Support thread for parents trying to get their kids to do 11+ work this holiday!

Will do.

It's important to do the 'most right in 20 minute" bit though. Otherwise you might get a very fast but all wrong paper!

That's a very good idea, seeker. We haven't been timing his work, as we've been trying to build up his confidence etc. He is ultra-competative, though, so would respond well to this. I'd enjoy the VR but find the NVR make my mind boggle.

For the people wanting tips about speed - have you tried racing? I photocopied papers so we had one each then we raced to see who could get the most right in 20 minutes. Dd got a real kick out of beating me, which she could always do on NVR. I usually beat her at VR and we were pretty evenly matched at the maths!

Hi there, please can I join? This thread is made for me. My son sits in in the second week of September, so we are doing some every day. Sometimes he whinges a lot and sometimes he seems to get the need to practice. He has been going to a tutor for a few months now. I think he loses sight of what it is all about and thinks that the study is going to go on for ever.

Foofi,has your dd visited the school,and if so does she want to go?
Ds loved it and really wants to go.When he was reluctant the other day to practice we just said if you want to go to this school you need to pass 11+ and therefore need to make an effort...worked on that day.

Jonico...I too await tips

Hello.Ds1 to sit his Sept.It is verbal and non verbal here.
So far he has done 1 of each paper.Think we are aiminf for 1 every other day or 1 every 3rd day.It is the timing bit I think he will find tricky.
We haven't given him a time limit yet,but are thinking of doing so for his next paper.

My daughter is fairly good at all sections, but I am at a loss as to how to get her to speed up! She has no sense of urgency at all!

I have tried all sorts of bribes and inspirational pep talks, but she is just a bit of a dreamer. Tricky, cos this side of hher personality makes her a lovely,fun person!

Any tips??

Ours isn't until the end of November but DD has just got to grips with all the codes for the verbal reasoning and now just needs to speed up a bit so will try and keep her doing a bit of bond work in the hols just to keep her sharp.

Hi Foofi, I will join your support club!
My ds has agreed to do a little everyday (at least for the days we are here, not when we're on "real holiday" as he calls it).
He said he prefers to do it first thing in the morning so that he can then enjoy the rest of the day. He won't be doing full tests however, just 15 - 30 mins or so.

Brain training on the DS.

Times tables testing in the car (up to 15x if you can manage it)

And bribery. Lots and lots of bribery.

We did this last year and although this is a boy who always moans about homework he actually did this without too much nagging! We discussed it before the hols and agreed that this was a one off exam and we would do something most days even if it was only for 10 minutes. DS would never have sat and done the test papers for hours at a time!

We left the 'proper' 11+ papers till last and went through alot of the 'free' papers that can be downloaded from the chuckra and elevenplus website amongst others. I had already checked the contents of the proper papers and made sure that we were covering the right sort of questions and topics. For many of these papers we just sat together and discussed them - DS was far happier just working out the answers rather than having to write them down.
when he did sit to do papers (both free and proper ones) we set a time limit - sometimes 10 minutes or just one section - we rarely did a full paper just timed each section.

For maths it is essential to improve the speed of answers so often when we were out in car etc we would have quick fire questions for times tables, square roots and squares etc (he was also allowed to test me!)

This revision was just for NVR, VR and maths.

Hope it helps - try to have fun............

oh I see!! As you were then

bribe her with itunes downloads

one per 30 min session

OH I would advise NOt to tbh
wait until about 6 weeks before the test then really up the ante.
Too long drawn out will lose anyimpetus