1st grade -- regularly having to complete classwork at home?

[limabean]

My DS is just finishing up his second week of 1st grade. He loves his teacher, loves his classmates, and is having a great time so far. But 4 times (out of 8 days of school so far) he's brought home classwork and had to complete it at home. This isn't homework (the teacher said she's not starting that until after back-to-school night), it's just classwork that DS didn't finish.

Yesterday I asked her if he was talking or otherwise misbehaving during work time, and she said no, he just sometimes isn't able to complete the work in the allotted time. Now, in my thinking, if he's on task for the whole work time but isn't able to finish, and if this is a regular occurrence, then maybe the allotted time just isn't enough for him. A lot of the sent-home assignments have been sentence-writing type of stuff, and the mechanics of writing are still difficult for him. We do fine motor skill activities at home (putting coins through a slot, Legos, piano, lacing, etc.), but it just takes him a long time to write, which I think is perfectly developmentally normal.

Now, I'm not anti-homework -- we're fine with doing a bit each night. But my concern is that once the teacher starts assigning homework, I don't want DS to have to finish 2 pages of classwork PLUS homework every night -- that's too much for a 1st grader! How should I approach this with the teacher?

[momtoTnT]

I'm interested in hearing responses to this too - DS (also a 1st grader) also has a hard time getting his in-class work done - although his unfinished work doesn't come home - they have an "unfinished work folder" -- when they have time they get to go back and finish up anything they didn't finish. DS told me the other day that they also use this particular folder as a "privacy screen" (during spelling tests maybe?) - but his is so heavy it won't stand up.....which makes me wonder just when is he going to get it finished, and how much work he's actually finishing.

[dbsam]

Originally Posted by limabean

How should I approach this with the teacher?

I would talk to the teacher and explain your concerns. Sometimes the teachers really have no idea how long the assignments take. My sister spoke with her son's fourth grade teacher this week. He followed up with other parents in the class, found out how long the children have spent each night on homework, and decided to lighten the homework load.

OTOH, my children go to the same school and we've also been living with this issue the past five weeks. My first graders get homework nightly (in my opinion too much homework or sometimes useless homework). My daughter takes longer to finish her homework and often brings home worksheets she didn't finish in class. (She dislikes worksheets and has no tolerance for activities for which she cannot understand the purpose.) So, our nights are filled with homework, crying about homework, etc. Not a pleasant way to spend the evening. I want my children to have time to play outside after school. I’ve spoken with the teacher and the principal who both feel the homework is reasonable. My daughter has also had to stay in from recess or outdoor time to finish in-class work. We are trying it out a little longer, but considering it doesn't look like it will be changing and this isn’t the only issue for us we may be going back to Montessori or homeschooling and supplementing with a private teacher. I really want this school to work out for various reasons…we’ll see.

[Holland73]

I'm having similar problems (unfinished classwork and handwriting struggles), but my ds is in 2nd grade.

What makes my situation interesting and difficult, though, is that I am a 1st grade teacher and his teacher and I have very different teaching philosophies and ideas of best practices. Sets up an interesting dynamic, which I try to be very respectful of.

Worksheets, worksheets, worksheets... that is the core of ds' day in school. For a child, who has struggles with handwriting and is very self-conscious of his handwriting, I imagine he will be coming home with more and more unfinished work.

I told his teacher about ds' difficulties with handwriting and that the massive amount of worksheets would be a problem for him. She said that she would take that into account. Part of me wanted to say, "Worksheets don't grow dendrites!!!" But, I also told her that I do not want him held in at recess if he hasn't completed his work, which is her policy. UNLESS, he was screwing around the entire time, but if that was happening more than once or twice a week... I wanted to be informed, so I could figure out what was going on with ds and how I can help him.

My solution: we don't complete the unfinished classwork at home, but we do talk about it to make sure he understands how to do the work. And, I will often set up additional activities around the standard that are more 'ds appropriate,' if the work is a struggle for him (which would be another reason why he is not finishing the work). Then, I send a note with ds to school stating what we worked on and any written evidence of such activities.

Ds does his homework. But, sometimes, I do modify it based on ds' needs. And, again, I send a note with his homework stating the modifications.

[CherryBomb]

Are the other children able to complete it in the allotted time? If many kids are having trouble, I'd say the teacher needs to give more time. If it's just your ds, I'm not sure what should be done. What are you wanting?

[LightToast]

I'm curious to know about this too. So far DS (also in 1st grade) hasn't gotten much hw yet. I am thankful because just going to school all day has been hard enough on him. He doesn't need additional stress of school at home.

This week he got 1 sheet that asks some questions about himself, but he's been given about a week to do it. And, one day he got a math sheet that took about 5 minutes to do. They also do a reading log that's supposed to be a daily thing. I can't remember how much reading time the teachers want. I think it is between 10 and 20 minutes a night. I fill that out for him, but we nearly always do daily reading anyway so that's not even something we consider hw.

limabean, is it possible that your DS is unsure about the class work and so he doesn't start working on it right away? I could see my DS doing something like that and then running out of time - he likes to get everything exactly right the first time around and doesn't like to make mistakes.

[limabean]

Originally Posted by CherryBomb

Are the other children able to complete it in the allotted time? If many kids are having trouble, I'd say the teacher needs to give more time. If it's just your ds, I'm not sure what should be done. What are you wanting?

I don't know if he's the only one, that'll be my next question to the teacher. I would be surprised if that were the case, since DS is very bright and agreeable, and last year he always did his homework in a timely fashion. But of course anything is possible -- I'll have to find out.

As for what I'm wanting, I guess I'm just thinking about the fact that nightly homework will start soon, and I don't want him getting bogged down with having to do classwork and homework every night. IMO, that's too much outside-of-school work for a 1st grader, and he loooooves school and I don't want him getting a bad attitude towards it because he's being overwhelmed by work.

But yes, the next step is definitely to find out whether a large portion of the class is having trouble finishing stuff or if there's something going on with DS specifically.

[happysmileylady]

One thing to consider is that just because he looks like he's on task, that doesn't necessarily mean he is. I have a niece who can take an hour to do 5 math problems. She's not talking or goofing off or anything. But she will doodle a picture and then erase it, go to the bathroom, do pretend writing (ie she actually fakes writing the answer, but doesn't really write anything,) and just randomly stare into space. She is 9 and is homeschooled. It could very well be that your son is quiet and has a pencil in his hand, but isn't really doing anything.

[eepster]

You need more information. You'll have to bring it up with teacher to find out if it is just your DS or all/many of the students.

If most of the students are having difficulty finishing in the allotted time then it is a class scheduling issue that the teacher needs to consider. In this case really all you can do is voice your concerns about it.

If it is just your DS who is regularly have this issue, then it needs to be looked into and addressed. If it is purely a fine motor issue with the writing, then he should spend time with the schools occupational therapist working on this. If his fine motor isn't the problem then there maybe another issue, such as daydreaming do to lack of challenge, mild LD, slow processing speed, etc.

[One_Girl]

Originally Posted by eepster

You need more information. You'll have to bring it up with teacher to find out if it is just your DS or all/many of the students.

If most of the students are having difficulty finishing in the allotted time then it is a class scheduling issue that the teacher needs to consider. In this case really all you can do is voice your concerns about it.

If it is just your DS who is regularly have this issue, then it needs to be looked into and addressed. If it is purely a fine motor issue with the writing, then he should spend time with the schools occupational therapist working on this. If his fine motor isn't the problem then there maybe another issue, such as daydreaming do to lack of challenge, mild LD, slow processing speed, etc.

I agree with this. My dd brought home homework because she had trouble with writing and because her daydreaming made her work slower. She would appear on task but she wasn't on task at all. She completed the work within about ten minutes and was off to play when it was at home. Her teacher modified the amount of work she needed to do based on her struggle with handwriting and she started working more quickly once she saw how quickly her work would go when she just did it. There were other things going on in the classroom that led to me homeschooling her for the last half of the year and I found that she was bored with the typical 1st grade work and needed a challenge. Maybe check into testing for gifted and talented.

If most of the kids are completing the work then I don't think the problem lies with her expectations or the amount of time she is giving him. Once the time for one subject is over they go on to another subject and he needs to go on with the class unless they are trying interventions to make him successful in the classroom because they are working towards an IEP in something. Usually extra time to complete things comes from home if parents agree to it and recess if they don't.

[meemee]

i would give your son this week to watch and see.

my dd had to change from dreamer land K to participation in 1st. she needed to figure out her schedule and how to or what to do to stay on task. by about the first month she was not bringing work or staying after school for ten mins anymore.

however she did that regularly in second grade. but she just stayed in school 10 mins and finished her stuff.

[mkksmom]

I agree with the poster who say that he might be daydreaming or watching other kids (my dd does that) and it may just take him some time to learn to focus and get it done. I doubt the teacher is sending work home with most of the class. That wouldn't be a common thing for a teacher to do. If the whole class doesn't finish, then the teacher usually adjusts the schedule to allow more time. I'd give it a couple more weeks and see if he works it out on his own. If not, then I'd meet with the teacher and brainstorm with her.

[mommy2maya]

Originally Posted by happysmileylady

One thing to consider is that just because he looks like he's on task, that doesn't necessarily mean he is. I have a niece who can take an hour to do 5 math problems. She's not talking or goofing off or anything. But she will doodle a picture and then erase it, go to the bathroom, do pretend writing (ie she actually fakes writing the answer, but doesn't really write anything,) and just randomly stare into space. She is 9 and is homeschooled. It could very well be that your son is quiet and has a pencil in his hand, but isn't really doing anything.

That would all be noticed as not on task at my kid's school. That is what it looks like when my 9yo is not on task- her teacher definitely notices it, and reminds her to be on task.

[Bekka]

My first grader has "reading," "word study," and a math sheet each night. I am bothered by it, but he has adjusted in a satisfactory way, and can finish the non-reading portions in about 10 minutes each. I think it's too much, but he has happily been finishing it, so if he finishes it more or less happily, then I'm OK with it. If he started bringing home unfinished class work we'd have issues.

[limabean]

Thanks so much for all the responses -- you've given me a lot to think about. I think part of it is just adjusting from the kindergarten mentality to the "real" grades mentality. I'm so used to the way DS's kindergarten class was, where homework that required lots of writing could be partially filled out by the parent when the child's hand got tired, and classwork that was only partially completed didn't interfere with recess or get sent home. I think DS and I both just need to adjust to the new reality.

Anyway, back-to-school night is this week, so hopefully some of my questions about classroom procedures will be answered then.