If you are working ft, how much "school work" are you doing over the summer?

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

I know there's a loss of knowledge over the summer and the dc are in primary. If anyone works ft over Summer, what and how much practice stuff do you fit in over these six weeks?

They are going into y6 and y3 when they go back. Anything I should aim for apart from getting them reading lots (dc1 a bookworm so that's easy).

Mine are y7 and 9 but when they were at primary school they just did the library reading scheme. Usually there was some kind of holiday diary that the school set that I would chivvy them do to, just sticking in pictures and writing a bit. In y5 summer holiday they did do some 11 plus past papers.

I read to the children every night and ask comprehension questions

• How do you think the character is feeling ?


• predict how the story will end ?


• Why has the author chosen to use ‘that’ adjective ?


• What did you enjoy about the book/ how could it be improved ?


• Write your own alternative ending .

As a family we play times tables quizzes and I will be playing times-tables games all evening when I am home .

What is 6 x 4?
So if 6 x 4 = 24
What other facts do you know ( 4 x 6 =24
24 divided by 6 = 4
24 divided by 4 = 6)

I make the children so cursive handwriting practice each day and a mental arithmetic sheet each day which I will go through with them after .

With DS 1 , I teach 15 mins worth of phonics before I leave from for work .

With DD , I will work through year 6 Math papers .
I will write stories with her . Then ask- how can we improve this and edit it together focusing on adverbs / adjectives / conjunctions / emotive language etc . By main focus is she is learning how to edit her own work .

I was a teacher . DS 6 DD 9. I can tell you as a teacher a child recover 1 /30 th of a teachers time . But if your child is high or middle ability they are normally left as teacher needs to focus on bad behavior or lower ability children . So I want my child to have at least an hour a day of input from me at home a day. Holidays or not .

My ds practices handwriting but not every day, and only because it was recommended on his report card.

DD, nothing, but she reads for pleasure anyway without being reminded.
Now that I think of it, she hasn’t practiced piano at all, so I’ll get her on that today

Oh and I don’t work FT. I work during school term only.

I work P/T and won't be doing any school work with DC.

They need a break.

We will continue to read most evenings, them to me for 10 mins and me to them for 15. Nothing more

No work at all when we are away on the family holiday (10 days), the rest of the summer holidays my ds needs to do ten mins with a pencil a day (can be colouring in comics or doing mazes etc) as he has real problems with his grip and handwriting and he definitely goes backwards if he doesn't do anything for weeks at a time. That ten mins feels like a long time to him!

We also read every day and usually have a game of chess, but these are both things he enjoys and asks to do.

For DC1, if you have the money, something like MagicLink is an excellent and fast programme to improve handwriting.

For DC2, it's tough. Yours is still little, and concentration for us is still a major struggle at age 11. That said, two of my boy's teachers said his concentration is incredible funnily enough, they teach the only two subjects he truly cares about: music and a sport he does seriously. Everyone else complains about his concentration. Chess helps a bit. A lovely teacher once taught me a technique of trying to remember the first five moves of a chess game in your head it really makes them focus:-)

Gosh this is desperately sad!
I'm a primary teacher and have children of primary school age.
In my wildest dreams would I expect my children to engage in academic work outside of term time!
My children have a profound dislike of reading but I only read my first book at eleven years of age myself.
I am now an avid reader so I have no worries for them .
What I do worry about is 5,6,7 year olds reading HP and related themes.
Completely age inappropriate and confusing for their literacy development, but there seems to be some
Sort of mommy competition going on in my community , whereby the performance parents boast loudly about their 5 year old darlings reading books aimed for 10-14 year olds. It's just wrong !

Dc3 (5) has just finished reception and we're focusing on reading.

His reading hasn't come on very much in Reception and I really REALLY dislike the reading scheme school are using. It's all phonics based and I'm sure is 'supposed' to be good - but there's no 'story' to them and the pages read like bloody tongue twisters rather than stories. 'Nans mitts slip and Tim's pot tips' type sentences. Meaningless and unengaging, it's a real struggle to get dc to read them.

I've bought a complete set of Biff, Chip and Kipper books. These are what my oldest two used, I'm familiar with them and they're engaging and make much more sense. We're going to work our way through these.

Nothing formal, just every day playing which is all educational of course.

Mine are EYFS and KS1 so will do a little bit of reading and some number work but nothing intense. I'm a teacher and will be doing more than I'd like!

None and I’m a teacher.

We spend the time doing things that we don’t have time to do during the term time - going for hikes, baking, jigsaw puzzles, exploring other places etc. My DD reads for fun.

If any parent asks me what formal learning they should do I say none.
But always encourage reading whether it’s a book, magazine, comic, back of a cereal box etc - reading for 10mins a day will do more good than any other formal learning you are giving them but it should be something they enjoy.

Children need a break just like adults.

Obviously as a teacher I do sometimes work during some my holidays but that’s part of the job.

If I was an accountant or doctor or shop assistant - no way would I spend my holiday working.
And I don’t believe posters work on their time off. I can’t see people practising scanning their shopping at home.

@TheyWentToSeaInASieve thanks for the Magic Link mention, I'm looking into this now. Can I ask, did you use it with success? Tks

Nothing that doesn’t fit into the everyday - we read everyday anyway. We do a lot of arty projects, cooking, walks with the dog where they can explore nature and we play a lot of games together. Days out at the zoo etc also have nice educational value.
Definitely nothing ‘formal’ where they are sat down practising spellings or sums or handwriting - WTAF? 😂

@RelentlessForwardProgress Yes, it worked well for us, but we went to Lee Dein directly as we happened to live nearby. It was a lot of money but really worked quickly and, strangely, our boys enjoyed it!

My children have a profound dislike of reading but I only read my first book at eleven years of age myself.
I am now an avid reader so I have no worries for them .

I was the same but I was an adult when I read a book the whole way through and I’ve not stopped ever since.
And it’s because it was a genre I actually enjoyed rather than the ones I found boring at school.

Me and my DD will go to the library, book shop or charity shop and choose a book. They tend to enjoy the books they choose much more than ones that are chosen for them.
When she was younger if it was a challenging book then I would read it to her which also does a lot of good.

I remember my DD really wanting a dog but absolutely hated reading and would only get books on dog breeds and how to look after a new puppy.

I told her teacher how worried I was that she’s not reading enough and he said but she is reading!
Words are words and forcing her to read a book she doesn’t like is going to have much less impact than reading a book she loves and finds interesting and exciting, even if it is about how to toilet train your new puppy.

None. I'm a teacher so of course I know about the "loss of learning" but the 1st few weeks of the autumn half term is usually dedicated to catching up.

The summer holidays are really important to children: they allow them to rest, to follow their own interests, and to play with their friends; in other words, they can simply be children.

The most that mine do is reading (books of their choice at times they choose), drawing (if they wish), and writing (again, of their own choice and only if they wish) and I wouldn't dream of setting a timetable of learning or of dictating how much they do. They're on holiday. Most adults don't do their paid work whilst on holiday!

Them helping you cook dinner or bake cookies can turn into a Maths lesson they probably need to use fractions ratio and proportion, conversions. Having fun playing in the garden or the park can be p.e / science lesson about the function of the heart and physical activity. On your days off you could go to museums. Going to museums is great make sure they take pencils note pads they could draw what they see or they could research on a topic of interest make notes and write about it. It could be about anything, volcanoes, dinosaurs, modern technology the national history and science museums are great. Also what sort of childcare do your children have during the holidays? there might be some holiday camps that offer fun learning experiences check your council and see what they offer. Some are even free if you are lucky.

thank you @TheyWentToSeaInASieve 🙂

age appropriate reading is subjective.. as someone who was an extremely advanced reader, i was reading 5 or 6 years ahead (comprehension matched) so 'age appropriate' books were SO fucking boring it was unreal. I read Watership down at 7, and i was reading The Lord of the Rings at 10.. i devoured anything written text without batting an eyelid.

Age shouldn't dictate reading as long as the child is able to cope/comprehend and deal with the material. And yes, i was 'that student' that had access to the A level reading texts in school in yr 8.

I did nothing except the summer before the 11+. They passed and are doing fine at grammar.

Summer holidays are for a break.

Same here!

Nothing apart from a short project set by secondary school (yr 7). Thankfully it's in a subject DC enjoys. Eldest is also a reader so that's not a problem.

Middle DC, if not on screens for large part of day (believe me, I restrict but it's a battle!) then that is a win. Clever child, reluctant to do anything considered work. Lots of football though.

Youngest, activities and being read to. Maybe some mathletics or jigsaws.

Work almost ft.

age appropriate reading is subjective.. as someone who was an extremely advanced reader, i was reading 5 or 6 years ahead (comprehension matched) so 'age appropriate' books were SO fucking boring it was unreal. I read Watership down at 7, and i was reading The Lord of the Rings at 10.. i devoured anything written text without batting an eyelid.

Yes but an advanced reading age, including comprehension doesn’t not = emotional maturity to handle teenage and adult themes.
I agree with the PP, parents can be very misguided in giving their children material that is not appropriate because they are advanced at reading. A friend of mine had bought her DD who had just turned 8 ‘Naughts and Crosses’ from the YA section because she’s just so ‘advanced’ and bored of reading books aimed at children. She looked a bit shocked when I told her it was one of my favourite books when I was 15 and was probably not appropriate since it has references to torture and indeed a sex scene…

Absolutely nothing. She needs a break. We spend a lot of time outdoors and doing physical stuff, which we don't know enough of normally.