Second time lucky ....
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Second time lucky ....
So - after the third person in the space of a week asked me whether DS was going to be taking the 11+ I finally removed my head from the sand and decided I had better take a long impartial look at Year 4 Son and decide if we were going to go through all this again ....
DD is happy enough at the Comp (currently in Year Eight) but there is no denying she is not working at the same standard as friends of hers (whom I had never thought to be any brighter) who are at selective schools.
Importantly, she also says she has no regrets about having tried for the grammar in spite of all the hard work not reaping the hoped for reward.
So - I'm back on the treadmill and dealing with a whole different type of child. And - I'm looking for ways to make it a bit more fun.
DS likes reading (books that come in a series or anything that his friends are reading preferred), computer games (especially minecraft), music (practically any sort) and hates writing.
Any advice, wise ones ...? I think he's brighter than his sister, certainly much quicker witted, but he has an unerring knack of doing the absolute least he can get away with. Plus - we have practically no time at our disposal as I work far more hours that I did back in DD's day.
DD is happy enough at the Comp (currently in Year Eight) but there is no denying she is not working at the same standard as friends of hers (whom I had never thought to be any brighter) who are at selective schools.
Importantly, she also says she has no regrets about having tried for the grammar in spite of all the hard work not reaping the hoped for reward.
So - I'm back on the treadmill and dealing with a whole different type of child. And - I'm looking for ways to make it a bit more fun.
DS likes reading (books that come in a series or anything that his friends are reading preferred), computer games (especially minecraft), music (practically any sort) and hates writing.
Any advice, wise ones ...? I think he's brighter than his sister, certainly much quicker witted, but he has an unerring knack of doing the absolute least he can get away with. Plus - we have practically no time at our disposal as I work far more hours that I did back in DD's day.
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Re: Second time lucky ....
Hi again, PPM,
My DS is also in year 4 and shares with your son the exact same likes and dislikes! Particularly music and minecraft ! I think there are quite a few parents of year 4-ers on here now now, beginning to think about the 11+.
I'm going to try and get him to do more word problems and writing, as these are his particular weak points; though, as you say, not many hours in a week to try and tackle these.
Is there anything you would do differently now with your DS, than when you were helping DD?
My DS is also in year 4 and shares with your son the exact same likes and dislikes! Particularly music and minecraft ! I think there are quite a few parents of year 4-ers on here now now, beginning to think about the 11+.
I'm going to try and get him to do more word problems and writing, as these are his particular weak points; though, as you say, not many hours in a week to try and tackle these.
Is there anything you would do differently now with your DS, than when you were helping DD?
Seize the day ... before it seizes you.
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Re: Second time lucky ....
Hi fatbananas - been having a trawl through the threads and there are still quite a few familiar faces
Oh - and I'd actually quite like to get a grammar school place at the end of it all this time round as well
This time round I would like to focus more on building academic confidence and all round skills - rather than just prepping for the test and hoping the rest takes care of itself (or the vain hope that the primary school would do it for me.)fatbananas wrote: Is there anything you would do differently now with your DS, than when you were helping DD?
Oh - and I'd actually quite like to get a grammar school place at the end of it all this time round as well
Re: Second time lucky ....
Hi fatbanana and PPM
I still feel like a newbie.. 1st dd sat her exams and we are awaiting news (mar 1) to see what allocation - if any!
she passed the exams but not sure how high in the pecking order she came.
To even think about dd 2 who is in year 4 scares me... the time and effort was immense and took over our lives...how many times can you put off friends and family popping over? - not everyone so understanding - we came accross like we were'nt interested in spending time with them. But with time being limited - work, school etc..finding the spare time for the 11+ became a priority and we chose to hibernate at home to work through various areas. DD enjoyed the one to one attention (we helped her ourselves) and it wasn't a chore for her. To think we need to start the prep for DD not sure I can do again. Feeling very guilty to feel this way.
I still feel like a newbie.. 1st dd sat her exams and we are awaiting news (mar 1) to see what allocation - if any!
she passed the exams but not sure how high in the pecking order she came.
To even think about dd 2 who is in year 4 scares me... the time and effort was immense and took over our lives...how many times can you put off friends and family popping over? - not everyone so understanding - we came accross like we were'nt interested in spending time with them. But with time being limited - work, school etc..finding the spare time for the 11+ became a priority and we chose to hibernate at home to work through various areas. DD enjoyed the one to one attention (we helped her ourselves) and it wasn't a chore for her. To think we need to start the prep for DD not sure I can do again. Feeling very guilty to feel this way.
Re: Second time lucky ....
p p p - what does the 11plus in your area involve? And what percentile of the whole population do you think you have to be in to pass it in your area? Then might have some thoughts ......... might not though.
In my area you don't have to write to pass the 11plus - the writing task is only marked if you are borderline fail. In our area we do VR, NVR and maths, currently devised by GL assessment.
I am reading through the practice papers my self now if I can't sleep at night. It is very good as it sends me back to sleep very fast and I am discovering there doesn't appear to half so much to the maths as I thought there was.
I would recommend for a child who wants to do the least work possible doing just that, and teaching them to the test. Read the closest thing you have got to the real test and teach your child the gaps and then practice speed and accuracy and then send them back to minecraft. Lazy is best.
In my area you don't have to write to pass the 11plus - the writing task is only marked if you are borderline fail. In our area we do VR, NVR and maths, currently devised by GL assessment.
I am reading through the practice papers my self now if I can't sleep at night. It is very good as it sends me back to sleep very fast and I am discovering there doesn't appear to half so much to the maths as I thought there was.
I would recommend for a child who wants to do the least work possible doing just that, and teaching them to the test. Read the closest thing you have got to the real test and teach your child the gaps and then practice speed and accuracy and then send them back to minecraft. Lazy is best.
Re: Second time lucky ....
Hi PPMum, it's good to hear from you again. You have nothing to lose and all that experience from first time around. I have a dd in year four ( just finished with ds 2....phew ) and am also thinking I need a big surge of energy! Just concentrate on the basics and it will develop from there. Keep us posted! Think we need a universal 2014 takers thread!
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Re: Second time lucky ....
Took DS to a couple of "free assessments" with local tutors (just curiosity - only intend DIY prep.) Both said his reading and comprehension were great but his Maths levels didn't match up because there were significant gaps in his knowledge. He was well above Year 4 standard but not on target for 11+.
Good to know now rather than later - still got 21 months to play with.
Good to know now rather than later - still got 21 months to play with.
Re: Second time lucky ....
I'm intrigued ppm. Did all the tutors sing from the same hymn sheet, in terms of the maths areas that your DS needed to bridge the gap? With my slightly cynical head on today, I'd say that I'd be a little dubious - afterall, a tutor will want to entice you to sign-up for their services I DIY'd both DD's - in a similar asituation, I'd only have been convinced of the validity of the information, if they all identified pretty much the same weak areas of mathspush-pull-mum wrote:Took DS to a couple of "free assessments" with local tutors (just curiosity - only intend DIY prep.) Both said his reading and comprehension were great but his Maths levels didn't match up because there were significant gaps in his knowledge. He was well above Year 4 standard but not on target for 11+.
Good to know now rather than later - still got 21 months to play with.
I'm sure you'll be fine - 21 months is a fantastic amount of time! We identified some weak areas 4 months before the 11+ and DD2 bridged that gap admirably. Wish we'd had longer but we trusted her teacher
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Re: Second time lucky ....
Yep. Pretty much the same stuff - they showed me the questions he couldn't do. Only two tutors but it was very revealing watching them change their minds about DS as they both started off with reading (DS been off the scale for years), spelling (well into secondary school standard) and then witnessed him coming completely unstuck in Maths.
Re: Second time lucky ....
Yep, and I'll be there.Think we need a universal 2014 takers thread!
I've just started doing bits and pieces with my year 4 DDs, mainly maths because their primary school doesn't stretch them at all (The school would disagree though as they are always talking about how they stretch the more able - hey ho!) but also lots of reading and discussing new words. I'm hoping that slow and steady will do the trick.