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Dd4 getting work wrong at school

138 replies

MelThomas1 · 22/05/2024 20:48

Hi,

Just wanted to know if anyone has been in a situation where their child can do the work at home but isn't doing it at school.

My daughter is 4 years old and she's been struggling with her phonics. She's in the higher ability group but the teacher said she isn't keeping up with the pace of the group. She has a spelling test twice a week with two different lots of spellings. She's been getting 1 or 2 or 0. But we haven't been practicing, tbh, as reading and other homework takes up enough time. But the teacher says she's getting simple spellings wrong like black, crab, train, etc. But at home she writes these words in a sentence with me just emphasising the letter that she can't hear, c-r-ab, b-l-ack.... She's writing amazing sentences at home using her phonics knowledge. But at school the teacher says she's not hearing the sounds and I've told them she has glue ear and is under a consultant for this, in the meantime she needs to lip read as well as hear.

What makes a child do the work at home but not in school? They keep saying they can't help her more. They've already put her next to the teacher and she's still getting the words wrong! I've uploaded photos on class dojo of the work she's done at home but they haven't said anything back.

What do I do?!

My dd says she doesn't want to make her teacher sad because her teacher gets sad if she gets her words wrong and she has a panic in the morning saying we didn't practice our words enough. And I have to tell her that it's okay to make mistakes and nobody should be getting sad by you getting your words wrong. We learn through mistakes.

I feel so sad for her. She's a capable girl and I know she has trouble with distinguishing between th and f and if a w word begins with wh or w and she will ask me to repeat again but aside from that I don't see the problems at home that they're mentioning.

OP posts:
MelThomas1 · 22/05/2024 20:59

CaptainMyCaptain · 22/05/2024 20:55

She can do it at home because you are saying the sounds for her.

It might be that phonics just isn't going to work for her if she can't hear the sounds. I would recommend trying to encourage her to recognise the whole words but that would be complete HERESY as phonics is the only way now. I learned to read with flash cards in the late 50s and later, as a student teacher, used different methods but that has been out of favour for a while.

I'm just emphasising the l in black and r in crab. Is that wrong? Now with enough practice she can sound it out herself but she wasn't hearing the l and r.

OP posts:
RitzyMcFee · 22/05/2024 20:59

Two spelling tests a week!

The best thing you can do for her is to learn the sounds yourself.

Octavia64 · 22/05/2024 20:58

It's unusual to have spelling tests in reception.

If she has glue ear she may have trouble hearing. The only way you can keep her in the higher phonics group (if you want to) is to practice the spellings.

PeppermintPorpoise · 22/05/2024 20:57

This is a lot for a child her age. What kind of school is this? Even (most of?) the hot house private pre preps dont do all this in reception. Perhaps you need to dicuss her moving ability groups, whatever that means at 4 🙄

CaptainMyCaptain · 22/05/2024 20:56

I agree with what the others have said about not worrying about it.

MelThomas1 · 22/05/2024 20:56

I thought two tests a week was a bit much too but I'm not familiar with EYFS curriculum and what is the norm. Any teachers here?

OP posts:
Nctodayjan24 · 22/05/2024 20:55

She's 4 and spelling black and crab.
Quite the opposite to a problem she is amazing. I have taught infants (in Ireland) for years and this is work for a good group of 7 year olds.
I am genuinely gobsmacked in spelling tests twice a week

CaptainMyCaptain · 22/05/2024 20:55

She can do it at home because you are saying the sounds for her.

It might be that phonics just isn't going to work for her if she can't hear the sounds. I would recommend trying to encourage her to recognise the whole words but that would be complete HERESY as phonics is the only way now. I learned to read with flash cards in the late 50s and later, as a student teacher, used different methods but that has been out of favour for a while.

Domino20 · 22/05/2024 20:54

What do you do? Play more, she's 4yo and the school/sets/tests are absolutely ridiculous.

AGodawfulsmallaffair · 22/05/2024 20:54

Oh my Lord, she’s a baby. My ds couldn’t write his name at 4 .

angelikacpickles · 22/05/2024 20:52

Spelling tests for four year olds??

EsmeSusanOgg · 22/05/2024 20:51

Do they have sets for 4 year olds!!!

Sorry, slight tangent there. It may be that she is just more distracted at school. Lots to see/ do/ people to interact with? She is still very little and getting used to the set-up.

Bluevelvetsofa · 22/05/2024 20:50

She’s four years old and having spelling tests twice a week?

I think she’ll be put off school. It sounds very pressured.