The Question:
What do other K teachers assign for homework?I have recently had a parent complain that it was “way too much” for their child. All we assign is an oral practice page to go along with our series (covers phonics, sight words, phonemic awareness, etc) that they are to do with their child 3x, sign, and return. The page takes 10-15 minutes if that.
We also encourage practice with sight words (flash cards) and reading (leveled books that are sent home) for fluency.
The Answers:
Erin
We do not give homework. We encourage families to read together – that is all!
Karin
I know I’m old-fashioned but I don’t think kindergartners should have homework except to have parents read good literature to them. The other thing I have parents do is play dice and strategy games with them to develop numeral recognition and problem solving skills. Flash cards could be used in matching games or games like “Bang”
Lynn
I’ve read that developmentally, 10 minutes per grade starting in grade 1 is acceptable/appropriate. Reading and playing board and card games are appropriate for kindergarten. Especially if you don’t have play in your classroom, those kindergarten kids should be playing!!!
Lois
I completely agree! They should be digging up worms and getting dirty outside, then be able to talk about their discoveries. A good book before bed. Done!
Emily
10-15 minutes….and they’re complaining? HOW SELFISH!!! I KNOW THEY SPEND LONGER THAN THAT @ T BALL OR DANCE. NOW WE KNOW WHATS MOST IMPORTANT TO THEM. HOW SAD. YES, IM FROM THE OLD SCHOOL BUT KINDERGARTEN ISNT WHAT IT USED TO BE FOR SURE…..SADLY!!!
Andrea
We don’t do the “homework” our son’s K teacher sends (it is optional anyway). I don’t want my kids to hate school starting in K because of homework. We do lots of other learning here that is not assigned by the teacher: reading, board games, going outside, non-school groups, oh, and he plays with his family. He’s home for fewer waking hours than he is at school, he’s entitled to down time. From experience, what may seem like 10-15 minutes of work can be much more than that if you have to nag your child to do it (and if that’s the case, not much learning is going on IMHO.) Every teacher should read The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn.
Michelle
I don’t give my students homework. I feel my students should be playing. Period. Play IS how they learn.
Nadine
I don’t like giving homework…for years I was the only k teacher on my team that didn’t. Now I am required to do it. I don’t like it…I don’t believe in it…
Nicole
I give my students homework. This prepares them and gets them in the routine. The homework is practice skills based on what has been taught. It shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes. Plus a bedtime story. If I don’t give homework one night, my Kiddos complain. So Mon – thurs, they know what to expect.
Megan
Homework in kindergarten is simply not appropriate in terms of development. Children learn through play and relationships, not by sitting down and completing worksheets and flash cards. By requiring children to complete homework we are sending them a message that the way to succeed is to memorize facts, not create-dance-play-laugh-problem solve. Additionally, sending homework home is potentially setting children up to fail. Not all families can (or will) complete homework with their child. Then what happens when a child who’s single mother is working her second shift job can’t assist with homework comes into school the next day without their homework? That child feels bad, and we don’t want children to feel bad about school and learning. We want children to love school and learning. If your goal of sending homework is one of creating a routine and responsibility there are many more appropriate ways to cultivate that within the classroom that don’t require homework.
Matthew
Most research shows there is little to no benefit for homework for kids below the High School level. Parents should be encouraged to read daily to (or with) their child, and that is all. If you must send homework I suggest: Play outside, dig for worms, collect leaves, visit all the parks in your city, fly a kite etc. Play IS a child’s work!
Kelley
Wow… Your parents would not like me as their teacher!!!
Jackie
What do you do when you work in a low income area? My kids come in not writing their name or even knowing what it looks like. I’m not supposed to give them practice pages? I give them things they can do on their own a lot of the time and there is no penalty for those who don’t do their homework.
Penny
We have an optional homework calendar. On each day there is something fun related to objectives we have taught. Go on a nature walk, read a book, count the smoke detectors in your home. Stuff like that. My kids school sent home a packet for each month. Waste of my time. We never did it. I hate busy work.
Krystine
When I student taught I gave one HW assignment a week. My daughter’s k teacher gave one worksheet a night, but it was very easy and only took 5 mins independently to complete. I think her goal was simply to get into the habit for first grade.
Carrie
We are not supposed to give homework. I send home reading books that parents can use and I suggest things for students who are struggling, but I do not feel that students should have homework to do at that age. Reading a story before bed is also a suggestion I give to parents. They are too young. Homework should not cause parents stress at that age. In Ontario, 10 minutes is supposed to be max. for grade one.
Charla
From a parent’s perspective I would like to see a return to kids being allowed to be kids. Translation : no homework at this age. One thing I find that teachers do not consider when estimating the time frame for homework is that the child w/ADHD will do a typical 10-15 minute assignment in double or even triple that amount of time which is a lot after a whole day of school which also largely excludes physical activity. Of course, the latter is a whole other issue. My opinion is that it works better for everyone when, as much as possible, school is done at school.
Kendra
Do a tic tac toe board and allow them to pick the assignments they do and the nights they do it!
Ashlee
We have a math page, phonics and reading page nightly.
Ronda
I give a phonics, math, and writing page due on Friday! I also send home a little reader to practice reading skills, due on Friday. Rewards for those who do it!
Lynne
Perhaps dig for worms and collect leaves should be on the homework sheet. With our busy parents, homework tends to be instead of video games and tv. My homework (10 min) is designed to communicate with the parents and develop organizational habits. I ask my kids to read a simple book, check their calendar and pack their backpack ,with a letter sharing object or library book, have parents read to them, and once a week they write and illustrate a sentence…which they can’t wait to show their friends, and 2 times a week they do a very simple math page. If a child doesn’t do it at home, I help them in the morning. I firmly believe that 10 minutes of one-on-one time with a parent is very valuable. Yes, they should play but parents also need to demonstrate the value of learning. Play is super important, but so are organizational skills!
Laurie
They have one short page that goes with our math series and that is it. I don’t even check it. I’m just required to give it. I have a monthly homework packet that reinforces skills that we’ve learned in our classroom. I post it to my website once a month. I tell parents it’s there if they would like to do something at home with their child, but it is completely optional. Some parents just don’t have any ideas on how to help their child at home, so it’s really meant for them.
Bee
Wow! Most of The kids in my 1st grade class watch tv and play video games when they get home from school. So they are not learning anything. The homework that I do send will give them an opportunity to do something worth while. Some parents don’t work with their children if they dont have any guidance. So I think homework should be given if the teacher is aware of the lack of learning going on at home.
Carmen
We use Kelly’s Kindergarten –http://www.kellyskindergarten.com/ – it’s not hard or long homework. I also work in a low income area where my students can not (or can barely) write their names when they get to me. They need the practice with that, with counting, with letter recognition and sounds, they NEED the practice. Parents can take 10 minutes to help their child with that. If there is no structured, assigned homework, I honestly don’t know that SOME of my area’s parents would do anything with their child! (I have a kid now who clearly does the homework herself! – She’ll do what she thinks is right, like write the color word instead of an object that is that color.)Homework is a family time. Homework in kindergarten gets the routine started for both the kids and the parents.
Erica
I give my parents a list of sight words at the beginning of the school year as well as instructions and “parts” for several games they can play with their child to make learning letters, sounds and words fun. The games all come from theschoolbell.com. I also hand out homework kits that align with skills we are learning in all areas (the Ten Finger Tote for fine motor, Habitat backpack when we are learning about animal homes, etc. We have around 50 kits, and the kids BEG to take them–each contains at least one book, an activity and a journal (typically fill-in-the-blank and draw a picture).
Tammy
Homework is way overrated. Reading together, playing outside, playing a game, cooking a meal together, or just having a conversation is what 5 year olds should be doing with their parents.
Jessie
I give my students daily reading homework where they practice their reading skills with their parents. I check to make sure a parent has signed it daily. About 75% of my students are from low income homes and I’ve found this system helps to keep some of my more clueless parents accountable. Parents also see their kids growing reading skills as they are able to read more and more. Kids who don’t return homework signed are given time during the day to read to me or another adult. I feel it’s totally reasonable.
Matt
No homework for many reasons. I tell parents who ask to read with their child.
Patty
My boss looked at me like I was nuts when I asked if they did homework. I came from a school that did homework in K. He gets it. What is the point of homework for a 5 year old? They should be playing. That is how they, and as I keep telling adults, we all, learn.
Matthew
Jessie, The use of the word clueless is very negative. Maybe they are working 3 jobs or struggled in school themselves.
Amy
The research on homework is clear: at the primary level, it has NO benefit: not academic, not work habits, not organizational. It disrupts family time, and causes stress and conflict at home. I absolutely do NOT want my kindergarten program to be a source of stress. My students work and play hard all day at school, I don’t have any claim to their after-school time. Homework in kindergarten is developmentally inappropriate and a waste of time: mine (to prep it), children’s, and parents’.
Megan
Perhaps a larger issue than that of giving homework that must first be addressed is the way we talk about the parents of our students. The parents (primary caregivers) are the most important people in our student’s lives. A such, we need to be careful in how we refer to them. Using words like “clueless” or insinuating that low income families are at fault for their children not writing their names is disrespectful and counterproductive in helping our students learn to love learning and schools. Families are systems in which our students are just one member of-we need to remember that there are many many factors that shape the ways our children learn and interact that come from being a member of those systems. We also need to remember that for many families homework is not a feasible option and that these parents are not being lazy or “clueless”, they are doing what they need to to survive.
Julie
YES! I am so glad there are others that agree with me that K kids don’t need homework!! Unfortunately I have had some parents that keep asking about homework and since I have a twin and the other teacher gives homework, I felt like I need to do something. I hate checking homework because the ones who are struggling are the ones who parents/siblings/etc do a lot of “helping” so it is not so beneficial. This year I have taken a blank calendar and written one thing in each box and the parents can initial the ones they complete. For example, practice writing your first name, practice counting backwards from 10, practice rhyming words…. I send home flash cards for everything too so they will have everything they need. I also told the parents it should not take more than 5 minutes a night.
Nicole
Not all homework has to be worksheets. It can be count to 20 to an adult, look for triangles in your house, be a chef and make a menu. Be creative and it still reinforces.
Julianne
No homework! 5 year olds need to play and talk and laugh and be read to! If parents pester me for it I tell them to go get a workbook or go online and find it themselves.
Diane
No assigned HW…encourage reading and practicing take home books as well as playing dice, card and board games. Kids need to be kids! a full day K program is packed full all day long. Unless kids are looking for “homework”, I would not assign it (for the most part). The one exception is if a child did not complete something because of behavior issues.
Suzanne
I used to give weekly packets with one page per day, stapled together and with a parent signature line on the front to show that they knew what work was to be done/was done. There were detailed instructions and ample time allowances, plus I always encouraged the parents to take part in and help their child with the homework. Some assignments were very parentally involved. Most of my parents enjoyed this, or at least appreciated it and responded kindly. I am retired now but have had many students and parents tell me how much they “enjoyed” my homework packets. Everything related to the curriculum.
Leischen
Homework packet every week per our principal: read 20 minutes with child & practice sight words every night, then Monday night write 3 short sentences using sight words (I like red. I can play. etc.), Tuesday night write write first & last name correctly 5 times, Wednesday night write 3 sets of rhyming words with 5 words in each set, and Thursday night cut out pictures or draw pictures & label them of things that begin with the 2 letters we are learning that week ( like this week was “Vv” & Xx”).
Susan
I didn’t give homework when I taught full day, but with a half day program I give a worksheet each night and ask the parents to read to their child each night. I tell the parents the worksheet will let them know what we are doing in class and if the work is too hard to let me know.
Sarah
I love to read all these comments! Of course the kids SHOULD be out playing, digging for worms, etc. but it totally depends on your population. Most of mine are not. I am philosophically opposed to “too much” homework as well. HOWEVER, my students and their parents practically beg for it. I give a simple worksheet each day and a little book to practice over the weekend. I don’t reward for bringing it back nor punish for not bringing it back. MOST of my students to go our school’s after-school program because their parents are working all day, so they do it there. But at least the parents can look at it and see what we are working on and what I expect their child to be able to do independently.
Cheryl
No homework. I ask that parents read to/ with their child. Maybe send sight words to practice but nothing official.
Matthew
Sarah, I think we can do a better job of showing the learning than sending worksheets home. Parents are begging to be engaged and informed… not for worksheets. My experience is when I engage parents in their child’s learning the need for homework and assessments fades away. After school time is for families and I feel it should stay that way.
Ginna
We do a calendar for M-Th as many of our parents work afternoons and nights. We just put a sentence or two to practice specific letters, sight words, or other concepts for the week. We try to set it up to no more than 10-15 minutes a night plus 15 minutes of reading. I work in an poor urban setting so it doesn’t take more than the spiral notebook we send home and a pencil. We also include a page for reading like poetry or short story so the actual homework “packet” isn’t more than 2-3 pages max. Hope this helps. I really dislike homework in kinder as it’s already a long day with our kinder full day. But the district requires it so we comply as simply as possible.
Patty
Interesting to see how many urban districts have homework. Is there a reason for this? An assumption that children need more practice in these settings? Curious since this was the case in my experience working in an inner city setting vs suburban.
Robyn
I don’t think kids should have homework till they are old enough to do it by themselves: grade 4. Maybe. If you want to create tension between school and home, assign homework in the early grades. My own son, who is quite smart, spent nights sobbing at the kitchen table over homework. I swore that I would never do that to another family and I haven’t. I send things home, but they are optional. My students want to take stuff home, but I never make them return it. And, by the way, my test scores are as good as anybody else’s.
Amy
To put an even finer point on it: parents don’t get to dictate how I spend MY time with their children, so I don’t get to dictate how they spend THEIR time with their children. You know how it sucks for us as teachers if a parent sends a lunch that the child hates, and WE have to have the battle to get them to eat? Yeah, the homework battle is WAY uglier for them. If the research shows us that homework doesn’t WORK, then there is NO population of children who NEED it. Period. Children DO need quality school experiences and excellent parent-teacher relationships. Those things are also grounded in research.
Carolyn
Wow! I’m shocked! I give four “homeworks” every night! I’m in an urban district and feel they need it and can do it! They would be hard pressed to find any worms! Their parents usually have enough time and appreciate that I have given them educational ways for them to interact with their child. 1) counting practice. 2) letter/sight word ID 3) reading to your child 4) letter formation worksheet. The parents really get engaged with their success in learning – especially counting and letter ID. They are so excited when their kids get tested and have learned them! I have Never Had a complaint in ten years. My parents seem to appreciate that I expect the best from both them and their kids.
If they are complaining then its possible that the teacher has not explained the value of that particular homework, OR there really isn’t much value to that homework…
Marya
I am so excited about this conversation. Glad this is what #kinderchat looks like! Come to #kinderchat on twitter everyone!
Patty
I’m shocked that homework is being pushed for 5 year olds. And, remember most ed stuff is geared towards white, middle class population. Maybe kids don’t need extra work, but to have better curriculum that is geared towards all populations. Most testing stuff and words kids need to know favors children of privilege. It’s our job to push for social justice, not make kids do more work to catch up.
Tracee
I gave hw to my K kids because I had to. I tried to make it easy and fun, but the school expected too much of the students and there was not much I could say.
Elizabeth
This year our school day was extended to 7 hours. I recreated our homework system by sending home a tic tac toe homework sheet every Monday. Families can select from a variety of 9 educational activities to do such as ‘collect pine cones and take them apart’, ‘call your grandparent to chat about what you are learning at school,’or ‘go to the grocery store and find foods that begin with Vv.’ parents can customize the homework to fit their schedules and still make it meaningful. 🙂
Stacy
I send home a reading book that we read in school and also a a page of science and math. And a couple of fun pages. They have until Friday. In the reading packet they read the story and writeour sight words 3 times and write a sentence and draw a picture of it.
Darla
Each Thursday my kids have homework. My fabulous assistant makes homework backpacks out of paper sacks. I have the kids glue 3-4 things that start with our letter of the week in their backpacks and bring them back on Friday. When they bring them back they get a sticker on their folder.
Karen
I’m not a fan of homework for Kinders but the parents (and often my administration) insisted so I complied. Most times it wasn’t completed and I wasted paper!
Katharine
Homework in kindergarten is an interesting thing — much like conferences, it is most often the parents of children who need it least who attend to it most. And we get burnt out doing piles and piles of homework. I told my second-grader and her teacher last year that we were only going to write an essay every other week, not every week as assigned — parents need to figure out what makes sense for their family.
Chrissy
Students are to read for 15 min a night. They get to pick a book from the classroom to take home and return. I also give out a weekly packet from Kindercorner/ Scott Foresman sites… I get about 50% back (more at the beginning of the year) but I don’t hold them accountable. Some parents want it.. others do not. I agree with Karen… it seems like a waste of paper at times. I just hope the parents recycle. 🙂
Mark
As a parent, I say: PHOOEY! You have our kids for 5-6 hours a day. That should be enough work. I don’t think kids should have substantial homework until 5th grade. I know I didn’t (and my class days were shorter), and I have a bachelors and two masters from top-notch universities.
Kristin
I give a leveled reader to read Tuesday and Thursday night with a reading log their parents have to sign. It is max 8 pages with one sentence on each page. Some only have 4 pages. I completely agree children should learn through play and interactions and many parents do that wonderfully. It just seems the only play some kids get are tv and video games(not saying they can’t learn through that but it does not need to be the main source). So at least this will hold those parents accountable to help their child and it lets them see how they are reading using sight words and sounding out the words using the letter sounds we have covered.
Shannon
One way I make the required K homework more fun is using our online programs Raz-Kids.com and mathletics.com and do online assignments– they enjoy both these!
Mark
I don’t mean to be difficult, but I guess I feel the parenting should be left to the parents. I am still unclear on the necessity of homework when our kids are at school 5-6 hours a day. I haven’t see evidence based research that shows that giving homework to 5-10 year olds improves academic outcomes. But, I am open and would love to be informed of it.
Amanda
I give homework because I want my parents to have the tools to help their child succeed academically. I don’t punish children who don’t complete it or hound parents about it. I send home a packet each Monday consisting of a name writing sheet, LA review sheet, math practice sheets, CVC picture/word cards and a leveled reader. It’s easy to say parenting should be left to the parents, but too often parenting is left to the teacher.
Miss Bindergarten's Classroom 
Parents are sick of worksheets and so are kids. It’s lazy teaching, and it’s a cruel and unusual form of punishment as homework. Teachers need to be creative and start to develop real plans to teach. This is why the U.S. is slipping.
I guess I’m super confused by how people who are supposed to be reasonably educated “educators” of our children believe that their own anecdotal experiences or perhaps their hopes somehow negate all current research that homework for young children has no benefit from any standpoint and from any social economic group. It doesn’t even benefit children who are “behind” (I.v haven’t learned the required rote memorization that may not even be developmentally appropriate for most kinders) Period. It doesn’t matter if you think the parents are clueless or the kids are watching TV after school. It’s not only a waste of time, it not only causes familial strife and parental stress and student exhaustion but can create long term issues where the child learns to dislike school and learning, learns to categorize themselves as stupid or bad learners and can cause them to be labeled as such within their district. 10-15 minutes…maybe for you…my 5 yr old sobs for an hr a night and that doesn’t include story time or flash cards, etc. He’s at school 8 hrs a day…when is he supposed play, do chores, or God forbid relax and watch PBS (you unwind don’t you? Why isn’t my child allowed to?)? And the patronizing elitist conversation directed at parents doesn’t help. Maybe I sound a bit snippy but I’m incredibly frustrated. I went to a private school and was allowed to explore and learn at my own pace, instead I’m seeing my children struggle and have to suffer and feel terrorized just to fall within the required state standards which doesn’t account for a child’s natural inclinations, growth pattern and learning style. Studies in France have shown that if in a supportive and free school and home environment almost all children will catch up to each other academically by the age of 8 if not labeled and pushed and requiring standards before that age can set children up for long term failure. Regardless of the situation of a student’s parents it’s not a teachers job to try to control what happens at home unless requested. I may have multiple degrees but I’m still a single mother of two young children and when I’m home, I’d actually like to enjoy my time with my kids as well as engage in the functions of our whole families survival…secure in the fact that if my child isn’t labeled at school and doesn’t label himself then he’ll be just fine. It’s not about me being unwilling tk give y child 5 minutes of my time as some of you have claimed as if a parents dislike of hw is because we’re too lazy, poor or uneducated to work with them. As oodles and oodles of research shows. I can’t believe the unbelievable amount of stress that’s put on my child and myself by being in school. He should be exploring his world, not being reprimanded for writing his letters backwards. So sad at 5 yrs old..his 3 yr old sister is now terrified to start school. As for Texas and their unacceptable standardized tests I have no words other than I pray I’ll be able to afford to move my children out of here. Teach creativity and critical thinking?…nope rote memorization and misery instead.
Thank you for this heartfelt and distressing comment. I totally agree with your opinions.
Our school asked that I sign a parent commitment to set aside time for homework assignments each night. No. You have my kid for over 6 hours for academic instruction. My job with the remaining time is to allow my 5 year old to be a child. I wrote a note that basically says my priorities are for my child to come home and play with her siblings, to read, to play, to relax, to explore what she wants. The research on this is clear that homework has no benefit at this age, but playtime is crucial, and being outdoors is crucial. For families who don’t allow their kids to do this, I would just try to encourage it…. instead of homework, send home reminders to turn off the tv, and read to the kids, let them play! That’s what they really need.
Andrea, I couldn’t agree more with your stance on homework and the importance of play and family time! I’m sure you’ll stick to your guns.
As a Texas kindergarten teacher I feel it is important that parents work with the teachers to help them promote good readers and math students. Our TEKS or standards are higher than most states. A child that is promoted to 1st grade and not able to read fairly well, count and write numbers to 100 as well as many other objectives will enter already behind the other students. Our kindergarten students are suppose to already be familiar with phonics and numbers when they are promoted to kindergarten .Although, Pre-K is not mandatory, a student who does not got to Pre-K will enter into Kindergarten slightly behind the others unless their parents has worked with them a lot on academics. We no longer teach many things such as patterns, colors, and many other early childhood objectives. If your child came to my class not knowing most of his letters and numbers, then he/she will already be behind their classmates. Kindergarten is also not mandatory, but if a child enters into 1st without pre-k or kindergarten, they will struggle at the beginning and their teacher will more than likely as you to help catch them up and send home homework. I send home Monday-Thursday and short 5 min. math homework, usually about 4 problems which is always explained to the students in detail. This homework is also for my parents to view and see how their child is doing in math. I tell them if your child struggles on his homework, then this is an indication to the parents that their child is also struggling at school. Same goes with their reading. I send home a reader starting around October (depending on the students reading skills). Our reader usually has the sight words we have studied in class for several days. I ask the parents to pull out the sight words after reading the story and have the child tell them what they are in isolation and not in the story. Altogether this should take about 10-12 minutes of their time with their child. I know parents have to work, I’m also a parent, but spending that little of time to help your child’s education is not all that much. Especially if you live in Texas. Check out our TEKS on the website for Texas teachers and look at all what students are required to learn in Kindergarten through 12th grade.
Thank you for this very thoughtful comment.
As a parent who absolutely loved teaching my young kids all sorts of academic, creative and life lessons daily, I can say that the rigors of a full-day highly academic kindergarten (with little play, socialization and down time in class) with additional homework expectations nightly has left our entire family feeling very negatively about school. Kindergarten should light the spark in a child and hook them into loving school and loving learning. These young kids should be playing, reading, singing, jumping, climbing, imagining, socializing, getting out in their community, having quality family time, and gearing up for a great day at school tomorrow – and yes, even spending an evening at sports (if that’s what they enjoy). As teachers, please don’t forget that just handling the expectations of a normal school day takes an incredible amount of effort on a child’s part. Give more responsibility in later grades when maturity allows.
Click to access kindergarten_report.pdf
Dear Megan,
So many teachers agree with your concerns and try everything they can to mitigate the academic pressures. You are agreeing with the viewpoints of most teachers I know. The pressure is coming from above and many older teachers are very discouraged with the changes in Kindergarten.
I send home three or four pages of homework on Friday. The pages represent what we have been doing in class that week. It should be fairly easy for the student to do independently. Most parents say that their student can’t wait to do the homework and do it as soon as they get home.
I am opposed to homework in kindergarten. We are a full day kindergarten and we do not have a rest time built into our day. As it is I have to squeeze in some free choice time so they can just be allowed to play with little adult interaction. They work so hard and they are only five! Little by little we are taking away their childhoods and it makes me sad. Home should be for downtime, or out of school activities…or just simply playing outside!
Unfortunately, our district mandates homework in kindergarten, but they don’t tell us what that homework has to be, so at the beginning of each month I send home a calendar with family friendly activities such as , “count the windows in your house”, “draw a picture of your family from tallest to shortest”, “help with the dishes”, “no tv tonight” etc. I do ask that they read with their child each evening.
So far I’ve had positive reactions from parents. They have their entire school careers ahead of them, let’s let the kids be kids!
Lisa
Our kindergartners take home a sight word book each Monday (that are printed and copied from Hubbard’s Cupboard) and we ask that parents listen to their child read it each evening M-TH, these are kept in their daily folder (teachers provide) and are turned in each Friday and added to individual student book bags (a large Ziploc bag with student names on them) to practice 2-3x each week at school. I send home a set of letter cards and our ZooPhonics motions that go with each letter for parents to practice letter/sound ID/production each evening along with counting practice. On Fridays each student takes home a newsletter from their teacher along with 1 page that is divided into 1/4’s with a ZooPhonics letter in one section of the paper–the remaining 3 sections of the paper are for drawings of things that begin with the focus letter. After the first 6 weeks of school students are to stretch out the sounds of each word that goes with each drawing, this is explained to parents at our October conferences–the student is to sound spell the word and then their parent is to tell them the “dictionary” spelling.
Monday-sight word book to read to parent each evening (parent initials the back)
Friday-letter homework, sound spell–correct spell
That’s it!
Ooops, the students sound out the words for their pictures AND sound spell it. Then their parent is to help them dictionary spell it. I hope that clears up my former post.