What are we going to do whilst we wait for 3rd March?

[talea51]

Now that the agonising over which schools to put in which order on our CAF is over, we are faced with the seemingly interminable wait until 3rd March, what are we going to do to take our minds off it?

Dd and I are planning taking up some new hobbies, dd is already attending as many extra curricular clubs and activities as she can fit into her week! As well as doing some music exams...

We are planning on learning some Spanish and German (as these are some of the MFL languages on offer at the schools that we put on our CAF) so thought we'd try to get a feel for them. I did suggest French but dd doesn't like French apparently.

We are also going to be doing a couple of fitness classes together! Let's see how long that lasts!

So what have others got planned for the next few months?

[Araucana girl]

Hmmn that sounds like a good plan.

Dd doesn't really like languages, although I think once she gets to secondary that will change
We have just come back from holiday and dd tried some archery, dh and ds found they were quite good at it as well. I might see if we can find a club around here that we can all go to.

Need to start working on ds now in year 4 Not good on the literacy front but pretty quick on the maths. Not sure yet if he is suitable for gs but need to work on his literacy anyway this year. Poor chap, he is a bit dyslexic so finds any writing or reading hard work and frankly gives it less than he can, once he gets reading he isn't so bad

Bond books and maybe CGP here we come

[djy76]

And can I put in a request for positive thought vibes for those of us with DC still to do exams?? Sleepless and I need everything crossed for the next two weeks!!!

And if Archery is the way to go we have a group in our town (bit of travel but I am guessing not too far?), pm me for details...

[Guest55]

http://www.archerygb.org/archery/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[KB]

Need to start working on ds now in year 4 Not good on the literacy front but pretty quick on the maths. Not sure yet if he is suitable for gs but need to work on his literacy anyway this year. Poor chap, he is a bit dyslexic so finds any writing or reading hard work and frankly gives it less than he can, once he gets reading he isn't so bad

Have you had him assessed and getting help?
top tips -
get him referred to CPOC
Dyslexia centre in Chelmsford will do assessments at a cost.
Tinted overlays/ glasses really do make a difference - optician in Ipswich who do assessments if CPOC don't include that.

Once you have the assessment you may be able to get him a scribe for the m-choice verbal reasoning if he will have trouble following to mark correct boxes. They wont allow any extra time though they will print pages on coloured paper if that helps.

One other trick - on verbal reasoning where he has to rearrange letters to make a word - write them in a circle.
Make sure to start early with it all though as they will be more helpful the more notice they have.

[Araucana girl]

Need to start working on ds now in year 4 Not good on the literacy front but pretty quick on the maths. Not sure yet if he is suitable for gs but need to work on his literacy anyway this year. Poor chap, he is a bit dyslexic so finds any writing or reading hard work and frankly gives it less than he can, once he gets reading he isn't so bad

Have you had him assessed and getting help?
top tips -
get him referred to CPOC
Dyslexia centre in Chelmsford will do assessments at a cost.
Tinted overlays/ glasses really do make a difference - optician in Ipswich who do assessments if CPOC don't include that.

Once you have the assessment you may be able to get him a scribe for the m-choice verbal reasoning if he will have trouble following to mark correct boxes. They wont allow any extra time though they will print pages on coloured paper if that helps.

One other trick - on verbal reasoning where he has to rearrange letters to make a word - write them in a circle.
Make sure to start early with it all though as they will be more helpful the more notice they have.

Thanks KB. I have had him assessed by Chelmsford who have said he has signs of dyslexia: he is on a very high percentile (86th) for visual reasoning and problem solving but really low for verbal - only performed at about 9th percentile or something like that. They have said that he is dyslexic and is performing well below what he should be. What is CPOC?

Just wondering whether to start with the literacy and then see how he improves - just not sure if he would be suitable for gs they haven't said but I am sure there are some signs of ADHD there as well - he never stops fidgeting and it is really hard to get him to concentrate. Thinking that 11+ will be a real struggle for him.
I did look into getting him some sessions at Chelmsford but they are only doing them during the day, I know I am allowed to take him out but not sure I would be able to take the time out from work. I did wonder about contacting the unit at Mayflower School to see if any teachers in their dyslexia unit do private sessions. I think I should probably still do that.

Thank you for the tips re the verbal reasoning, I will try some of those when we get going

[talea51]

And can I put in a request for positive thought vibes for those of us with DC still to do exams?? Sleepless and I need everything crossed for the next two weeks!!!

And if Archery is the way to go we have a group in our town (bit of travel but I am guessing not too far?), pm me for details...

Of course, lots of positive vibes for those who still have exams to do! Best of luck!!

My dh loves Archery, there was a club at his work but they seem to have stopped so I am going to look up a local club for him.

Thanks Guest55 for the link! I've found something really close to us so will see if dh would like to join!

We all like archery, so maybe it's something that we can do as a family.

Araucana girl, my dd2 is in year3 so thankfully we have a bit of breathing space before we have to start on 11+ work although I have started her very gently on a tiny bit of VR and Non VR. She loves to do workbooks (go figure) so I have got the Bond maths and English books for her. She is still very young, only just turned 7 a few months ago, so we are going very gently.

I don't know if she is suitable for grammar but will have her assessed sometime this year and see what the tutor says.

[teaandtoast]

Oh good! Ism glad I. Am not the only one looking to pastures new. We took a break post exams and the verbal/non verbal material we had was suddenly pointless.
We have looked at the get ready for year 7 book. Extremely easy but a nice intro. Also there is a book called 'going up' about moving on to senior school that I found and my daughter liked too. By a lovely psy-something called Jenny Alexander. CCHS also have a useful booklet on their website called year 7 parental support booklet which is excellent as a road map to where we want to be heading. We are enjoying reading the book 'I am Malala' together at the moment and there is a good website containing ks3 and goes early stages quizzes and answers which I think well of.
I also have the problem that my second child, year 3 is dyslexic with ADHD but I know school letters and runs etc would be SO much easier for me if I can get her to GS too! No rest for the wicked, but I am sure that you enjoy educating your children as much as I do. Keep in touch! I'd love to hear from you...

[talea51]

teaandtoast, please pm me that website you mentioned for ks3. Thanks also for the tips re books about getting ready for year 7, dd and I will give those a look.

I am glad that the pressure is off a bit now, it does mean we can focus on other things. Our focus has been solely on 11+ for so long now that it feels great to be able to think about something else.

[aliportico]

Clearly the answer is to practise and perfect your samosa-making