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.

Yy - telex, faxes - all circa 1990 forms of communication pass for entertainment in this house. We are such party dudes.

Good point Spider, I think the big concern parents have is indeed the concept of learning being formal work. Many adults I've taught have had barriers to learning because their prior experiances link learning to hard work, classroom feelings of failure and the like.
When I became a parent I was keen to "teach" in a way that invisably extends prior knowledge using the windows of the mind theory, so far the children are thriving, being exceptionally keen learners both in school and outside, they see no division between school and home, we don't use phrases like "home work", life is one great big learning adventure to them.
Of course it isn't a life-style that would suit most, but I do think there is something that drives some parents to question as OP has, if they should do more "formal" academic work with their children.

My DD who is also going into year 2 hasn't done much either. I've got her to read to me regularly and I've also read to her a lot - we've done the library reading challenge too. I have tried to get her to practice her writing but she's very reluctant - we started a holiday scrap book but she just hasn't wanted to do it lately. It's her holidays so I refuse to make her do it. Maths wise we've incorporated it into a few games but nothing else.

DS, who is about to go into reception, has learnt the Welsh alphabet.

We have had a lovely time though and that feels more important to me at infant school quite frankly.

What's all this with the 'middle class parents do work with their kids over the holidays, which is why they do well at school!' AFAIK the upper middle classes all send their kids to public schools which seem to have much longer school hols. If we follow this to it's natural conclusion, they are wasting their money paying for school as they are probably doing better thanks to having more holiday time to spend doing homework with their children.

I don't recall ever doing a minute's schoolwork during the holidays. And believe me, I really have not suffered academically for this! As has been pointed out, an imaginative parent can find much more thrilling and useful activities for their children in the holidays, and their children will learn valuable lessons for life without even realising they are doing anything more than having fun.

I pity any child made to recite times tables in the bath.

My mother used to read through my postcards and correct them in red pen!! Im still terrified that she will find a spwlling mistake if I send her a postcard and I am 38!!

Ds1 is going into yr 2 and we have done reading and his holiday diary ( set by school), he also did some maths sheets by choice, ds1 (3) has developed his drawing skills on the said maths sheets and causedWW2 - which of course led to a history discussion!!

spelling!!!! oh what would my mother say!!

Have just read this thread in a bit more detail. Rosemary please tell me you are joking when you say you download worksheets for your dcs to do during the holidays.

To be fair to Rosemary, she says her DCs also enjoy it (and some kids really do). I think it would be a little unfair to force it on them at such a young age if they were miserable.
It's all about balance, innit.

Had good intentions of doing a bit with DS going into yr3. However yesterday was first bit of writing when I actually remembered to get him to write a shopping list. We've continued to read to him but he has barely read to us.

He has learned that if he gets up v quietly with his father at 6.00am he can get an hour of watching CITV unsupervised in before I wake up

Ds has learnt how to put Iplayer on our new internet capable tv! I think that is probably the only thing he has learned this summer.

Yup guilty I do download things for them to do - and DS1 digs around and finds things too, nice relevant things to their trips out, for example they love the theatre and theatre websites are great for teachers packs full of activities based on the shows, its nice to print these off and do some activities together when we are back home, kinda rounds it all off.

At the moment mine do love school type subjects in the same way they love other traditional hobbies, the two oldest like playing out on their bikes, but they are just as happy to work out a new tricky sum, read-up on a history topic, play lego,board-games,chess,learn spellings,dig the allotment, it all just rolls together for them.

MollieO - I'm guessing your agast because you too associate worksheets = school work = stop at the end of the school day ? It doesn't need to be like this, as parents we can break down the school v home barriers, our little ones are after all learning all the time in both enviroments.

I'd be quite happy if school work had no impact on ds's home life until he reaches secondary school. His headmaster knows my views and his teachers get told by me at the start of each academic year. Ds will do his homework if he wants to but I will never make him do it. Ds has a broad range of interests but I'm not testing him on his knowledge with worksheets!

This is really making me think, I have wondered this summer what other parents do to fill times when the children are at home.
I'm guessing its a mixture like mine too they play with friends toys etc but mine also do school type things, what do yours do ?

I work so he's been mostly at some form of holiday club. I'm on holiday this week so ds has been out in the garden mowing the lawn and clearing the raised vegetable beds or playing in his playhouse on on his climbing frame. Out on his bike to the park, library, on the computer, watching stuff on Iplayer (whilst I'm enjoying a lie in!). No school type stuff at all.

Rosemary, my 4 and 6 year old mostly play imaginative games together and they don't like me intruding on them or joining in! We have also been out and about loads, beach, country parks, visiting family etc etc. They love to draw/paint etc but don't like me trying to lead this, worksheets are rarely a welcome suggestion. They have filled out holiday scrap books but got bored of these a couple of weeks ago. They love being read to and card games. If my 6yo ever gets wind of the fact that I am trying to teach her something like writing or maths - however surruptitiously - she switches off very quickly. She loves learning about the world generally though, today through her own questions, she's learnt some french and some geography!

MrsGravy and MollieO - thanks so much for your replies, the childhood your providing for your children is lovely, maybe I have been over-doing the academic side of things, I guess I'm a bit scared of feeling like I'm letting them down.
Have taken a deep breath - not bought out the project books this morning after breakfast and the three of them have charged off to build some sort of den thing with duvets and boxes (they are up-stairs now - its very noisy, bits of laughter, some squealing) - find myself to be a bit nervous and lost...

Blimey - year 2?! I wouldn't worry. Mine haven't done a bean apart from reading (they are both free readers so not reading to me) and their own writing (when they've drawn pics etc). I'm a primary schook teacher and I just think life is too short for school work in the summer - it's time for us all to have a break before we're back to the grindstone of school run/after school clubs/spelling/homework etc etc. One of my dc is in KS1 the other KS2 and both doing very well without having been 'drip fed' over the holidays. Enjoy the rest of your holidays

DS1 has done a little academic work over the summer this year - about 15 minutes most days, but none at weekends or when we were away on holiday. This is only because he sits the 11+ in two weeks time though!

Otherwise, they have both read loads, played lots of imaginative games and been to tennis twice a week. DS1 has made two airfix models from scratch and has played the piano at all hours of the day and night. DS2 has spent hours building and playing with lego models and occasionally turfing DS1 off the piano so he can have a turn! Lots of time spent on the computer as well - DS2 is on at the moment looking at the Spanish website mentioned in his Spanish Dictionary. I have made them get their other instruments out a few times (violin and viola) just to make sure they don't get too rusty on them, but I haven't worried that they have been playing their own version of the Dr Who theme rather than their scales etc.

As a family we have been swimming lots and out on long walks and cycle rides. We've played board games and been for days out to wildlife parks, castles, aquariums, National Trust places and on a steam railway. They have learnt loads - but a different type of learning to what they get at school. I hope they are going back more relaxed (despite the wretched 11+) and ready to learn.

Most importantly we have all enjoyed our time together!

Singing girl- argh! Ruddy 11+ - that'll be us in a few years. It's a pile of poo. I do wish they could assess grammar places on work done during the year and teacher assessment. Teachers know who could cope with grammar and who is being coached to within an inch of their lives to get through the exam.

Oh and good luck to your Ds!

I just think holidays are important to be used as holidays. I sometimes end up having to do some work on my holidays and I hate it. I'm a lot older than 7 and unfortunately it goes with the type of job I have. I think ds works hard enough at school in term time that it is important he enjoys his holidays without having to do schoolwork. The time for that will come in a few years when his education matters.

Today he has decided to do a touch typing course on the computer so he can improve his IT skills. Totally his choice.

Some children like doing school work out of school, ds isn't one of those. I know that when he goes back to school a lot of his friends will have read a book a day, kept a summer journal, done maths worksheets, learnt all their times tables etc. Most of them will have been made to do it rather than choosing (that sort of school). Great if they have genuinely enjoyed doing it but academically it doesn't make them any more able than ds and I reckon he will have enjoyed his summer holiday more than them.

I'd add that it quite hard to resist making him do academic stuff when I hear what some of his friends have been up to, however it works best for ds. If he was struggling at school then I would probably try and encourage him to do some reading, maths etc.

Tbh I think that trying to find things to entertain your children at all is not great.
I understand the urge -really I do. I did all that with ds1.
But then I stopped. My mum told me when ds1 was little that sometimes you just have to let them be.

I find the first few days of holidays stress. They want to be told what to do. They want their day to be rolled out in front of them like an entertainments programme. Then, their default setting will be to find something to pass before their eyes - electronic games or DVDs until you switch it off or their legs stop working

But eventually they find stuff they want to do.
Dd spent last week making stuff out of the recycling box. All crap but it amused her immensely. She makes up dances in the sitting room and practices her gym . she spent an hour styling my hair while I read a magazine. She is writing a doctor who story. She has found her guitar and has this morning practiced for over an hour because she wanted to. She is now going to make perfume out of flower petals.

If you entertain them they never find all this shit stuff.
I find her coming to me and saying ' can I make a special drink with any fruit juice or anything else we have? Then I could make a menu and draw pictures of them. And you could be my taster'
And I want to laugh and cry because I remember doing that. And I remember making my mum be taster'

GiganticusBottomus - love the name! Thanks for the good wishes. DS1 should be fine, he is bright enough and we have resisted the urge to coach, although I have looked at the bits that are not taught in school with him. Means that if he gets in I will know he can cope with Grammar. Lucky enough to have a friend who was SENCO at a Grammar who has kept me grounded about it, with tales of over-coached children she is called in about in their first term where the problem is that they cannot cope without hours of one-to-one support.

MollieO -totally agree that holidays should be used as holidays. All children deserve a break. And after all, learning through play doesn't stop just because they are five, older children can also learn through play!

My youngest has been on holidays for 9.5 weeks he's going into year 1 - the day he broke up from school he packed his clarinet away he shut the lid on his piano, he lined all his books neatly on his bookshelf, and said 'I am a very busy boy, and will get back to this on my return to school in September'.

And I have no doubt he will, and he will remember his summer holidays as being busy playing with friends visiting different destinations, but there will have been no formal work.

He actually said today 'I'm looking forward to next week, as I will be playing the piano, clarinet, and learning in class'. So he's refreshed and ready for it.

I did point out that he could play the piano (e.g.) today and he said 'oh no one more week to go'.