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is my ds burning out.....
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:10 am
by vasu
OK! I am officially freaking out. Ds will be giving his 11+ exams this year. Everything was according to plan...he was on top of things. Then last week he progressively got less marks in all the test papers we gave him(75% average). These were Alfa prep papers, not at all tough. 
. Is he burning out? Should I reduce his prep work. Does this happen often that child looses steam in the middle of it all. Help!
Re: is my ds burning out.....
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:42 am
by Pushy Dad
You don't say how many hours he is doing per week but if you have to ask whether he is burning out nine months out then that suggest that he is doing too much.
With mine we did about 20min per day during Year 5 term time but in the six months leading up to the exams we ramped this up to about 15 hours a week. On top of this, they had to practice an hour a day for their music scholarship auditions. When we were a couple of weeks from the exam the twins were showing the same burn out signs as yours so maybe you should take it as a Sign that you should ease off, at least until the months immediately leading up to the exam.
Re: is my ds burning out.....
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 12:22 pm
by scarlett
My son started scoring about 60 % in papers he would previously have scored 80/90 % in and this was only a couple of weeks before the big day which was stressful to say the least ! You naturally want to keep them up all night completing paper after paper until you are satisfied they are not dim after all......but as Pushydad says it is a sign they are getting fed up, tired and confused and you need to back off slightly and perhaps give him a few days off which is hard for you but I'm sure will do the trick.I remember posting about this and I received lots of replies from others who had found the same , so maybe it is normal !
Re: is my ds burning out.....
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:49 pm
by vasu
We started his preparation in the 2nd term of year 4. Then it was just for 2-3 hours a week. We slowly build it up to 10-12 hrs a week with the bulk done on the weekends. But I think I am going to cut the study time in half. Lets see if it will works. I will get him do things like puzzles and practising on this guitar. I will let him play in the sunshine and catch up on his reading which he loves. A little bit of R&R is needed.
Re: is my ds burning out.....
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:41 pm
by chicko-mum
Hi Vasu
What prep are you doing with your DS - is just test papers? Perhaps you could vary the subject matter a bit - spot the difference puzzles are good practice for NVR and games like scrabble are excellent for VR. What I mean is, the learning does not have to be through a formal paper...
Have you tried just working on specific topics/areas within a subject - say converting units of measurement in maths. It may be that he is bored of doing tests where most of the questions are not bringing him anything new or challenging, iyswim.
Do you really need him to do 10-12 hours per week at this stage? That's an awful lot imo given that you've been going for a year already (if I've understood you correctly) and you still have some months to go.
Does DS feel pressured by the amount of work? It does sound as if, whatever the reason behind it, you should relax the regime for a bit. Good luck, hope he gets back on track and you can stop fretting.
Re: is my ds burning out.....
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:41 pm
by BarnetDad
Ah! I saw the subject and assumed someone was having trouble with their Nintendo....
Re: is my ds burning out.....
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:24 pm
by mad?
Re: is my ds burning out.....
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 2:16 pm
by vasu
Understandable. We too are suffering from Nintendo meltdown. Ds has gone through his 3rd one in 2 years.
BarnetDad wrote:Ah! I saw the subject and assumed someone was having trouble with their Nintendo....
Re: is my ds burning out.....
Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 8:04 pm
by katel
I'm sorry - but 10-12 hours a week for a year 5 child is ridiculous!
5f eh was getting good marks in his papers earlier in the year, have faith in him. Stop all extra work now and then do some more in the summer, when he doesn;t have school to think about as well.
And don; push the puzzles and guitar too much either - watching Top Gear is important too!
Re: is my ds burning out.....
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 11:58 am
by vasu
katel wrote:I'm sorry - but 10-12 hours a week for a year 5 child is ridiculous!
5f eh was getting good marks in his papers earlier in the year, have faith in him. Stop all extra work now and then do some more in the summer, when he doesn;t have school to think about as well.
And don; push the puzzles and guitar too much either - watching Top Gear is important too!
Oh! Top gear is something he watches
. His loves to read. Can do it for endless hours. TV is not his thing. Playing with his younger brother is a stress buster for him. Believe me, unlike other parents who push their kids for 11+, it is the other way around for us. He wants it. If I had my way I would want him to be a rockstar!!!
. I have reduced his study time. Anyway it is summer, time for fun and frolic in the garden.
