Homework for preschoolers

Homework for preschoolers: Is it necessary?

Find out if homework for preschoolers is really necessary, and read what some mums and teachers have to say about it.

magine this: After a hard day at work, you find yourself rushing home to prepare dinner and then sit down with your child to coach him with homework.

There’s nothing strange about this scenario, right? After all, it’s quite normal for parents to help their kids with homework.

But what if your child is still a preschooler?

The homework in question is typically worksheets — copying or colouring letters/numbers, name-writing practice or spelling. Nonetheless, homework is still homework.

While many parents agree that the idea of preschool homework is absurd, most go along with it anyway for fear that their child will not be at par with his or her classmates, and ‘lag behind’ in school.

They are also worried that in today’s rush to get young children ready for primary school, their children will fall behind once they start school. Because of this, most parents choose not to complain about homework for preschoolers.

The question is: Should they? Is homework for preschoolers really necessary in the first place?

Learn more with no homework

Research has proven that the first 3 years of life are critical to a child’s healthy development. Here are some of the things that happen to our kids during this period:

• They are discovering who they are and how others respond to them.
• They are finding out what it means to express their feelings.
• Their brains are being “wired” into patterns for future emotional, social, physical, and cognitive development.

With this in mind, the focus of preschool education should be on providing a young child with the opportunities to learn through play, and develop soft skills and positive learning dispositions.

Children benefit most when teachers engage in interactions that support learning and at the same time are emotionally supportive.

Homework that is inappropriate for the child’s age and cognitive levels will only result in a passive form of learning, which may not be beneficial for the child. So, homework for preschoolers may not be such a great idea after all.

Learning how to read and write during preschool hours is fine. But age-inappropriate homework may take away valuable play and family time.

What some mums think

I asked some mothers about their opinions on homework for preschoolers. Here are some of their comments:

“After a long day in school, why are we bringing home more work for the barely potty-trained? We should not rob them of their childhood.”

“At this rate, many kids would get burned out by the time they get to primary school… if not, it’d be the parents who get burned out first.”

What do preschool teachers think?

Mrs Lim, who runs her own childcare centre, admitted that she felt compelled by parents to dish out worksheets for the children. By doing so, parents feel that there is adequate value-for-money in sending their child to her centre.

She said: “When you don’t have any worksheets for the kids to bring home, the parents will ask if they are learning anything in school. Is it just play and play?”

Homework has its merits

Some parents argue that homework for preschoolers may not be entirely bad, especially at the kindergarten level. Some of the advantages they cite are:

• It helps kids of this age group feel competent as learners.
• It assists in preparing kids of this age for formal schooling.
• It can help instill a sense of discipline in them.
• It gives them an idea of what to expect from studying in primary school.

What to keep in mind when it comes to homework for preschoolers

• Try to understand the rationale behind the assignment. Sometimes, the objective of homework is to promote parent-child bonding.
• Homework can sometimes give parents the chance to work with the child in completing a simple assignment.
• If you have any doubts about assigned homework for your child, speak to the childcare centre or school director.

REMEMBER: Homework for preschoolers must be age-appropriate and have a clear purpose.

Always keep in mind that there must be a clear purpose behind assigning homework to preschoolers. It has to be age-appropriate, with clear learning outcomes.

The school should not dish out homework for preschoolers for the sake of doing so. At the end of the day, the majority of a preschooler’s “homework” should be exploring, playing and listening to bedtime stories.

Does your preschooler get ‘homework’ and if so, do you think it’s appropriate? Leave a comment and tell us what you think.