7 yr old acheiving level 4 in sats english-fabulous but should I enlist a tutor for her maths?

[QueenBhannae]

My gorgeous dd who turned 7 last term has acheived level 4 in her english which is apparently 'exceptional'.
Obviously I am thrilled with this however her maths fell into average.No surprise here as my maths is flunky lol but I don't wish for her to get behind.
My mum suggested a tutor but I feel she is too young and should be allowed to be a child a bit longer.
Do you think she would benefit or am I hindering her by letting her play?
Opinions please?
I don't get on much as have a toddler and a new baby but will read every response.
Thankyou

[Mij]

Go girl, on the level 4!

However, as an ex-tutor, impo 7 is too young unless a) she's worried about her maths herself, b) she's actually behind (and she's not, she's average, which is just fine for now), or c) she has a rubbish teacher who is putting her off maths for life.

Some things click at different ages for different kids. If she's happy plodding along in maths and high flying in English, leave her be. You may just end up transfering your (or probably your mum's) anxiety about it.

If, however, you do try to find a tutor, again impo try to find someone funky and fun, who gets to the bottom of where the 'mental block' is (if indeed she has one), does just half an hour of maths games and doesn't turn it into a chore otherwise, again, it could put her off it totally).

HTH

[snorkle]

Because she is so good at English there's a tendancy to think she's bad at maths when really she's probably fine - just not ahead at it if you see what I mean. If she's average then she's nicely in the middle and presumably at exactly the level the teacher is aiming at most of the time (good teachers differentiate, but imo bad ones don't very well). If she falls behind and is struggling then maybe consider a tutor if the school isn't supporting her.

[callipso]

Hi, I have a very similar situation with my 7yo ? now in year 3. She is fantastic at English ? average at Maths. I find it hard to cope with as I was very good at Maths and average at English. I find it difficult to understand how dd cannot just ?see? maths (and difficult to comprehend how she just ?gets? words). Also, probably because she is so good at English she sets herself impossibly high standards for Maths. Since I also have an impossibly high standard I?ve been tempted by the idea of tutors, however, since she is not struggling I think it is best as a parent to take a hands off approach, trust her teachers, and let her develop at her own rate. Also it does mean that if she has to work a little harder at maths at school she is less likely to find the whole school thing too easy. The one thing I do do is heap praise on her when she works hard at her numeracy homework to build confidence.

[ThreadyKrueger]

Lovely that your daughter is doing well in English, but why on earth would you want to get a tutor in for maths? Unless the school is teaching badly, surely the fact that she is achieving bang in line with expectations is great. Why make her feel under pressure to be top of the class in everything?

[Wisteria]

Leave well alone - my dd seemed awful at Maths at that age (because like your daughter she was exceptional at English and it seemed bad comparatively), however she is now in the top set at school and got a level 5 in her KS2 SATS.

She's only little, stop fretting and leave her to be 7 xx

[PoisonFrogPrincess]

dd also got level 4 in english at age 7, thoroughly enjoys reading and writing and learning in general, but is very average at maths. I would not worry about that though as long as she keeps working hard at maths and keeps improving and trying her best, it's early days yet.

[bluejelly]

Tutors for seven year olds not a good idea in my opinion. Take her to the park instead.

[seeker]

When you say "average" what was the actual grade? Has she actually done the KS1 SATS? Most schools do them sometime in the Spring don't they? I know ours does.

[snorkle]

Some people in your position might go for an English tutor instead - to nurture the talent! It's interesting how people differ as to whether to focus on your best or your worst subject. Another approach - have you considered music lessons? It's a sideways option - but music is also supposed to help with mathematical thinking.

[QueenBhannae]

Thankyou all for your responses.I value all of your comments.
I am of the mind that she should be a child for longer as in my op.My Mother on the other hand feels that my dd would gain from some tutoring.
I am not a pushy mum and even let her decide if she would like to do her homework or face the consequences in order to teach her responsibility etc.
She achieved a 2a in her maths which again I am pleased with.
She gets seven pieces of homework a week and really enjoys it if I set her extra work(which does tend to be english or science based as my maths is cr@p)
Snorkle-the music idea is one we have already undertaken as her Dad teaches her guitar and violin-she is enjoying it at the minute but again she only does it if she wants to.
I also enrolled her in a drama academy to build her confidence which she loves.
I know that really I am doing enough for her but felt unsure about my decision to allow her to be 'little' based on my own Mother's comments lol.
Decision made-no tutor!
Thanks again.

[RosaTransylvania]

My DD1 is also a literacy high-flyer and was average in Maths (2a in KS1 SATs). She is now in thetop group in her class in maths too, and got level 5 in her Yr 5 optional SATs last term. I really wouldn't get a tutor - I think it might be counterproductive. Let her go at the pace of the class. A clever child who is bookish can excel at literacy quite early, but that doesn't mean she is behind at other stuff.

[singersgirl]

I wouldn't worry about it. She is obviously doing brilliantly with her literacy and not struggling or behind at all with her numeracy - in fact, 2a is slightly above average.

DS1 (who is now 9 and in Y5) got a 2a for numeracy in Y2, but is now in the top maths group and scored the highest that he could on their recent test (4a as it didn't go up to 5). He is not gifted at maths, but he is well above average now.

In the long run, it won't matter if she's better at one thing than another as long as she's not actively struggling.