Last night I attended "Meet the Teacher" at the twin's school.
The last one I attended was when they were in Kindy and then moved into stage 1.
I decided to attend the one last night since it is the girl's last year of primary, they are getting ready for high school and I wanted to understand how the school is preparing them for the next step.
It was great to hear all the wonderful things that the teachers and the school have organised. It was also good to meet one of the new teachers and hear from another that the kids have known forever but have never had as a teacher.
One thing that amazed me was that next week the whole year six are visiting the local high school. They are spending a full day there to experience what it is like to be at high school. On the same day, there is an information session for parents about the high school.
While at the Meet the Teacher event it was told to all parents that there will be forms sent out for registering at the local high school in March.
March! What the????
The girls just started grade six and now we are talking about racing off and enrolling at the high school!
So getting back to how the school prepares the kids for the transition to high school.
There are a few more events that the kids attend at the high school and we also got told that some of the teachers come to the primary school to help the kids to deal with the fact that they will be dealing with timetables and how they will have different teachers for each subject.
As you can imagine the girls are super excited about going to high school and at times a little scared but mostly excited. Both girls have been wanting the year six hoodie jumper last year, however, they were technically in grade five so that was never going to happen. Now they now officially grade sixers they will be getting their grade six hoodies soon.
Soooo all teachers told all the parents that the kids need to do the following each night:
- Read aloud to mum/dad
- Practice their spelling words
- Do their mathletics homework
Ever since the girls have moved into stage 3, which is grade five and grade six, they have told me that they don't need to do any homework as it is all done at school.
As a mum that wants to prepare her children for the soon to be the first day of high school. I am trying to get my kids to practice their reading, spelling, comprehension, maths and so much more. I want them to be ready and not freak out if they get asked something or have to do a task for their new teachers.
After learning about all the wonderful things planned and how it aligns with the syllabus I asked a question.
"If you expect the kids to do about 30mins of practice each afternoon, can you please tell the kids that they need to do the work. I find it extremely difficult to get my girls to do any practice when they tell me that they don't need to do homework."
Many other parents said the same thing and the teachers understood the issue.
If teachers want kids to do work they need to tell kids that homework is due, rather than say you don't need to do it. How do you enforce a little bit of homework each day when the school says you don't have to!
I'm really struggling to get my kids to understand that the only way they can get better is with practice. Are you in the same situation as me? I know that too much homework is bad and not good, however, a little bit of something each day I believe is a good idea, it helps kids practice and know their work and therefore develop more confidence.
I am still in shock that I am off to the high school next week to find out more. I am also in shock that the kids are off to the high school so early in the year. And yes, a little amazed that the high school wants you to fill out forms for enrollment in March!
My tactic to get the kids to do some work is to take their technology off them during the school week, do a bit of work when they come home from school. I get both kids to read a few pages of a book they are reading, do some spelling, any maths work that is needed to be done, and some quick practice for their times tables.
I know it is a bit harsh to take technology off them but I have found that this makes them focus and once the work is done I let them play outside or do something creative, or even keep reading the book they are reading.
What do you do to help kids practice or do homework for school? Let me know.
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