Summer Maths for 11 and 8 year old

[jabba7]

Hi Guest 55

A quick question re SATs results being released on 10 July, do you know when the school give them out or is this the 10 July?

Many thanks

[mystery]

Daddy no1, it is hard to do the work you describe if both parents work full-time outside the house. Hats-off to you!! How will you manage it so that limited time with Mum and Dad is not squeezed out with maths and literacy?

[Guest55]

The level thresholds are released on July 10th so I doubt parents that will find out the levels that day. Schools will need to download levels and check borderline papers for errors.

The weakest aspect of Maths in entry to Y7 is 'using and applying' hence my suggestion of tackling some problems. I can teach skills but if they haven't been taught to THINK it is sooo much harder.

[yoyo123]

I'm with Guest 55, go for enrichment rather than more practice, it will stand them in good stead and is fun

[DaddyNo1]

Hi Mystery

The plan is that Saturday & Sunday will be purely leisure time only. With outings, a little housework (they both have a few chores around the house to do which the Mrs thinks is very important), sports, visiting family etc.

Monday – Friday – 3 weeks out of the 6 they will be going to camp (daytime), the other 3 they will be staying with grandparents. Weeks days I’m planning for them to do Maths (20 mins in the morning or evening – will timetable it so there is a routine) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Story on Thursday (30 mins to write up can have longer if want, but they will have had the title etc earlier on in the week so can think about it and plan ahead). I and the Mrs will mark the work and spend 5-10 minutes (Mon, Wed & Friday) going over any errors). I don’t want the work to be too complex, don’t want to introduce anything new that will take too much of our time or theirs going over as it is holiday time. Kids don’t seem to stressed by the plan. They are certainly excited about the English and we have explained the Maths is just to keep the brain ticking over. Research has shown that academically their brains go into a snooze mode over the long break and I really want to help the 11 yo to settle into GS well and the extra work will not harm the 8 yo either. There will be plenty of reading in the background as both enjoy this anyway.

Let’s hope all goes to plan – now just need to organise the maths material. Definitely going to introduce them to the Enrich website.

[mystery]

It sounds like a good plan to me, and even better if half the time it gets done at the grandparents. Are they on board too?

I do think children this age can find it quite fun and it sounds as though you have built up some enthusiasm for it already. It's also nice for them to "show off" to Mummy and Daddy, and in this case Granny and Grandpa too, what they can do.

You haven't yet reached the work is uncool age yet by the sounds of it. Enjoy!

[Sassie'sDad]

Maths is the number one worst taught subject in GB no matter GS or Indy. My dd in year 10 at Rugby is good at maths; she is good all round at all academic subjects. Her sister +8 years older has Maths A level and Further/higher maths/ However despite her all round general soundness, in year ten my dd is in set 5 for maths (set 1 being top) there are many who easily attain set 1 and the remainder do not really know why. They will always be behind this is the fault of the state school system and the unqualified ( in terms of subject) teaching of the subject which is STANDARD. Britain is way down the league table in this which it is a scandal. Teachers and teaching unions have a lot to answer for as do local authorities. Mathematics is essential to students no matter arts or humanities. The rot sets in in Primary school and from there it only grows!

[Guest55]

Sassie's dad there is so much wrong with your post that I don't know where to begin to respond to it!

We hear a lot about 'international comparisons' but have you actually looked at the tests? We actually do well on some types of question where thinking is required; surely this is the heart of 'real' mathematics? If you compare TIMMS and PISA you get different answers.

I could earn much more as an accountant or banker than as a teacher and the hours I work are much greater; does this not help to explain why mathematicians are hard to recruit?

All teachers need a qualification to teach in a state school - it is Private schools and, as recently announced by Mr Gove, Academies where unqualified teachers are to be found.

[hermanmunster]

If you compare TIMMS....

or should it be Pimms?

[Daogroupie]

Daddyno1, well done for thinking ahead and preparing your dc's for the year that will be starting in three weeks time, the hardest longest term is in front of us.

I am puzzled by the, "Whooppee I got them into a good school, now the school will take over and I won't have to do anything" brigade. Parents move house, hire tutors, lie and work their children very hard to win them a place and then give no thought at all to what will actually happen when they get there. I have one dd just finished Y7 and one Y8 at a semi selective school so we just did Y7 two years in a row. I have been astonished by the amount of students who won a place through entrance exam and have now been overtaken by students who are siblings or got a place through distance. It seems many were over tutored and have now returned to their normal level. Others seem to have no work ethic, they are capable of doing the work but don't seem to really bother to give it much focus. Of course you can do nothing over the summer and it will not hurt your dc's. They will arrive in Year 7 and they will manage. But be aware that there will be other students who will start reviewing the Year 7 work over the summer and they will cope with the workload much better than those who have done nothing. 3 subjects a night will be a big shock to those who took a break and that new workload will come at the same time as the early mornings and the late nights. I agree with Sassiesdad that there are many Teachers and Ta's in Primary school who are not properly qualified to teach Maths, and more importantly do not even like it. If I had left things to the school my younger dd would hate maths instead of finishing Primary school on top table. There are some great books to help you prepare for Secondary School maths. Smiths have two Year 7 maths books and Bond has Get ready for Secondary School Maths. Fractions and Negative numbers seem to cause problems. For your dc going into Year 4 I would recommend Target Maths and the Schofield and Sims books. Also there is a really good, Get Ready for Year 4 book which covers the whole syllabus. I would also recommend that you treat Maths like eating, something you do every day so you don't really notice you are doing it. We dont have a TV or any computer games or a DS or indeed any type of electronic gadgets so it is easy to find the time. We do Maths over breakfast and while cycling and in the car. I have taught my dd's math concepts myself as I know them better and can explain it in the way that suits their learning style. I was not taught Maths well at school, failed O level twice and came to Maths late in life, I did the Excel Higher GCSE last year and really enjoyed it. I hear so many children say how they hate Maths. I believe they have simply been taught badly. I am sure that if taught by Guest55 my dds would be fine. But they are not and so I continue to monitor the subject in secondary school as I did in primary school. I spend more time looking at the maths books than all other subjects put together. Our school creates sets at the end of Year 7 and does not move anyone at all during Year 8. They then sit exams at end of Year 8 and all the top set places are up for grabs again and then they dont move anyone at all during Year 9. I am sure many students manage fine but why take the risk? I did not spend all that time getting my dd's into a selective school to have them languish in the bottom sets while there. But if getting them there was your goal, then yes, no need to do anything at all because you have reached your target. We are still working on our targets. DG