Timer for Timely Completion

Zilla is 7 years old 

Lesson: Timers can help save time 

 Some days Zilla struggles to stay on task. This morning we set a reachable homework goal that he came nowhere close to reaching his mind kept wandering, little disruptions really broke his focus... It just wasn't working. When the lollygagging goes on too long one thing we do is use the timer on the iPad. With a countdown and alarm at the end Zilla is more likely of focus than when he is left to take his time. A page of 20 math equations suddenly gets done in 10 minutes instead of 40+ minutes.

Another thing that helps is working side-by-side. There is something comforting about having another person working near by!

An Acute Bout of Summer Homework

Zilla is 7 years old

Mega is 4 years old

Lesson: Sometimes homework is handled best like an illness. 

It is that time of year again! Summer break!!!

Before you get too excited though count how many pages of homework need to be completed and figure out when you can squeeze it in between trips to the beach, camps and visiting relatives. 

As you may already know, summer vacation in Japan falls during the school year.  For whatever reason elementary schools seem to think kids need to study 30-60 minutes a day or more and assign homework accordingly. This doesn't sound so bad, right?  

Let's do the math. 

Most kids are not in the mood to do homework when they could be relaxing or playing with friends so something simple that should only take a few minutes can easily take double or triple the normal time. Let's estimate the homework takes 1 hour a day.

Spend 2 days at camp. That is +2 hours of homework. 

The day after camp is no longer a 1 hour day but it is now a 3 hour day.

Go to Grandma's for the week and play with your cousins every day. That is +7 hours of homework.

Get home and your week of fun will be followed with a day of 8 hours of homework.

Do you see what I'm getting at?

Here are the rules Mega and Zilla came up with for getting the homework done as painlessly as possible:

1. Don't complain about it. 

Complaining won't make it go away.

2. Tackle the homework right away 

before getting into full-on summer relaxation mode.

3. Treat it like a cold. 

Stay home, keep the place quiet, eat soul food.

4. Set up incentives. 

Make a check list including each bit of homework. Plan rewards like a piece of candy for each section finished, earn an extra chapter in the bedtime story for completing a subject area, an adventure to go on when it is all done.

5. Find the fun. 

Zilla is really good at this part!

Use creativity wherever permissible to make it a bit more interesting.

Mega is still preschool age so her homework is a calendar to fill in. Each day of break gets marked off with a special sticker. There is also a space on each day for a weather sticker, brushed my teeth sticker and an "I pooped" sticker. Why the teachers want a record of the children's pooping over summer break is something I fail to comprehend but it is what it is.

The calendar also has a space to write a sentence or two about what we do each day and a page in the back for summer pics. I don't mind making the calendar as it will go into the Mega's baby box and help her to remember how she spent her summer this year.  We look back at Zilla's from time to time and enjoy reading it.

Her other piece of homework is keeping track of how many flowers bloom on her morning glory plant that she's been growing from a seed. It has yet to bloom so she is anxiously waiting to get started on that!  We still need to find a plant baby sitter for the times we are away during summer who will keep watering and keep track of the flowers for her. 

This year Zilla has a couple workbooks to complete, a pile of worksheets in addition to a daily diary (thankfully it is short like Mega's) and some book reports. He has been very diligent in getting a head start. Some morning he gets up early to work. By the afternoon his interest wanes and it is a struggle to stay focused but he is getting things done! Hopefully the main parts will be completed soon!

Now, I realize that the theory behind the homework is to keep things fresh in the kid's mind. That is all fine and good and does make sense. However, I also believe that kids need a break. It is good for the brains, bodies and souls to take a break from schoolwork. It is this line of thinking that shapes the way we tackle the summer homework. 

Summer of Homework - Preschool Version

Lesson: When the school year does not end before summer there will be homework.

 

Since Zilla is not yet in Elementary School the amount of summer homework is manageable but I still am not keen on the idea of having to do homework over summer vacation. Perhaps the reason for not being keen on homework from school is that I have my own planned for him?

To celebrate the start of summer break we had McDonald's Happy Meals for lunch. The toys were somewhat educational - a flute-like instrument and a microscope in boxes that can be turned into cars - so I guess it is a fitting start to a summer of homework!

The top, right picture is Zilla's calendar. Each day he has a sticker to mark the day, a sticker for the weather, a sticker for brushing his teeth and a sticker for if he pooped. Yes, that last sticker is real. Each culture handles bodily functions differently... Other areas in the calendar include making notes of what we do each day, an interview for at the end of summer and space for pictures, tickets, etc. In a few years we'll probably enjoy looking back at the calendar so I don't mind doing it.

I don't have pictures of it but Zilla also brought home a mini tomato plant so he is to care for it and has a chart to fill out as he picks the tomatoes. Again, this is not so bad... if you are planning to stay home during summer! We will be babysitting the plant of a classmate as they are going away for the summer.

The bottom, right pictures are "gifts" from the school (if that is what we'd call them...) that Zilla brought home. There is a book, sparkers and a bamboo water squirter. The book encourages reading and the water squirter is a traditional toy btu the sparklers? They don't see to be the kind of thing that preschoolers should be carrying around in their school bag.

 

I've heard that first graders often receive a pile of homework to do over the holidays - enough for an hour or so a day - so we are going to enjoy having less homework from the school this year as we may not have the same luck next year!

 

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August Activities

Zilla is 4 years old

Mega is 2 years old

I am trying to get caught up... but that means a post a few months out of season!

Here are some of the things we did in August: 

 Zilla discovered that the abacus with the numbers written on it can help him to larger connect-the-dot puzzles!

We had a homeschool time most mornings.  Mega's stuffed dog often attended too.  Here she is reading to her doggie while Zilla's coloring in his finished connect-the-dot puzzle.

As Mega gets bigger we need two work spaces so she has taken over the sensory table. 

FOr a while we have a fishing set nside the sensory table.

Mega has discovered, and mastered, her first puzzles. 

It is amazing how interesting simple things can be - like rubber bands on nails in a board. 

When they get in a groove it is pretty peaceful! 

Another recent favorite - paint with water. 

Play food makes for great roll play! 

Some of Zilla's summer homework included caring for a morning glory.  He also cared for a friend's morning glory while she went to visit her grandparents in another country. 

Mega Mamma....

She can wear two babies, feed them and get the housework done all at the same time!

Summer Break = Homework + Dictates

I know that schools around the world, and even within the same area, have various ideas about what makes a good summer break from classes. I, of course, have my own ideas too.  It is often challenging to keep those to myself as not to negatively influence my children.

Today is the start of summer break for Zilla.  A 4 yrs. old this is also his first summer break from school.  The mothers were required to attend today to practice a dance we'll be preforming with the kids at the festival tomorrow.  There are also classes and activities held at the school during most of the summer and I've heard many of the children attend.  I look forward to having Zilla home with us so I'm not planning on sending him.

So far (I haven't finished looking through his bag yet) there are 2 major pieces of "homework" which need to be completed over the break.  The first is a flower project (I'll post about it once I get some pics) and the 2nd is a daily calendar.

The top page has squares with the dates of summer break and the kids are to add a sticker to each square (completing the picture) as the days go by.

Zilla's initial explanation about this project was "I have to do a calendar with poop stickers!" To those who don't have kids in school in Japan this probably sounds strange. Schools (and society) pay an undue amount of attention to poop.  The preschool told us from the start that we are to have the kids poop before they come to school each day.  The card we need to fill out on their pool days (splashing in a shallow pool at school) also wants to know when their last poo was.  Now, over summer break, we have stickers to put on a chart each day that he poops.  The poop stickers go right between the weather for the day and the sticker for brushing teeth.  In my mind this is "Too Much Information!" and none of the school's business!

The rectangle space next to the 3 stickers is for writing a bit about what we do each day. I don't mind this part as it will be a nice record of what we do this year. However, Zilla has already scolded me for writing in English as he is sure his teacher will not be able to read the comments. We are going to compromise by using both easy Japanese and easy English with little drawings so everyone can read it.

The column to the right (in the photo above) has some dictates for the kids (parents) to follow over summer.

Here is a translation:
Let's have a fun summer!
 - Go to bed early, wake up early.
 - Eat your breakfast.
 - Don't kick balls in the road.
 - Wash your hands.
 - Wear a hat when you go outside.
 - Don't eat too many cold things.
 - Don't go with strangers.

While all of these things are fine and good I think some of them should be at the discretion of the parents.  Or, at the vary least, there should be an explanation with the statements to explain why these are things the kids should do.  I don't see how following this list will make summer fun though.  I think it will make returning to the school routine in the fall easier on the teachers.

The back 6 pages of the book are additional activities including a place for pictures, ticket stubs, etc.  We have to turn the book in to the teacher on the first day back and there is even a space for her notes and comments.  Wonder what she'll have to say...