Kindergarten Homework

Whatever happened to the days when kids were actually kids, and didn’t have to start worrying about things like homework until about third grade? The other day, my sister called me and said that her daughter had homework. I was flabbergasted. She’s in kindergarten! Kindergarten homework? What on earth was going on?



Come to find out, kindergarten homework is not all that uncommon. I belong to some online communities (why, yes, I am a dork), and they have verified that their children have come home from kindergarten with worksheets that had to be done as homework. Now, granted, kindergarten homework isn’t exactly algebra level of concentration, but for a kindergartener it is pretty comparable. Some of the items seemed fun, and like the homework was meant more to get the parents involved in their children’s education, but good lord. Is it really necessary to assign kindergarten homework in order to get parents involved? I mean, apparently it is and that is just sad. However, having a young five year old have to do worksheets seems a little insane.

While most kindergarten homework seemed to be pretty simple and observational work, there were some that seemed to be going overboard. One mother said that her child was doing about an hours worth of homework just about every night. Now that is just insane. The kids are five years old! Shouldn’t five year olds be playing and learning in their play kitchens and dress up trunks rather than homework on how to spell words? In first grade I was learning to spell words. Kindergarten was more of an introduction to school and rules. Now, kindergarteners are expected to enter knowing more than my generation did after they completed kindergarten. Now there is kindergarten homework on top of that?



I’m all for teaching children while they are most receptive and able to learn, and the kindergarten age is prime time for this. However, kids can learn so many things through fun games, songs and role playing. Doing homework is not something that a kindergartener should have to struggle through instead of playing after a day of school. Are kids not kids anymore? They are already growing up too fast, losing their innocence and trying to be much older than they really are. Let’s cut the asinine kindergarten homework from the lesson plans before we make the competitive parents start to do flash cards in the hospital right after birth.