Dear Parents,

I had to post again today after I read the article titled, "Kindergarten Cram," by Peggy Orenstein in today's New York Times Magazine Section. Orenstein is one more voice in the growing debate about giving homework to children in the lower grades. Her argument is compelling, and she backs it up with research that includes:

1. A report called "Crisis in the Kindergarten" by the Alliance for Childhood, a nonprofit research and advocacy group surveyed 254 teachers in New York and Los Angeles found that kindergartners spent less than 30 minutes a day in school playing, but hours being instructed and tested in reading and math and assigning homework to these grades did not allow for play and family time.

2. A longitudinal study, High/Scope Preschool Curriculum Comparison Study followed preschool kids who were at-risk. It compared instruction-based and play-based classrooms and found that "accelerating kindergarten is unnecessary: any early advantage fades by fourth grade." In addition, by age 15 those kids who had less play in early grades, "were more likely to exhibit emotional problems and spent more time in special education." One conclusion of the study, "pushing too soon may backfire."

Orenstein quotes Edward Miller, co-author of "Crisis in the Kindergarten," "Play at age 5 is of great importance not just to intellectual but emotional,  psychological, social and spiritual development."

For my part, every school year more and more kids from 2nd grade and up come in to my office suffering from stress due to the  homework load. The common cry from these children and their parents is, "There's no time to play after school!" Play is crucial for a child's well-being. In my book , "Overcoming School Anxiety" I state, that play "...is how children learn about the world and communicate with it, express their thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions."

My thoughts on homework in the early grades—tear up the worthless worksheets, engage your child in fun hands-on activities and let them play!

The link to Peggy Orenstein's article:

The Way We Live Now - Kindergarten Cram - NYTimes.com