When homework does become important, I view it as the child’s responsibility. In our family we already do this every day. The only type of “homework” I value at this age is reading at home. That can come much later, in middle school. Kids don’t need to “practice” the routine of homework. Homework tends to give school /learning a bad name and when given too young, kids learn to resent it instead of value it. My view is homework interrupts home learning. These are all more important uses of his time, or any young child’s time.

Reads his own book and listens to a bedtime story.

Has an after-school snack, talks and unwinds from his day.

My son gets home around 4pm. He gets into pajamas around 8pm. In those short four hours, he. School learning takes up most of the day, and when school is out kids need space and time for other things. There is such a short amount of time in every day.

I know that’s not how most of American education works right now.Īs a parent, perhaps you understand. Homework becomes important in high school, with a year or two of “practice” homework in middle school. I don’t believe in homework for children ages 11 or under. Here's a copy of the 'anti-homework' letter if you'd like to read more:Ĭan we talk? We’d like to support you in the classroom, and at this early stage I don’t know your views on homework, but… We just mean to stand up for our children's learning by giving them space and time to roam. We don't mean to be trouble-maker parents. So far we've been lucky and our unusual stance has been met with puzzled acceptance. I don't know yet how our third grade teacher will respond. Instead of homework, kids would do much better in school if they got their full quota of sleep and were in bed by 7:30 or 8pm. My kids get 10-11 hours of sleep each night. There you have it: Play, family time and sleep. Time goofing around and picking their nose.

For seven hours they've had to focus on the academic sides of their brains with grown-ups telling them what to do.

Elementary-aged kids don't need homework. What a surefire way to get kids to hate school. My son's in third grade now, which means thirty minutes a day. They even establish quotas: Ten minutes per grade. Homework starts in preschool in many cases, and it only goes up from there. The trouble is, the American education system doesn't agree with me. Quite simply, I believe homework has no place in a young child's life. That's why I believe tree forts win over homework. The letter to my child's new teacher that explains why our family bans homework. That's why I say tree forts win over homework.

He do his homework at the moment