To question what they are teaching in primary schools these days?

[wonderstuff]

DS 11 didn’t know how to make paper snowflakes! Thought it was some sort of witchcraft when I showed him 😎. DD 14 knows so it’s obviously a recent deterioration. I remember spending what felt like hours happily cutting out in primary school. It was a go to activity for wet break. Think they bung a film on now with screens in every classroom. Sad times.

Teaching them? Is this meant to be lighthearted?

Mine don’t either but break times are for fun mine we’re playing head down thumbs up etc teach him to do snowflakes yourself? Perhaps the teacher does other things with them, but sure he’ll cope without knowing how to make a snowflake. My 11 year old would not be interested in that tbh 10 year old might

This is the job of a parent

HA! Totally agree. When I saw your thread title, I thought, surely you can’t be saying they don’t teach enough! The maths and English language teaching and learning is far more complex than I ever did at their age. I constantly massively impressed with the curriculum and level of teaching.

However, you are quite right about snowflakes!

I taught my four year old how to make them earlier this week. Seems like it's your parenting at fault to me

Think they bung a film on now with screens in every classroom. Sad times

Or perhaps they are teaching them what’s on the curriculum instead.

2 out of my 3 dds know. The eldest claims not too but probably not a reliable sample.
Those 2 did indeed learn it at school (although we did in previous years do this at home until the tiny paper pieces over the floor drove me crazy!) So I'm all set for home schooling
Have you spoke to Ofsted??
Do they know how to make a salt dough decoration covered in glitter? An advent calendar with their face on it? And a toilet roll angel?

You are totally right. Not one of my primary aged DC have ever made peppermint creams.

They don’t how to make pom-poms either. Obviously had no need to make a pompom in adult life but I can!

I think that kids in general don't spend much time on arts and crafts. There is much more focus on academics. I also think kids don't domuch arts and crafts at home either as their parents are busy and we rely on screens. This also explains why kids don't read as much, don't use scissors well and can't cour in near. These skills are just not practised either at home or at school.

I remember doing these at school. The lead up to christmas was full of songs and plays and parties and making decorations for the classroom and for home. And pop up cards or cards with some actual art rather than a rushed drawing.

I do think its such a shame the curriculum is so overstuffed with obscure english and ever pressurised maths that there isn't the time for the fun.

Saying that one year one of the topics hrre was "christmas around the world" with esch class having a different country and that was good as although comprehension /tied into subjects it did feel christmassy!

My 5 year old came home with some paper snow flakes the other week! (They all looked like robots though)

Oh gosh yes peppermint creams and salt dough! I guess brownies do this kind of thing of they're that way inclined but it was a great part of xmas for me.

Making all the stars for the backdrop to the nativity!

They teach them how to BE snowflakes, according to the Daily Rant.

A long long tine ago I went to my old Primary school as a volunteer T.A and the teacher (my old 4th year ... last year of primary) couldn't believe I didn't know how to make pompoms.

And yes increasingly with children needing afterschool childcare there just isn't the time or the energy at home there used to be when I was young.

My mum taught me when I was about 4 - what have you been doing?

Sad.

Crikey, should teachers do everything for kids now? Basic craft stuff like cutting out snowflakes is surely something parents can show theirs. Teachers are too busy teaching the ridiculously contrived curriculum.

They had a film on for DS’s class every afternoon for the last 2 weeks of term and cancelled all PE.
No crafts were done at all. YANBU

Mmmm peppermint creams! I loved making those at school!!

DD is 5 so I'm not quite 'there' yet. But as a secondary teacher over the years I've been surprised that 14 year olds generally:

Can't strike a match
Can't tell the time on an analogue clock
Don't use glue sticks properly (wind them up to far, squash glue everywhere, don't wind them back down and then mash the lid on).

and that a large minority:

Can't stick sheets in straight
Break pens for fun and then complain they don't have a pen

and that specific children:

Thought a vasectomy was the same as castration
Wondered why the sun did not get 'put out' by clouds.

They also tend to think it's witchcraft when I can 'cut' paper straight without scissors.

School here wouldn’t be able to “waste” the paper. Or the teaching time. There is no such thing as wet play unless it’s an absolute monsoon, in which case they have drawing or reading to do or games in the hall. Art and DT are linked to the curriculum, not snowflakes.

Sounds like you’ve been slacking in your job to fill in the Christmas holidays with wholesome home activities to me.

Colouring in and cutting out have been referred to as 'lost learning time' in my trust.

@Iamkmackered1979

Teaching them? Is this meant to be lighthearted?

Mine don’t either but break times are for fun mine we’re playing head down thumbs up etc teach him to do snowflakes yourself? Perhaps the teacher does other things with them, but sure he’ll cope without knowing how to make a snowflake. My 11 year old would not be interested in that tbh 10 year old might

Of course it’s supposed to be light hearted!

Loving the peppermint cream idea! Going to get ingredients and make those over Christmas!

Thanks for the lighthearted thread OP!!

Should have known I’d be called out by MN for inadequate parenting! Dd can do salt dough but I think I taught her that, was a long time ago but I definitely did more crafts with her, by the time ds came along I was working more, but we are much further away from bankruptcy than we were when dd was tiny 🤷🏻‍♀️.

The primary used to devote Friday afternoon to ‘golden time’ which was lots of crafts, but they cut that when ds was in year 3 and over covid they started sending them all home on Friday afternoon, apparently they were over the statuary hours.

I will ban screens and devote time to Christmas crafts tomorrow!

It’s very sad OP. Crafting activities actually work out quite expensive for schools- the paper, card, glue (rarer than rocking horse poop), glitter etc all costs a bomb and then there is the clearing up with only two cleaning staff for a whole primary as the others have retired and not been replaced or made redundant to desperately try to make our shrinking budget last until the end of the academic year……. One of our classes made some lovely handcrafted cards for their parents this year but the class teacher bought ALL the materials herself because the school couldn’t afford them.