Judging by the commentary on one of  Insideschools'  recent polls, heavy homework loads seem to trigger impassioned responses from both parents and students. Do nightly assignments in kindergarten fall into the "too much" category? Some parents think so. The fact that kindergarten homework was an oxymoron a generation ago may have something to do with this.

In this article from the New York Times, the author describes her quest to avoid a school where her kindergartner would spend precious after-school time on worksheets and drills, at the expense of play and fun. She laments the earlier focus on academic achievement and questions the worth of putting all this pressure on our kids.

In my own informal poll, most of the parents I talked to, at public and private schools, say their kindergartners don't come home with much of anything regular, just the occasional project-meant to be fun and perhaps tie in with the week's theme. From what I've been reading lately, though, I know there are plenty of exceptions–schools that pile the homework on the five-year olds every night.<!--more-->

At PS 29, we learned in September that the nightly homework expectation for kindergarten was 10 minutes of reading to our children. I was relieved to hear it--we usually end up logging much more than that anyway, since it's a treat for the girls. I've never thought of storytime as work, even though evidence shows that reading aloud to children boosts literacy later on, among other benefits.

I don't mind the occasional fun project that arrives home in the backpack, either, but at times my daughter is so exhausted after school she can't be coaxed to do anything but play. It's a long day, filled with writing and math and sitting still, and she just needs to decompress.

On the flip side, nightly lessons–in moderation–can reinforce the skills kids have learned at school and help parents familiarize themselves with the curriculum. Many five-year-olds are ready for, and enjoy bringing home, a little work. Sarah, whose daughter attends the gifted & talented program at PS 230 in Brooklyn, says her kindergartner receives two worksheets nightly (hardly excessive) and enjoys the responsibility. It usually takes her 10 minutes, and her mother knows not to push it if she's tired or unfocused. Most of all, Sarah says, "it makes me carve out the time in the evening for the homework". In other words, both parents and child are learning time-management habits that will serve them in future school years.

Does your kindergartner receive homework? How much? What are your thoughts about it?