Advice needed...what next after Harry Potter AND is school too easy?

[WhattodoSue]

I have two questions/problems which I've been hesitating asking because I don't want to sound like a pushy/boastful parent. But, I'm hoping it will be okay to ask them here because whilst I know my DD is bright, I also know she doesn't have an extraordinary academic ability like many of your DCs.

She is 6 in Y2, she is an avid reader. I let her read Harry Potter last year, and she read them all and loved them. She then saw the first film on Christmas Eve, and was thrilled, and read them all again. Since she finished the re-read (early January), she has basically just been reading them over and over. She reads the bits she likes most, jumps around, but I'm really struggling to get her into anything else. We tried one series - Tamora Pierce (at the recommendation of her piano teacher), but I'm actually rather relieved to say she decided she didn't want to read all of the second one or third one (having given them to her, I did some research and realised they were probably not at all appropriate for a six year old). I want to help her find another series which she can get engrossed in, but it is really hard finding things that are interesting AND suitable.

My second question/issue is about her school, and whether she is being challenged enough, and if it matters if she isn't. On a reading front, things are fine. Her school use ORT up to level 15, and she is on level 14 (which in old SAT money is working towards/within Lv4). She reads much more complex texts outside school, but the school work on explicit explanation etc. so I'm sure that is all fine. It is more about Maths. The school use a Maths Mastery programme, which is about depth of understanding, and so their way of stretching her is to have her work with a child who is working on a slightly lower level, so that she has to explain how things work to the other child. I do see the logic in that, but she tells me that the Maths work is very easy. She isn't too bothered, but I wondered if I should ask them how they extend their more able children. At the same time, I'm worried that they will look at me like I'm some insane pushy mum. I don't really know what she can do because she doesn't really get Maths homework. We had Alfie online tests to do last year, and in Y1 she could quite happily do the y2 tests. Should I talk to them or should I just trust that they know what they are doing? Her teacher is a maths specialist and has previously commented that DD has a good memory/mental arithmetic ability. The short summary of my long question is - is it best to push the school a little, or to let her coast a little (given she is only in infants school)?

If you got this far - thank you for reading!!

Ramona the Brave by Beverley Cleary is lovely.

OP just wanted to chime in and say I think it's ridiculous that you're getting any flack for letting your DD read HP. I read a lot of books with adult themes- probably more adult than HP!- at 6 because my parents didn't believe especially in censorship of books and I was allowed to pick what I liked from the shelves/library. 25 years later, I'm not scarred for life.

He is 8. Earthsea sounds good.(I think I saw it somewhere.) He isn't into things like Narnia or hobbit.( I recommended it but he said "Nah!", looking at the cover.(I'm sure he will like it if he actually open the page and reads it.) He normally choose book by its cover!!!

Problem I have is, that I love reading, but in my own language, and have no knowledge of English children's books. I'm always taking notes when books are talked about on MN.

Cross post. Yes, he loved Percy Jackson!

What is your language? You may find that there is interesting literature that hasn't been translated into English (like Bottero who, to my surprise, having checked on Amazon seems still not to have made it into translation)

If he liked PJ then try the Roman Mysteries by Caroline something-or-other - not fantasy but will appeal to the Percy Jackson fan club due to classical setting. There are about 15-20 of them which is a bonus.

The swallows and amazons series might be good for her? You might have to sell it a bit like "they're a bit slower moving than a lot of kids books but you're such a fast reader that won't be a problem", just so she perseveres, you know? Anne of green gables good too, and Heidi.

Thank you Mistigri. Roman Mysteries sounds like right up to his interest.
I don't want to specify my nationality,( so I don't out myself), but books translated in English from my language is a brilliant idea. I have seen English translation of my favourite books somewhere, which could be real hit for my ds.

Thanks all so much, there are lots of great suggestions here. Out of interest, have any of your DCs read the Susan Cooper books? I'm still wondering if they would be good. Although there are a lot of ideas here to try.

Mistigri DD isn't totally into fantasy (or at least she wasn't into that sort of thing before HP), but I will try the Chrestomanci ones first I think. DD loves a series! And it will have the adventure she has discovered she likes I think.

Hufflepuffin my normal way of getting her into something is to read her the first few chapters. That normally captures her interest. I'm quite keen to do that with Anne of green gables at some point because i have never actually read them (just seen the Canadian TV adaptation from the 90s).

howabouthisone I was thinking that the extensive re-reading was actually probably a good thing from the point of view of language and comprehension. It certainly hits the spot in terms of enjoyment from DD's point of view :) I was just a little concerned that nothing else was ever going to compare

Dingbats I was really hoping DD would go for Noel Streatfield. She enjoyed Ballet Shoes and Ice Boots, but not as much as me as a child. She read those in her Boarding school phase last summer, and really wanted only to read stories about boarding schools (that was why we tried the Chalet School).

I will look at the Percy Jackson ones too, and Narnia, and Igraine the Brave

Felloutofbed thanks for the vote of support. It is fair enough if people choose not to give their children certain books, everyone parents differently, and parents have a right to do that. But I was a little surprised that I was being lectured as if there was one absolute truth about parenting and suitable books, and I'd broken that. One of the books that my DD self-censored was Heidi. She found the point in the middle where Heidi is essentially suffering from anxiety and depression (and is sleep-walking) "too real". That is fair enough. But what children respond to cannot always be predicted.

Oo look at books by Kate O'Hearn. Roman mythology and strong female characters.

I know it has already been mentioned, but the Narnia Series is my absolute favourite. I read it to my bright, but not gifted, six-year-old and we both enjoyed it so much.

DD read the first three Harry Potters at about the same age, and seems remarkably unscarred. She rereads them all about once a year (and reread them about ten times the first year) so I don't think she's missed out by reading them young.

She also really enjoyed Anne of Green Gables, but watch out, the older books take Anne into marriage and so on, so she's only read the first couple.

I will come back with more suggestions later, but in terms of boarding schools look at the Olivia series by Lyn Gardner. They're about a stage school, and DD loved those at about this time. She loved the first Narnia book, but hated the rest. Also, E Nesbit was the biggest hit of all the classics.

Susan Cooper is fine for this age, but dd1 only read the first three and wasn't gripped enough to finish the series. She's loving Arthur Ransome at the moment, but she's a year older. Lemony Snicket and the Percy Jackson books were a big hit last year, Narnia was before that I think.

Narnia and other classics are really good for a child reading beyond their years. DD read stuff like that plus Noel Streatfeild and E Nesbit and Rosemary Manning and the Carbonel books when she grew out of the stuff that was aimed at her age range but wanted more to get her teeth into. Older books tend to have meatier language and are quite instructive generally (mummy, what's a telegram/hansom cab etc).

DD is 9 so a bit older than yours but absolutely adored the Ruby Redfort books starting a year or so ago. There is some scary stuff but it's nothing a reasonably resilient younger child would be horrified by, I think. They are spy stories based around a very clever young girl (think she is 12 or 13) who is an ace code cracker. You can also have fun cracking the actual codes which have been invented by Marcus de Sautoy.

She also loved the whole series starting with What Katy Did.

The Fergus Crane series are excellent for younger good readers. DD read the first when she was just seven and terrified of scary things and has enjoyed them all. Would also recommend The Edge Chronicles.

Tom Gates (there are about 11 or something) are a perennial favourite. They are not exactly wonderful literature but they are amusing and absolutely no scary or unsuitable for a younger child. Ditto Diary of a Wimpy Kid which DD found hilarious at 6/7.

What about Lemony Snickett - a series of unfortunate events. A bit gruesome in places but my dc loved them and also started on Harry Potter aged 5/6. Got criticised at the time for letting them start on Harry Potter so young but kept a close eye on them and eg how they were sleeping. To this day they don't get spooked easily .
Roald Dahl has to be a winner, surely.

Which Tamora Pierce books did you give her. The Song of the Lioness books, while brilliant have themes that I wouldn't be happy with my DD reading. But the Circle of Magic books would work. There is no sex in them, unlike the Lioness ones. She's really good at strong believable women characters who thrive in a mans world.

I'm trying to think what I read at that age. I was an equally precocious reader. Lots of Roald Dahl, things like The Secret Garden and the Little House books. My favourite were the Carbonel books. My sister was a big fan of The Black Cauldron. If they are still in print either might work.

My DD is about the same reading level as yours but she doesn't do threat so my issue has been very different to yours. But we've done a lot of poetry. Things like The Childs Garden of Verse and the AA Milne ones to start with. But then onto the Night Mail and others.

You could also look at Terry Prattchet's children's books. Wee Free Men would be the place to start if you are looking at Discworld. Or the Johnny Maxwell books.

My ds said "a series of unfortunate events" most boring books he ever read. I haven't read it myself, is it true? Or does he have twisted sense of taste in books?

If your daughter at age 6 can understand and cope with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and you are comfortable with her reading these books, she is a very mature reader indeed (and I am not just talking about reading level).

I have a son who was of similar ability and I stopped him reading the series at Order of the Phoenix because of the darkness of content. At this age, he read the Lemony Snickets series, the Percy Jackson series, and I steered him to books I had read when young: Harriet the Spy series, Jules Verne, Bridge to Terabithia, the Borrowers, Nicholas series, Just William series. His school made him read Oliver Twist (!) and the Hobitt (which he found very dull). He loves history and read the Roman mystery series. More modern series which he enjoyed are the Incorrigibles series, all books by Blue Balliett, the Nicolas Flamel series, books by Kate DiCamillo. Loads out there.

In terms of Maths, on-line is your friend - the Art of Problem Solving website is good to stretch laterally, and Khan Academy and Wild Maths are also good.

For maths, many schools now use this mastery thing. It's difficult to know what impact it is having on children who find maths easy, as children are not really supposed to Lear new, more advanced skills (that may be learned in the year above) but are given more in depth tasks to make sure they completely understand and master a concept. This is fine, in my opinion, for children who are leaning more complex concepts, such as percentages and fractions, but will not help children who are progressing quickly in year 1-2. As children get to juniors, there is a lot more they can do with, for example, decimals and fractions compared to children who are learning number bonds. Ds is now in year 4 and he was well ahead in maths until now, and this year I can see that he has reached a plateau and is not that much ahead of others. Not sure what impact this will have long term.

As for books, my two boys were not advanced readers but enjoy reading for pleasure. They enjoyed, at 6-7 years old, books like Flat Stanley, secret agent Jack Stalwart, Jack Russell Dog Dective. Take her to the library and let her explore, and make mistakes - if she starts a book she doesn't like, she doesn't have to finish it!

Oh and on the maths front have a look at the first murderous maths books. They are really good for explaining why maths works. My DD loves them.

I would look at old books, the paddington chapter books, wombles, Bullerby children, Dick King Smith etc. The pace won't keep up with Harry Potter but she does need to branch out a bit more after HP or she will always compare everything and perhaps miss out on enjoying other books which she would probably have loved.

Maths wise I would ask them. mastery isn't an issue in itself, I think it has a very valuable point but this obsession with having to always work with children who aren't at their level because it makes them explain it which proves if they really do understand it annoys me. Perhaps for PART of a lesson or for one lesson every few lessons that is fine but equally the brighter child deserves to have some challenging work at their own level. this would now be done through tasks which make them think about things, perhaps sums with a lot more missing numbers or more than one answer allowing them to try different ways to do it, or applications of the maths in every day life situations or even just questions making them think about the possible method they would follow to find something out.

mine switch off when always having to explain things to others too, it ruins any enjoyment of the subject for them and they do find it frustrating if the gap in ability is too great.

As parent of avid readers, who are also big HP fans, series are always a relief...

All the Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Magnus Chase, Kane Chrnoicles) Books (millions of these)
School of Good and Evil (four of these)
Spiderwick chronicles (set of 13...)
Narnia books (up to first three, found they went off them after this).
Little house books (ditto, but gruesome by four).
Land of Stories (three or four).
The Indian in the Cupboard (four of five of these).

Lemony Snickett

scarlet and Ivy books
you could try a different tack and do all the diary of a wimpy kids and tom gates books as well?
The Book People have the first seven little house on the prairie series on sale at the moment for less than a tenner.