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Original poster

6 year old boy doing 1 hour english/40 mins per day in holiday. Too much or just right?

124 replies

pepsi · 18/08/2006 14:47

A friend of mine was telling me how she has been working with her ds6 every day in the holidays to try and improve his skills for Year 2. He doesnt have any learning difficulties or anything, is just an average child I would say. I was amazed when she said she is doing an hour of writing, letters, drawing, plus 40mins of sums every morning. Of course this amazement has now turned to paranoia and visions of my ds sitting at the bottom of the class with a dunces hat. I have tried to do some reading during the hols but mainly its been play, play and a bit more play, holiday, going out, etc. Whats a reasonable amount of work to do per day in the hols...if any do you think?

OP posts:
misdee · 18/08/2006 23:40

total madness. BUT dd1 has sat down with peters carer and down a page of sums every day this week. his carer is now teaching her her times tables, dd1 is also 6 and is really enjoying it.

pointydog · 19/08/2006 13:03

Ugh. There should be no homework in the holidays. That's when all the best of non-school learning should take place. Which includes dealing with boredom.

jasper · 19/08/2006 13:31

mad

Kaloo20 · 19/08/2006 13:36

dd and ds get days off, nothing was done Friday (yesterday), today we are in Blackfriars so DD and I are off to St Pauls Cathedral this afternoon and she wants to find Pudding Lane. They are going to the seaside one day next week and have play dates another. Nothing will get done those days, we are not that regimented!

SecurMummy · 19/08/2006 13:45

I don't think practising an instrument is homework as such, simply because you are working at something that is a skill you choose to nurture and therefore that is between you, your child/teacher etc.

However, I do disagree with academic homework during the summer holidays. Simply because I see this as time to learn all the lessons you don't have time for when you are at school (social interaction, friendships, falling off logs and everything else non academic).

I think your average 6yo will learn much much more in their free time falling out of trees than writing out times tables. School has a time and place - and it is not in your house during the holidays!

NAB3 · 19/08/2006 13:55

I think that is way to much. I have done about 5 mins and no more than 10 and not every day with my son.

cheeryface · 19/08/2006 14:10

i haven't done anything with mine. they just aren't interested and i can't face a battle. in fact i'm just doing anything to make my life easier so i can try to stay sane until they go back!

cheeryface · 19/08/2006 14:10

i did mean any schoolwork. done plenty of fun stuff!

scotchick · 19/08/2006 14:25

I really want to contribute to this thread, but am barely restraining myself for fear of falling out with lots of people!!!!

Beetroot · 19/08/2006 14:28

iF YOU WANt to get really good at your instrument you have to practise it regualrly in thye holidays.

That is it in my house..though in the school time we are 8 - 6 then homework so I think they deserve 2 months or bugger all!

TootToot · 19/08/2006 19:19

I used to be a teacher (Year 1) before I had my daughter. I found that some parents were begging me to set homework for the holidays and others did not want any as they were doing alot already and would not have time for it. I used to give out homework but add a note saying it was not compulsory and only to be done if nothing else more exciting/fun/educational/appropriate could be found eg trip to another part of the country/world, walk in the woods, visit a gallery etc. It is amazing how many parents do not do exciting things in the hols with their children (and I taught in a middle class independent school). If you feel too much homework is being given or you are too busy doing 'better' stuff in a holiday - just chat to your child's teacher. Half the time teachers set it because a lot of parents demand it to keep their children 'busy' and out of their hair for a few hours. Others worry that a few weeks off from school will let their child fall behind and they have to keep going to keep up. Anyway, this as made me realise that I really ought to get back to teaching when my girls are older - really enjoyed it!

SecurMummy · 19/08/2006 21:11

Beetroot - that was what I was trying to say - don't know why I put it so badly though!

Beetroot · 19/08/2006 21:16

secur..

2plus2plus1 · 20/08/2006 08:29

We were actually sent home with homework...

DTDs were sent home with a letter saying they should practise whatr they had been learning or they would forget it all by Sept (WTF?). They are at the end of reception and we were given about 12-15 bulletpoint 'ideas' e.g. looking for numbers/words around the house, reading books with them, measuring (bigger/smaller) etc. Half of this is the sort of stuff that fits in with everyday life that just 'happens' IYSWIM.
They also had a dozen words to learn to spell which is not too onerous as it completes what they were doing in Reception. However they were also sent 8-10 worksheets (they have done about 3 as they have asked to), and the one that I was really annoyed about - Yr1 & 2 words to 'start learning'.

As I said they have asked to do some worksheets, I have half-heartedly done some of the spellings and when they bring a book to read we do it. Other than that we have done nothing.

I posted about this at the beginning of the holidays & the consensus was not to do it - so I haven't - and you were right. My biggest concern was that I would put them behind all the other children that had done it, but in hindsight I can't believe that more thant a handful of parents will have done more than we have. Even if I wanted to I we haven't really had time to do much more anyway.

DominiConnor · 20/08/2006 10:20

I think it's important to see what the DS6 thinks of it all. If he's OK about it, then it's a good thing, but if he sees it as a hassle it may put him off learning in general.
Our DS5 reads in bed for pleasure, and over time that does far more for his development than any home tuition, so it's important to keep "learning" fun.

If the friend is making it fun, then I'd say she's doing a good thing.
Also it can be a good way to interact with your kids. It's very easy to get sucked into the practical stuff, like cleaning, shopping etc, and not get round to the one on one stuff much.

I don't go along with those who see working with your kids as somehow denying them "a life". Kids crave our attention, and provided you don't ram it down their throats, you can help build your relationship with them.

Also the friend of pepsi's DS6 is "average". I don't see how you can tell that easily or accurately.
But assuming it is true, I would suggest that "average" kids are those that benefit most from this sort of attention. It is also the case that studies have shown that attainment does seem to have some sort of momentum to it, and that a child who is pushed a little ahead of his peers will tend to stay that way. The same work also implies that the marginal benefit of this declines quite rapidly once you're in front. I put this down to fuzzy set of emotions like "confidence". For many things you learn, the notion that you are the sort of person who is good at this stuff can make a big difference on whether you can.

Enid · 20/08/2006 10:23

oh god

what are 'exciting things in the holidays'

am sure mine have done nothing anyone else would deem exciting

good job we have the workbooks then I suppose

SecurMummy · 20/08/2006 10:25

Domini, I understand what you are saying about children getting a lot from the attention and that it is important to do this rather than get caught up in housework......What I do not get though is how you think that this cannot be done via the medium of something fun?

I am certain Ihave managed over the holidays to give my children lots and lots of attention - but done no schoolwork at all!

Enid · 20/08/2006 10:26

well mine really do think their matsh workbooks are fun

sad isnt it

SecurMummy · 20/08/2006 10:30

Enid, I am not saying that they don't particularly, my dd2 asked me to buy her some workbooks the other day becuase she enjoys her school work and does miss it when she is on a long holiday.

The thing is she is nearly 9 not 6 and we are talking about an amount/type of work that she is interested in (ie set by her and 10-20mins at a time). I find the idea of 1hr and 40 mins a day for a 6yo to be, frankly, abhorant!

rustybear · 20/08/2006 11:45

"He should be falling out of trees like every other kid during the school holidays."

"A 10-year-old boy has been impaled on a railing after falling out of a tree in a park in East Sussex."

fattiemumma · 20/08/2006 11:52

DS will be going inot Yr1 in september of a MS school. e has ASD and so he is a long way from the level his peer are.

so i have started to get him to sit down with me and do some of those Gold Star books. they are aimed at pre school children and i only expecthim to do about 5 minutes a day.

i am not doing it becasue i want his grades to improve (though that would be an unexpected added bonus) but its more to d with preparing him to sit still for the periods theyw ill be expecting of him, and doing some writen work.

i think that a little bit of work from excercise books is ok during the holidays at this age because it helps them to remember what it is theyhave learnt the last few weeks of school. 6 weeks is a long time for a child, and i imagine they may well lose a little of what they picked up the previouse term.

BUT i think that your freind is going way way WAY overboard and needs to find herself a hobby.

SecurMummy · 20/08/2006 12:08

RB I guess we should keep them all inside all holidays then and not let them move from their desks?

Cam · 20/08/2006 12:14

Sparklemagic, I too have always found that "consolidation" happens best when you have a break from all the learning.

Resting the brain (or rather, changing its focus) gives the information a chance to "take"

Sorry can't think of a more intellectual way to put it, my brain never works properly on Sundays.

I do agree that musical instruments can't be completely ignored for 2 months though.

SSSandy · 20/08/2006 12:21

Think it all depends on how you go about it and whether you are patient, humourous and encouraging even when your dc just don't get it. If you can manage to do it well, I think dc would enjoy the attention and 15 mins a day even in the holidays is fine.

I don't really have the patience so I think it's best to leave it.

nooka · 20/08/2006 12:32

I have vaguely tried to encourage ds to do workbooks in the past, but he's not very interested, and I would really rather spend the time talking to him about the (many many) things he is interested in. Unfortunately his reading skills are not up to where his brain is at, so although we have tried to find non fiction books that he can read (to try and encourage him to read more) they just don't cut the mustard with him yet. This is partly because he has a tendency to make up the words he can't be bothered to figure out, so the sense goes entirely out of the window! dd on the other hand loves to do "schooly" type activities, but as she has had the most glowing report imaginable, I don't think she needs to do any homework. My mother was a remedial teacher when I was little, but the only learning we did in the holidays that I can remember was of the bushcraft variety (how to light fires with only one match and a square inch of newspaper and things like that). We all ended up at university, so I think that's a good model to follow, and we have made a few fires (even cooked potatoes and tea on one) and generally messed about so far this holiday. The only educational thing I have in mind is to take them to the British Museum to look at Egyptian stuff, as this will be one of ds's themes next term. However we are investigating a tutor for ds to help him with his handwriting, but that's because at the moment his writing is pretty indecipherable, and I have been told by a friend who is a physio that a few sessions with an OT would probably help him a lot, and as he is just going into juniors I think he will get frustrated as so much of what he will be doing is writing orientated (and he got a bit upset that his report was not as good as dd's)