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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

oh dear, the holiday diary has already become a hated chore

43 replies

zorgmoid · 27/07/2011 18:51

DS has just finished reception. All the children were given a blank 40 page A4 notebook to write something about every day of the holiday, and draw pictures and stick in photos. There was some guidance about the writing - say who you were with, where you went, how you felt etc.

Day five of the holidays. DS' reaction is "noooooooooooo" when I say - "oooh, we'd better do your holiday diary entry for yesterday.

How are we going to manage to do this for five and a half more weeks????

OP posts:

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wheresthepimms · 27/07/2011 20:14

We didn't have to do one but my DCs decided they wanted to do one as it is done right at the point where you are in PJs, teeth brushed, everything put away and about to hop into bed, so it gets you extra awake time DS8 decided yesterday he would write a 4 page novel which meant he was the last one up, DS7 wrote half a page (a miracle for him) and DD10 wrote 2 words " I'm Tired"

DS8 does however have homework from school that I cannot get him to even look at

youarekidding · 27/07/2011 20:19

Agree about not doing it if he really doesn't want to. My DS had one too both summers he was in Infants. Moving to juniors now so let off.

When doing it at the end of year R he was still only 4 and couldn't write whole sentences to make a structure. We got postacrds, made collages of places we'd been (eg collected sand from beach). He would tell me a sentence and I would write 'Today we went to .......................' he simply completed it. Sometimes he did write 1 sentence. We also stuck in google maps of places we had been - he's an excellent map reader unlike his dyslexic mum and I thought it was better to show he'd read and followed the directions as much as him writing a sentence.

We filled about 10 pages out of the 40!!

Hulababy · 27/07/2011 20:27

I wouldn't do it, certainly not every day at least. Maybe just leave it out where it is visible and if he mentons it just do it then, and maybe if you have a day out just stick in a photo or leaflet fromt he place.

everlong · 27/07/2011 20:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

dikkertjedap · 27/07/2011 20:43

This seems way too much way too early. I would focus on just a few pages of a specific activity/trip he has really enjoyed. I would definitely not expect such a young child to keep a daily journal.

Original poster

zorgmoid · 27/07/2011 23:09

mixed age class: reception teacher is Y1 teacher. There's no escape...

I have taken a picture of DS slumped on sofa with remote in hand, that we stuck next to: "today I woshed TV all morning."

OP posts:

JemimaMuddledUp · 28/07/2011 10:58

DD has just finished Reception and has homework over the summer. She has to write about her holidays, but it is 6 A4 pages rather than 40!

I will take a few pictures when I remember and print them out so that she can stick them in and write captions underneath eg "I went to the beach and swam in the sea" or "I went to the park and had an ice cream".

She has 3 reading books to read over the summer too, but she loves reading so that isn't a problem. She will have read extra ones as she is doing the summer reading challenge, although I am tempted to take out the same titles from the library so that they count for both - multitasking!

munstersmum · 28/07/2011 13:10

There lies madness. Walk away now.

blackeyedsusan · 28/07/2011 14:16

if he hates the book, you are not going to achieve much, other than putting him off writing.

stick in things he has made, like treasure maps,( trees, rocks, dig here) menus for a pretend cafe, price lists for toy shop, shopping lists and birthday cards. ask him to write postcards to granny photocopy them before you send them. ask granny to write back and he can read them. get him to draw a comic and stick it in. (words like zap/ run/ pop/ yum/yuk are good for phonics practise)

fenellaf · 28/07/2011 14:20

I am a teacher and I NEVER give my class work to do during the holidays. I need a break, they need a break, simple as. Besides, as someone else has already mentioned, is the teacher REALLY going to sit and read 30 diaries? She obviously has more time on her hands than I do.
If your DS isn't enjoying it, it's going to do more damage than good. Children won't want to write about things that are boring. Do it once a week if you must, but don't force him.

EndoplasmicReticulum · 28/07/2011 22:52

We had a letter home from school saying "we do not usually send reading books home over the summer, however some parents have asked for some, so please let me know how many you would like"

End of year 1.

It's not the sort of school where children won't have their own books at home anyway. It's symptomatic of the "reading scheme competitiveness" which seems to be going on, we had a previous letter telling people that the children actually needed to read the books before swapping for the next one.

My boys (end of year 1, end of Reception) are doing a sort of diary each, son 1 asked to because he remembered doing it last year. Mostly pictures so far though, I'm not making them write.

mathanxiety · 29/07/2011 03:45

You could take the piss and say 'got up, ate, played, ate, played, ate, washed, slept' every single day....

mathanxiety · 29/07/2011 03:46

Or just write 'ditto' after page 1.

JemimaMuddledUp · 29/07/2011 08:44

that the parents had to be reminded that their DC needed to read the books before changing them!

As I say DD has 3 books home from school, but as she is 5 and just starting reading they are only short ones with a couple of sentences on each page. She enjoys reading them so we read them with her. The boys are 7 and 8 and haven't read any of their school reading books yet. This doesn't mean that they aren't reading - they are both on their second book of the library summer reading challenge and DS2 has also read a couple of books from home. I'm just not pushing "school" reading.

Panzee · 29/07/2011 09:30

IMO school books are only there to help out children who don't get books at home.

pointydog · 29/07/2011 09:36

AIm for one entry a week. Maximum.

littleducks · 29/07/2011 09:44

If you are going to do it could you change the format so it looks like an EYFS learning journey? So stick in any pictures/crafty things he makes or take photos of them, a few photos of him doing activies with post it notes explaining anything complicated from you. Then he can use it as a prop for a show and tell but doesnt actually have to write too much.

DD has just finished reception, the whole school were encouraged to take part in the library reading challenge and that was it here. DD loves writing/drawing/creating so makes wheelie bins full of stuff which is fine, but if she were like ds who hates that kind of thing I definately woul;dnt be making her

jamdonut · 29/07/2011 14:41

Sounds a bit extreme for end of Foundation!

Just pick a few days where you've done something REALLY interesting and stick in mementoes or print off a couple of photos. At least it shows willing without stressing about it.

Bet you most kids won't do more than a page or two. (We tried something similar at the school I'm a TA at.) Some kids like to do this...most don't.

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