I *HATE* 4th Grade

[MelissaL88]

You know...I had a really BAD teacher in the 4th Grade. She was an alcoholic and just an overall crappy teacher. Fast forward 35 years...my oldest in in 4th Grade. Now, he has two very GOOD teachers. They are sweet, smart & funny...I like them very much. BUT!!!! The amount of homework that comes home each week is astronomical! The projects are KILLING me We are finishing up a "travel brochure" for Social Studies. They've been studying the 50 states (not 58 as some very important person once said ). So, he has to design this brochure that is all about his state (South Dakota): Facts, figures, history, historical landmarks, etc. It's supposed to be tri-fold with different info on each of the sections front and back (so, 6 sections). AND each section must have a picture. OMG! It has taken us 4 days just to get all the research done for this. And did I mention that he also has his normal amount of Math, Science, 20 vocabulary words, spelling and language arts homework to go along with the "major" project

If 4th is bad...I can't even imagine what 5th is going to be like I don't know how parents do it: get all the homework done AND sports AND letting them just play and be kids.

OK...thanks for letting me vent!

[judet]

Hiya, not quite sure how old 4th grade is ... 9 or 10? Sorry, I'm in the UK and it's different here! That does sound like a lot of work - as you get on with the teachers, I'd be tempted to speak to them, definitely if you feel it's impacting on those other really important activities (particularly the playing one!). I'm a teacher (of kids 11 and up) and I know it can be hard to estimate how long somethings going to take, particularly when the little perfectionists get going. Some of my sixth-formers (16-18 year olds) were told that they should be doing 40 hours of school work per week ... and a part time job would be character building ... oh, and they should do extra-curricular activities ... is sleep supposed to be optional?! Needless to say, I don't think many of my students did all that!

I've got a feeling I'm going to be a very difficult parent to my girls' teachers when they start school!

[Mandy]

Wait til they get into Jr. High.

[tuneskids]

I luck out ... my kids fourth grade teacher (both the older two have had her for 4th grade) does not believe in homework unless absolutely necessary. Home is for family time, not school work.
Now, my FIRST grader on the other hand ... he has homework every single day! The teacher sends home a monthly calendar with homework assignments for each day ... that does NOT include reading (which is also supposed to do every day). Which means he has more homework than his older siblings most days. Ugh!

[scrapperjade]

Holy crap! That is a lot of homework! When I was in grade 4 I rarely had homework. Actually, all through school I rarely had homework, and it wasn't because I was a fast learner or whatever. I think that the school system is quite a bit different here in Canada...

[LeeAndra]

I had that same project in fourth grade except I think I had to build a float with mine & we had a state parade down the hallway.

[BrattyMeg]

beat's what I had to do..we had a Parade of States..I had to dress up from the freaking state (at least I had Hawaii!!) and do a verbal report for the WHOLE school..then sing that alabama and alaska arizona arkansas song...you know you know it lol

and..just wait til 5th grade..my son has tons of HW EVERY night...even weekends..it reeks...granted I think some of it is classwork he doesn't finish. School is very different for him b/c he just transitioned out of homeschool this year...talk about shock to his system lol he's managing though.

Good luck melissa! lol ..kinda sounds like a fun project haha

[Angela Spangler]

I feel ya. Cora's in 4th too, and she's always doing homework and projects.

[DawnMarch]

My DD is in 3rd Grade and has had homework since kindergarten. She's probably doing at least an hour of homework/reading a day. (What happened to the guideline of 10 minutes of homework/grade level?). It's exhausting and she hates it. So, we can relate! Not looking forward to 4th grade!

[Jennifer]

I taught 4th for a year and hated it. There was sooooo much to cover that homework was unavoidable. It was a stinky year.

[lizzyfizzy]

wait til 5th grade or any older grade for that matter.

maddie has already had about 6 projects this year and she has invention convention in march.

we have to pay for all the supplies for her to actually invent something.

wtcrap??

[lovely1m]

Ugh, I think its ridiculous that children that age have so much work to do. How are they supposed to be just kids.

[MelissaL88]

Thanks, girls It's nice to know that I'm not the only parent out there going WTF&^%K?????

It is a fun project. I really didn't know anything about South Dakota -except that it's where Mount Rushmore is LOL! But holy crap! It's a lot of work!

Oh, and that state song...my boys LOVE it! They've turned it into their own by singing it with each state starting with different letters of the alphabet. My all-time favorite is when they do the "B" states: BAlabama, Balaska, Barkinsaw, Barizona, etc. It's hysterical to hear these two little voices singing it in unison.

[Kat Stokes]

My DS's 1st grade teacher seems to give quite a bit of homework too. He has at least 3-4 pages a night (math and spelling) plus review of his spelling words, plus reading (and these are not easy short books) and now a project on top of it for the 100th day of school. Tell me, why in the hedoublehockeysticks do they celebrate the 100th day of school. Give me a break!

Thankfully he doesn't have homework on the weekends but I don't know what we are going to do when baseball starts in 3 weeks. He'll have 1-2 practices a week and 2 games a week.

I think sports are just as important as school work because they help the kids with social interaction, teamwork, and communication.

[Amy Carey]

Originally Posted by Mandy

Wait til they get into Jr. High.

ITA. Middle school is the very devil.

[scrappinsweetie]

yep, my dd is in 4th grade and she has homework too. not as much as some of you but enough. i dont think it will get any easier the older she gets. seriously it seems like they will have to choose between sports or grades. we were just talking about that this morning...LOL