Help needed

[Beginning2Fret]

I am hoping somebody would be able to help and guide me in some way. Had a meeting with head the other week and received my DC results for the SATs tests the year 5s took. Was so surprised to hear that they think DC is capable to do the eleven plus in sept this year. Unfortunatly, I haven`t been preparing DC for this and so I am beginning to get a little worried. I would like DC to do the 11+ and have spoken to DC and hubby about this as I don`t won`t to pressure DC into this, but everybody is o.k with doing the exams.
So I searched the internet and came across you guys, you sound alot of very supportive parents and hope you can guide me as to what direction I should go. I`ve brought the letts S.A.Ts papers and printed off a few bits and pieces from the internet, but I would like to know what sort of routein or timetable you do with regards to teaching your DC during the week after school, how much time you spend on a certain subject etc. We can not afford a private tutor and money is tight at the moment, but want to give DC the best chance I can. I am in the south east.

[tiredmum]

Hi
What part of the south east? will your dc be taking the kent test? there are also a few other tests in the SE depending on where you live

[Beginning2Fret]

Hi tiredmum, yes the kent test.

[tiredmum]

ok - pop on over to the kent forum - its just a bit below this one. You will find info there about registering for the kent test - which you need to do now - will also tell you the format and what books to buy if you are helping dc at home.The sats practice books are very different from the 11 plus books - we all differ as to how much practice we think a dc needs- only you know that because you know your child.

[hermanmunster]

I'll move the post to Kent!

[mystery]

I think the amount of preparation you need to do depends on how strong your child is in the relevant areas - maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, and whether you live in an area of Kent where you want to try for a superselective or are just aiming for an 11+ pass. If your child is a really high flyer, is generally reliable in a test situation, and you just need the minimum to pass, then don't sweat over it much. But otherwise, do as much as you and he can tolerate.

[sherry_d]

I think sats may show you an aptitude of how good your child understand things but they really are different from 11+, CATS are more similar. You may also find that some of the maths in the 11+ wont have been covered in class and Verbal Reasoning and Non Verbal Reasoning are different.

I noticed you said you bought Letts SATS papers and wonder if you meant 11+. As a start you could get the variety pack so you familiarise yourself with the questions. The pack is this one here http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/books/ ... .php%23bs5 but dont worry about the English paper as we dont do that in Kent.

I found the papers overwhelming at first and doubted is I could do it let alone my DD but after a few practice you will get the gist. These are the resources I found useful to begin with and maybe after a month or so you can start testing your DC on practice papers.

1. Bond how to do Maths and also the Bond 10 Minute Daily test. You'll pick up areas they need more help and I use some maths workbooks to aid where she needs more help. I also use the IPS 10 Minute test.
2. IPS Techniques and methods of doing Verbal Reasoning. This is really a staple for VR but some question types known as HIKNOS arent covered in Kent.
3. Bond 10mins Non Verbal Reasoning.

I think these would be great for a start and then you can get more materials if you find specific areas they need help in. Please do remember to register now here http://ola.kent.gov.uk/kccadmissions/prefs.php if you want your DC to do the test as closing date is 2nd of July. You can always pull them out if you decide not to but you cant add them on later.

Regarding how much practice you do is a million dollar question. I think when you start doing the practice and going through questions you can judge how much your time your DC needs. If they are good at grasping things then you may not need much time and maybe a case of familiarising. I personally found maths being the one that needed the most work despite my DD being in the "top" sets. There was just too much stuff that wasnt covered in school. I would say week 1 do the variety 10minute daily test and work it from there to see how many hours a week you need. In my case we do some 11+ work at least 4 days a week, but some people get away with doing 1 hour a week so its all up to how fast your DC learns and how much of the basics have been covered in school too.

[Ogremum]

If other grammars set their own tests it's worth taking those too - my dd sat the Kent test and missed by 1 point on 1 test but passed the Dover Grammar test pretty well. It gives you another set of results for consideration.

[Beginning2Fret]

Thank you all for your time in answering. Yes sorry Sherry_d, my mistake, it was the 11+ variety pack I brought, not the SATs papers. I did have a look at the papers and ask DC if they had covered a few of the maths basics in school yet and they said no. So that will give me an idea, what to cover, but the books that you mentioned sherry sound ideal, so may have to look into those.

[yoyo123]

as well as test papers make sure he is really good on times tables, square numbers,prime numbers,factors and cubes.

look at woodlands junior website for lots of games to help with these.

also lots of games like scrabble (use a dictionary) , www.freerice.com to build vocabulary (obviously lots of reading)

jigsaws, spot the difference and tetris help build the skills for NVR