Teachers Help. 2nd grade is killing me

elliemom

elliemom

Cathlete
To all teachers I need some help and or advice here.
My LIFE is being consumed by my 2nd graders homework!!! I'm not sure if it's me or if this is just too much
Monday- write 20 spelling words 5x each, 5 key words with definitions, 2 pages of math (addition and subtraction double digit) religion
Tuesday- Write 20 sentences using the spelling words, math 2 pages as above, phonics etc etc religion
Wednesday- make up a multi step double digit math WORD problem, study spelling, key word quiz Thursday religion
Thursday- 2 pages of math 27 problems on side A, 15 two or three step problems on side B, yes that is 42 problems, study for tests tomorrow
Friday- spelling test, religion test, phonics test

My son is not struggling, he can do all the work (needs help with other words in the 20 sentences) but it takes FOREVER!!! And I feel like from the time he walks in the door until he goes to bed we are talking homework.

I am a nurse, not a teacher and I really have no idea if this is over the top. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. You can even tell me to get over it, just HELP!!!

Thanks
ellie
 
ellie, im not a teacher but that does seem a bit excessive.
my 1st grader gets home at 420. dinner is around 530, bedtime no later than 730, but usually 7. we would not have time to do as much hw as what is assigned to your ds! THANKFULLY we only have math homework 1x/wk. every night she has to read a chapter in a book for school and we sign a sheet for it.
i think i would talk to the teacher!:confused:
 
My son is in 2nd grade and that is WAY more than he does. It is one worksheet everynight. Spelling is done in school - sentences that is. He can practice them at night with me if he desires but he is so excellent at spelling, he hasn't really needed to. He has one math worksheet per night except on Fridays where all he has to do is read a poem to me.

Wow...good luck with that one.


Talk to the teacher. I do recall though that his first grade assignments were somewhere closer to yours, though, I have to admit. He had the sentence thing AND math each night AND reading assignments...I guess it is the teacher.
 
My son gets home at 3pm. We play for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, then start homework while i am making dinner. My sons bedtime is between 7 and 7:30 and i feel like during that time I am somewhat ignoring my younger son because i have to focus so much on the homework.
There is also reading in there and a monthly book report.
I am losing it now. They just went back to school on Monday after a Christmas break and they are only 7 years old for goodness sake!
Keep the suggestions coming.
ellie
 
My DD had a lot of homework in elementary school. The district said it's because of the standards they are expected to meet - there are not enough hours in the day to meet them, so they HAVE to give that much home work. I never believed it. She struggled so much in elementary school because she did not like doing all that homework. I think it's ridiculous. What amazed me, was that when she got to middle school, her homework amount DROPPED! 6th grade was so much easier than 5th.

She's now a junior and has the same level of homework as she did in elementary school, but she has honors and AP courses. *shakes head*
 
Ellie, as you know, Zach is in 2nd grade and doesn't get that much homework. Here is what his week looks like:

At the beginning of the week, they're given 10 spelling words
Monday: Sentences for first 5 words; math page
Tuesday: Sentences for second 5 words; math page
Wednesday: all 10 words-either to be put in alphabetical order, rainbow words (kids write out the words using a different color for each letter), or an unscramble game; math page; take-home reader book
Thursday: all 10 words written 3 times each; math page
Friday: take spelling test and math review

Homework is "supposed" to take about 10 minutes per grade....so 2nd grade=20 minutes.

But we're a public school so I don't know if your school's 'philosophy' or guidelines are different??? Just a thought. I also know that with the No Child Left Behind Act, public schools especially are concentrating on that (I can't speak for private schools, and I'm no expert). Personally, I feel that Act has hurt my older son, who excels in school naturally and needs more work and more push.

Gayle

Gayle
 
Ellie, you have every right to be stressed out. We went through the same thing when my DD was in elementary school. Her fourth grade teacher would give no less than 2 hours everyday of homework, and because of my DD's math struggles, it would take her more like 3 hours. She cried almost everynight and I would have to sit along side her and guide her through. Even in Kindergarten she had homework EVERY night. There were so many complaints from parents that the school has since revised the homework rule to no more than 10 minutes a night per grade level.

Growing up I attened a strick Catholic elementary school, and the only homework we were ever given was spelling and math fact practice, and this was back in the day when team sports were not in exsistence. We came home from school and ran outside to play until dinner, then had family time and went to bed. Now our children are expected to school all day, rush to some sort of practice, and then sit for hours doing homework and repeat this for the rest of the school year. It's no wonder anxiety issues are nearing epidemic highs.

Our middle school principal has suggested extending the school day by 90 minutes and making each major subject a 90 minute class and having no homework, with the exception of special projects that would be given only a few times per year. It would also help in the area of kids being home alone after school. Our school lets out at 2:10 and most parents aren't home until dinner, so this "idea" would be benefical in both areas.
 
The 90 minute class is a neat idea. We homeschool, so we do all of our work during the day, and it sounds like the longer school day would mimic that somewhat.

I'm interested to hear what the forum teachers think. I remember never, ever finishing a book back in grammar and high school. A teacher would often say, "Guys, we gotta at least get to this point," and we'd often skip chapters. It seemed as if they were under the gun, and I think a lot of homework was pushed to make up for whatever time constraints they were fighting against.

Our little family, on the other hand, finishes every book cover to cover. We don't have that much more of a school year, but we do have more time during the day. Of course, only having 2 kids helps immensely.
 
Hi Ellie,

My youngest is in 4th grade and I feel like all we do is homework when he comes home. He gets home around 3:30 and some days he is working from when he gets home till about 8:00 pm. The amount you are talking about for a 2nd grader seems like a lot. I think sometimes the teachers forget that these kids also need some down time!

Therese
 
I AM a second grade teacher and that is WAY TOO MUCH homework! I think you should talk to the teacher about it. Maybe you could ask her how long she thinks it should take a student to complete the given homework each night. Then tell her how long it is taking your child to complete the homework. (The general rule at my school is 10 minutes per grade level.) Be nice though -- you don't want her to get upset with you and then take it out on your son.


I have more to say about this but have to pick up my own students from lunch.

Good Luck and I'll check back later.
 
aveggiegirl,

Thank you. My sister was a school teacher and was telling me this was way out of touch etc. But she loves my kids so I really wanted other peoples opinions. Like i said, he's very smart and not struggling at all, but he needs a little fun too!!! It seems too "in the box" for me. It's a lot of rote and no real thinking. Except for the sentences. But the book report is 10 sentences with a cover page and a drawing page at the end. I have to dummy down the book so he can tell the story in 10 -15 sentences and what's with the coloring? He is soooooo past that!!! I mean you asked him to write words like appreciate and remarked and then have him color a picture of a book????

I'll take any and all imput please. From anyone!!!!
Thanks again,
ellie
 
Ouch! That's nuts on the homework. My daughter is in 3rd grade and doesn't have that much. Reading is the biggest time consumer and we just read our own books at the same time. I see you have "religion" on there, so I'm guessing you're in a parochial school. Must have different guidelines.
 
Hi Ellie

My children attend catholic school, and I currently have a second grader. He has homework every day but only 10 -20 mins each day. His teacher informed the parents that all "homework" comes home with a "H" on it so, for us, if he has alot of papers without a "H" that means he is not doing his work at school. I would make sure he is using his time well in school and if he is, then that is also a "nice" way to discuss it with his teacher. For example, "He is coming home with alot of homework, we are worried that he is not using his time well in class." Then she (the teacher) can explain why he has so much homework.

Talk to other parents both in your class and others. Other may be stressed about the homework, but are too busy doing homework to be able to talk about it. In other words, there may be alot of parents that feel the same but are too afraid to say anything.

Good luck! I hope this helps!

Diane
 
No, this is ALL homework. It's been like this since September. Just a few changes
Words in alphabetical order
Journal writing- don't even get me started

I wonder what the heck they are doing all day in school??? And the teacher grades each paper (20 sentences) etc, so she must be overwhelmed also.

Just seems like an awful lot to me

Thanks
ellie
 
Hi there! I am also a teacher in a public elementary school and our general rule is approximately 10 minutes per grade level as well, so 2nd grade students typically have about 20 minutes of homework per night - give or take a few minutes. I would definitely set up a meeting with the teacher where you will have the opportunity to talk to her about your concerns related to how long your son is spending on homework each night. Perhaps she is really unaware of how long students are spending on homework each night - (I know that sounds strange, but it could be that she really isn't comprehending the amount of time the assignments are taking each and every day.)

MOST teachers are pretty reasonable and want children to have time to actually relax and enjoy themselves each day. No child should be spending all day and evening on homework/worksheets, and you are the absolutely the best advocate for your son in this situation. I would most definitely have a meeting with the teacher.

Alicia
 
I can relate!

I had the same experience with the Catholic Schools! My son would have 2 hours of schoolwork from 2nd grade to 4th grade. I too thought, "What are they doing at school"? I felt like I was doing the teaching! It didn't seem right that his public school friends did not have the same amount of work. Also, my son is gifted and learning comes very easy-so it wasn't because he was not a good student. Which is another issue that we had with his old school. We switched to the public school last year (5th grade) and haven't looked back once. In fact, my son has less homework and has better national test scores than he had when he went to the Catholic school.

*I also have a younger son that is in 4th grade too. It has been very interesting to see what his workload was like in 3rd and 4th grade in comparison to my older son's school workload at the Catholic school. It is much more appropriate!
 
Mine are in 3rd grade (twins, so I see homework from 2 different teachers). That is waaayyy more homework than we get (and I am overwhelmed by what we have). Now I really feel like a whiner. I have talked to teachers about homework in the past and they made me feel much better. The second grade teacher told me that if it takes my child more than 20 minutes to do the homework that we should stop and just turn in what we got done. In second grade, I was still dealing with the inability to focus (my kids are very focused in school, but not at home). Third grade homework is going much better.

I really recommend keeping a log for a couple weeks of how long the homework is taking and then talking to the teacher in person (not in an email) and not being confrontational, just be concerned and confused about why it is taking so much time. The teacher may have no idea how much time it is taking.
 
I am also a 2nd grade teacher, and I agree - WAY TOO MUCH! My philosophy is that 2nd grade is a time for children to develop a love of learning and of school. Spending all night, every night doing homework is not going to help them love anything about learning! My students will get math homework only if I feel they need extra practice on a skill, or if they weren't able to finish something in class. As far as spelling, I would give no more than 10 words per week. We would do activities every day using those words, and the list would go home on Thurs. The test was on Friday. I have now changed my thinking about spelling - I want them to learn the rules for HOW to spell words, rather than just memorize them and forget the next week. So, no more spelling lists. My students use language every day, and they have their own booklets where they write new and unfamiliar words. Their writing and spelling has improved tremendously by just using language. We talk about why words are spelled the way they are... The only thing I ask my students to do each night is to read for 20 minutes with an adult. However, this isn't a requirement. They have reading logs, and if they read during the week, record the time, and bring the logs back on Friday, they get a prize.

I think something should be said about the homework your son is expected to do. Have you spoken with other parents in the class to see how they feel? Sometimes a group effort is more effective than one parent going up against the teacher.
 
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My kids are in high school w/ AP classes and don't spend that much time on homework. I was a teacher and agree w/ the 10 min./class. I would talk to other parents and if there is enough concern, bring it up to the school board? Good Luck, I can't imagine what 3rd grade will be like.....:)
 
Middle school English teacher here and that is way to much homework for a second grader!!! And I would hate to correct all of that!!! It is tooo much busy work and not actively engaging the student. Check with the other parents, but I have a feeling everybody has this much work. I'd start with the teacher and express your concerns. Why all this homework? Whay is the reason for it? There are so many assignments that can be fun and creative for your child. Go to the next level if your questions aren't answered. Go in with a list! I wish I could go with you!
Ellen
 
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