If you are thinking that your children are bringing home school work to do at a much younger age than you did, you are probably right. In decades past, most children did not start doing home work until they were in fourth or fifth grade, and even then, it was sporadic. Today, first grand children are bring homework home each night of the week. It is not always hard work, but it does require them to work after school. Because they are so young, you are going to have to be a guide for them. They are too young to do it on their own.
If the home work your first grader brings home is reading, which is common, your help in the matter is easy enough. You want to allow them to read to you, and you help them when they stumble over words or new letter combinations. These assignments are usually small and quick, but they do require your attention each night of the week. This home work is something that you can do right after school, but some find nightly reading like this right before bed works very well, especially when they have very busy lives.
The home work that your children bring home in early elementary school is not always going to be books to read. Some are going to bring home spelling words. You can work with them on the words, but they will spend a lot of time with them in class. Take a few minutes a few nights a week to go over this type of home work with them. Have them spell the words, and present them to them in a random manner. If you find they are acing them each and every time, you may only have to do this once. If they struggle with their spelling words, do it much more often.
Math home work is tricky for some parents. It depends on where you live. You may think that first and second grade math is very easy, and for the most part it is. However, you may have learned math in one way, and the school is now teaching it in a different way that is thought to be easier and better in the long run. That means you may not understand their home work right off the bat. You too are going to have to learn a new way to do math in order to help them with this type of homework. Keep your eyes open for troubles in math, as those can stick with them for their entire school career. Intervene quickly if you think they are lagging.
Not all children this young have home work, but it is becoming the norm. If they do not, that does not mean you are off the hook. You should always take time to read with your children. Each night is great, but every other day is good too. The more they exposed to books, the better they learn in the long run. Good readers end up being good students. Even reading short bed-time stories can make a world of difference in your child's interest in books and reading skills.