Home Learning / Homework

Click here for Ideas to help with Reading, Writing and Math

 

At Dairy Flat School we value the connection between school and home.  

We recognise how busy family life can be. Many families have sporting and cultural commitments as well as other demands on their time. The combination between home learning and family activities contribute to the development of children.

We believe these ‘other’ commitments are very important.

Learning is a three way partnership between the child, home and school. All three areas are responsible for a child’s learning. If one section is not in partnership, then the learning triangle is not complete. This is why we do not set homework tasks each week but believe that home learning along with other commitments benefits the child.

Home routines means whanau is actively involved in the child’s learning at his or her level without the added frustration of ‘completing set homework’

If any home learning is set, the child’s teacher will follow up learning tasks with your child each week. For example, home learning tasks around Agricultural Day or specific tasks to support the classroom programme. Children are encouraged to continue their learning at home to develop lifelong learning and recognise that learning can happen anytime and anywhere.

We recommend that all children read each day. For beginning readers this means reading daily readers and being read to. For more capable readers, the opportunity to read chapter books, magazines, blogs etc. (not all children enjoy reading fiction)

According to Alfie Kohn, 2021 “There is no evidence to demonstrate that homework benefits students below high school age. Even if you regard standardized test results as a useful measure, more homework isn’t correlated with higher scores for children in elementary school. The only effect that does show up is less positive attitudes on the part of kids who get more assignments”.

No study has ever confirmed the widely accepted assumption that homework yields nonacademic benefits—self-discipline, independence, perseverance, or better time-management skills—for students of any age. The idea that homework builds character or improves study skills is basically a myth”

Sitting down to do homework with a child can cause a lot of unnecessary stress, anxiety and arguments. Spending time with family, playing games, playing a sport, learning an instrument, exploring, creating and making is a much more valuable use of time. Taking time to relax, play, explore, and participate in extracurricular activities are all very important for a person’s well being, their mental and emotional health.

home learning is

• Working on school related activities, eg mathletics, reading eggs, school topic areas
• Finding information to take back to school
• Preparing for a school event. EG Agricultural day, speeches, school camp etc
• Play a game with others
• Practice and or play a sport
• Learn to Cook a meal
• Learn an instrument
• Reading and more Reading
• Writing – any writing, make a recipe book or write a letter to a friend, journal writing, diary writing
• Create or make something. Art and Crafts
• Looking after an animal
• Learn something new. Eg juggling, flip on the trampoline, magic trick etc
• Helping out at home, housework, gardening, caring for others

Children need plenty of exposure to words, sounds, numbers etc, that they are learning – repeating their learning from school at home helps for the learning to be retained in their long term memory. Any learning at home should be authentic and fun. Plenty of praise and encouragement needs to be given.