DS just started homework, and it's too easy. What do I do?

[Easy]

DS is in year 1 at school, the oldest one in the year, a very good reader, pretty bright (I know all parents think that).
He went up to year 1 after easter last year, and wanted to do spellings homework then like the children who had been in year 1 all year. I had asked his teacher, but nothing materialised, so I started doing some with him, which he enjoyed.

Anyway since the beginning of Sept I've been wondering when he would start to get some homework. This week he has some, a sheet of spellings to learn for the test next Monday.

They are just boringly easy for him 'tap, man, bag, jam and that'. He's been able to write these words for the last year.
Last week he came home with a set of 7 papers they had been given in class, each had a day of the week written on it, they had to put them in the right order !!! He's know this since he was 3.

I know they are having one or two behavioural issues with him ATM, and I can see this getting worse if they let him get bored.
I am happy to go into school to talk about this, but what approach should I take?

[auntymandy]

Maybe they are trying to asses his ability?
If he does well on the spellings they will change him to another spelling group till they find his level.
i understand about him getting bored it is a worry, but maybe have a quiet word about his behavour and is it boredom linked or just watch and monitor for a couple of weeks?

[colditz]

maybe they are worried about his behavior being confidence linked, and are giving him easy things to do to let him feel very very clever? Then maybe they will progress to harder things when he has stopped thinking "I can't do schoolwork", which is quite common in boys

[homemama]

I personally don't agree with any written hw in the infants. There is such a range of abilities at that age that it would be impossible for the teacher to go through the work with them afterwards and discuss strategies etc. I think if there's no feedback then the exercise is often pointless. Also IME, around 40% of parents do the hw themselves.

I think you need to check if his classwork is up to his level. Is he being stretched, not just given extra work but more difficult work? If not, then speak to his CT. If you feel he is well above average, age about school provision for G&T children. Perhaps speak to the SenCo about this. If he is and it's just a hw issue then I wouldn't worry too much.

[Easy]

Thats exactly it Homemama. I don't think he's stretched in class either (hence the days-of-the-week thing, which was a classroom exercise).

They have a punishments system which involves being issues with yellow and red cards. If they get 2 yellow cards and another misdemeanor, then a red card means they go to another class for an hour. DS has been sent twice to the class above a year, and I think he quite enjoyed it!!

[aloha]

I'd enjoy the fact that his homework takes five seconds and you can then do something more interesting.

[aloha]

Classwork is a different issue though.
I hate homework for little children anyway.

[homemama]

Sent to another class for 1hour and he's in Y1! That's ridiculous! The system sounds reasonable but it should be for 10mins max and they should be sent somewhere they wouldn't want to go. (often for bright pupils this is down a year)

The days of the week thing does sound rather easy for a very bright Y1. Do you know whether the whole class had the same task? Such a simple task could so easily be differentiated. e.g more able pupils doing months of the year, very able kids given a calender and saying how many of each day there was in August this year say.

I think you need to go in and just chrck what he is doing. Ask if the work is differentiated to suit his needs. Use that word and she'll know you know what you're talking about. If he's able at maths, ask if he's attempting any parallel Y2 topics. If you get nowhere, go see the head. Good luck

[Easy]

Cheers Homemama,

Looks like I need to arrange an after school meeting with teacher.

[Mimsie]

DS gets a lot of homework to my taste and I am quite glad he finds them easy as he can do them all by himself, which I think the point is?!? or is it?!? I sure don't help him with them. I just sit by and say "well done" as I just view them as confidence building.

During 1/2 term he had 9 sets of letters in cursive to practise (did script in reception), 2 sets of math homework additions (but only single digits), and indentifying sequences. Plus the usual reading books.
I'd be quite happy if I was you that he finds them easy they have plenty of time to struggle! His spellings have just started to get harder in the sense that he might get them wrong the first time around like "hall, glow, clock etc..." and I think that's a bit much. They get 10 a week. It's asking a lot of a 5 year old! I don't enjoy sitting him down after a whole day at school and make him do proper work... And I don't work so I do have from 3h45 to do it, I don't envy the mums who have to pick them up from after school club at 6pm and do all that! Poor little things!

Now I do know that he gets more challenging work in school as he has mentionned to me before that when it comes to math work his teacher tricks him and takes all the clues from his papers, but leaves them for the other children. So if your DS misbehaving throught being bored in school by all means go to his teacher, but as far as the homework is concerned, I'd let that bit go.

[roisin]

I think I'm of a similar opinion to Mimsie. My boys do get differentiated work at school, but they are in mixed ability classes and everyone gets the same homework, so my boys tend to find homework very easy, and it rarely stretches them.

But I don't entirely agree with homework anyway; so my attitude is with the work they get from school they have learn it is not negotiable, they have to sit down and get it done as soon as possible (same day), and by now (6.5 and 8) they do it basically unsupervised. The homework rarely takes more than 5 mins (I'm sure it will take some children much longer), and that then frees us/them up to pursue their own interests. IMO the other things we do at home are far more beneficial to them than any homework we might get from school if we were to pressurise their teachers for it.

It is very important to me though that they do get stretched and challenged within the classroom. But that is a different issue.

HTH

PS You threatened to phone or email me on this subject some time back, but never did!