Homework in preschool?

Question

I teach 3-4 year olds English as a second language and we have a pretty full day with all sorts of activities and I can tell by the end of the day, the kids are pretty worn out. However, I have recently had parents request that I give homework to the kids like reading and writing worksheets. I think it would be too much for the kids personally as most of the kids can barely trace letters yet. I have explained this to the parents, but a few are still asking for the homework. What would you do?

Answer 1

well i would tell them to think about their kid/kids and after a full day at "school" don't you think they would be tiered wait no that might make them angry umm im not sure but just i don't know try and convince them that their kid/kids are not ready for that kind of stuff because after a day at the "school"  they a really tiered and i don't think that they would want to be doing any more work for that day.    ^_^ i hope this helps and if not sorry

Answer 2

Homework in preschool is ridiculous.  I don't think I ever had homework until first grade or so.  If the parents want homework for their small children, then tell them to go to one that specifically has that in their program (though I'm not sure those exist because the idea is ridiculous).

Answer 3

Well just give them simple homework, just to start them off.

by the way, this is a 14 year old giving you advise. :)

Answer 4

As their teacher, the welfare of your class should come first. If they are requesting written homework or other that is inappropriate for the kids then confidently take a stance and say no. I would definitely make it clear that I as a teacher disagree with homework for such a young age group. You could suggest that they read aloud to the child every night instead. Say that they best way they can help their child to progress is by reading aloud to them in a fun and loving way which teaches them that reading is a pleasurable acitivity. You could recommend a reading list to the parents.

Answer 5

There are 2 ways you can go about this....

1- Let all the parents know that there are homework sheets available for anyone who wants them.  Put them in a special spot in your classroom and make it the parent's responsibility to take the sheets if they want them.  Also let them know it is not mandatory and they are not to be returned.  It is for their use only and how they administer it at home is up to them.  

2- Inform the parents that it isn't your philosophy to give out homework to such young children but that they can certainly suppliment themselves by purchasing something from the local teacher store or from searching the internet.  You could even give them the names of workbooks, authors, websites, etc.

Either way it puts the ball in their court and makes them responsible for the extra work, not you.

Also, what is your school's philosophy on this?  If they are against it you could also cite that as to why you don't give out homework.

Answer 6

Like others have said, try giving light homework to those parents requesting it.  Maybe you could make it fun and educational (like puzzles or coloring).  That way the children and the parents are content.   :)

(By the way, thank you for what you do as a teacher.)

Answer 7

Do what you think is right after all its you with the job not the parents. They cant tell you how to do your job and yes kids will get tierd at the end of the day and homework is too much preasurre for these young kids. They need to learn what they are meant to at this age like singing learning songs not getting hand cramps by doing worksheets. personally i think you shouldnt do it. These parents sound strict but they should just wait until their kids go to school or go look for a preschool that has work for like grade 1 and 2 which 3-4 yera olds dont need. Small kids will find it difficult to learn, meanign younger kids find it more difficult.

Answer 8

maybe give them somethign that would only take 5 or 10 minutes, then it doesn't take much out of the kids' time after school but you still made an effort to appease the parents?

Answer 9

I would give some type of weekly assignments that the parents could help the child with at home and make the assignments due at the end of the week, that way it wont be a day to day homework thing and it would satisfy the parents and enrich the child at the same time!

Answer 10

Wooo, I can't believe parents would want to inflict school homework on tiny children who are in the process of developing social skills, the rest comes later on surely.  That asstounds me it really does, shouldn't they be spending time playing with them, cuddling them and loving them 1st of all!!!!

Answer 11

I believe there should not be homework. they are still babies and should be learning as they place not have worksheets to do.  there is plenty of time in elementary school for all of that!

Answer 12

I agree with you. we should not burden the tiny tots. the parents may be avoiding to take care of their children

Answer 13

My sister is four and she can write her full name. I would give them homework.

Answer 14

Give it for those that are asking for additional work. My mother did that to me in third grade because she thought my workload was too easy. I was mad at her for doing it but she was right. Maybe that is what these parents are thinking. Try giving just one worksheet with maybe 4 or five questions.

Answer 15

Sounds like you know what your philosophy about "homework" is.  :-)  I'm not too big at sending home worksheets either.  But I've seen some people send home "homework" as a way to offer a little more individualization.  These "bag" activities very seldom involved worksheets.  Sometimes it was a book with plain paper for the child to draw his response and the parent to write the dictation down.  Usually there was a book talk tip in that bag with points for the parents to make... Pointing out author and illustrator and talking about what they do.  How to track print, noting the front and back cover, etc.  Sometimes it was a manipulative task...sometimes it was a scissor task, sometimes it was playdough and alphabet mats, so on.  There is so much that could be done.  If you are doing English as your focus...send home literacy file folder games, fine motor tasks, rhyming bingo/match, breaking words into syllable tasks, English and their home language memory game, etc. Not necessarily work sheets.

If your parents want worksheets...give them some websites to go print off their own!  :-)  Good luck!

Answer 16

i am a preschool teacher. but before i was, i was a parent of a first child with the desires to have the smartest kid ready for kindergarten. (i was so naive in my thinking). so i know where these parents are coming from. now i know that 3 year olds do not learn a lot from worksheets. they learn the most from play. tell your parents that their homework it TO PLAY WITH THEIR CHILD.

1. build with blocks - it will develop control of small muscles. it will increase perceptions of weight, size, shape (math skills). it will help them learn cooperation and planning.

2. do art activities. they will learn to make choices, interact with a variety of materials, and learn to be creative and self - expressive. remind the parents that the process is more important than the product. it will help develop vocabulary, as the materials are described as: rough, soft, smooth, colorful, etc. also develops fine motor skills.

3. books.  read, read, read to your child. they will learn that print goes from top to bottom and left to right.  listening, paying attention, sequencing and thinking skills are all being used. new vocabulary words are learned.

4. play house and kitchen. the children will learn to use their imaginations and "try out" various roles from the adult world. it will develop their social skills.

5. puzzles and games. controlled movement of the fingers and hands enable children to master the muscles necessary for writing. working with colors and patterns help children to develop visual discrimination and memory.

6. science and math. count shells, sort leaves by size or shape, classify rocks, etc. ask questions - how are these alike, different; is this bigger, smaller?

7. take them to the park or play in the backyard. this develops large motor skills, and gives the child confidence.

just PLAY with your child. they are learning so much.

worksheets and forced projects that don't really interest the child makes them bored, disinterested, and frustrated if they feel they cannont perform the task right. that is not a good beginning to enjoying school.

since you are a teacher of english as a second language, the more the parent interacts with the child in english, the faster they will learn the language. also, i really believe sesame street is a wonderful show for children to learn the language.

hope this helps.

Answer 17

This depends a lot on the school you work in and the culture you're in.  I am not sure if you're in America, but your job will be a lot easier there to get this out there than it will be in much the rest of the world.

I teach in Taiwan and all the parents care about is worksheets.  So much so that it is more important than actually learning English or enjoying school.  So there is nothing I can do at my job...if I can't provide worksheets and other stupid stuff that will harm children's ability to learn, I do not have a job.  All I can do is try to balance out what I HAVE to do with a stronger amount of what I feel is right when I have the chance.

If you are in a non-Taiwan country ( ;-) )  and you have the support of the administration, I say work some parent education out with the parents.  Nights to discuss philosophy of education, what research is out there to support it, etc.  I'm sure if you ask enough questions on here, enough people will see them that can provide really good information.

If you don't have the support of the administration, you might have only 2 options:  Conform and try to help as best you can or move on to somewhere else.  If you're in another country, it may be difficult to find "somewhere else."

One last option that may help are videos.  I had some parents that were really set on worksheets, but I had videos taken of what we were doing in the rooms.  Many parents do care that the kids are learning - they just cannot see past worksheets as the evidence for that.  Providing them with other evidence may be the key to getting parental support.

Good luck!

Matt

Answer 18

Literacy cannot be segmented to two weekly sessions. It should supported throughout the curriculum every day, as should parents play their important role which is to model reading and writing behavior&skills. Totally understand that parents can be pushing on this subject; it's disappointing. Try introduce a parents & child holistic reading programme. Source developmental appropriate story books, let parents take one home to read to their child. Give a Tips Sheet of how to promote their children's awareness of symbols and sounds, how to read pictures/illustrations and enjoy reading together. Homework such as making shopping lists and reading signposts is hugely important to reinforcing preschool based experiences/learning. Have the parents commit to a monthly meeting to share their ideas about the books and opportunity to share other good books: mini book club. Introduce some child development books for parents who don't fully understand the role of early education.

Answer 19

i remember when i was in pre school we sung songs like :

Miss molly, Mother goose, head and shoulders and stuff

We also played with letter blocks, i suppose to develop our english.

we had emotion games to develop the use of adjectives.

E.g. tell someone to stand up and tell them to act happy or sad and the kids need to guess. happy, sad, jealous, angry, excited, etc..

Also teach them the alphabet and the sounds of each letter. I remember we use to play a game where we were in a circled and the teacher would say the letter A, and everybody had to say something that began with that letter, i.e. apple

Simple work sheets also followed these concepts.

Good luck !! i kno i was a handfull back then xD

Answer 20

You could explain to the parents that there are plenty of things that they could do at home which would assist their child with their educational development.

Children learn best through play so games at home would be beneficial, children don't have to write things down to learn letters number etc...

Tracing letters with their fingers on street names and signs etc.. are good learning tools.

It's very hard to explain to parents that want their children to do well that homework will not do any good.

If you feel that you want to give certain children homework explain to the parents that this should be limited to 10 minutes only.

Maybe on a friday give out a worksheet that can be done over the weekend so there is no pressure on the child for it to be given in the next day.