worksheets of any sort at any time during the day, my child would be out of there so fast the director's head would spin.

Worksheets at 4 are not developmentally appropriate practice. Worse, they stifle love of learning later on.

So, in answer to your questions:
1) No.
2) No.
3) I wouldn't even ask them to do it. Heck, dd and I ignored kindergarten homework most of the time. (The school didn't care.)

Homework didn't = worksheets for DS. He brought home a homework menu each month, from which he could choose whichever assignment he wanted each week. They were fun, I thought (and so did he) -- stuff like:
--Go on a nature walk and look for 5 yellow things
--Look for the letters of your name in signs around town
--Retell your favorite story to a family member and (optional) draw your favorite part

In reference to some other posts that I forgot to quote, the word "work" doesn't really have a negative connotation in our house -- I often say I'm "working in the kitchen" or "doing some yardwork" or "working on this puzzle" in reference to pleasurable activities that my kids see me enjoying (and enjoy alongside me many times). So we use the word "homework" but DS doesn't think of it as a bad thing (yet!).

[AllisonR]

Grateful to be on the other side of the pond. This is really, really alien to me. Asking a whole group of 4 yo to do this is just bizarre imo.

IMO, a class of say twenty 4 yo required to do worksheets:

5 will hate it and never want to do it and have the joy of learning stamped out of them if forced.

5 will not like it but will do it sometimes.

5 will not care one way or another if they spend time doing worksheets instead of in the playground or drawing pictures in the sand.

5 will like or even LOVE the idea, come home and work on them enthusiastically. The first few times. After that it will be a chore and only 1 or 2 will have the passion to want to continue. Nothing to do with skill or intelligence - but everything to do with the personality of the child.

A kid wanting to do worksheets, or spontaniously deciding one afternoon to try some is one thing. If your 4 yo loves worksheets - great. If not, football is great this time of year.

[limabean]

Again, the OP never mentioned the word "worksheet." It's interesting that so many jump to that assumption when homework is mentioned. That wasn't my DS's kindergarten homework experience at all.

[whatsnextmom]

DS started kindie at 4 and they had this "calendar" of activities for homework. There were always 30 different choices and the kids picked which 3 they wanted to do a week. A few options involved paper and pencil but my DS never chose them. Instead he went for the others like "help make dinner" and "count all the windows in your house." DS always thought it was fun and often wanted to do more than 3 things a week. DD had the same kindie calendar for homework but she was 5 when she started.

The kids never had preschool homework outside "bring in egg cartons" lol.

[minsy1010]

Thank you all for your very insighful replies. I too am fearful of the negativity he will associatiate with "school", "homework" and maybe even learning!! I think I will have a talk with the teacher. She seems like a very "experienced" teacher. I like alot of those assignments some of you described like going for a nature walk etc. We don't have a problem reading. He loves to have us read to him. He doesn't per se recognize words yet though.
I do have a question about homeschool though... I have been toying with that idea but if I can't even make him write a letter, or do his homework, is there possibility of me homeschooling him????????

[elmh23]

1) Does your 4 year olds have homework from school? Not daily but like weekly.-- Mine did. She goes to an academically minded school (pre-k is a typical K, K a typical 1st grade) and it is a great fit for her!

2) Are they doing it?-- She loved it!

3) How do you get them to do it (without having to threaten time out) if they don't want to?-- We never had that problem so I have no idea.

What kind of homework is it? Dd's was basically "color the picture, count and write the number, find and continue the pattern" type stuff which she loved (she loves anything involving a crayon.)

[Magelet]

Originally Posted by minsy1010

I do have a question about homeschool though... I have been toying with that idea but if I can't even make him write a letter, or do his homework, is there possibility of me homeschooling him????????

Of course. Homeschooling isn't or doesn't have to be about "making" the child learn anything. It's more about helping him/her learn at their own pace, and providing the resources and support to learn at their own pace. I don't think you CAN make anyone learn something. they won't learn it til their ready, and then the best you can really do is expose them to the idea/concept/whatever, be a sounding board, help if they want, and such. I've been reading John Holt's how children learn, and it's really interesting. maybe check it out from the library if your interested. And go talk to the homeschoolers and unschoolers on MDC.

[EdnaMarie]

Originally Posted by minsy1010

Thank you all for your very insighful replies. I too am fearful of the negativity he will associatiate with "school", "homework" and maybe even learning!! I think I will have a talk with the teacher. She seems like a very "experienced" teacher. I like alot of those assignments some of you described like going for a nature walk etc. We don't have a problem reading. He loves to have us read to him. He doesn't per se recognize words yet though.
I do have a question about homeschool though... I have been toying with that idea but if I can't even make him write a letter, or do his homework, is there possibility of me homeschooling him????????

Ugh, I'm dismayed. Did he enter kindergarten early? Four is early to be reading except for some children who naturally lean towards that. My child is not four but I don't know what I'd do if she got homework at that age. Best of luck to you.

[MusicianDad]

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

Ugh, I'm dismayed. Did he enter kindergarten early? Four is early to be reading except for some children who naturally lean towards that. My child is not four but I don't know what I'd do if she got homework at that age. Best of luck to you.

At age 4, the reading homework is likely having a parent read to them, not having the child do the reading.

[momo3boys]

Thank you so much for your comment. I feel the same way, his motor skills are vary poor and he now hates the word "homework". It makes me sad because he"s so little and learning is supposed  to be fun. Collecting things around the house that begin with the letter "A" or pictures from a magazine, that would be fun and he would be learning at the same time. But the way its being presented I want to cry along with him......