Schooling Central

The school my boys attend has a no homework policy. They encourage the parents to spent time with their children by being active e.g., bike rides, walking, sporting activities etc.

I admit that I am both happy but concerend about this. Some days we don't have the time for a reader and it can be very frustrating. I can only imagin the tension daily homework can cause in some households.

I would like to do some sort of 'homework' with the boys at our own pace. I have looked at books at the local newsagency and they are all very american.

Does anyone one know how to or where to access teaching aides such as printable work sheets?

Thanks

Cherie

I have searched the internet high and low for some resources and found something fantastic!
www.teachthis.com.au

Hi Cherie,

I had a quick look at that site -there's certainly a lot there! Have you become a member yet?

We have some really good maths books called "Targeting Maths for Victoria" There is one for the various year levels, and they follow the VELS curriculum which means you as parents have an idea about what maths concepts your child is supposed to know at each year level. They also come with a free CD Rom which the kids enjoy. I have seen ds doing photocopies from this book at his school, and at my friend's school all the kids are given the entire book at the beginning of the year for working through in class. I bought mine for $15.95 from an educational bookshop, but I'm pretty sure I've seen them at our local bookstore too. I know there are many such books on the market -and I'm sure others are good as well, but we find this one colourful and fun (we sometimes take them to restaurants for the kids to use whilst waiting for their meals lol!).

Annabel.

Yes I joined and started downloading and laminating straight away!

The boys are really enjoying the worksheets and I am having to limit them at the moment...

The games are fantastic! We played alphabet bingo tonight.

Some of the items we are using as worksheets and for colouring in, but some of them I have laminated and purchased some whiteboard markers so they can re-use the same sheet over and over.

Im still on the look out for more resources and worksheets but www.teachthis.com.au seem to be a great starting point.

The no homework policy is pretty crazy. What it means is that teachers don't have to mark homework. And I think it's all about making life good for the teachers! They should give some homework, at least a little so that kids can get them out of the way within 1 hour (for the whole week).

Anyway, be careful about using just any material onthe web without referring to a proper curriculum document. I think you should download the syllabuses from the educational department of your state and use that as the guide. Using books is useful because at least the authors have referred to the curriculum (to some extent) when writing the books. They also give some order and structure to follow. That helps you to feel that you are on the right direction.