snack if worksheets are done

[mattemma04]

For those whose kids have a snack during class time I was wondering if the kids have to finish worksheets before they can have their food.Ds tells me last night that they have to do 3 or 4 worksheets before they can get their snack.He said some kids don't get to eat a long time, because it takes them longer to complete their work. I had assumed that if snack time were say 10am then everything just stopped,and they took a snack break.

[mommyoftwo]

No way! That would never fly for me. I could see maybe (just maybe) if it was some kind of special treat day, I would be livid if my dd wasn't given enough time to finish snack because of her work.

[Emmeline II]

Snacks are given to improve the concentration and energy of the students; they should not be used as inducements or punishment. I agree with the pp.

[CarrieMF]

nope no way. Snack time is right after recess. They get their gear off & eat. If they don't feel like having snack they go & play while the rest are eating.

[mammastar2]

Dd had snack last year in kindergarten. It was a 'center', the same as the 'writing center', the 'sand table center', and so on. Kids rotated over to it and had a bite to eat when they were hungry. It sounds really bizarre to make eating dependent on how fast you do worksheets!

[beachmouse]

Considering how society is today where you've got huge problems with both childhood obesity and anorexia/eating disorders, I'm not sure that it's a good idea to teach the small humans that food is supposed to be a reward, or that withholding it is supposed to be a punishment.

[mattemma04]

I thought it was odd too,and had never thought they had to do work before they could eat.Ds said luckily he gets done fast and has time to eat.How sad for the other kids that are slow.

Dd had snack time in grade 1,but even then she said sometimes they would not get to it because they had work to do.Atleast in that case no one got to eat.

[Heffernhyphen]

I have little respect for a teacher who gives 3 or 4 worksheets. I assume your child is Pre-K if he's still getting snack and worksheets are not best practice for this age. That's the first thing I might have a chat with her about.

[angelpie545]

I would bring it up immediately with the school administration. It's illegal to use food as a form of coercion or punishment in most states, and it's usually against district policy. I'm betting your teacher is in violation.

[journeymom]

Originally Posted by Heffernhyphen

I have little respect for a teacher who gives 3 or 4 worksheets. I assume your child is Pre-K if he's still getting snack and worksheets are not best practice for this age. That's the first thing I might have a chat with her about.

Ds is in 3rd grade and was getting snacks as recently as 2nd grade. Though I was surprised they kept it up that long. Snacks are a fabulous thing.

And snacks are supposed to be provided to help the kids do their work! Not as a reward!

[pinecone]

I had a similiar experience w/ my 4yo DD in a Montessori classroom last year. In fact, on a day I went to visit, she was working on Clock work; moving the hands to each hour and then writing the words that represented that time, "one o'clock". She was having tons of trouble with the lead in the pencil breaking so she spent what seemed like hours re-sharpening the pencil. At one point, about 1/2 way through with the task she turned and told me she was hungry. It was snack time anyway and so I thought no big deal. Then, when she raised her hand and her teacher came over she asked if she could have snack now and come back to her work. Her teacher made a big point of telling her the normal process is to do all the work and then put the materials away, but he'd allow her to go eat snack now. I think he did this for my benefit. In all, it was just another thing that led my child to say she hated school (at 4yo!!) day after day. We finally pulled her and changed schools.

Sorry for the long-winded reply. I agree w/ pp's food is not a reward/punishment. Each child should have the same amount of time to participate in the snack and it should not be dependant on completion of work. I'd have a serious talk with the teacher about it.

[mattemma04]

I won't waste my time complaining about it to the teacher or principal.They will do nothing as they are doing nothing about ds being bullied.I was just curious what it is like for others.

[Noah's mommy]

In my classroom snack time is during silent reading (2nd graders, immediately following recess). If a child has unfinished work (worksheet, center work, or otherwise) they eat their snack as they work. Each of my student's in entitled to their snack in the classroom.

[lu123]

No, being able to eat a snack should not be tied to work completion.

lu

[Momily]

Are the kids who finish slowly just getting their snack a little later, or are they not getting it at all?

I'm a special educator, working as a resource teacher, and all of the students in our school (PreK -- 5) get snack. Many of the teachers have their snack scheduled after an academic period (e.g. math). The teacher might say "finish your work, clean up (e.g. put your pencils back, turn in any written work) and get your snack out. In this case some kids might get to their snack a few minutes early, but they make sure everyone gets to it. If a child doesn't finish their work because it's difficult for them they'll get a chance to finish it later with help (either from me if they're one of my kids, or with the classroom teacher). If they are way behind because they were goofing off or otherwise chose not to do the work, the teacher might say to them "you can have your snack but I want you to sit at my table and finish your work while you eat it", but again they get to eat it.

Edit, I wanted to clarify that if snack comes after math we're talking about a maximum of 5 minutes of paperwork (everything else is hands on) for review at the end so a child who takes twice as long will still get there while the others are eating -- and have plenty of time to chat with friends and eat. If snack comes after writing the kids write until they decide they're done so the only kids who would be late would be kids who were too excited about what they were saying to put their work away -- not exactly a punishment.

[dillonandmarasmom]

Worksheets...blech! Snack is for nourishment and to give the kids a bit of energy in that looong wait for the lunch period--not to motivate them to complete some busy work. Sheesh! Just how well would those worksheets be 'completed' in a rush to have a bite to eat anyway??

[Hannahsmummy]

Absolutely not. We are in a Waldorf school so our experience may be different but snack is an important time for the children to sit, settle down a bit, learn table manners, enjoy and revere food together and give thanks for it.
There is no way a child would be excluded from it.

[kmeyrick]

This would only encourage kids to rush through their work, and work should be done well, not fast. I wouldn't do this. I think a healthy snack should happen at a predictable time of day so no one gets low blood sugar, and no one develops issues with food.

If there are certain kids who aren't doing their work, that's an issue that needs to be handled, but not through snack.

[emmasmommy]

In my dd's kindergarten class, snack time is snack time. The teacher stops the class and all the kids get their lunch boxes from their backpack and eat their snack, not at all dependent on getting their work done first or not. DD goes all day and they get snack in the morning right before recess, and then again in the afternoon.

[RomanGoddess]

What grade is this? Kindergarten?

On the one hand, I could see the point of view that it is good to encourage children to finish one thing before starting the next. Also, I do think it is important not to interrupt when they are concentrating on work.

On the other hand, it should not be phrased as a punishment (i.e., no snack if you don't finish"). And children should be working on things they enjoy doing anyway. The worksheets should not be a chore, which I fear the teacher is turning it into.