Homework

Being in Kindergarten, we don't usually give out homework. I am glad my mentor feels this way because Kindergarten is already a busy transition these kids are getting used to. Going from either a part time preschool or nothing at all to 6 hours, 5 days a week is a lot for 5 and 6 year olds. The last thing I would want to do, would be send more work to do at home. The only time we send anything home is if the kids are asking for work to do (which happens in some cases). But my mentor always makes sure the parents know to stop it if the child is feeling stressed out or frustrated. She also tells parents it shouldn't be something that would take them more then 5-10 minutes.
It becomes a more challenging idea I would think, the older the students get. I know as an older elementary school student, there were times I was up really late getting work done. I think whatever grade you teach, you want to be smart with what you send home, and how much time should be spent doing it. The first thing that I would want to keep in mind would be, "Are the students having adequate family and relaxation time?" I wouldn't want to take away from that time which is very important. Students also do spend most of there day doing school work, how much more should they really be doing at home? If homework does get assigned, it should be useful and not meaningless. Adding fun assignments in that they could do with their parents, and if anything, at least have them read every night.