Feb 09 2009
Homework for Preschoolers
The other day I told a friend that my daughters are really excited to do their homework. She looked at me in shock. I thought at first she was shocked they wanted to do homework, but it turns out she was shocked that preschoolers have homework.
I’ll admit, when my daughters first began bringing home assignments I was a tad skeptical. They’re 3. What kind of homework could they possibly have? Then it dawned on me… the homework is actually for the parents. I help each of them individually with their homework, so it gives me a chance to see how my daughters are doing in school. Sure, we have parent-teacher conferences, but this gives me a chance each week to see what they’re learning and what they need to work on. For the first few months when I picked my daughters up from school and asked them what they did that day the answers would be something along these lines: “We drank juice boxes.” “We had cookies at snack time.” “We got to go on the playground.” Now that they see I’m excited about their school work, they’re excited about it, too. Just last week their class started a lesson on space. All four of my daughters came running out the door at pickup time and couldn’t wait to tell me about the rocket ships they made. Since then I’ve been trying to find books to keep them interested in the subject.
Their homework is pretty basic: find the matching pictures on this page; color 10 things on this page, etc. But by giving 3 and 4-year-olds at-home assignments, every parent has to get involved with their child’s education. Not a bad plan… let’s just hope they’re still excited about homework in high school and I’m still able to help them!
One Response to “Homework for Preschoolers”
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My son had homework in preschool too, but by the time he started Kindergarten this year homework had lost much of its allure. I think some of it has to do also with the longer school day, by the time he gets home he doesn’t want to do a lick of a school work. I get it. Luckily it’s not that much of a struggle any more. But it’s great when you see them excited about something. Thanks for stopping by and commenting today.