Hellobee Boards

Yes! I went to additional after school classes and weekend "study" sessions to get ahead. I used to resent it, but realized later how I really benefited. I didn't go to Kumon, but had tutors for math and English and was able to always be one semester ahead. I don't know if I'll do this for LM. I'd prefer to work together with her myself at home instead of sending her out for more extracurricular classes.

I didn't really see it as supplementing since I really liked learning but we did work on math and reading and writing plus music when I was home. But it wasn't like school, so I didn't see it as homework.

We'll probably do the same with her, encourage her to learn and explore. Work on French, hopefully she'll like some music, and definitely reading and math. Especially before kindergarten we'll be doing a lot at home.

I would definitely get my children tutors if they were struggling in a certain subject. But if I felt that they needed supplemental work because they weren't learning enough at school I would be more inclined to move them to a more challenging private school than to do additional work at home.

I don't think I ever did extra stuff. Once homework and studying was done I got to play! I did buy SAT prep books and study/do practice problems on my own though.

No. I think that the time after structured school time is one that the parents need to engage the kids to learn about the real world. Go on trips, go to museums, zoo's etc. A fully rounded education is not just homework and text books.

I've never even heard of this before. I definitely didn't have extra homework growing up, that would have driven me crazy!!

I didn't have much 'help' while growing up. I'm definitely the one who is going to push education on our kids. If they are into it, maybe I'll supplement it.

The more I think about it, the more I think it is a good idea, especially in the summer. I really think kids would benefit from going to school year round and I am not sure that just hanging out with friends is enough in elementary school (my husband isn't a huge fan of camp, but let's see how that feeling ages).

I agree learning isn't only about textbooks and worksheets, so I'd like to think I'll be able to come up with creative solutions, like sensory box treasure hunts, photo scavenger hunts, pizza fractions, etc.

@looch: good point. i forgot that i also went to summer school a lot so i guess that counts as extra work! i agree that some work needs to be done in the summer, too.

My parents weren't super intense about our educations. They wanted us to do well in school, and my brother went to tutoring because he struggled in a few subjects. Over the summer we did flash cards and played educational computer games, but it wasn't like there was any kind of regimen to it - it was just made available to us.

I'm a big proponent of encouraging creativity, real-life problem solving and that kind of thing. I would rather spend our time as a family playing imaginatively, going to museums, and exploring our child's natural curiosities than extra homework. I actually think a lot of kids have too much homework. If they appear to be struggling in a subject, though, we would introduce some other ways for them to approach it on their own that will help them understand better, which might include "homework."

As far as SAT/ACT prep goes, though, that will start fairly young! Whether I like it or not, testing well is a big key to college admissions and scholarships, and I know that we'll need as much help as we can get paying for college.

We usually had workbooks and flashcards and projects when we were younger, like before real homework started, and definitely always had educational tasks over the summer. I do think it helped me excel in school and I personally think it's important to be engaged in your kids learning. However, we also took lots of outings to plays, museums, festivals and so on, which I think were equally important. I think we'll probably do something similar for our kids.

As a teacher, I would definitely recommend supplementing with basic math facts work in grades 1-6, and supporting your child to learn to read and then continuing reading with your child as long as you can.
I'm not sure how curriculum is going in the states but in Canada, I notice there are too many different topics to learn in math, and not enough time to practice adding, subtracing, multiplying and dividing. And if kids have that solid base in basic facts, then everything else is easier.
And reading takes practice.