Tutoring at home - how long?
Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 5:42 pm
To settle an argument with my child, could you please tell me how many hours per week you spent tutoring your children?
11 Plus Exams Forum
The UK’s largest 11+ forum, with more than 750,000 posts contributed by over 35,000 members and an unrivalled team of experts to advise and assist you on your 11+ journey.
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/
Tutoring at home - how long?
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/viewtopic.php?t=6604
Page 1 of 1
Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 8:19 pm
About an hour and a half.
Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 8:03 am
Hi Rugbymum,
We hadn't started in earnest at this time last year. Were probably doing a bit of Bond at the weekends - maybe 45 mins or so. Started beginning of August with a 2 hour session once per week (with friends, so involved quite a bit of larking about too!), backed up with 20 mins 2 - 3 times a week to work on areas that needed it.
Hope this helps!
Just to let you know that DD's main problem was speed; even up to 3 weeks before the exam - this was not an issue in the end & she finished with loads of time to spare.
We hadn't started in earnest at this time last year. Were probably doing a bit of Bond at the weekends - maybe 45 mins or so. Started beginning of August with a 2 hour session once per week (with friends, so involved quite a bit of larking about too!), backed up with 20 mins 2 - 3 times a week to work on areas that needed it.
Hope this helps!
Just to let you know that DD's main problem was speed; even up to 3 weeks before the exam - this was not an issue in the end & she finished with loads of time to spare.
Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 9:46 am
I did about 3 hours a week over the summer between years 5 and 6, about an hour a week over the autumn term and about an hour a day over the Christmas holidays before the test in early January.
Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 10:05 am
Very roughly, we did the following:
For Bexley tests in November my son started in a tutor group doing 1hr 20 mins a week (term time only) from around Easter
Nothing during summer holidays
September to mid-November:
Continued at tutorial centre and did about an hour a week until 3 or 4 weeks before the tests when we switched to about 20 mins 4 or 5 times a week (I'm a great believer in little and often the closer you get to the tests - keeps them ticking over but without the pressure of having to complete whole papers).
Nothing at all from mid-November to early January for Kent tests
Nothing specific for entrance exam in January
For Bexley tests in November my son started in a tutor group doing 1hr 20 mins a week (term time only) from around Easter
Nothing during summer holidays
September to mid-November:
Continued at tutorial centre and did about an hour a week until 3 or 4 weeks before the tests when we switched to about 20 mins 4 or 5 times a week (I'm a great believer in little and often the closer you get to the tests - keeps them ticking over but without the pressure of having to complete whole papers).
Nothing at all from mid-November to early January for Kent tests
Nothing specific for entrance exam in January
Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 10:38 am
We bought a pack of papers in English, another in Maths, another in Verbal Reasoning and another in Non-Verbal Reasoning. We then invested in the four relevant NFER papers for Warwickshire.
The sum total of our tutoring was going over these papers when our daughter had completed them under "exam conditions"... in fact I don't think she even did all the papers in the sets!
I don't regret such little preparation - but I did have a few months of torture when I read this site and realised just how much work everyone else's children seemed to be doing and I thought I had let my daughter down!!
The sum total of our tutoring was going over these papers when our daughter had completed them under "exam conditions"... in fact I don't think she even did all the papers in the sets!
I don't regret such little preparation - but I did have a few months of torture when I read this site and realised just how much work everyone else's children seemed to be doing and I thought I had let my daughter down!!
Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 11:21 am
My DD takes the 11+ in September
We began in February and do about 20 mins 4 evenings a week and about 45 mins on Saturday and Sunday.
I'm working through the Bond papers and finding odd bits which need working on like methods in adding up etc. Currently trying to expand her vocabulary - even though she's just done optional sats and come out with level 5, as ever it's the vocab (which seems to be the universal thing with all of them) we need to concentrate on now.
Have already completed a few tests under strict timings and she finished within the time allowed. The only 'blip' we had is when she couldn't get about four of the answers and she flipped (couldn't handle not being able to do something) which I (hopefully) turned into a positive and talked her through the fact it was a learning curve (which is WHY we were timing etc) and she had to deal with it by moving on and coming back to them when she'd finished.
Have the NFER papers ready to start working on probably (but am open to advice here) one of each (only VR and NVR being taken) a week for the last two weeks of August and two in the week leading up to the exams (which I believe are on 9th, 12th and 16th September).
I have noticed on two occasions when we haven't done anything for a week (due to other commitments) she took a day or two to get back into it - or perhaps it's because she was just tired? Who knows!!!
We began in February and do about 20 mins 4 evenings a week and about 45 mins on Saturday and Sunday.
I'm working through the Bond papers and finding odd bits which need working on like methods in adding up etc. Currently trying to expand her vocabulary - even though she's just done optional sats and come out with level 5, as ever it's the vocab (which seems to be the universal thing with all of them) we need to concentrate on now.
Have already completed a few tests under strict timings and she finished within the time allowed. The only 'blip' we had is when she couldn't get about four of the answers and she flipped (couldn't handle not being able to do something) which I (hopefully) turned into a positive and talked her through the fact it was a learning curve (which is WHY we were timing etc) and she had to deal with it by moving on and coming back to them when she'd finished.
Have the NFER papers ready to start working on probably (but am open to advice here) one of each (only VR and NVR being taken) a week for the last two weeks of August and two in the week leading up to the exams (which I believe are on 9th, 12th and 16th September).
I have noticed on two occasions when we haven't done anything for a week (due to other commitments) she took a day or two to get back into it - or perhaps it's because she was just tired? Who knows!!!
Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 1:12 pm
My son (Y5) does 1 50 minute test most weeks and we then spend however long it takes going over anything he got wrong. Some weeks he does nothing at all. I have strong feelings about not coaching him to pass an exam and then maybe have him struggle through grammar school, but I want him to be familiar with the test papers.
Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 2:38 pm
It is VR and NVR only in this area and DD was a private school were they did one lesson a week on "reasoning" throughout year 5 - presumably about 45 mins long.
We didn't do any more at home as this seemed enough to get familiar with the types of questions they would come across in the exam.
We didn't do any more at home as this seemed enough to get familiar with the types of questions they would come across in the exam.
Mel x
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 11:47 am
Hi there
I guess I am doing similar to andyb. My dd and I sit for an hour and a half once a week with the first half hour going through vocab work and also over the previous weeks test. DD then does a 50 minute test. This I guess is the most structured work we do.
I am also encouraging her to do some extra work using the software we have but she fits that in as and when she pleases and I am happy with that. I have told her that as of next month we may add on the extra a bit in a more structiored way. Having said that as she appears to be doing well on what we've done so far I don't want to push her.
Mel
I guess I am doing similar to andyb. My dd and I sit for an hour and a half once a week with the first half hour going through vocab work and also over the previous weeks test. DD then does a 50 minute test. This I guess is the most structured work we do.
I am also encouraging her to do some extra work using the software we have but she fits that in as and when she pleases and I am happy with that. I have told her that as of next month we may add on the extra a bit in a more structiored way. Having said that as she appears to be doing well on what we've done so far I don't want to push her.
Mel