What support for year 7?

[Failmum]

DS is yr 7. He's transitoned well all things considered, couple of meltdowns re volume of homework and navigating timetable but all in all managed well and happy. He is in the second set for most things. He struggles with handwriting and presentation sometimes genuinely sometimes because he can't be bothered. So pretty typical yr7 boy stuff. Husband and I support by talking through his homework, listening to him read or reading to him. I wondered how much support others give with homework

[TheSecondOfHerName]

DS3 (Y7) needs hardly any support. He occasionally needs help with breaking a large task into manageable steps.

DD (also Y7) needs a lot of support: with planning, with execution and with staying on task.

[Seeline]

DD (Y7) doesn't need much - occasional guidance when 'research-type' homework is set I hate google , sometimes help with a larger project in terms of time management, and help with revision for tests - especially languages which she hasn't really done before.

DS(Y9) however, still needs constant monitoring to make sure he is actually doing the work. Concentration has never been his strong point

[enderwoman]

The only support I give is buying ingredients for food tech and make sure we have printer ink.

[ProfGrammaticus]

I never get involved with homework, other than asking what they have and when they plan to get it done. In year 7 I used to sit in their rooms every night while they went through their timetables and packed their bags for the following morning. I also made sure dinner and homework were at regular times and tried to make sure lights were out by 10pm.

[strawberryandaflake]

Sounds like what you are doing is perfect already. I wish all my students' parents would take the time to work with them like you.

[yeOldeTrout]

DS had many emotional & behaviour problems in primary, so my story is skewed by that. When he was ~ 6-8.5yo, we used to spend 1.5-2 hrs every Sunday evening locked in a room (him tantrumming) to get him to finally do say 10-20 minutes of weekly homework.

Now y7, Often he can crack on with something but if there are complicated multiple steps he still needs close encouragement & a lot of help with planning, organisation of how to do it, not getting distracted. I am extremely delighted with how much he can do independently & best of all, he is willing to do it. I try not to read over what he's written, it's his work alone.

Last night he spent about 90 minutes making a Facebook page for a Canterbury Tales character. DS never goes on FB & needed a lot of encouragement & guidance.

[insan1tyscartching]

Dd is now in yr8 and I give a huge amount of support to her for homework and in organising stuff. Dd has SEN but is in top groups which makes things tricky in that she is probably expected to work quicker and more independently than she can manage so without my support homework would take an age.
I break down homework tasks, I research and bookmark what she needs to use. I type up and print, I supervise and encourage and I prepare resources. It really is a joint effort and at school her TA does the same.
Alongside that I pack her bags, I buy, weigh and prepare her ingredients for cooking, I leave notes on her planner so that she knows what she needs and what she should be doing during the school day. I am in short personal secretary and general dogsbody rolled into one as otherwise she would flounder.
It means it goes generally smoothly up until there is a change of plan or her TA forgets to tell me something anyway.

[RachelZoe]

When mine were that age we only helped with revision (as in quizzing them) or intervening if we thought they could be managing their time better. Or they might ask a question that we would know the answer to due to our jobs. So not much really, their school really encouraged independence at that age and being responsible for their work alone.

[gandalf456]

I often have to be very heavily involved or she tantrums. She is a struggler: bottom set English and on a special programme. I know I should be more patient but had a light bulb moment today in that she has been babies by us and teaching staff and needs to at least try before demanding help

[TeddTess]

I am in short personal secretary and general dogsbody rolled into one as otherwise she would flounder

me too.
i don't help with her work or even read over it (unless a project type thing when i help her format powerpoint/word etc..) but ask her what she has, go through her planner, mention subjects with no homework recorded (she often forgets to write it down) then in the morning go through the pile of books/clutter to ensure she has not forgotten something.

i email her teachers re music lessons, let them know she'll be late/missing etc. write in her planner and on her hand the time of her music lesson (otherwise she forgets). I remind her to catch up with x,y,z missed. I find out where and when she needs to be for sports matches.

no wonder i'm knackered.
after christmas i'm taking a step back!

[TeddTess]

oh and i pack and unpack her sports bag. hang up her coat, charge up her phone. bloody hell no wonder i'm not getting my work done.

[wheresthebeach]

My DD needs support daily...she talks through what she needs to pack each evening and we check her schedule at the same time. Days that she has extra stuff to pack for music and pe we have to remind or she'd forget (or remember, then faff before leaving the house, and walk out without it).

Homework is discussed to the extent of 'what do you have' and we compare it to the planner to make sure nothing missed. We help here when asked; otherwise leave her to it in terms of content and revision. We do, however, keep an eye on how much time she spends and query if 30 minutes homework is done in 10!

Trying not to give her too much of a hard time over the state of her room, but am insisting she picks up her stuff dropped around the house.

She's knackered by the stress of it all. I hope it gets easier.

[insan1tyscartching]

Tedd I'm shattered too. It does feel like I am doing as much as she does but the alternative is that she falls to pieces. I can't see a time when I will be able to step back at the minute either, it is so different to my older ones who pretty much sorted themselves out from the start.