Using Choice Boards for Kindergarten Homework

When it comes to kindergarten homework, I’ll always be Team Let Them Be Little. As firmly as we plant ourselves on the No Homework side of the fence, it doesn’t always work out that way. In fact, I’ve worked for many principals who required homework for kindergarteners! *insert eye roll* If you are in a similar situation, keep reading to find out how using choice boards for kindergarten homework can be a great compromise.

What Are Kindergarten Choice Boards?

A choice board looks very similar to a bingo card and contains different activities in each box on the page. Students can choose which activities they would like to complete, which is why choice boards are also known as homework menus. 

When used for homework, choice boards are generally used for a set period of time during which children complete a certain number of activities.  For example, students might be given one week to complete five activities. Families record what they have done on the choice board and it is collected at the end of the week (or whatever time period is chosen).

5 Benefits of Using Choice Boards for Kindergarten Homework

As someone who doesn’t love the idea of sending work home with kindergarteners, I wanted to share some benefits of using choice boards for homework.  You’ll find that it’s an easy way to add homework to your routine without overburdening families or adding a bunch of prep work to your plate.

1. Strengthen the School-Home Connection

If you’re being required to send homework in kindergarten, try framing it as an opportunity to build the school-home connection. Providing families with a menu of homework activities to choose from keeps them involved in the educational process. It can help parents feel connected to the skills that their child is working on in the classroom. 

Tedious, traditional homework can often have the opposite effect on the school-home connection.  When parents and guardians feel burdened by the amount of homework, especially if the tasks are difficult for their child, it can cause friction in their relationship with the school. Instead, the tasks on choice boards are generally short, fun, and simple. Your students’ families won’t grow resentful of all the time their five or six-year-old is spending on homework every night. 

2. Provide Developmentally Appropriate Homework

Sending home a packet of worksheets for homework is not developmentally appropriate for most of the students in your class.  Some kindergarteners start the school year having never held a pencil before! When the tasks we send home aren’t developmentally appropriate, we’re setting out students up for negative interactions with their families around school and learning.  This not the foundation for education that we want to be building in kindergarten!

Choice boards provide the flexibility to include activities that appeal to the wide variety of skills and abilities in your classroom. It gives students the chance to feel successful and have positive school-related interactions with their families at home.

3. Include Important Life Skills

Some of the activities that I like to include on a homework menu include important life skills.  These are skills that we work on in kindergarten when we have time, but it’s super helpful when families address them at home, as well. For example, students can practice learning their grown-up’s phone number, taking turns in games, or using scissors.  

It’s helpful for families to see these skills on a choice board because it shows some of the developmental skills that their child should practice. It also reminds families of the fact that skills like sharing and taking turns are just as important to their child’s education as learning the letters of the alphabet.

4. Establish Routine

One of the arguments for kindergarten homework is that it builds learning habits. Homework can help get students in the habit of taking time to study and practice at home. Plus, it gets families in the habit of checking for homework every night.Homework choice boards can still contribute to this habit and routine without causing a bunch of daily or weekly paper shuffling.

In a previous blog post, I shared that my favorite kindergarten folders have prongs on the inside.  A homework menu is something that you might choose to attach to the prongs inside of your daily folder. You could also designate a pocket for the homework choice board and materials. This way, families can keep track of the homework menu as part of the daily folder routine. This streamlines the process and makes it easier to establish the homework habit.

5. Save Time

Finally, choice boards save time and resources.  You can print one homework menu per student (plus any necessary recording sheets) and have enough activities to replace an entire homework packet! This resource can be prepped ahead of time so you just have to do a quick switch of the homework menu at whatever interval you decide. You won’t have a pile of homework worksheets to sort through every day, but you’ll be still able to see the important skills your students have been practicing at home.

Printable Choice Boards for Kindergarten

If you would like to have kindergarten homework prep taken off your to-do list this year, check out this resource!  I have a year-long bundle in my store with 20 different activities for each month of the school year.  Each editable choice menu can be easily changed to meet the needs of your classroom.

To take a closer look at everything included in this bundle, head over to the Teaching Exceptional Kinders shop or TPT.

More Tips for Using Choice Boards for Kindergarten Homework

If you would like even more tips for using choice boards in kindergarten, check out this video!  I share a variety of tips and ideas for incorporating homework menus into your routine. (Are you a visual person who enjoys the video format? Consider subscribing to my YouTube channel where I share all sorts of tips for kindergarten teachers!)

Save These Kindergarten Homework Choice Boards

Be sure to save this post so you can easily find it later!  Just add the pin below to your favorite board on Pinterest.  You’ll be able to quickly come back to this post when you’re looking for an easy homework idea for kindergarten.