Going into Year 5 - work in the holidays or not?

[Dancergirl]

Dd2 is going into Year 5 next term. She's v bright and will probably be sitting for a couple of grammars. I really want to know how much, if any, work your similarly aged dc will be doing this summer.

I really believe dc should have a break but part of me says, under the new system, the exams are just over a year away and I want to make sure she's prepared. Don't they say children suffer a 'learning dip' over the summer?

I don't want too much pressure for her but I do want to give her the best chance when the time comes.

My DD2 will be doing precisely no work over the summer. She will inevitably do loads of reading though, and music stuff. So her brain won't atrophy. But she won't be doing any school work.

I will be doing work with ds1 over the holidays, but for different reasons. He's dyspraxic and can't go 6 weeks with out practicing writing

@kate DD2 is dyspraxic also, as is DD1 and myself. :) her writing isn't as much of an issue as other things though because she always writes 'for fun' (she writes 'books' ) so she gets lots of practice. Her handwriting is poor-average which is actually amazing for someone with dyspraxia (and miles better than mine or DD1s).

When do they sit the 11+? I would have thought prep next summer if it's fall of y6.
I would not set work (DD has just finished y6), but we don't have pressure of something like 11+.
DS (will be y4) has to do writing most days, but that's because he's phobic about writing.

Sorry, Dd has just finished y5.

Dd is going into Y5. She reads endless books and writes stories for fun. She is currently sitting at the kitchen table with lists of names and an old diary and is planning the summer timetable for her pretend riding school.
So I think her brian will remain active in the summer holidays.

She is however not as strong in maths as she is literacy so I will probably practise some times tables with her every now and then. Yesterday we did some baking and I got her to weigh and measure out the flour, oats, milk etc.so she was doing maths without even realising

But no formal, sitting down work, no.

DS1 is in a similar position - bright, potential grammar school kid who has just finished year 4. We do have some 11+ books and will continue trying to encourage him to tackle those, and I want to keep working on his times tables with him as he's a bit inconsistent on his recall of these. He loves reading so we'll continue to encourage that. I have a few maths websites that I will introduce him to (or remind him of ones he's used previously) as he enjoys those. However, I don't intend any formal 'work' for him over the holidays.

Dd will read lots (she's already read the books that school sent home) and she is always writing stories, plays, diaries etc.The school subscribes to Mathletics and Espresso and they all have their individual accounts that the teachers can track their usage. Being very rule bound dd will do the 20 minutes a day as recommended by the HT without my nagging anyway.

ehm, my 9 year old will do 20-30 minutes each day.

As he is still more than a year behind!!! Aaaarrgghhhh

I can only dream of selective secondaries...

My ds will do an hour a day; starting secondary in September. For what you're aiming for, I'd at the bare minimum do an hour a day to master the technical side of say the maths for example as well as V/r and NR (depending on the schools exam), so next year all you're having to concentrate on is speed. Could make the english part fum by asking them to write about their day and finding ways also to increase her vocabulary.

The issue with grammar schools these days, is not just how smart the kids are (there're tons of those), but how quickly you can be smart (if you get my gist). There're 12 waking hours in a day, what is one little hour out of that, in the scheme of things. If I was you, I'd also pose your question in the 11+ forum amongst the tiger mums to see what they're up to:). Have a stiff drink in your hands beforehand though and expect to hear responses along the lines of 2-3 hours a day:)

ds1 going into yr 5.
No grammar schools here, he will be going to the local village college (11-16) for yr 7.
The thought of making him do summer work hasn't crossed my mind, it is the holidays and he will be having fun - part of that will be reading because he enjoys it, part of it will be puzzles like sudoku etc, part of it will be playing on his DS, part of it will be watching tv, part of it will be playing on the beach, etc

Though I did have to get ds2 (just finished yr 1) to do some writing for Beavers this week which made me think I should get him to do some daily practice, and would probably get ds1 to do it as well as that is the one area he isn't as good as he could be in. But that would be maybe 15mins a day.

Reading , timestables and writing but not everyday, 3 or 4 times a week just to keep the brain ticking over.

No grammars here either, DD2 has been asked to read 6 books over the summer holidays. She will complete this in the first week, knowing her.
She likes to write stories so will probably do that. Some of our outings are heritage/nature/semi-educational - think archaeology, bird-watching, art, culture.

She will not be doing any sit-down formal school work and neither will DD1 who is about to go into Yr7. The summer holidays are sacred.

I let DCs have the first week completely off then start doing one hour study and at least 20 minutes a day for the rest of the holiday.

I let DCs have the first week completely off then start doing one hour study and at least 20 minutes reading a day for the rest of the holiday.

Cleek really? Are your DCs at a super-selective?

I am in favor of summer work.

My DD aged 5.6 does 10 minutes handwriting, 10 minutes reading, 10 minutes puzzles and 10 minutes numberwork every day. Not in one block.

I am against summer work. Children have work every single holiday - all half terms, Christmas and Easter, every single weekend. Why can't we let them have a break? I don't take work home when I am on annual leave, why should they?

I'm completely in favour of keeping their brains ticking over, but there are better ways than structured drill. OK, reading should be part of the daily routine, and my DDs read for far more than the minimum because they love it. For the rest of it - show them the world, go to museums and heritage sites and zoos, bake and garden with them. All those things are far more valuable in terms of keeping them active and learning than more dreary drill.

DS is starting Year 5 in September and he will do no schoolwork whatsoever. As someone else said up the thread, he has homework every holidays and I fully believe in having the opportunity to have a complete rest. He will do some reading, he may well have a go at his tables because he likes to recite them and he may well go on internet learning sites because he enjoys them. The idea of forcing him to do a set amount every day gives me the shivers. A short cut to putting him off learning for life. If he wants to do it, he can and I will support him, if he doesn't no biggie.

For the record I am a teacher and children do not lose ability/enthusiasm in 6 weeks. When they are in the middle of secondary school it is a different matter possibly but at 8/9, let them be children, not machines.

Thank you, ellie - I thought I was the only one who didn't believe children magically 'forgot' how to read and learn over 6 weeks.

In the runup to GCSEs it will be a different matter, but mine are 9 and 11, are both very high achievers and I've never done any work with them during the summer holidays. There are so many better ways to maintain children's love of learning over the summer break.

My pleasure.

pointythings, I guess your children do fine at school, so in that case I'd have the same attitude.

DS1 is still over a year and a half behind with literacy, at almost 10, and that's why it is different here.

Easy to dismiss extra work over the summer if your kids are both very high achievers anyway!!! You sounds just a bit smug.

Try walking a mile etc...

Like I said, Dd2 won't be doing any 'work' at all. And she will be doing the 11+ in just over a year's time. Dd1 never did any work in the holidays and she was fine. I never did any work in the school holidays either. And I was fine. Dd1 is doing GCSEs next year (a year early) and she won't be doing any work during the holidays. They are supposed to be holidays. DS - who missed half a term due to whooping cough this summer - will be doing some work but that is genuinely exceptional circumstances - he missed more than 2 months of school poor thing. He does need to catch up. The others? Don't.

chandon i think it is worth mentioning that ds is also behind in his literacy. He works hard but finds it difficult. I still think there are many ways to encourage literary skills over the summer holidays rather than 'work'. Every child is different that is true but it is easy to make learning a chore and that should never be the case. Children do not lose ability over the holidays and whilst as a teacher i fully understand the importance of literacy, as a mother i fully understand the importance of a proper break.

I think having such an airy fairy approach of dancing through the meadows and potato printing is fine, only problem is, I'm sure the original poster said they're aiming for grammar school. Her dd2 will be up against kids who are privately educated and natural Einstein's and yet still, during the holidays, will be doing at least 2 hours a day.