school has surprised me!

[blackeyedsusan]

last week I asked for harder words to read... one (or more) groups have been given spellings!

I also asked for more challenging books as the yellow band books were a "little easy." given that we are reading easy chapter books at home they have put her up one band. I am shocked as we normally play a little game every couple of months where I say the books arer too easy and they ignore me and we carry on doing our own thing in our own happy way. once pmt has passed

ok so she could spell the words first time at home and green band is not a big leap, but i do not know whether she will cope with spelling in a test and at least the green band books are a little harder and we can get something out of it now. she has been asked to practice adding numbers in the teens as she doesn't use the number line to count on. (tends to do these things in her head) well we have practised and introduced a strategy of using number bonds of single digit numbers to check teens+ addition (ie if 2 and 4 =6 then 12+4=16 and 22+4=26 etc) doubt that will go down well! I hope she talks about her strategy at school.

I think I want to push for more, but not until she has had time to try out/prove herself for another month or so. (after all she might go to pieces under test conditions and we have a lot of work to do on handwriting) anyone fancy sitting on me and administering the duct tape for the next month?

(disclaimer, i know she is not doing some of the stuff other really bright children do at this age, though she is the top end of normal and I post mainly because i as fed up of the lack of progress ith reading in school compared to home)

ps, sorry about the lack of capitals, intermittent shift key!

waffle, moaning is fine, but I am beginning to feel a fraud and just pretending. 2b in reception is good, don't knock it. (or do you mean she only got 2b but could do better at home? ) having read a few threads, being assessed as any thing other than point 1-9 is pretty good going for a school. some seem to refuse to acknowledge that dcs can do more. it is in year one that things seem to start to happen, except for the lucky few. sometimes the unlucky few (mrs s ) get lumbered with heads that refuse to see what is in front of their nose!

joyn, I meant dd personally being different as she has never been assessed (other than for reading and there weren't any levels given) it is more a comment on my sanity and judgment. I spent all last year not understanding what was going on with the reading books as at home she progressed through the levels and got stuck in school. also I knew she was doing 1 or 2 more or less to 100 in october last year and the teacher was telling me she was doing 1 more to 10. you do start to doubt your own sanity and think you are imagining things.

Despite the teacher assessing DS at level 12, he came home with a level 8 book today

He really did not want to read it (but did so after a bribe )so I did write in his reading diary that he complained it was too easy etc etc

Her school only used the EYFS (8 for PE and 9 for everything else) but a reception teacher-friend knows how able she is and levelled a couple of bits I showed her. SIL (teacher too) confirmed the 2b. School not interested and say "we have lots of capable girls in her class"!

simpson, just been making my tabs whizz round faster than the dial on an old fashioned electricity meter looking for useful websites for you.

posted them in useful websites, where I have been talking to myself for over a week!!!!!!!!!!!!

why has he come home with that book? did they give you any indication of what he needs to practice? can you give him some extension activities, eg drawing out the story in cartoon form with captions of the most important events? writing a recommendation for a friend? writing a letter from one of the characters to explain what happened ? writing a letter from a baddy excusing their actions?

Just read your post properly santa, and the maths issue this time last year was identical for dd. She knows all the numbers up to 10000 and can do simple sums with them, and a few times tables, even though we do nothing like that at home except play things like snakes and ladders. She was telling the time fully at 4 (but so was I) and can count any pile of coins and give change like an adult. I'm sure her school would say they can all do it

oh waffle, you have one of those teachers and schools. talk to mrs s who has the same problem. I had a reception teacher the same. the year one teacher is much better.

It's a nice, supportive school in general, but the couple of times I've stuck my neck out about the work being too easy (and it really is pitched at a TOTALLY inappropriate level) they've been very defensive and said "we know, we know, she'll just have to make a big jump at some point" and that time never comes. For literacy and numeracy they are set across KS1 which is something. She's in set 2 or 6 for both, and the maths is too easy. Fortunately there ARE lots of bright girls in her year, and one in particular is of similar ability I think, with the added bonus of being truly exceptional at sport (probably one of the best in the county for her age group) which DD isn't. So at least they can encourage each other perhaps? And if there is a whole group of them coming through, surely they'll have to set suitable work eventually?

that should have said 2 of 6

no idea why he got that book as he had after school club today so came out later but tbh I would not have seen it till we got home anyway.

Don't know if its worth saying anything as teacher is leaving anyway.

Finding things a bit tough atm as am a LP so have to do everything myself and juggle after school stuff (beavers, dance class for DD too etc) and fit homework in.

I also suspect that DD (3) is gifted too (or going that way iyswim - its not so much what she can do but the ideas she comes out with and how quickly she "gets" things) so trying to find time to do stuff with her (and failing, then feeling guilty )

going to look at useful websites now

X post - waffle.

DS has a boy he gets on with who is similar ability to him (although not as good at spellings I think) and it has worked really well, they compete in a friendly way against each other

I know what you mean about the defenceness (sp) DS has one teacher for 4 days (who is leaving) and another for one day who I did talk to a couple of wks ago about his reading and she got VERY defensive I also think DS is a bit scared of her so does not read well with her iyswim.

This same teacher did a course for parents of children in the nursery last wk (ie DD) to help with their speech and how to get parents talking to their kids etc and I did go and it was like teaching your granny how to suck eggs Totally patronising crap IMO. She role played how she thought a 3yr old spoke and IMO it was more like 18mths.

simpson, bit of friendly competition is good I think. DD got quite down when this other girl started to catch her up with reading/ writing/ maths, and overtook her in sport and handwriting, but it's good really. I'd rather she learned now that she can't always be the best at everything, and that she doesn't have to 'succeed' to earn love or attention. She hates maths atm - firstly because she got into trouble in maths recently for doodling on someone else's book (probably out of boredom!!), doesn't like investigations (prefers to be 'right' and get the correct answer all the time!) and apparently got a question wrong this week! So I think she probably could try harder. She is loving her music though, and I couldn't recommend it more highly. Probably helps that I'm a music teacher though, so currently saving £25 a week by not sending her to someone else for lessons.

at patronising speech development crap. Sounds like she hasn't got a clue!

Welcome waffle - your DD sounds very similar to mine in the reading. We are going to make a list of all the fairy books one of these days so she can tick off the ones she's read (and so that we can see that the end may be in sight....). Fortunately she didn't take to one of the Magic Animals books, so we are spared those for the moment.

I'll reply properly if I get the chance later (we are moving house on Thu so I may well not!) but just wanted to say to you and Simpson that the level 13 etc books may not be the answer. School sent DD home with these at first, and although she could read the words, the content was utterly beyond her. After the TA had weeded out all the scary ones (quite a few) and the pseudo-teenagey ones, there weren't many and even those were pretty inappropriate. I've posted this before, but my favourite sentence was 'The scrap metal tree is a left over prop from a film set'. No word a problem, but it might as well have been in Mandarin for all it meant to DD.

What's working for us at home are some simple factual books - she's interested in other children abroad (well in countries she's heard of, so mostly Europe for now). There are usually a few difficult words, with a glossary in the back, but there is plenty to talk about which makes the reading it with her more worthwhile. Best one we've had so far is Heinemann Young Explorer, and they seem to do science and stuff in the series too. NAGC also recommend poetry for stretching their use of language, and giving you something to talk about. I've run out of things to say about the story books we get from school. Now I just need to persuade school to start giving her similar things as reading books.

Waffle - we have also got DD to write simple book reviews of what she is reading and give them to the teacher. She gets writing practice, teacher gets a reminder of what she can do.

But I am very envious of those who have similar children in the class - I think that would help DD no end but there doesn't seem to be anyone.

ps. Mrs Shears - I loved the way you have explained things to your DD, and will be borrowing the phrasing when we need it!

onesandwich - you have hit the nail on the head re his level of under standing. However, he was on level 8 before he was assessed recently and I just think maybe a compromise (ie level 10) might have been the way to go as the book he has is far too easy

I guess all I can do it write in his reading diary everything he reads at home.

oh never mind

Thanks, one. She loves poetry and non fiction (particularly geography/ weather related) so we borrow these from the library and I let her read pretty much what she likes at home. It's not as though she's going to unlearn to read by going through the school process, and I know her guided reading group is good for her social and discussion skills. Like the idea of her writing book reviews too.

Definitely helps the dcs if there are other able kids in the class. Like I said before, ds was in top ks1 group when he was in yr1, and was the only yr1, so I was a bit concerned when he became a yr2 that there wouldn't be anyone left for him to work with, however, by the time he got into yr2, one of the younger boys (who was very bright, self taught reader etc,) was much closer to his level, than even the dcs in the yr above had been & now he's in yr3 a couple of other very bright kids have joined the class. His teacher even said to my dc & the younger boy who he works with, 'you two had better watch out, x & y are challenging you for the top spot!' (Told you there's not much point not telling them they're ahead of their peers).

So hang in there sandwich things do change.

school should be providing non fiction and fiction. traditional tales, hyming stories stories in different settings (place and time) poetry. there are some good poetry collections on the book people website and the local library will have some childrens poetry. talk about how it is set out on the page as well as the language.

this is the stuff I have been providing.

ps, please don't just do book review after book review and bore the poor little mites senseless...

pps I came across a fairy book numbered 94

onesandwich, dd age 5 older yR
mrs s dd y1 june birthday
bes dd age 5 younger y1
waffle dd age 6 older y1
iggly ds age 6 older y1 age, currently in year 2
simpson ds age 6 youngest y2 possible! dd age 3 nursery
joyn dd age 6 older y1 currently in y2, ds age 8 older y3 and dd age 2
i am not interested dd y3 feb birthday

I also have dd2, aged 3 and starting school next Sept. She has probably had less attention over the years (poor deprived second child! But we do try!!) and is really laidback, but still knew her colours and numbers by age 2, was talking like an adult by then too, and has just become interested in letters. She certainly doesn't know them all, but has picked up quite a bit from her sister and is reading some cvc words. I don't think she is gifted, just bright and interested, but am keeping an eye on her too. She isn't particularly mature - quite shy and still throws tantrums, and has a May birthday, so from a maturity point of view I'd rather have her home for an extra year and even asked about deferring school until January 2013. Have decided this might make shyness and settling issues worse though, so it's off to school she goes next year :(

Thanks to Wikipedia, I know now that there are 144 Rainbow Fairy books. We may be gone some time...

144! eek.

Thank goodness I have a boy so we don't have to read all those fairy stories

DS is finally really getting into Jeremy Strong