Its the 9th Dec. Why has my Year 6 child just come home and and said' no more work for us!'??

[tricia5]

They've done their assessments this week, Now as the teacher has to mark them she has told the class that from tomorrow they will just be doing ' fun' worksheets and role play until they break up. Oh,and today, because the science lab was out of order, they ' messed around' all afternoon.

Makes a change from DVDs in the hall..

I've heard of winding down for xmas but this is a complete waste of valuable learning time.

What are you worrying about?
They will do nothing after SATs week in May through to the end of term in July next summer!

All schools do bugger all in the last week of term. It's the law.

I agree with you tricia5 - I have been quite shocked at the amount of 'fun' time that goes on towards the end of term; in fact, despite all my previously held views I am now actually taking DC out of school for the last week for a holiday (with school's authorisation). The last day of summer term was a 'half day' for no real reason, when I asked what they had done in the morning - the answer was watch a DVD.

(very old fashioned mum).

All that DS did after SATS was play rounders.

Mine hated watching DVDs at school because they couldn't hear with 90 children rustling about, they never watched a whole film and it's so uncomfortable sitting cross legged on the hall floor for an hour plus.

I'd rather they had just come home

What makes you think, that just bcause they aren't 'doing work' that they are not making use of valuable learning time?

fun work sheerts, role play, making decorations, playing games all have value in them and healp children learn.

Not all learning has to be academic.

Ragwort what's wrong with children having fun at school?

Just because your children come home reporting that that did "no work" doesn't mean that the activities they did weren't planned by the teacehr and didn't include any kind of learning.

Arts and crafts involve lots of learning

playing rounders all day includes lots of valuable PE and learning

Juggling balls all afternoon teaches a new skill

playing board games or top trumps involves teamwork and decision making skills

Almost everything children do can have the potential to help them practice or lern something new, builds on social skills, hand eye co-ordination, working as a team, learning to wind down, learning to tidy away after themselves...the list could go on and on and on

Unfortunately my daughter won't learn how to spell or appreciate wonderful literature, or come to terms with fractions and decimals whilst juggling balls, painting, watching DVDs or role play.
Of course a rounded education should include non- academic activities. But the key word is rounded....I think the balance has been lost, and we have to fill the gaps at home.

Ragwort what's wrong with children having fun at school?

Since when did academic learning exclude fun?Can't teachers develop lessons that are engaging?

I'm not trying to offend teachers on here, I'm just struggling to understand the reasoning.

tricia, one week of not concentrating on spelling and algebra isn't going to make an ounce of difference to whether or not your DD learns to do those things.

Besides, you're wrong. Role play and drama could include lerning appreciation for great literature, juggling games will include learning about maths, dividing, fractions, that's where teachers do know how to keep academic learning 'fun'. I'm not going to list all the ways children can and do learn while seemingly just 'playing'.

FFS. The balance has not been lost.

arent they rehearshing for a chirstmas show?
carols?
etc.?

I made christmas cards and envelopes with my class today. They did a lot of maths (measuring, dividing, counting)while they made their (pop-up) cards and even more while they made their envelopes. They learnt a lot.

I guess I am incredibly old school (!) - I agree that education should be rounded but there is a balance and I would far rather my child was at school doing academic subjects and then (and yes, I am fortunate to be able to do this I know) I can encourage him at home with his sports, board games, after-school activities, etc etc etc. I do try and encourage him with maths and reading etc at home but it doesn't have the same effect.

There are still far too many children who leave school without basic academic skills - I know this from when I did university recruitment - and I don't want my child to be one of them.

But I am the first to admit that my views do seem very old fashioned to a lot of you .

Ragwort how old is your child ? It is quite difficult to take large streatches of academic work in if you don't have a break.

I made cards today too. The design involved tessellation and accurate measurements (well as accurate as Y2s can be). We also made calendars which involved concentric circles and more measuring ...
and yes we had a rehearsal for next week's carol concert ... all those lovely lyrics to appreciate

Ragwort,
I'm 45 and went to an "ever so" gels prep in Central London. I just checked with my Mum.
Academic work ceased on December 1. Even the daily spelling tests were subsumed under carol concerts, nativity, making christmas decorations, carol singing at the local tube station, making cards and calendars for parents.
Tip top fees = tip top home made pressies !!

I've seen 'end of term fun stuff' done really well, with cross-curricular work like mrz and overmydeadbody describe. And I've seen it done where it really is nothing more than babysitting, with kids sitting around playing games or doing a few worksheets. I have no problem with this for the last day, but I don't think it's on if it's for a week.

I would be asking DS lots of questions next week about exactly what has been going on, and possibly raising it with the teacher if I was concerned../

Kids are also knackered by this time anyway and generally very excited about Christmas. Better to go with that enthusiasm and channel it into a suitable activity rather than slogging your guts out to keep a disenchanted group of 10 year olds interested in fractions. I'd be surprised if it was wall-to-wall 'fun' activities, it's a pain in the butt to keep that going for 2 and half weeks, easier to keep some of the routines and lessons going!

Do they work at any time of the year?

My kids have fun every single day and "play" all day. From an old fashioned my point of view they never do anything academic, just play.

But what and how they play is definitely much better than anything I ever did at school. Their school life is absolutely fantastic and I wouldnt change it for anything. They are extremely knowledgeable, and have been given a good well rounded education. In an enviroment where children are happy, they learn and remember what they have learnt.

These last few weeks will be wind down time just as the last few weeks of every term is. They will be learning new skills - whether its how to make a decoration, or singing/dancing. This gives the opportunity to develop their creativity skills. The days will still be structured and effort gone into the planning, and because the kids arent doing the academics they say they are doing nothing.

If they literally sit in a class all day and dont do anything at all, may be just staring into space all day then yes I would be worried. But this is very unlikely.

If it is, then take it up with the teacher. Your Dd can still read books at home, spelling is incorporated into every day life.

We've only next week to go! Monday we have Christmas concert rehearsals in the morning ( we only started rehearsals last Monday so need them!) with the performance in the afternoon ( although I will fit a "Christmas Card" making slot in there-we're looking at the use of washes with watercolours to create a mood. Tuesday my class is making Christmas dinner for the whole school-including staff and parent helpers/governors-the focus is on planning, estimating, team work, ( plus some data handling and evidence gathering to plan the menu). In the afternoon we are making calendars-maths focus with tesselations and some art-colour theory! Wednesday we have a rehearsal for the Church service in the morning and a trip to the pantomime in the afternoon ( OK, that might count as a jolly-although have you ever taken 80-odd children to the theatre, a "jolly" is the last word to describe it! Thursday is Church service in the morning followed by PTFA day, we make table decorations, hats etc as the PTFA provide a christmas party for the children, complete with entertainer and Father Christmas for the afternoon. Friday morning we MIGHT resort to a DVD but I suppose I could fit in a spelling test or maths assessment-although whether I would get a fair indication of ability is doubtful as they are rather hyper already with the snow and ice, by Friday they will be manic! Friday afternoon is activity afternoon-the children demonstrate all they have learnt to their parents during the term. After they have gone all I need to do before I leave is strip and tidy the classrooms, take all the decorations down from the hall/corridors etc.

I need a rest just from thinking about it!

So your kids will go home and say they did nothing then!!!!!!!

My kids have just had assessments, but I think its the worst time. They are tired, there has been too much going on at school and after school and the results arent as good as they (the teachers) expected.

Some of my best school time memories are made of the things that happen at the end of terms - bringing in your own games and sharing them with the class, making decorations, Delivering post to classes from the school postbox, having a party even helping take down displays in preparation for the next term. Seeing the teachers more relaxed and 'fun' winding down. I think it all builds into life's rich experiences and is worthwhile in itself.
If a school is doing a good job the rest of the time with childre working hard and planned fun not just chaos this experience is positive.

Goodness spaniel eyes, was all that in your job description!!?? I'm breathless. It sounds like a cross between a Butlins Redcoat and a Nursery Nurse.

I wanted to make the distinction that at Y6 they are a few months from secondary school and the school has fizzled out lessons from the 9th December and replaced them with all these ' activities '. Hasn't the balance been tipped?

I'm dying to use the phrase ' when I was at school..! @ OK I can't resist.

when i was at school....we took games in on the last day. That was the only deviation from normal lessons!

Shoot me.(smile)

I am SO pleased to see that this thread has turned into a support for the SOCIAL value of school.

The joy of giving and receiving
fitting in, sharing, listening, watching,
resenting but not showing it
realising other people are pants at things but saying nothing and vowing to do it better,
planning how to make everything work your way in the long run
all the skills needed for the later working life in fact.

At post graduate accountancy level, all exams are open book.
Knowing HOW to read the book is more important than memorising.
I therefore totally support the invisible structure of "festive learning"

In his masters steps he trod

wow, wish you were teaching my DD.

Even I could learn something.

You sound like you must be at my school.

Our school focus is all about social skills. Academics, whilst important, are not the priority. Get the social stuff right and everything will follow.