Educational Updates

I was just telling Miguel that I think teachers/schools give these kids wayyy to much homework nowadays. From the time they get home from school, it feels like we are doing homework for hours on end; at least til just minutes before dinner. Elizabeth already had a project to complete (a Family Tree) and it's barely week 3! How are kids expected to be kids?! Seriously! They are in school for about 7 hours and STILL have to come home to do MORE work! It doesn't make sense to me. However, I could be wrong... The kids are in their third week of school. I'm already amazed at their progress. We learned that Brianna has scored higher than all of the other kids in her class in reading scores. She has set the record/goal for everybody else. Elizabeth was student of the week AND we were given notice that she already knows ALL of the 2nd grade sight words. She will be given 3rd grade sight words to learn while everyone else is still working on 2nd grade! Speaking of reading, Emily has out of nowhere, just started reading remarkably. She needs very little help now which makes reading more enjoyable. Matthew is learning to write his first name along with letter recogniton. And Megs, lately her personality has exploded! She is quite the character, making us laugh by imitating scary voices and giving dirty looks! She still sometimes refuses to talk but just this week I caught Matthew teaching her a word or two and she was repeating them perfectly. When she saw mommy watching she went back to baby babble. Little Stinker! What do you think? Are kids given too much homework nowadays or is it just me?!