When do your kids do homework? Do they do it straight after school after a snack? Or later in the night?
My problem with DS (9) is, if I allow him to play before homework and have him do it after dinner, he doesn't want to do it.
Just curious to read what your rules are for homework etc. :)
DS7 comes home about 345, has a snack and watches his animal show. Then gets down to homework. We don't have much. 15 mins ish. Then he can play.
he is not allowed to play unless his homework and chores (laundry or garbage) is done. If he finishes home work and chores and doesn't give me attitude, he can play on the PC or Wii.
Our routine is a little different for each kid.
Kids get home.
Ds has a snack plays Wii in the basement.
Ds goes up to his room and does his homework after about 30 minutes. It takes him anywhere from 10-20 minutes. Usually closer to 10-15.
Ds then plays outside (if anyone's home) or by himself.
Dinner time/soccer (2x a week -- though that's going to change soon as soccer is getting earlier and dinner will be after).
Relax 30 -60 minutes
Chores.
Bed.
Dd reads on the couch.
Dd watches TV after ds is done playing Wii.
Dd comes up and has a snack.
Dd should do her homework (but often doesn't).
Dd plays.
Dinner time.
Dd goes off and gets distracted/started on something. We reminder her of her homework and piano.
Dd grumbles and does her homework.
Dd grumbles more and practices piano.
Plays if time. Wails and gnashes teeth if there's not.
Chores.
Bed.
I think we need to revise this a bit to do chores right after dinner (far less grumbling that way), and piano before dd gets too tired. It's hard because she does need downtime after school, and doing it right before dinner is hard because she's hungry and grumpy.
Homework really isn't that much of a problem as it takes dd about 5 minutes, tops. She actually complains that her teacher doesn't give her enough! 
I asked her today why she thought she needed homework and she replied "Teachers need to give homework so they can see what the students have learned and what they haven't learned!" I tried to introduce the concept to her that the teacher might be able to tell from what's going on in the classroom (I'm not a huge fan of early elementary homework), but I think I failed.
My kids like to do their homework first thing when they get home whether that's right after school or after an activity. My 14-year-old doesn't need anything from me and never has in regards to homework. DS 11 has organizational issues and so needs a little reminding for me. He jumps to homework with no complaint but he doesn't always remember the various assignments given that day. I have to remind him to look at his planner, look in his backpack and check his online grades to make sure he's not missing something.
Mine do it pretty much right after they get home. They have a snack and chill for a few minutes (or we go to the park), and then do homework. I try to have it done before dinner, if I put it off until after they get too tired and cranky to do it.
Mine do it right after a snack after we get home. I'm usually cleaning up the kitchen or starting dinner by then so we're all in the kitchen and I can help if needed.
Ds is in 2nd and dd is in K. Ds has a homework packet; he does the math sheet (addition, currently) on Fridays, the writing assignment on Saturdays, and we try to include math facts and reading on the weekend as well; dd practices writing the alphabet on the weekend--doesn't take long.
Each day during the week with no after school activity they have 30 minutes (timed) to have a snack, then dd takes a shower while ds does his math facts review and reading; then ds takes a shower and I help dd with her packet. Dd is supposed to review the days of the week/months of the year as well but we only manage to fit that in a couple days a week--it's just too much to do everyday. If there is no dawdling, that should be done by 5pm so they can play and I can work on dinner. Our goal is to get them in bed by 7:30pm; I don't delay bedtime for homework.
They each have an activity 1 day a week; on those days I take their homework with us and try to get it done before the activity (for the child doing the activity) and during the activity (for the child waiting) because we are all too tired to get it done when we get home (and there's no time).
My DS is (9) and is in 3rd grade.
His homework consists of some math work sheets, vocab flash cards, reading for 20 minutes and writing a summary every 50 page he has read.
The reading he does at bed time, its just always been a routine for us to do.
My almost 10 yr old does her homework before dinner. Sometimes she does it right after school, sometimes she plays or watches a TV show first. She doesn't have much, usually no more than 15 min, so it isn't very onerous. She's starting to own her hw now, so I usually don't have to remind her about it. This is new this year. Last year she couldn't remember to do it on her own, and would procrastinate as long as possible. My 7th grader somehow gets most if not all of her hw done at school or on the bus home. She's very organized and I don't have to remind her about it at all.
For us, it depends on the time of the year. Dd is in 4th grade and usually has about 1 - 2 hours of homework per night. If it's nice weather outside, she goes outside to play when she first gets home (while it's warmer and light outside). We get nasty weather from November - March, so when she is able to play outside I'm O.K. with her putting off her homework. She gets some of it done in the car (sometimes all of it) because we have a long commute. We don't watch TV during the week as a general rule, so this isn't something incorporated into our after-school routine. If the weather isn't nice and she can't play outside, she gets right on homework and gets it done. I don't really have to tell her to do it, but she has some online homework I sometimes have to remind her about. Between homework, dinner (and clean up) and catching up on our day, that's about the whole evening and it all seems to settle into a routine based on the time of year. I would guess that it's good, for homework habits, to have a routine of some sort, even if it's a loose routine, for most kids.
My son is in first grade. They have weekly homework packets that get sent home on Friday & have to be turned in the following Friday. We don't have a set schedule for doing it. If he complains about being bored I will suggest he do his homework, but otherwise it's his responsibility to get it done. If he doesn't have it done by Thursday he has to do it when he gets home from school that day, but he is good about doing his homework & sometimes has it done the day he gets it.
The kids get 15 minutes for a snack and break. Then, DD (2nd grade) will start her 15 minutes of reading and her reading activity while DS (4th grade) works on math. When DD finishes her reading, she does her math worksheet and then goes off to play until practice (or dinner on non-activity nights). DS's order is Math, Language Arts, 15 minutes of reading, and Vocabulary words every day and Spelling practice/Math facts on alternating days. He gets as much done before practice as he can, then goes to practice and showers afterward. After the shower, he starts back on the homework. When he's done (or when it hits 2 hours), we stop and he goes to bed. If he gets done early, he usually plays Wii or watches TV until bedtime. On days when he is cranky or tired, we'll stop and send him to bed early and he gets up 30 minutes early on finishes up while DH is getting ready for work. He's an early bird so it works well for him. DD has 20-25 minutes of homework a night. DS has 1.5-2 hours of homework a night.
For us, the basic rules are:
Homework before play. My philosophy is that the faster you finish, the less fun you'll have so quit messing around. ;)
Consistent order. Same schedule keeps us organized and gives them a sense of order and an awareness of how much is left.
Keep supplies in the homework area. We do homework on the dining room table and have shelves and a recycling bin right next to it. Papers sent home are recycled or completed or filed. Books, pens and paper and in the shelves.
Parents help. We sit at the table and work on our stuff or chat with the kids or sort papers or make lists, etc. One of us is always there to help, just in case. If we weren't there, DS would lose momentum and spend most of the night making creatures out of paper and pencils. Cute results but not what the teachers want ;)
My kids do their homework as soon as they get home -- most of it, anyway. If there's a big project or something they need help with, it can be put off until later.
I find that if I allow any screen time before homework, we lose *all* momentum and it becomes a struggle. SO the biggest rule is that there is NO screen time for anyone until everyone's homework has been done (barring certain special cases as mentioned above).
I don't have rules for homework. I feel my kids spend more than enough time in school. If a teacher complains about homework being done, I'm very quick to point out the research on the usefulness of homework, and that they have my kids most of the day, so I would hope they are learning/reinforcing academics there.
I can reinforce their learning and instill responsibility/study habits in my own way..thankyouverymuch. I don't need someone to tell me how to educate my kid after they are done trying to do so.
If they want to do it, fine. I will certainly support them....but I make sure they understand that it is an option..and education is so much more than what the schools push. I will not allow someone to tell us how to spend our time after school. To me, it is incredibly asinine.
Yea, I really need to homeschool, lol.
I let my kids relax, play, and learn about things they love. End of story. 
My son is in first grade. They have weekly homework packets that get sent home on Friday & have to be turned in the following Friday. We don't have a set schedule for doing it. If he complains about being bored I will suggest he do his homework, but otherwise it's his responsibility to get it done. If he doesn't have it done by Thursday he has to do it when he gets home from school that day, but he is good about doing his homework & sometimes has it done the day he gets it.
That sounds like us. Only, if my child refuses to do it (and wow, he really can) then I leave it up to him and his choices. I don't push or even ask my Kindergartner about his homework...to me it's absolutely ludacris he gets it at all!
I'm the poor teacher's nightmare....but I see so many in this thread are every teacher's dream. It's going to be neat to see in 20 or so years if NCLB and the more rigorous academics payed off. Especially how Kindergarten is now.
I don't have rules for homework. I feel my kids spend more than enough time in school. If a teacher complains about homework being done, I'm very quick to point out the research on the usefulness of homework, and that they have my kids most of the day, so I would hope they are learning/reinforcing academics there.
I can reinforce their learning and instill responsibility/study habits in my own way..thankyouverymuch. I don't need someone to tell me how to educate my kid after they are done trying to do so.
If they want to do it, fine. I will certainly support them....but I make sure they understand that it is an option..and education is so much more than what the schools push. I will not allow someone to tell us how to spend our time after school. To me, it is incredibly asinine.
Yea, I really need to homeschool, lol.
I let my kids relax, play, and learn about things they love. End of story.
That sounds like us. Only, if my child refuses to do it (and wow, he really can) then I leave it up to him and his choices. I don't push or even ask my Kindergartner about his homework...to me it's absolutely ludacris he gets it at all!
I'm the poor teacher's nightmare....but I see so many in this thread are every teacher's dream. It's going to be neat to see in 20 or so years if NCLB and the more rigorous academics payed off. Especially how Kindergarten is now.
One thing homework is really good at instilling in an early age is "work first, play then". My parents were very much like you. Thinking homework unnecessary since really, for me and my siblings it was just pointless repetitions of things we had already learnt. Especially in primary school.
Well...
Not being in the habit of doing our homework (unless it was fun) was all fine for primary school, but once we entered secondary school the problems started.
In secondary school homework was not just about reinforcing what we had already been taught in class. It was not countless pages of writing the letter "a", nor learning how the mathematical function of addition works. Suddenly, we had real assignments such as writing a paper on the French revolution or preparing a presentation of the life of the bumblebee. The assignments in short covered material that was not covered in class (or just touched upon in class).
Suddenly, we had to start doing our homework/assignments as they truly became part of our school work. No longer pointless. But being brought up with the firm belief that homework was something that was not really necessary...
Well, for me, it was not that much of a problem. I really liked learning about things on my own. To write the papers. To get praise from my teachers. But for my little brother the case was rather different.
He was used to coming home and be able to do his thing until dinner. In his early teens, this meant hanging in front of the computer...which we all know can make time fly like nothing else. The assignment he had pushed one day ahead of himself was soon due the very next day...and well, he couldn't finish an assignment that had stretched over a month in an afternoon. Thus, he didn't hand in the assignment. Which did badly effect his grade.
Now, some of you may blame my parents for not being stricter with him. But how do you force a tween to do their homework if they really don't want to? If they don't see the point? In the best case, the teacher did get something sloppily and grumpily written which did also, of course, reflect badly upon his grade.
Still to this day (I am a Master student) I dearly wish my parents had insisted upon instilling in us the habit of doing our homework before playtime each and every day. It is an invaluable lesson, perhaps not when you are five, nor ten but at twenty it really is. Especially if laziness runs in your family (like it does in mine).
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As for getting homework done it depends on the rhythm of your child.
You know how some people are morning persons, and some are night owls? It applies to children too. For some it will work best to do their homework while having breakfast (just set the alarm half an hour earlier than usual, so they can both eat and work without stressing). For some, it really is better to do the homework after dinner, when they have new energy from the food. It really depends on the energy levels of your child, I think, when homework is best done. There is no one pattern fits all.
As for getting homework done right after school...how does your concentration fare after a day at work? Would you be able to sit down and concentrate on anything, straight through the door? I usually find I need a full meal before my concentration levels are back up and always have, ever since I was a child.
p.s. It is a great idea not to allow any screen time for undwinding...that steals time and zaps energy like nothing else.
Still to this day (I am a Master student) I dearly wish my parents had insisted upon instilling in us the habit of doing our homework before playtime each and every day. It is an invaluable lesson, perhaps not when you are five, nor ten but at twenty it really is. Especially if laziness runs in your family (like it does in mine).
I just want him to learn that work comes before play with a few exceptions (like holidays, etc etc etc).
I do believe for my DS its best to get it done after school, after a snack. I just know that he will have zero energy at night, or early morning. He loves just having breakfast in the morning, watching a little tv, take a shower, then school.
I just want him to learn that work comes before play.
See, and I phrase it a little differently: Work must be done.
Does it really matter when as long as it gets done? My kids benefit from some downtime before homework. They're refreshed and more able to do it when we allow that. Other children may have different rhythms, so I'm leery of any philosophy that has a strict order.
I really want to strive for balance. I don't want to instill in my kids the idea that work is more important than anything else. Sometimes, in order to get work done efficiently, we need a little play time. Relationships need time too. I had a student once who wrote in her learning plan for the term that she was going to get all her work done by "taking less time to eat and sleep". She was prioritizing work alright, but to an extreme that I find unhealthy.
You have a very valid point.
I am not like a drill sergeant about it though, like today when I see he is exhausted from learning at school and the excitement of Halloween, I let Homework slide for the day. You can't expect a child to do homework (all he had was reading today and he just couldn't concentrate) when there's something exciting going on and all they think about is their costume etc.
You actually made me think about this alot more, thanks for that. :):)
See, and I phrase it a little differently: Work must be done.
Does it really matter when as long as it gets done? My kids benefit from some downtime before homework. They're refreshed and more able to do it when we allow that. Other children may have different rhythms, so I'm leery of any philosophy that has a strict order.
I really want to strive for balance. I don't want to instill in my kids the idea that work is more important than anything else. Sometimes, in order to get work done efficiently, we need a little play time. Relationships need time too. I had a student once who wrote in her learning plan for the term that she was going to get all her work done by "taking less time to eat and sleep". She was prioritizing work alright, but to an extreme that I find unhealthy.
My kids (3rd and 1st grade) do theirs when they get home. They can have a snack while they do it but they can't play until it's done.
On soccer days (which thank goodness ended last week until spring!) they can finish when they get home.
I'm the poor teacher's nightmare....but I see so many in this thread are every teacher's dream. It's going to be neat to see in 20 or so years if NCLB and the more rigorous academics payed off. Especially how Kindergarten is now.
I'm not sure if you meant for your last statement to be so inflammatory. I see your statements as a false comparison.
I teach the successful products of NCLB at the university level. I'm working on critical thinking skills, systematic approaches to science, and synthesis of material across disciplines with my students. I can spit venom over NCLB as to how it's affected these college students as well as how it's affecting my own children, neither of whom are great fits to the public school model.
It's not the NCLB test taking drones vs the free spirits we'll be looking at in 20 years. I suspect the more striking comparison will be with those that have established appropriate self-management skills to get their work done versus those who have not learned to get their stuff done and dealt with in a timely manner.
You are right that for the early grades, homework is not shown to improve immediate academic learning. What it does do, however, is communicate to parents what's going on in the classroom daily, and it helps children establish a work ethic and learn their needs and patterns before it really starts to matter. My 4th grader has a homework routine that works for her. She's at a level now where it matters quite a bit, and the quality of her homework time is directly reflected in her classroom performance. In grades 2-3, she learned how to learn things that don't come as easily like a spelling list, and she learned the consequences of not remembering her folders. A lot of learning happened through trial and error, much of which wouldn't have happened unless I coached her to succeed while letting her fail so that she could learn her own lessons.
Now she's in a place of doing an independent study for math. She has to bring her homework every day, and she needs all the pieces, because most of the instruction comes from home. She knows that she cannot sit right down to do homework or she goes bonkers, but at the same time, she knows that she doesn't have the mental energy to figure out something new after dinner. So, with what she learned in 3rd grade, she does math first at 4 pm, does the other stuff once she finishes or gets stuck, and has a list ready for me or DH to go through with her once we get home.
Because of this unusual placement wrt math, I acknowledge that DD is a bit of an outlier, but around 4th to 5th grade is when getting the stuff done does affect their learning during the school day.
Does it really matter when as long as it gets done? My kids benefit from some downtime before homework. They're refreshed and more able to do it when we allow that. Other children may have different rhythms, so I'm leery of any philosophy that has a strict order.
I really want to strive for balance. I don't want to instill in my kids the idea that work is more important than anything else. Sometimes, in order to get work done efficiently, we need a little play time. Relationships need time too. I had a student once who wrote in her learning plan for the term that she was going to get all her work done by "taking less time to eat and sleep". She was prioritizing work alright, but to an extreme that I find unhealthy.
In our house we cast this as knowing what each individual needs to succeed. DD needs downtime after school. The 7 hours of school is draining mentally, physically, and emotionally. She gets a snack, closes herself up in her room and reads or does some sort of craft thing for an hour. She needs this time.
She also cannot leave her homework until after dinner, at which point she's just toast. Therefore the hour's break cannot stretch to an hour and a half. We've found what she needs and we've found what works.
In the same way, I'm sitting here dinking around on the computer and drinking a cup of coffee in the middle of my work day. I'm taking 30 minutes to wind my brain down for a bit, take a walk to the cafe, and think about something else for a bit. My experience is that in a few minutes I'll be ready to dive back into taking care of my work responsibilities.
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