How are you preparing your child?

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ksmatharu
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:35 am

How are you preparing your child?

Post by ksmatharu »

There is a few weeks to go before the first exams and I was just wondering what other parents might be doing with their kids to prepare them.

In additiont to the homework set by her tutor, I spend about 1-2 hours a day going over maths problems and comprehensions. I also encourage my daugther to complete "10 minute" word exercises like anagrams and compound words, which I think will help her VR. With regards to NVR, we go through a set of questions once a week, but spend less time on this compared to the other areas.

I plan to set my daugther 2-3 papers a week from next week to get her in to the routine of answering questions within a time limit.

I am going about this right?

What are other parents doing?
KSMATHARU
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: How are you preparing your child?

Post by yoyo123 »

Welcome to the forum ksmatharu.

Which schools are you hoping to apply for?
ourmaminhavana
Posts: 966
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:14 am

Re: How are you preparing your child?

Post by ourmaminhavana »

If you want my honest opinion 1-2 hours a day sounds like an awful lot to me....
mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Re: How are you preparing your child?

Post by mike1880 »

It sounds like a very heavy workload indeed, especially given that "a few weeks" translates to anywhere from 18 or 23 weeks (Warwickshire, if you're thinking about that one, and Birmingham respectively) to about 35 weeks (KEHS, which the OP has mentioned on the Bham forum).

At 2-3 a week that's a lot of papers. Are there even that many available?

I would also be concerned that the child might be fed up to the back teeth with the whole process long before she gets anywhere near an exam room.

Mike
Midget Man
Posts: 950
Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:28 pm
Location: Bucks

Re: How are you preparing your child?

Post by Midget Man »

Honestly? I am feeling very sad for your child who is having such a heavy workload put on her. I say it's unecessary and may backfire if your daughter feel's too pressurised and may burn out. Please try to take it a little easier and you'll find that the times you do sit their tutoring will be much more useful.
Last edited by Midget Man on Thu May 27, 2010 1:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tiredmum
Posts: 1161
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:51 am

Re: How are you preparing your child?

Post by tiredmum »

ourmaminhavana wrote:If you want my honest opinion 1-2 hours a day sounds like an awful lot to me....
yes i agree - im not sure how you are even managing to fit
in up to two hours a day plus papers?

I am in a different area but DIYed with 20 mins a day for 5 days - and only looked at practice papers near the exam time.

I would worry how your dd may struggle when at grammar with so much tutoring at this stage? I am not saying dont do anything, i think its cruel to let a child do an 11 plus without any practice at all but I would definatly scale it down :)
sherry_d
Posts: 2083
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 4:38 pm
Location: Maidstone

Re: How are you preparing your child?

Post by sherry_d »

You know your child better and do what you think your child needs and can manage. One hour a day is really nothing, prep schools often have an hour extra each day and you also know how good your DC's school and education has been. Go for it if thats what you need to do for her to pass. Even if they struggle at grammar, these schools are very good at supporting these kids so I wouldnt worry about it. I see no harm in it just a year will not damage them than spend 7years in a bad school. I have heard many who regret not having done more and few who regret doing too much. Horses for courses.
Impossible is Nothing.
Ang's mom
Posts: 154
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:17 am

Re: How are you preparing your child?

Post by Ang's mom »

I fully agree with sherry_d . Your child, you know her best.

I wouldnt say how much, if any, practice I do with my DD on the forum here. I wouldn't like all the undue criticism it evokes, as it often opens a can of worms. I will send you a PM instead.
mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Re: How are you preparing your child?

Post by mike1880 »

Of course it's a truism that the answer to "how much prep is too much?" is "anything that's more than we do".
mad?
Posts: 5621
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 6:27 pm
Location: london

Re: How are you preparing your child?

Post by mad? »

mike1880 wrote:Of course it's a truism that the answer to "how much prep is too much?" is "anything that's more than we do".
:D :D :D
mad?
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