When I finished the course I decided that the children could spend two weeks without worrying about their 'homework' on vacation, but today that we have raised it again I have concluded that if they have vacations it doesn't have much logic that they should take care of homework.
At the end of the school period we have been presented with two different situations: a girl who finishes Early Childhood Education who is sent a 'dossier' with tokens, a boy who will pass to fourth grade who only recommends activities that are described in less of a folio by a face. The goal (I suppose) in both cases is not to forget what they have learned.
But Do children forget the sums, the water states, the spelling rules, the types of constructions that exist in the world?Well, it may be that this is partly the case (especially when what has been learned has no practical application) although the truth is that we can encourage them to learn otherwise than to do homework.
So Do they have or do not have to do homework?To answer this question (something that I am not going to do) we must take into account some factors: the age of the children, our ability to offer them alternative activities, where are the children when we work and what they do in that period, etc.
I personally believe that homework is not necessary, and even less while children are small (until about nine years old), and if on occasion I have had doubts they have been motivated precisely by the recommendations of the school or by the environment that (whether we want it or not) influences us.
I would like to bring you the vision of Malena (of Learning Mathematics), which answers in a great entry, a question that many parents can ask themselves when the holidays arrive:
Do children forget if they do not do homework or do not review?
'Not only during this summer will he forget part of what he has learned, but throughout life he will forget everything he learns (do adults remember everything we once learned in school?). So, let's not fight for an impossible. What we learn, if not we use it, is forgotten, even if we go through it as a child until it is exhausted '.
What does remain is the desire to learn, the illusion to discover new things, the satisfaction of undertaking own projects, etc. and all this we can cultivate during this summer.
We recommend Malena do a list of activities, games, outings, etc. what can be done with the kids, to realize all the educational possibilities that a summer presents us. They don't have to be sophisticated ideas. 'Think that if for example, you go to the beach and the child plays with the sand, runs through the water, collect shells and stones, build castles, make tunnels, ... art, physical education, mathematics, knowledge of the environment, etc. will be working . '
I know you will think that there are teachers who ask for homework after the holidays, many others do not even bother. In the first case and if we have not previously spoken with them to indicate that we will use other resources for learning, it is possible that we will hold a meeting at the return of the holidays, in order to clearly expose everything that the child has learned and Tell them what we have done to get it. But only to get your understanding and to understand why one of your students does not carry out the finished tasks.
Thus we prioritize the right of children to enjoy their free time, in front of the obligation of homework, and more when there are other ways to continue learning.
So whenever we have time and we can organize we can encourage reading (which will provide reading comprehension and vocabulary), mathematics through board games, free exploration of the different environments they visit in summer (will strengthen the subject of Knowledge of the Medium), visits to museums and different exhibitions (culture cannot be lacking in the training of children), as well as crafts and experiments at home. It may be that all of this enriches us all more than trying to end up tokens and booklets for September.
But as we must adjust to the needs of children and our own possibilities, let's take into account those kids who show real interest in holiday books, and analyze our work / family situation wellFor example, if our children are going to spend a lot of time with their grandparents and the alternative to do homework is to watch television for three or four hours, it is certainly preferable to prepare material for them to finish while they are with them, and for the grandfather to be the to correct them.
And I do not forget that there are special situations in which it is really necessary to devote a daily time for a few weeks to review: sometimes they have suspended some subject when they are older and must finish work or study.
The final decision is yours, but do not forget to take into account the needs of your children.
