to ask my dd's teacher to give her more demanding homework?

[giraffes]

Disclaimer first! I'm in no way claiming my dd is academically exceptional - we are currently living in Ireland and for a number of reasons dd started school age 5 and is one of the oldest in her class. So at 6y 7mo she is in the equivalent of year 1, but in the UK she would be in year 2.
Anyway, every day she says her homework is too easy and when I see her do it, it is. She is really quick at maths and sums, but keeps getting homework which for her is ridiculously simple addition (1+8, 3+4 kind of thing). Also, she is given ORT level 3 books to bring home but can read Roald Dahl books (at a push).
I don't mind the reading so much as she can always read other books at home, but as she seems to have a facility for maths I would love her to develop this but haven't much of a clue how to help her in doing that as I am almost innumerate...
WIBU to ask her teacher for something a little more demanding? Or would that be a little pushy? Her teacher is not very approachable and a bit sarcastic...would it be crazy to buy her the maths books for next year now? Or should I just ask the teacher? And how would I ask in a way that isn't pushy?

Giraffes, DD is in the middle of the class, age-wise. But actually quite far ahead in many ways academically. (Socially, that's another question altogether). In our case, the teacher allows anyone who has finished the one-liner "news" in their copies, to go on and add in more if they want while the others finish - so she will!! And if she's finished the page before everyone else is finished their one-liners and picture, she will make up a page of sums and do them, and then ask the teacher to correct them (confusing the heck out of the poor teacher who thought they were all doing writing!!! :) )

We're actually in the process of getting a full-blown assessment done for various reasons, but that will include a full academic assessment so that we can stretch her strengths outside the classroom (trying to avoid the curriculum so she's not bored later on) and make sure that anything she is more average or behind on does get captured too.

DD started at 4 yrs 9 months, and her cousin started school at the same time at 5 yrs 1 month but could have started the year before. It's a real mix - you only HAVE to be in school by age 6 here, and many have been starting later because of pressure on spaces and also the free pre-school year on offer that parents wanted to take advantage of.

Floggingmolly - children in Ireland can start at any time between their 4th or 6th birthday (some schools specify 4yrs 6mo) but not dd's. So when she started the equivalent of reception, she was in a class where one child had just turned 4, and another was 6 a few weeks later. Dd was 5 and a few months. Many parents wait until their child turns 5 to start school, and while dd is one of the eldest, there are quite a few birthdays within a couple of weeks of hers - albeit some a full year apart!

Biddypop - thanks for that, and good luck with your dd. I'd love to know how to stretch my dd without drawing on the curriculum - I actually bought her a times tables book today as she loves the patterns the numbers make, but they haven't even done subtraction in school yet. I'd love to know more about academic assessments available in Ireland - any chance you could recommend somewhere?

I wouldn't have your child tell the teacher that the work was "too easy", as this will always come off very negatively. It is best for you to mention it in your parent's meeting to your child's teacher - e.g., ask if the work is differentiated - if it is not differentiated, it should be! If your child is really working above their current class level, I think it is incumbent upon you, as a parent, to address this matter at home with some extra work for her at home via some workbooks that you can get from most bookstores, OR, if she is really advanced, you could either give her, or get her, private tuition (although, for starters, some workbooks from bookstores should suffice.) Good Luck - sometimes having a very high achiever is a lot of work for a parent, as a teacher with 30 in a class already has too much to do and their priority is usually to shore up those that are lagging behind...

mummie - thanks. I'm sorry but I'm not sure private tuition would be the way I'd approach this as then if she gets very far ahead she will really get bored in school. She is super well-behaved in school apparently so I'm really just seeing if there's a way of making sure she is stimulated enough

I'm only starting onto the assessment road, but will let you know as I move along that road if you like?

In the meantime, there are great workbooks in the shops, check out various homeschooling type websites and there are others for "gifted" kids. (I do not necessarily think DD is gifted, and we don't have a G&T track here, but she is ahead of many in her class so we're trying to keep her interested without doing too much of what is going to be done in class).

You can also get the curriculum on the NCCA website, which might help (particularly to give ideas for subjects other than manths and english).

HTH