My DD10 is having a similar experience. She skipped 2 grades in math this year (went from grade 5 to grade 7). She is being taught 7th grade math by her fifth grade teacher, which I think is nice because he is relating to her as a 5th grader, not a 7th grader.
Anyhow, we are swamped with homework as well, it takes us 2 to 3 hours per night to do homework, which is borderline insanity, IMHO.
When I ask DD if the homework is too hard for her, she says no, its just right however, it is the actual amount of homework (think 4 pages of 10-20 problems each).
Out of curiosity, I asked other 5th graders who are not accelerated what their homework load was like and the standard response was "minimal, 30 minutes per night". Out of curiosity, I asked some 6th graders who are in 7th grade math what their homework was like and they felt it was challenging, but not overbearing, around 1 hour per night.
Out of curiosity I asked the teacher about the quantity of the homework and he explained that he has to figure out the missing gaps of the students and assign them math work and IXL strings that will help them practice the skills that they accelerated past but still need to know.
Personally, I feel that once we overcome the shock and workload of acceleration and get used to the workload associated with filling the learning gap it is going to be much better. For instance, I am optimistic that next year when DD is in 8th grade math, but has filled in her learning gaps and finished her 7th grade math program from this year, she is going to be smooth sailing from that point forward.
DD has a great attitude about the workload and missing out on extra curricular activities and not being able to play like she was used to. I think she will value her holiday time a lot more then she ever did and am hoping that next year will be much smoother going forward. Until it becomes a problem for her, I am not going to let it be a problem for me.
PS...we did not request this acceleration, it was given based on her NWEA scores, her MEAP test scores, and a 5th grade math placement test. So this was not a matter of be careful what you wish for you might get it; however, that being said, it is nice to see DD on fire and passionate about math and school again.
