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So she is not sending home the regular Envision sheets, just these random internet sheets? Are they doing the Envision homework in class?

I just got a group email from DS's 6th grade math teacher complaining about how some kids do not yet know their math facts and since they are now doing long multiplication and divison with decimals, these kids are struggling. She told parents to make sure the kids are working on fluency. So maybe these practice sheets are supposed to be extra practice for those kids who are not fluent?

An hour is way to long in 4th grade unless it is his idea. I like the idea of do the odd or even and leave it at that. I do understand the frustration with balancing computer time but that has to remain a separate issue, sort of.

She is suppose to be using the Envision curriculum but sometimes does and sometimes doesn't... She does gives Envision quick checks, though, which are graded and I supposedly have some weight (though how much was never communicated) on their grade. I think of them as "quizzes." 98% of the homework are random internet math worksheets not Envision.


I don't think so... the entire class is getting the same homework. So, no reason for me to believe that only a certain subset of the class is getting the longer more repetitive homework. Also, she said in the beginning of the year that those who are not fluent in math facts will be give a math facts calendar that parent has to sign each night to show that their child did multiplication facts at least 4 nights a week.

In class work is also comprised of random sheets. She usually gives a "packet" each week of internet worksheets - some of the sheets are done in class and others are done at home. They are usually not in any kind of order or anything (they are stapled but not in the order that the concepts will be covered) and are all different brands, etc. Which is why I have to work really hard each week for a syllabus so I know what they are suppose to be learning, and which concepts are coming from the Envision curriculum and which are coming from somewhere else (i.e. "lattice multiplication" for example) and which concepts she is skipping! She feels very random and unorganized to me - drives me nuts.

Yes it is too long for school homework in all subjects let alone just one.

My DS (8 years old) goes to an "academically rigorous" school. The guideline for his homework is that it should take 15 minutes of undivided and focused work to finish the math part - parents are told to write a note so that the teacher knows if it is too much and they will work with the child to rectify any issues. They also ask the parents to write a note if they think that the child is doing busy work as homework. He gets 2-3 pages of math - 80% of the time, he finishes in 10 minutes (word problems), but on some days, he works for 30-35 minutes to get it done - and those are for difficult challenge problems which are not straight forward application of concepts.

So, I think that 1 hour on 1 subject at this grade level is too much (whether for a child who is slowing down due to writing challenges or for a tired child at the end of a long day). Since you feel that it is a lot of busywork, I suggest that you use the spec-ed teacher's help to either reduce the math homework load to 20% of the current load (= 20 minutes) or ask for the parent to be able to choose which part of the packet your DS should spend time on or just skip math homework on alternate days.

In addition to losing his love for math, too much time on 1 subject leads to reduced time for other homework, test prep and projects in other subjects and even less time for after school sports and such things. Definitely take up the spec-ed teacher's help to lobby for changes for your son.

Depends on the work. My son had at least an hour of math homework in 4th grade. (And that is just the math homework.) BUT I don't think this was a good thing. The reasons his math homework took this long.

1) He was in the gifted/high accelerated self contained class at our school. The entire class skipped 4rd grade math & was working on 5th grade math. (Back when it was a different curriculum that spiraled.. now they do a compressed class.) This class was notorious for it's HUGE homework load. In order to make more space in the class for the extra curriculum (fun challenge math for example) the teacher sent ALL math practice work home as homework rather than a combined seatwork/homework.

2) My DS has low processing speed and working memory. I didn't find this out till my DS was 15 and got my son tested so I it's only a guess looking back on it. He didn't find the math sent home hard but he did spend a LOT more time than the other kids in the class. I do wish I had tested & known this earlier. I am sure this is why my son was spending over 3 hours a night in 4th grade on homework.

I suggest doing a bit of detective work. There are many reasons that they homework could be taking this long.

So, this is very much our situation. It's the same class! - i.e.,The entire class skipped 4th grade math & is on 5th grade math and the curriculum does spiral. my son also has low processing speed.

Don't have a lot of advice since I buried my head in the sand in regards to this. We were having more problems with writing assignments and DS never complained about the math homework. I did complain about the general level of homework overall.

My only suggesting is talking with the teacher about DS being required to do only half the homework and completing the rest only if the homework takes less than say 30 minutes. Suggest he do every other problem and assure her you will re-evaluate if his test scores don't stay high.

I suggest you have him do him math homework in the evening when you can observe & look over the assignment a few times. Have him to half of the work and write the teacher a note. (Make sure a few problems of each type & more difficult problems are attempted.) If he has a 504/IEP call in the resource teacher & have them change his accommodations to put in a line item specifically for this. If you aren't getting any love from the teacher push this higher, check with other parents to see if you aren't alone. Sometimes if it's a group of parents complaining about something like this you have more leverage.

Good Luck.

We have an IEP with provisions to reduce math homework by about 50%. If the teacher doesn't reduce it, we will. Otherwise DS12 would have 60-90 minutes per night, most of which would be of the repetitive drill and kill type.