The Puddles

I am astonished.  Dumbfounded. Stunned. This is a picture of all of the homework that Ainsley has to accomplish this week.  7 packets.  That doesn’t include the flash cards and 30 minutes of reading that we are suppose to do every night.  She is in 2nd grade!  Besides spelling, reading, and 2 math packets (totaling 6 worksheets), Ainsley has a fluency packet in which I am suppose to teach a different element of fluency each night.  Each night.  The teachers have even provided instructions on what I am to cover each night.  Are you kidding me?  I am a certified teacher.  I know how to do it, but what about all of those parents who aren’t in the teaching profession.  And should I be teaching every day after school?  The kids are in school for 7 hours a day.  Cut something and cover this in school.  I understand the need to review elements after school by doing homework, but if I wanted to homeschool I would have done it already.

So Ainsley has spelling, reading, fluency, 2 math packets and . . . a project where she has to build a house using nature . . . and . . . she has to interview a grandparent and type a report about that grandparent.  Do I need to repeat that this is second grade!!!  Geez.  I can’t even go to her teacher because the grade level comes up with this homework together.  It doesn’t come from her.

I am a parent. I have three kids. They have after school activities.  There are a couple of days that because of after school activities that we don’t have time to do a whole of homework on those days.  So we try to do more on our not so busy days.   But for the last two days we have spent almost three hours each day working on it.  Even my bright little Ainsley hasn’t even finished half of the work yet.  This is ridiculous.  There is no reason to send home this much work.  Some homework is understandable and expected, but this amount is beyond appropriate.  There needs to be a balance and I believe that this grade level has missed the mark.