Hi! I'm Alani Moten and I'm five years old. I don't have homework yet because I'm not in school yet, but my sister Sarai does. She says homework takes up all her evening time. So when I heard that one school district near Sacramento tried NO homework for a whole month, I had to find out what happened!

The school told kids to go home, play outside, read books they chose themselves, or spend time with family — but no worksheets or assignments. The teachers wanted to see if kids would actually learn better when they weren't stressed out every evening. My father says that's called a hypothesis, which is a fancy word for an idea you want to test.

“The results will surprise you — kids who played outside after school scored better on classroom tests the very next week.”
— Alani Moten, age 5

Here's the surprising part — kids who played outside after school scored better on classroom tests the very next week. Teachers said students came in more rested, more focused, and happier. Parents said evenings at home were calmer. Even kids who used to struggle with homework did better because they weren't exhausted and frustrated every night.

I think this experiment shows that rest and play are part of learning too. My father always says you can't pour from an empty cup. If kids are tired and stressed, they can't learn as well. When I start school, I hope my teachers know about this experiment — because I really want time after school to play with our dog and draw pictures with Sarai.

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Alani Moten is a junior reporter at The Kid Reporter based in Sacramento, CA. To read more stories, visit the newsroom →