11 Plus Exams Forum

Does that not scare anyone other than me? I am sure at this point last year the forum was so busy. It seems Shital is the only new regular now .

It has been so chaotic here, with not sleeping enough and not even wanting to eat during Ramadan, I lost track of time. Now I am not sure where to start :after 2 consecutive years with this business with two DC, I am truly fed up. I don't have the energy for a big summer workout but i know i will feel guilty if he doesn't pass.

DS has lost all motivation too now that school is over and there are no friends talking about it all the time. They all seemed to have gone into hibernation since the holidays began! He also recently received a serious injury that has led to facial scarring and he has gone from cocky pain in the neck into a quiet boy who doesn't want to do anything . Instinct says leave things a little longer but I am worried about being complacent.

Any ideas??? How are the rest of you coping?

UmSusu

It scares me (we're not Birmingham, but our exam is the same day). It doesn't help that the more I try to get ds to do the worse he seems to get. I rather suspect that he's actually doing it deliberately to wind me up in the hope that I'll stop getting him to practise. At least I hope so!

UmSusu, that's so true. The forum is very quiet this year!

Just four weeks, wow that really must feel like time is running out. My DS2 has a year left and I'm beginning to panic..!

Your poor DS .. I hope the injury isn't too bad, that must have knocked him for six..

Reeyah x

UmSusu,

It must be very hard to get motivated and especially straight after finishing with DS1 and then onto DS2.

I think there will be a lot of parents and children in the same boat as you with four weeks to go ..... having a long summer vacation just before the exam does not help !!!

Best of luck and hope DS2 is back to himself soon.

Elbart

Hi Umsusu,

I am so sorry to hear about the serious injury you DS received. No doubt his stamina has dropped, especially if his head was hit. I do hope that he’s feeling better now.

When people are studying hard, it is normal to have ‘bad days’ or ‘bad mornings’ or ‘bad afternoons’, and that, not just for young children. I remember too well hard times for selective exams in my student years to realise how much more difficult that must be for 11 years old kids. The key is certainly to find the right balance between studies, breaks, outings, etc…
But please, do keep your goal in mind: his success at the 11+. I know all is far harder with fasting long days but I imagine he doesn’t fast too much this year. Hopefully, he’ll have more years to get used to fast long days before he reaches puberty…
I do feel that unfortunately, this 11+ hurdle is a bit of a ‘family journey’. That’s normal that your DS doesn’t have the heart to study hard when his brothers have a relaxed time. The summer before the 11+, my DS had taken the initiative to put several posters in the house, written in capital letters on it ‘ RIP’! ... for Revision In Progress! so the whole family had to ‘respect’ his studies and efforts.

Maybe when your DS is too much low-spirited, it would be better for you to sit with him, while your oldest take care of your youngest? Do some timed tests next to your DS; it will encourage him greatly, especially if he occasionally beats you (plz, take no offence… your mind might be slow because of fasting and lack of sleep). And don’t forget to treat your DS each time does well or even really did his best!!

In French we say,’ we are in the last straight line’, which is an allusion to horse races, this last part of the race when some horses manage to improve their placement while some others are too exhausted to maintain the speed.

So keep the hard work… while providing your DS with plenty of sleep and regular breaks.
Wishing you all the best

Hi all,
4 weeks.....aargh!!
I'm sorry to those going through a difficult time lately hopefully your dcs (and you) will come through the next few weeks and get a positive outcome..
It has come round far too quickly for my liking.
Ds still waiting to turn 10 so even more nervous!!
We took prep work away on holiday with us ( me been far to optimistic in what he'd actually do) we bought it back mostly untouched.
We've decided on a bit of work weekday mornings equals, play station or going out with his friends. It seems to be working, fingers crossed.
I'm still mostly sitting with him when he does the work but he seems to be asking for less help and some things which seems to have taken an age to sink in finally seem to have stuck.
Still massively struggling with time taken on Maths. But he seems more confident which I'm so pleased with as I had visions of him panicing through the exam!!.
Just wish he had a few weeks of yr 6 under his belt to get back in the 'learning zone' but we'll just have to plod on and hope for the best.
Hope everyone is still enjoying the holidays the best they can though.
Lottie

Thank you all for your kind wishes for DS2. I did lay off about work since his injury anyway but I did treat him for the day yesterday and had a family get together in the evening, which lifted his spirits. Hopefully he will pick up once they remove the bandages next week and we can see the extent of the damage (God forbid it to be bad news ).

DIYMum, that is such a horrible thing to go through! It is difficult enough to come to terms with it without having the pressure of needing to get on with 11+ prep.

So, I suppose there are quite a few others struggling too. It is very difficult to have the exam straight after the holidays but I will be glad when it is all over.

UmSusu

Keep the faith!
We all go through difficult times.
Talk it through and help out where possible to boost confidence and then aim for a timed test daily and seek improvements, via collaborative efforts ie parent child partnership

HTH