Any Third Graders here ? How much homework ?

[Mom2Brendan]

Math paper

Vocab Cartoons brought on Mon due Wed

Spelling Words to Study

Daily Reading Lesson Mon,Tues,Wed,Thurs Due Fri

Compliment pages are to draw pictures and decorate a page for a kids birthday beside writing a note like T you have nice shoes.

My son struggles in doing homework as in don't do it or wait until later and I thought that talk with him on Sunday sunk in but I guess it did for only one day as yesterday.

So anyone else have homework trouble ?

[jgallagher66]

My 3rd grader is in a very challenging school so we knew going in that he would be expected to deal with a fair amount of homework. Typically,he has several pages of math homework. They do Singapore math so lots of word problems. They use Riggs phonics so he has to write the spelling words and markings (5 words written 5 times each). Then he studies the words that will "count " on the spelling test the next day. He always has a vocabulary word that he has to look up in the dictionary, write the definition, give a synonym and use in a sentence. He has to read 30 min. and write a brief synapsis of what he read. Then he'll have either a history or science assignment which is usually a short answer type thing about whatever they're studying. He also has spanish homework once a week but that is usually over the weekend which helps. Most days homework takes about an hour and a half. He has a pretty good system down. It kind of helps that it is predictable and I feel like it is valuable and not busy work. It can be tough on the days we have activities to get to as well though and I like the kids to play outside for awhile each day too.

The thing that I'm most impressed with at his school is how unintimidated he is by writing assignments. I know that if I had to write a story or a report in 3rd grade I would have been almost paralyzed. I would have found that really challenging. He just goes right at it and is really learning to write well. He had to do a project over the winter break and he really dug inand got it done. So even though the homework can be tedious, we are seeing some positive results and are really happy with his school.

[babymommy2]

we are in  a typical school. There are 10-12 spelling words given on mondays to practice daily until the friday test and daily reading (child's choice) for 20 minutes/day, using a log to earn prizes, that is it. As for what we actually do: we do the spelling words and we do a supplementary math cirruculum at home, and daily music practice (not for school). Reading is done for half and hour before bed and it is just part of the bedtime routine, so it does not seem like homework. On activity night sometimes we don't get everything done.

[beanma]

Dd2 is in 3rd grade in a great public school. Our local school system regularly scores the highest in the state and the high schools are on those "best high schools in the US" lists. Dd2 has maybe 10 minutes of homework. It's one sheet which is usually a couple of math word problems. She has to solve the problem and then write how she solved it which should be about 3-5 sentences ("First I added blah + blah. Then I blah, blah, blah... Last I blah...") The idea is to combine math and writing. No spelling words come home and no reading is assigned, although they are encouraged to read for at least 20 minutes a day, but it is not logged. They do have book clubs at school and do a lot of that stuff there — spelling, etc. She's loving 3rd grade and I really like her teacher. She does her homework in the car before we get home.

[melissa17s]

My dd has 20 minutes a night of reading, which can be independent, reading to parent, or parent reading.  She also gets one math worksheet at the beginning of the week due at the end.  It is really not much, especially compared to her 6th grade brother.   Our school district does not do spelling words to be memorized.  They work their spelling into class activities.  

[LuckyMommaToo]

DS brings home one math worksheet a day (one side only) that directly correlates to what they did in class. They also get one spelling assignment for the week (easy, like put the words in ABC order). He spends about 20 minutes a day on homework -- about the right amount, I think.

[limabean]

DS is in third grade, and has a very reasonable amount of homework this year. He has to read for 20 minutes every night (he reads for about 45 minutes before bed every night so I don't even consider that part of his homework -- he just does it for pleasure). Then he'll usually have one online spelling assignment (his teacher uses www.spellingcity.com which is great -- all his spelling words are uploaded and he can play games with them) and one math assignment, sometimes online and sometimes a worksheet. Occasionally he'll have a little more than that, like a social studies or health sheet, but in those cases it's usually a "return by the end of the week" thing rather than a "due tomorrow" thing. And the night before a test he brings home his book for that subject so we can review the chapter.

It feels very doable though, I think mostly because there aren't a lot of long handwritten assignments. Last year he really struggled with homework because there was a lot of journaling and other writing assignments, and that's not his strong suit.

[annethcz]

My youngest is in 3rd grade this year.  Although her older siblings attended the same school and had much more homework at this age, my DD has almost no homework this year.  She has book projects that are due about once a month, and spelling words (which honestly we don't practice at home, and she still aces the tests).  Most other work is done in class.  Every once in a great while she'll have a math or journal assignment that she didn't finish in class, but that's about it.

[EuroMama]

My DS1 is in 4th grade right now, but when he was in 3rd grade he got an insane amount of homework.

I protested it, and she cut it way down. Some days he had 5 worksheets a day + reading + finishing projects. 

When I talked to his teacher how I thought it was insane, she cut it way down.