What do you expect your just 6 year old to be able to do

[beachesforme]

Hi we are getting in a pickle.

we seem to be arguing with 6 year old a lot as she just wants to play upstairs generally conducting an play or a band ,playing with dolls construting a story with them or making a shop.
and getting her to do maths or english has become tricky although she reads enid blyton books fluently but says i don't know how many fingers i have????????????????????

Oh, relax and back off beaches! (I mean that in a nice way)

If she wants to play imaginatively, then leave her to it. So so so much learning to be had there. And so much information for you about her developing language skills when you eavesdrop shamelessly happen to be sorting laundry in the area.

If she is playing shops, then chances are she is doing maths. Not knowing how many fingers is to do with "Oh sod off mother and stop testing me"

Leave her to it, and she will do all the learning you could hope for as she plays, just not in the order you might hope, and perhaps not explicitly. There will come a time when she is writing shopping lists. Or writing enid blyton-esque stories herself (ah, what a stage to look forward to!)

Let her lead. People learn best when they learn what they want to learn. And when it feels like play. And for a 6 year old, if it feels like play, it may well look like play.

thanks ,surely you have your days too .what do your children do? i just needed a bit of we are doing ok. we have lea next week!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry that sounds like i am shouting at you.

we are arguing as she is saying no about most things and has a seeeming lack of motivation with some subjects that we feel are important.

Sounds FINE to me!! I have dds 6 & 8, and they just love to play shops, complicated imagining games etc.She sounds like a happy great little girl. You might like to get one of those books (M&S?) with simple maths and English puzzles to do - they have gold stars to give for completed pages. My pair have the age appropriate ones every now and then and play schools with me just for fun. Good luck and don't worry.

Well, either you can force your child to engage with those subjects on your terms (work books, whatever)

or you can observe her playing happily and notice how all the same skills are developing through her independent play, her collaborative play, and ordinary conversation with you.

Me, I take the second option and it's amazing what my children are learning unhindered by any external educational agenda :)

Thank you we have the work books its just that we "think" she should be doing some of them each day.

Thanks ommmward .I know exactly what you mean i just seem to be worried.

I have work books in my house.

We don't touch them for weeks on end

and then suddenly a child will yomp through pages and pages in a single self-directed effort.

:)

I bet she's not actually learning (as in 'internalising') a thing from all the things you're forcing her to do, though, beaches. Except, maybe, how to quickly scurry through the boring stuff so she can get you off her back and get onto the fun stuff!

Watch this, read this, get a load of games, books, toys etc. in the house, enjoy visiting places; having picnics; making dens; baking cakes etc. and you'll soon realise she knows masses and you won't have had to force her to do a thing