My ds has done no school work all summer

[molk]

I am starting to feel a bit anxious because, apart from reading, my ds has done NO school stuff all holiday. I had intended to get him to do a bit of writing and maths a few times a week, but it hasn't happened.
He is about to go into year 2.

ACB, I don't actually know. We live abroad and my DS is starting school this term.

I feel that I failed my older DC. They went to very good schools (both state and private) and at no point did they learn times tables, or proper punctuation, or a whole manner of things that I felt they should have learned. I felt the school failed them.

A while ago, I read the book "Could do Better" by Noel Janis-Norton and realised that I just could not leave it up to the school. I had to take an active role in my DC's education. So this is what I am doing.

I never did school work type stuff with my kids.
They played on their bikes, had sleep overs, went on holiday, stayed up late, went swimming went on scout camps etc etc.

Both ended up in the top set at school.
Stop fretting and enjoy the break.

That's not what freakenomic says! If anything, it is arguing nature has much more influence than nurture.

Don't worry molk.
My ds going into year 2 as well and we have done no formal school work.
He has kept up with reading and written the occasional post card.
He has played shops with coins and that's it.
He is meeting a friend in a couple of days whose parents buy work books... I may have a wobble when his mum asks me what I've done with ds - which she will!

My 2 (age 7 and 5) have done no "work" (apart from reading) either.

They have however

• learnt to ride their bikes without stabilisers (both)
• written a wide range of stories and made her own book (DD)
• taken all his Lego to pieces and made up his own new models (DS)
• cooked doing all the weighs and measures
• been on a trip to the zoo and found out about the animals they were interested in
• followed the map to find their way round the zoo and also other maps on other trips out
• spent time with extended family (including visiting a new town that GPs have just moved to)
• gone to holiday club where they knew no one and were able to make new friends
• played tennis and volleyball out in the garden
• make a "house" for their soft toys by painting and decorating and sticking various junk items
• played many board games

I am much happier that they've done all the above rather than sitting and making them learn times tables !!!

My kids have grown up over summer :(

Where did my little kids go?

I stupidly sent DD to cub camp and she's come back sooooooo grown up. I'm never letting her go again.

DS2 is no longer obsessed with penguins and club penguin.

DS1 is still at scout camp. I dread to think what he'll be like when he get's back......

DD1 (about to go into year 2) has done a bit of work when she wanted to on the English and Maths books I bought her, but I'm not that concerned as she ended year 1 with the kind of levels which are average for the end of year 2. So as long as she keeps making progress appropriately I don't think she needs much more encouragement at the moment.

Besides I think the school holidays are for learning other things, like improving social physical and artistic skills through play, trips out or just being at home. On holiday we went to animal parks and a Roman villa, and she had pocket money so had to work out whether she could afford things in the gift shop and how much change you should get. She read the book we bought about life in a Roman town from cover to cover. They don't just learn at school or by doing school type work.

I had such good intentions. I bought work books and everything. They are still pristine.

We have been to the library a few times and read (well, I've read to the younger 2 DC) DS1 has read quite a lot to himself.

Apart from that, we have been focusing on sport and social skills.

redskyatnight - I am so with you on the kind of activities I value in the holidays!

We haven't even done reading with DS1 (going into Yr1 next year. A good reader but I don't want to push him or make him feel like reading is a chore.

He's done a fair amount of incidental reading,
lots of writing (which he loves),
learnt to spell out loud with letter names all sorts of words like "pudding" and "bath" that parents spell to one another to keep secrets from DS2.
done two weeks of swimming course and from it learnt to swim and enjoy going under water
obsessed about the London Underground a lot
visited York and found out about archaeology and trains
built a maglev train out of cupboard door latch magnets, cardboard and drainpipe
Lego, friends, outings, pick your own

errr that's it.

DH is very chill about all of it (he is a scientist and reckons it's all good maths especially the logic puzzles of Underground obsession). I am quite neurotic and very sad about the reading.

Anyone else NOT kept up the reading during the summer hols?

LalalaLayla I imagine you are giving many some parents reading this minor heart attacks.

If your school is doing its job you should not need to do all this extra work outside school hours. The school day is long and busy and young children (especially KS1) should be playing and relaxing at home.

Read and do set school work (if they have any) only. Of course if you are out and about there are always learning opportunities, but I am talking solely about a child doing directed rote learning or specific written work/maths.

I do not expect any of my children to do any work in the summer holidays. That is said as a Yr 2 teacher.

Mine haven't done a great deal of school work. They are going into Year 1, Year 3 and Year 4.

They have done the library reading challenge, all three reading a book a week. The older two wrote book reviews for each book.
I signed them up for a free trial of mathswhizz, which DS2 really enjoys (which is good as his maths isn't great).

Other than that they have been doing lots of interesting stuff but not necessarily school related. They have been pond dipping and bug hunting at the local RSPB reserve and den building at the Forestry Centre. They have been to a reconstructed Iron Age hill fort and been taught to cook, hunt and build houses like the Celts (DS2 was particularly good at spearing pretend wild boar). They have been to a Shire Horse farm and DD got to hold the lead rein of an 18h horse. They have watched Osprey chicks fledge. They have walked down a windswept cliff and seen Puffins for the first time. We have been to the museum (a lot) and DS1 was inspired by the shipping section to make his own ship in a bottle. We have baked cakes and made jam with fruit we picked at a fruit farm. We have been to see an orchestra. We have been to an art gallery, where DS2 decided that Rodin's Kiss was "Bleugh!". We have looked after the school guinea pigs. They have played outside with their friends. We have been to the beach and collected shells.

I think they have learnt quite a lot, but not by sitting at the table doing worksheets.

I NEVER did school work with either of mine in the summer holidays, other than reading to and with them when they were in primary school. We went out and about, to museums, wildlfie parks, on walks, bike rides etc. They didn't suffer. Seems very hard that kids of 5 and 6 have to be doing school work in the holidays. When did homework in primary school become compulsory.

Unlike most other children, my ds (going into yr 2) has had homework to do over the holidays!
His homework was
learn 2, 5 and 10x tables
Count in 1's and 2's forwards and backwards.
Keep a journal over the holidays to present in class
Find out and make a poster about butterflies
Read lots of books and tell the class about your favourite book you've read over the holidays.

He is at a state school.

We've done lots of reading, recited times tables in the car , done the journal for 6 exciting days and nothing on butterflies yet or counting backwards in 2's.

We've also had loads of fun and I'm sure he'll not even remember that he's had to do some work over the holidays.

Apart from a little bit of reading, done nothing really that I could call 'work'. Lots of arty crafty stuff and general running about but nothing formal. Oh well. Sure it will be fine. The holls have just whizzed by really with no time to even sit and think about maths or english!

I'm sorry but my guys have done no work over the hols apart from ds1 reading his brother and sisters a bedtime story while I grabbed a much needed glass of wine.

They have been outside building dens, sleeping out in the tent and cooking their tea over a campfire, damming the stream, planting veggies and generally running feral.

They are now at the stage they are looking forward to school and counting down on the calender until they go back. I'd much rather have that and let them totaly relax over their holidays so they are up for a new school year.

ds1 in going into Yr4, dd1, year1 and ds2 starting reception.

DS ( 7, about to go into Y3 ) has done laods of writing, creative type stuff but little reading. He does what he wants in the holidays.

DD ( just 5, about to go into Y1 ) wouldn't read, write or do any Maths for the first few weeks. I then thought up some shopping games and hairclip Maths conundrums and she was off. She needs a bit more help than DS so I persisted til I found a way of her enjoying it.

I really can't understand why people think that there is something wrong in doimg some schoolwork during the summer.
I have three dcs and have given them some schoolwork to do during the holidays. They are really doing really well and their confidence has increased.
Let's be honest, there's nothing better than one to one tutoring. I know some posters disagree with Summer tutoring, but i am really happy with my decision.
Btw, before posters start flaming me, i must point out that my dcs have had a rather eventful Summer; they have been on hoiliday , visited friends,
been to the park, swimming, beach, theme parks, museums,farms , the theatre,cinema, soft play, watched tv, played in the garden .HOWEVER, i have still managed to do some schoolwork with them.
After all, there are more than enough hours in the day and parental input is vital if a child is to progress at school.

It's not that dcs haven't been learning in the holidays nor that I haven't been giving parental input - it's just that they've been learning in a different way.

Just back from a two-day genealogy trip to the ancestral farmsteads with grandma reading aloud out of 19th century documents relating to the places we saw. Dd (14) has been reading Anna Karenina and ds (11) has read the morning paper avidly every morning and is keeping us all updated on the Libyan rebellion. They have both taken a number of swimming badges, and ds has been learning to row a boat fisherman style. They have practised thei maths through endless games of Monopoly and dd has played Scrabble in two languages. We've had music in the evenings and they have been joining in meal preparations and planning.

I don't want them to have such a narrow conception of learning as to think that it has to be organised by school or look exactly like school. School is a very worthy institution but it can only provide a small part of their learning.

I did no formal work in the school holls as a child and did very well academically (ooh get me!) so not sure of the value of it tbh. Each to their own I suppose. If I had the time my DD may have done some but I haven't.

I don't think anyone thinks doing school work is 'wrong' btw forehead. Just that for some of us there really isn't enough hours in the day. Me and DH have to work DD has had to spend time in holiday care or with friends and relatives and the rest of the time we were on holiday ourselves so school work not top priority. I don't think it's a big deal tbh.

I don't think there is anything wrong with doing work over the summer, I just don't feel that sitting down doing worksheets is really for us. It might be because I work in Early Years and so am pretty focussed on Learning through Play, but I am more a fan of learning through experiences than sitting down at a desk.

Building a den - planning the shape and size, finding the right length pieces of wood for the different parts, tying them together, working as a team to put it up... all learning.

Pond dipping and bug hunting - learning about science, reading the charts and books to identify the different species, estimating the size/counting legs etc to identify them... all learning.

Iron Age Hill Fort - they milled flour and then made bread from it on an open fire in a reconstructed round house, they used sticks and mud to build a wall in the way that the Celts would have... all learning.

Going to see an Orchestra... Visiting the Museum... Visiting an Art Gallery... Doing the Library Summer reading Challenge... all learning, but IMO more fun than worksheets.

Mine haven't done any school work.
It is the holidays.

I have had to do a little each day with ds, he is at a prep school where parents seem to do a significant amount in the holidays so to do nothing would put him at a bit of a disadvantage.

He is going into year 2, so we have worked on English in the morning about 20 mins and he does kumon maths in the eve. To be honest I think 40 mins out of a twelve hour day is reasonable. The rest of the time is spent doing lots of fun stuff - bike riding, holidays,, days out, legoland etc.

I think its very important to support learning at home and can only see it as a positive thing.