advice on preparation

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itsonlyme
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:20 pm

advice on preparation

Post by itsonlyme »

Hi Daogroupie - I'm new to the forum and website in general. Starting to wade my way through so much useful information and posts, from you, and many others! Thanks so much for sharing!

Wanted to ask. You recommend to IPS to start and then move onto Athey, Bright Sparks and Walst. Is this specifically for VR? Is this in order of difficulty? Haven't yet got any of these books and just want to get a sense or order.

Thanks again!

It would help if you indicated which schools you are interested in.
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: advise on preparation

Post by Daogroupie »

What year is your student in and which schools are you applying for? DG
itsonlyme
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:20 pm

Re: advise on preparation

Post by itsonlyme »

Hi Daogroupie,
Apologies for the delay in responding to this. We hadn't subscribed to the post so didn't realise you had responded. My DD is finishing year 3. We will apply for WGGS (priority), but are also thinking of private schools eg St Helens and Habs. This depends somewhat on the level DD is at , which we'll try and discover by speaking to tutors to get an assessment done. We read your posting about WGGS moving to CEMS from Moray House and wondered if the books you've recommended change as a result?

Sorry for the 'silly question'. Just starting to find my way through this treasure of a website!
rosetta
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2015 12:11 pm

Re: advice on preparation

Post by rosetta »

If your DD is in year 3, you shouldn't be tutoring her at all. You should be ensuring her mental maths (addition/subtraction, times tables) are solid, and apart from that, you should be encouraging her to read as much and as widely as possible. Play games involving numbers/words if you want to help her in a fun way - Scrabble, Boggle, card games, etc.

Nothing else is required until year 5.

No-one has any idea what exam formats will exist when your dd is in year 6! So save your effort and let your dd enjoy being 8!
itsonlyme
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:20 pm

Re: advice on preparation

Post by itsonlyme »

Hi Rosetta - thanks for advice. We weren't sure either on whether to go down a tutor route but on balance, feel that it warrants further exploration. DD is entering Y4 and we'd like to support her as much as possible. We agree at this stage there is no need to be overly prescriptive but we see no downside in having someone who can help her on topics she finds difficult.

We assumed that having the right study books (in some sort of order) would help with this along with reading / board games (thanks for the recommendation) and other free-form activities.

Would be great if someone can recommend, for CEM, which study books should be looked at in which order (unless the consensus is that the study books shouldn't be considered till year 5)
ToadMum
Posts: 11946
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: advice on preparation

Post by ToadMum »

I hesitate to ask, but if you think your DD is a suitable candidate for an academically-selective secondary school, why would you envisage her finding her school year's topics difficult?
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Hera
Posts: 856
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 3:50 pm

Re: advice on preparation

Post by Hera »

Lots of people do start in year 4. With DC1 we started in the Feb of year 5 and had a rather stressful 7 months. This was also combined with school changes and a move. With DC2 we gently started in the November of year 4 and had a much more pleasant and relaxed experience. The final outcome for both kids was similar and they both achieved their goal. I would definitely recommend the more relaxed approach. CGP and Bond both publish age specific books for CEM so you could look at the 8-9 one. I would also read lots, discuss books, expand vocabulary, consolidate times tables etc in year 4 too, as well as stretching the year 4 maths. I will be doing all of that starting probably after half term in year 4 with DC3. Saying that a lot of it like the reading lots is something that already happens for pleasure! That is the plan anyway.
rosetta
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2015 12:11 pm

Re: advice on preparation

Post by rosetta »

Well, I have a dc3 going into year 5 and have not done any prep at all!

Do what you think is right for your child, I suppose. Two years of tutoring seems unnecessary to me, but maybe it depends what you call tutoring. If you mean reading and times tables, of course your child should be doing that in/before year 4. In terms of CEM, the best practice is wide reading, especially of classic literature. Never too early to encourage kids to read widely.
itsonlyme
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:20 pm

Re: advice on preparation

Post by itsonlyme »

Hi Rosetta - thanks for comments / question. Of course, clearly, there will be different opinions on the way forward for every parent / child, which is what makes this forum so interesting and useful!

From our side, we thought that the school curriculum wouldn't prepare DC for the exams, simply because of the VR / NVR content of the exams which then leads to the discussion of whether we, as parents, can help at home, or whether a tutor is required. That was the background to the first question about what kind of study material / preparation we should do and then we can work out the best way forward.

Hera - thanks for the comment and the specific advise on bond and CGP (which is the kind of help we were looking for). Much appreciated! I suppose we can worry about other books / CEMs etc when we're approaching year 5.
Tolstoy
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Re: advice on preparation

Post by Tolstoy »

NVR certainly doesn't need two years prepping for. I can see an argument for starting gently and that's why for academically able DC beginning of Y5 should be adequate. Anymore and I would seriously question suitability for selective school but more to the point you are probably wasting time and money that would be better spent on other things.

Spend time reading to your DC, playing scrabble with a dictionary, doing word searches, crosswords if they are so inclined and introducing them to a wide vocabulary. If they have an interest supply them with non-fiction books about it as this will also increase their vocabulary in a pleasurable way.

The only ones to benefit from all this early prep are the publishers and the tutors themselves.
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